As with many sports or hobbies, once someone has decided to try a new endeavor the all mighty question of "what now" pops up.
Well, first off, what is driving you to become a predator hunter? We all do it for various reasons. Some of us may have started because we got bored sitting in deer or elk camp with nothing to do while we waited for the rest of our hunting group tagged out. Some may have gotten hooked as they walked by a catchy video with some blood pressure raising music full of flashy video shots of predators meeting their demise.
I got started when a friend asked me to give him a call if I ever wanted to go out with him a do some "calling." I had no real idea exactly what went into calling. Sadly, neither did he. We went out for a sundown stand and he managed to call in a grey fox, complete with challenge barking and a flash of the critter as it raced by my 5 foot sight line before being shot at, ineffectively, by my partner. Regardless of the outcome, I was hooked. There was something fascinating for me to try my hand calling in animals who hunt for their survival. Could I be good enough?
Today, predator hunting still gets my blood boiling. Seeing a hard charging coyote or a skulking bobcat just revs my engine. My adrenaline sky rockets and there is just something so satisfying when I hear that bullet connect with a THWAP.
This was not an easy journey. If you think that all it takes is an ecaller, a gun and some camo, you are in for a RUDE awakening. Predator calling is challenging. Make no mistake. Every caller is using every trick int heir book to be the very best. We're not trying to impress each other, we're trying just to the best in our own hearts.
The good news is that you have decided to join a group of hunters that is incredibly generous with their advice and their time. When I was starting out, and was striking out when it came to hanging fur, I was lucky enough to get connected with a local predator hunting club. One of those members was willing to take me out and see what I was doing right and wrong and he was very generous with his advice. That got me going in a positive direction. From 2 years of seeing coyotes but never connecting with one, to going out on my own a calling in 5 in one day. Then a friend asked me to join Predator Masters. Through Predator Masters I have met some of the finest predator hunters I think there are. I found a group of folks who were more than willing to share their stories of success and failures as well as what techniques and tools they had found that worked.
I remember my first PM Convention, sitting in the lobby of the hotel waiting for the Board Of Directors meeting to get out. A gentleman sat down, and we began conversing about predator hunting. He looked familiar but I just couldn't place him. He introduced himself as Byron South, BOOM, I had seen Byron's videos. Here was the man himself sitting right across from me in a hotel lobby.
I had so many questions blasting around in my head, but which one to start with. I was stuck in a bit of a calling slump, so I asked Byron if he had ever been in a slump. He chuckled and told me of course he had, all predator hunters go through slumps. I was blown away. Byron could get dropped onto Mars and I am sure that within 15 minutes he would have a quad of Martian coyotes bombing his way. Yet he is telling me that he has had slumps. And that he will have more. WOW. This motivated me to keep going, through thick and thin.
I remember to how proud I was when senior PM members would remember my name or would ask me to come hunt with them, or one of my proudest days, when they started asking me to call for them. Then I got asked up on stage at a convention to participate in a question an answer session. I look around and I am among the best in the industry. I couldn't believe that I had anything to offer our members, but there I was fielding questions and not just from the audience but from some of the guys that I hold in the highest esteem. It took me some time to realize that I had earned my place up there. I had put in my time, called my share fare of blank stands and I was finally good enough to share my experiences with others.
If you think that there is a magic, golden ticket that is going to launch you into predator hunting glory, you are in for a rude awakening. Predator hunting is hard. Coyotes are smart, bobcats are scarce. And because of sharply produced videos the sport is growing exponentially. Predators are unforgiving. There is a steep learning curve. There is no magic call, gun, camo, scent control, decoy. It is a LOT of hard work. It is stand after blank stand, missing the easy shots, calling in nothing but tumble weeds or other hunters.
The first bit of advice that I can impart, is to figure out what attracts you to the sport? Then decide what you are willing to put in to get it. I played sports at a high level for a long time. When I walked away from those sports I found out that I have an addictive personality. I need to scratch that itch with some kind of sport, whether that is hunting, fishing, competitive shooting, I need something. But predator hunting exacts a price. When I call a blank stand my mind starts reeling at what I need to go buy to make it so that I never have another blank stand again. I used to do jus that. Blank day, I was stopping at Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Sportsman's Warehouse to buy a bag full of cover scents, hand calls, ecaller chips, camo. I spent a lot of money on junk that did nothing more than cause me to buy more junk. But I am stubborn, so I was out again the next weekend.
But because of people like the members of PM, I was able to filter through the things that worked and stop my addiction to failure.
Now it's my turn to help another up and coming predator hunter. Over the years I have volunteered to take out new predator hunters. I volunteered to be a hunters ed instructor. I was lucky enough to be able to meet other PM members at the convention and get to take some of them out. I still have an open invitation for members passing through the southwest. If you're coming through, drop me a line and lets see if we can hang some fur. I get such a blast watching others succeed.
I hope that you can take a good hard look at what you want to get out of this sport. I hope that Predator Hunting 101 will help.
