Back from Midland!!

Q

Q-Wagoner

New member
Well guys I am back from Texas and had a wonderful time. Randy Shaw and I had been planning a trip out of state for quite a while and were dead set on AZ but from the great success we saw coming out of West Texas we decided to make that trip instead. I must say I am glad we did!! In less than a week we killed 9 bobcats, 12 gray fox, 6 coyotes, 6 coons, one badger and one Ring tale cat. The worst part about the trip was just when we started to figure things out it was time to come home.

I have wanted to hunt Texas for quite a while and am glad every thing came together to make this trip happen. On night we had the privilege to hunt with Joel H of Midland. Joel is a great guy and I would hunt with him any time. I just hope I can someday return the favorer. Thanks Joel for being a great guide and host!!

God did bless Texas, at least West Texas anyway. LOL Predators are thicker than lice in much of that country but can be difficult to hunt as Randy and I found out. The wind was screaming most of the time we were down there and the brush was so thick in places you couldn't see your feet much less an approaching critter. We learned numerous times that mesquite eats varmint bullets for lunch. LOL Three bobcats and a couple of grays were saved buy the stuff. Mesquite is much less forgiving than the sage I am accustomed to shooting through here in Nebraska. As a full-blooded coyote man it took me a while to realize that you don't handle fox and cats in the same manner that you do coyotes. It was a great learning experience!

Now that we have things at least half way figured out I am sure the next trip will be much more fruitful. I didn't take as many pics as I would have liked but here is a couple I think you will enjoy.

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TX1.jpg


Good hunting.

Q,
 
Thanks guys. Had a ball, met a lot of great people and learned a lot about the country. Some areas are full of cats and fox others are full of coyotes and some have a little bit of everything. For the most part the cats and fox are in sheep and goat country and the coyotes are in cattle country. I can't wait to get back.

This trip was an exploratory trip in a way because we were almost totally cold rolling. Next year we will know where to go and where to not waste our time. The biggest obstacle is gaining access to ground. There is a lot of ground in West Texas though so the more prodding around you do the more luck you will have. The bad part of it is that any rancher that will let a couple of total strangers on there property to hunt alone after dark will likely let any locals hunt on them as well so fresh ears will be hard to come by.

Next year we are going to spend 2 weekes down there and really put the hammer on the coyotes and cats. I can't wait!!

Good hunting.

Q,
 
Good job Quinton! I hated driving through that country down there! All that habitat and I knew good and well I couldn’t get on it to call.
 
You gotta look when Q posts with pics......Nice Goen' /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Nice collection Q. I enjoyed my trip there too!! Yes Texas is blessed with critters.

Did that that critter call work well there too??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Glad you finally made it to Texas Quinton. Looks like you and Randy figured it out pretty quick. You probably drove right by my stomping grounds up in the panhandle on the way down to Midland. I was probably out there when you made the trip last week. I'm with Randy Watson, should of gave me a call.

Byron
 
I agree that W. Texas has a HIGH population of predators, but if I were going to drive that far, I'd head on down to South Texas where there are more coyotes and bobcats than probably anywhere in the U.S. There are HUGE ranches and there's not multiple red lights running on every other piece of property down there. I'm going to make it down there one year to do some coyote and cat thinning on one of those gigantic deer hunting ranches and blow the doors off of anything I've ever done before as far as # of kills go. I've heard of 40 coyote weekends down there. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Also, check out Buker's post on how the cat calling is.....one at almost every stand. Also, the Texas Panhandle up around the Canadian River breaks offers amazing amounts of coyotes, and they are a lot healthier (both body size and fur quality) than they are down here. I'd like to make a few trips up there, too!

I'm glad you had a good time while you were down here.....but you forgot to talk about all of the beautiful scenery you took in! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for the pics and keep us posted!

Rusty
 
Sorry fellas, I should have given you guys a call. I figured Byron would be too far east to hook up with and I know Randy has a lot of irons in the fire also. The last thing I wanted to do was to impose on anyone. Next year I'll be sure to get a hold of you guys and even if we can't hook up for a hunt I'll at least try to take you out for a stake or something.

Rusty you are right about South Texas. It sounds like there is a ton of predators in that country as well but from what I understand you need to be in the right places down there to be able to see well enough to capitalize on all the critters. A good friend of mine grew up in Kingsville and hunted and trapped a lot of that country and said that the highest population of coyotes he has seen in Texas was along the gulf coast. Coons and hogs are also in very large numbers down there. If the coyotes are there, there are ways to hunt them. You just need to figure out the game. I think if a guy really got it together and had the time and ground in West and South West Texas you could put up some truly huge numbers.

In issue #48 of the VHM a Game Warden by the name of Don Simonson wrote an article called "One Hundred Coyotes" and there crew killed 100 coyotes in 10 days of hunting in South Texas. Granted there were 6 or 8 shooters running a couple different rigs but those numbers are testament to the areas potential. I snooped around the river breaks area too but mange has hit a lot of it hard and there are not the coyotes there that there use to be. At least in the areas I was checking on.

"Beautiful scenery?" LOL When I first seen it I wouldn't have gave 10 cents for the whole damn county but after about the third day of hunting it was the most beautiful place in the world. LOL OK beautiful might be a bit of an over statement but it is damn sure the flattest country I have ever been in. You know it is flat when a rancher calls a two-foot depression in the ground a draw. LOL

Dogboy, I called in a few critters with the CritR Call but Randy used his Bandit call most of the time. The night hunting set up I have made it hard to call, run the light and gun all at the same time. I made the thing just a few days before we left and it didn't take long to see the need for some improvements.

Good hunting.

Q,
 
When you look at the country and how flat it is and the brush etc you really wonder if it's holding anything, then you get out there start calling and man oh man. Lots of critters. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Just amazing to me.

A 100 coyotes in 10 days would be a dream come true.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Q do look up Rusty,Byron and Randy,Mike, those guys are a hoot and go have some BBQ and tell some war stories.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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