Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Predator Hunting


I won't get into the reasons why it is important for us to predator hunt. We hunt predators for numerous reasons that I find to be good. When I say predator, I mean Coyote, Fox, Bobcat, Mountain Lion, and Bear. Right now I want to talk a little about hunting the Coyote.

There are several ways to hunt a Coyote. The most popular means of hunting them is how we do it in NM; with predator calls. These are calls that are designed, when used correctly, to mimic the prey of the predator you are calling. Below is an example of my dad using a predator call mimicking a rabbit.




This is not always the most effective way, however, to hunt Coyotes. This requires a skill caller, good timing, and a lot of hard work. This is especially true in the Gila, where we were hunting Coyotes during this holiday break. As you can see in the pictures, this is not forgiving land to be chasing a Coyote in his own element.






When we went to Kansas, I was introduced to a new way of hunting Coyotes. This method includes a fast truck, flat and rock less terrain, and a steady hand shooting. I think this looks more entertaining. And on top of that, there is not so much walking around in the snow. (If you need a little direction in interrepreting the pictures below, that is a white truck on the right and the black dot to the left is a coyote running away.)


So what do you think? Would you rather be in Kansas and do as the Kansans do? Or Chase my dad around the mountains in the snow? There is no wrong answer. I will just say that both are good and effective. Both serve their purposes. And I will continue to practice both methods when given the opportunity.