More Coyote Hunting

     With a blizzard blowing in this afternoon, I decided to try some coyote hunting this morning.  I thought the approaching front might be encouraging animals to be looking for some food.  Anyway, I hunted this particular property for the first time this morning.  I walked up a fence line from the road to the woodlot, then picked a tree to sit up against.  I had a panoramic view of my downwind  side (to my left), as well as a good view straight ahead for at least 150 yards.  I started blowing on my rabbitt distress call and this coyote popped out of the woodlot into the field about 100 yards in front of me.  It was less than 10 seconds from when I first blew on the call, to when I saw this thing.  My gun was still in my lap.  After surveying the situation for a few seconds, it turned and walked back into the woods.  This time I got my gun up on my knees before I called.  I only blew into the call twice and it popped right back out where I saw it the first time.  Then it trotted towards me for a few seconds and sat down, facing me head on.  I put the crosshairs right on it's chest, and my .243 dropped it in it's tracks.

     I was pretty pumped up until I approached the varmint and realized it had some issues.  Looks like it had some sort of mange.  Some clumps of hair missing here and there, as well as the 1/2 bald face.  What an ugly critter!  At least it's dead now... 

     I've been surprised how easy it is to get permission to hunt coyotes.  I spent last Saturday talking to landowners and I've now got 5 properties to hunt.  Only one land owner didn't want any hunting on their land.  I'm hoping to shoot at least a couple coyotes with nice coats, so I can tan their hides and use them to make something-or maybe just hang one on the wall.

    

Went out coyote hunting yesterday!

Well I went out coyote hunting in my back yard yesterday afternoon. We have 14 acres of timber out back and I was successful in calling a nice coyote in to about 60 yards. It had a beautiful color to it - a nice grey and red coat. Although I didn't get a shot off due to all the limbs, it was just neat to be out in God's creation and see such an awesome animal respond to the call I was using. I think I'll try back out there again towards the end of the week with a different call and see if we can't get one to come in for a clear shot. 

Pictured is a well done mountI picked up the other day.  Has a stuffed partridge in its mouth.  Very Cool!

Managing Your Property For Whitetail Deer (and other wildlife). Part 1

     Property management can be a complex issue.  Each property is unique and each property owner has a different budget and different goals in mind.  Over the course of the next few months, I'll be outlining some property management strategies to enhance your hunting ground.  Many of these strategies are relatively cheap to employ, and most can be accomplished by one or two people.  Now that late season archery is drawing to a close, it'll soon be time to get back in the woods and make a few upgrades to your property for next fall/winter.
    

    Management Tip #1  Dealing with Wild Grape Vines

    Keeping wild grape vines under control is one simple way to improve your woodlot. Although wild grapes can be a source of food for some wild animals, they can (and will) kill trees. Trees, unlike food plots, take decades to become a mature, so it’s very important to protect them.

    Cutting grapevines is a fairly simple process. Smaller vines (2-3 inches in diameter) can be cut with a machete. You can pick one up at most hardware or garden stores for less than $15. Swinging the machete like a hammer, slice through the grapevine at a 45 degree angle – once at knee height and once more at head height. Be careful when using the machete -it doesn’t know the difference between grapevine and toes.

    Another option for larger vines is using a chainsaw. Working as a lumberjack for several years, I've cut my fair share of wild grape vines. Even the smallest gas chainsaw will be sufficient for wild grape vine. Cutting larger vines is easier, as they are usually somewhat stationary. Small vines will move around and sometimes “bounce” off the chain, making this task a bit more tricky. Be very careful when using a chainsaw. It can make the task go quicker if you’re comfortable with one, but cutting grapevines is not a task for the novice.  Be sure to look closely at the path each grapevine takes.  Vines will often "swing" from treetop to treetop, so the source of the vine could be 20 yards from the base of the tree.

    Since grapevines will provide food for wildlife, I wouldn’t necessarily eradicate them from my property. Cutting the grapevines as described above will save your trees for at least another two or three years.  At which point, you will have to spend another spare weekend cutting them back.  If your property is completely overrun by grapevine, you can consider using herbicides to help you keep ahead of the regrowth.

    One last thing to consider when cutting grapevines on your property: don’t try to pull the vines down from the tree after you cut them from the roots. Since these vines are fully capable of choking out and killing the biggest tree in the woods, dead branches will often accompany the vines if pulled down.

Crazy Buck Fight Pics from Ohio!

Check these Crazy Buck Fight pictures out.....They were sent to my email said to be found somewhere in Ohio. Shame they went out that way all would have been nice deer to arrow or gun down and to wall mount for that matter. 

 Look at the thickness of that rack would have made an awesome trophy!

What a waste of some big bucks!