A couple weeks ago I headed over to Arizona to spend a few days calling with an old friend I met through Predator Masters years ago at one of our Conventions. It was great to catch up and spend some quality time in the desert chasing furry things. We went about this pretty leisurely...
On the first day we made nine stands. The day started out pretty good when we pulled this coyote in after 12 minutes of rodent and bird sounds on the first stand.
Then four blank stands... But things really started looking up on the sixth stand when this pretty bobcat snuck in after only eight minutes of rabbit and bird sounds.
Then we blanked two more times. But on the ninth and last stand of the day, I completed my first Arizona trifecta (the three main furbearer species in a single day) with this gray fox just as the sun was setting.
On the second day, we got in seven stands, with pretty good success. On the first stand we got blindsided by a coyote that got within 5 yards of me without offering a shot. Redemption was ours on the second stand when my buddy called in and shot his nice male bobcat who stalked by him at less than 10 yards on the way to the call.
Then just two stands later this equally nice male cat came in after 16 minutes of mixed bird and rabbit and gave me a 75ish yard shot.
And like the day before, we rounded out the evening by calling in a pair of foxes. We let the first one walk early in the stand, but the late arrival wasn't as lucky.
Day 3 started off slow when we tried a new area that had fewer good calling spots. Midmorning we bumped into a couple guys glassing for deer who mentioned they had seen a badger digging up the countryside on the back of the hill. Since a badger was near the top of my buddy's predator bucket list (he has called in and killed a mountain lion, but never seen a badger), we happily took these fellows up on their offer to show us where they had seen the badger. After a short drive and a few minutes of glassing, we located the badger and he made a great 289 yard shot to down this big beautiful male badger.
We made seven stands later that day, including one with another coyote (or maybe the same one, as it was only a half mile from the last one to give us the slip) that bested us and one stand that looked prime for a big cat, but all to no avail. Badger aside, we got skunked. No worries though, it was a great weekend of calling with a good friend. We're already planning next year's outing!
On the first day we made nine stands. The day started out pretty good when we pulled this coyote in after 12 minutes of rodent and bird sounds on the first stand.
Then four blank stands... But things really started looking up on the sixth stand when this pretty bobcat snuck in after only eight minutes of rabbit and bird sounds.
Then we blanked two more times. But on the ninth and last stand of the day, I completed my first Arizona trifecta (the three main furbearer species in a single day) with this gray fox just as the sun was setting.
On the second day, we got in seven stands, with pretty good success. On the first stand we got blindsided by a coyote that got within 5 yards of me without offering a shot. Redemption was ours on the second stand when my buddy called in and shot his nice male bobcat who stalked by him at less than 10 yards on the way to the call.
Then just two stands later this equally nice male cat came in after 16 minutes of mixed bird and rabbit and gave me a 75ish yard shot.
And like the day before, we rounded out the evening by calling in a pair of foxes. We let the first one walk early in the stand, but the late arrival wasn't as lucky.
Day 3 started off slow when we tried a new area that had fewer good calling spots. Midmorning we bumped into a couple guys glassing for deer who mentioned they had seen a badger digging up the countryside on the back of the hill. Since a badger was near the top of my buddy's predator bucket list (he has called in and killed a mountain lion, but never seen a badger), we happily took these fellows up on their offer to show us where they had seen the badger. After a short drive and a few minutes of glassing, we located the badger and he made a great 289 yard shot to down this big beautiful male badger.
We made seven stands later that day, including one with another coyote (or maybe the same one, as it was only a half mile from the last one to give us the slip) that bested us and one stand that looked prime for a big cat, but all to no avail. Badger aside, we got skunked. No worries though, it was a great weekend of calling with a good friend. We're already planning next year's outing!