If you have questions or comments about this topic, please feel free to post it here.
Mo
Well, first off, what is driving you to become a predator hunter? We all do it for various reasons. Some of us may have started because we got bored sitting in deer or elk camp with nothing to do while we waited for the rest of our hunting group tagged out. Some may have gotten hooked as they walked by a catchy video with some blood pressure raising music full of flashy video shots of predators meeting their demise.
I got started when a friend asked me to give him a call if I ever wanted to go out with him a do some "calling." I had no real idea exactly what went into calling. Sadly, neither did he. We went out for a sundown stand and he managed to call in a grey fox, complete with challenge barking and a flash of the critter as it raced by my 5 foot sight line before being shot at, ineffectively, by my partner. Regardless of the outcome, I was hooked. There was something fascinating for me to try my hand calling in animals who hunt for their survival. Could I be good enough?
Today, predator hunting still gets my blood boiling. Seeing a hard charging coyote or a skulking bobcat just revs my engine. My adrenaline sky rockets and there is just something so satisfying when I hear that bullet connect with a THWAP.
This was not an easy journey. If you think that all it takes is an ecaller, a gun and some camo, you are in for a RUDE awakening. Predator calling is challenging. Make no mistake. Every caller is using every trick int heir book to be the very best. We're not trying to impress each other, we're trying just to the best in our own hearts.
The good news is that you have decided to join a group of hunters that is incredibly generous with their advice and their time. When I was starting out, and was striking out when it came to hanging fur, I was lucky enough to get connected with a local predator hunting club. One of those members was willing to take me out and see what I was doing right and wrong and he was very generous with his advice. That got me going in a positive direction. From 2 years of seeing coyotes but never connecting with one, to going out on my own a calling in 5 in one day. Then a friend asked me to join Predator Masters. Through Predator Masters I have met some of the finest predator hunters I think there are. I found a group of folks who were more than willing to share their stories of success and failures as well as what techniques and tools they had found that worked.
I remember my first PM Convention, sitting in the lobby of the hotel waiting for the Board Of Directors meeting to get out. A gentleman sat down, and we began conversing about predator hunting. He looked familiar but I just couldn't place him. He introduced himself as Byron South, BOOM, I had seen Byron's videos. Here was the man himself sitting right across from me in a hotel lobby.
I had so many questions blasting around in my head, but which one to start with. I was stuck in a bit of a calling slump, so I asked Byron if he had ever been in a slump. He chuckled and told me of course he had, all predator hunters go through slumps. I was blown away. Byron could get dropped onto Mars and I am sure that within 15 minutes he would have a quad of Martian coyotes bombing his way. Yet he is telling me that he has had slumps. And that he will have more. WOW. This motivated me to keep going, through thick and thin.
I remember to how proud I was when senior PM members would remember my name or would ask me to come hunt with them, or one of my proudest days, when they started asking me to call for them. Then I got asked up on stage at a convention to participate in a question an answer session. I look around and I am among the best in the industry. I couldn't believe that I had anything to offer our members, but there I was fielding questions and not just from the audience but from some of the guys that I hold in the highest esteem. It took me some time to realize that I had earned my place up there. I had put in my time, called my share fare of blank stands and I was finally good enough to share my experiences with others.
If you think that there is a magic, golden ticket that is going to launch you into predator hunting glory, you are in for a rude awakening. Predator hunting is hard. Coyotes are smart, bobcats are scarce. And because of sharply produced videos the sport is growing exponentially. Predators are unforgiving. There is a steep learning curve. There is no magic call, gun, camo, scent control, decoy. It is a LOT of hard work. It is stand after blank stand, missing the easy shots, calling in nothing but tumble weeds or other hunters.
The first bit of advice that I can impart, is to figure out what attracts you to the sport? Then decide what you are willing to put in to get it. I played sports at a high level for a long time. When I walked away from those sports I found out that I have an addictive personality. I need to scratch that itch with some kind of sport, whether that is hunting, fishing, competitive shooting, I need something. But predator hunting exacts a price. When I call a blank stand my mind starts reeling at what I need to go buy to make it so that I never have another blank stand again. I used to do jus that. Blank day, I was stopping at Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas, Sportsman's Warehouse to buy a bag full of cover scents, hand calls, ecaller chips, camo. I spent a lot of money on junk that did nothing more than cause me to buy more junk. But I am stubborn, so I was out again the next weekend.
But because of people like the members of PM, I was able to filter through the things that worked and stop my addiction to failure.
Now it's my turn to help another up and coming predator hunter. Over the years I have volunteered to take out new predator hunters. I volunteered to be a hunters ed instructor. I was lucky enough to be able to meet other PM members at the convention and get to take some of them out. I still have an open invitation for members passing through the southwest. If you're coming through, drop me a line and lets see if we can hang some fur. I get such a blast watching others succeed.
I hope that you can take a good hard look at what you want to get out of this sport. I hope that Predator Hunting 101 will help.
If you have questions or comments about this topic, please feel free to post it here.
Mo
