Wildlife Callers

The Southwest Fur Harvesters kicked off the 2009-2010 predator calling and fur trapping season with a weekend getaway in Payson, AZ. 

One of this year’s event planners and well-known mountain lion caller, Steve Craig, invited me up to the cool pines of Payson for a weekend of wildlife calling seminars, good food, games for the kids, and campfire time with predator hunters from all over the Southwestern U.S.  The event this year was well attended, with more than 100 predator hunters, spouses, and kids on hand.

Southwest Fur Harvesters

Throughout the day there were presentations from calling and trapping experts.  There were presentations on calling bears, calling coyotes & coyote vocalizations, cage trapping.  The event seminars focused on  responsible fur harvesting and managing fur-bearers as a natural resource.  

Eddie Murdock of AZ and his B&C Black Bear

Professional bear caller and hunter, Eddie Murdock, was on hand to share his knowledge of bears and how they respond to predator calls.  His advice:

Call for a minimum of 45-minutes (longer is better) and use common distress sounds like cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, and deer fawn.  Eddie stressed that calling continuously for bears was key.  I asked him if he paused between the various sounds that he uses and he told me “not more than 30-seconds”. 

Eddie also did a whole segment on locating bears, reading sign, habitat, terrain, and more.  To learn more and follow Eddie’s bear calling info on the web go to:  http://www.pvci.org/PvciForum/ .  His name on that site is LoneBear. 

Rich Higgins Discusses Coyote Vocalizations

Respected coyote behaviorist and predator caller, Rich Higgins, gave a one hour presentation on coyote calling.  Rich explained several ways a predator caller can use coyote vocalizations to increase calling success throughout the season.  His presentation included demonstrations on how to produce the sounds with a hand call.  Rich also discussed the various calls that coyotes make, and how to interpret/respond to those calls for maximum effectiveness. 

Rich allowed me to video tape his presentation.  As time permits I’ll post several segments from it and share his decades of coyote calling wisdom with everyone.

Rich is one of the founders of the discussion forum www.PredatorProfessionals.com .  Please visit that site for more information from Rich and veteran callers all around the US. 

Some of the most informative discussions I had were between the presentations.  There were plenty of seasoned predator callers willing the share their tips and tricks.  Whether your question was about calling bears, or calling more grey fox, bobcats, coyotes or cougars, someone at the event had an answer. 

Brian Fettkether, Tyler Higgins, Rich Higgins, and Steve Craig Discuss Predator Calling

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Travis and Vickie Watson of The New Mexico Trapper's Association

This husband and wife team, Travis and Vickie Watson, were in from Carlsbad, New Mexico promoting wise use of fur resources and how to best manage fur-bearers for future generations.

They had a ton of information for trappers and callers and were more than willing to share their thoughts about furbearers as a natural resource. 

We’d like to thank Steve Craig for the invitation to this event.  The planners did an outstanding job putting together the speakers, refreshments, food, and activities for all of the kids.  We’re already planning to attend the 2010 rendezvous next fall. 

Anyone interested in more information on the Fur Taker chapter that made this event possible, please visit this link:  http://www.furtakersofamerica.com/Arizona.htm 

Good hunting to everyone,

Mark Healy

Mark@wildlifecallers.com