Wildlife Callers

Ned Burris calls & shoots this fine Arizona bobcat using a Tally-Ho open reed and his FoxPro electronic game call. 

Ned emailed us a short synopsis of this day in the field.  We liked the story and the calling tactics were top-notch.  We wrote it up and hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  

Ned and his brother Mike Burris teamed up for a predator hunt on Sunday November 8th.  Ned, you might recall, was pictured in this post: http://tinyurl.com/yzugd5p about the 2009 SW Fur Takers Rendezvous.  He’s a long-time Arizona predator caller, and all-around wildlife calling professional.  His brother Mike is a club officer for the Arizona Predator Callers in Mesa, Arizona and an experienced caller as well. 

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Ned (pictured on right) and Mike were calling some areas that had produced some nice bobcats in the past.  Ned was only shooting cats and was armed with his Browning 10-gauge.  Mike was also armed with a shotgun and was only going to shoot…well…anything that came in! 

The Burris brothers have been predator hunting all over Arizona for many years.  They know exactly where to go to target specific predator species.  They also have the experience and tactics to make the most of every calling day.

The first two stands of the morning were blanks, and the pair pressed on.  On the third stand, Ned was using his FoxPro electronic predator call as well as his Tally-Ho open reed mouth call.  At about 15 minutes this well-spotted 22 pound bobcat came into view in some heavy brush at 35 yards. 

Ned Burris and his Excellent November Bobcat

Although Ned could have killed the bobcat with his bare hands (from the looks of the first photo), Ned used his 10-ga Browning shotgun and 3.5 inch Dead Coyote Heavy BB Shot to shoot the cat.  To Ned and Mike’s amazement, the bobcat jumped up and ran into the thick/nasty cover and disappeared.  Ned wisely had his dog Rocky with him, and turned him loose after the bobcat.  It took Rocky just about a minute to locate the close-to-dead bobcat about 40-yards from where it had been hit. 

Mike took this photo using a camera phone, and they continued on.

Two stands later Ned had a coyote trot into the set very quickly and stand fast at 20-yards.  Mike raised his 12-ga shotgun and took that coyote with lead number 2’s.  Ned and Mike kept calling the stand for about another 20-minutes and thinking that nothing else had arrived, they shut the FoxPro off and stood up.  As Ned was walking for the caller, another bobcat jumped out of a bush and ran off.  They weren’t able to get a gun on it in time and the cat escaped. 

By the end of the day they had called in five more coyotes for a total of six coyotes and two bobcats!  A memorable day by any measure. 

The tactic of using an electronic call and a hand call at the same time is something that I hear guys talking about, but rarely see a guy do in the field.  Ned and Mike certainly showed just how effective and deadly this tactic can be. 

We’d like to thank the Burris brothers for sharing this story and, above all, revealing the tactics.  We all want more success every day we spend afield, and we hope this helps all of our readers. 

Comments are always appreciated!

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Top of the season to everyone,

Mark Healy

mark@wildlifecallers.com