hand calls » Wildlife Callers

Cougar Down!! Mountain Lion Called and Taken In WA.-Guest Post by Steve Tormala

Posted December 12, 2009 By Marc Reindell and has 6 comments.

Steve Tormala, the owner of RainShadow Game Calls, is a Wildlife Callers’ blog subscriber and fellow mountain lion hunter. He called, filmed, and shot this big female cougar not far from his home in Washington State.

Steve Tormala and His Dec 5 Cougar

Steve has his own line of downloadable sounds he’s developed for mountain lion calling and a hand call that mimics a young cougar whistle. Steve used his sounds to call this cougar!

Wildlife Callers’ Store will be offering Rainshadow sound packages and calls on our site starting next week.

Now, here’s Steve’s story!

Quick Response Results in a Quick Response! – By Steve Tormala

I just got back from a DISMAL coyote calling trip to the dry side of Washington 3 days earlier. 1 shot fired, no fur, 20+ miles of walking the desert, 850+ miles of driving, 26 formal stands, 10 – 15 quick stands… Nothin’!

I was down on hunting, calling, and anything else to do with predators!

I hadn’t planned on hunting at all this week, possibly not even next week. I’m finishing up a few custom knives and starting a couple others for Christmas orders. Plenty to do, time to stay at home and sulk!

I guess it was about noon:30, I get a call from a friend of my wife,

“Are you still looking for a Cougar?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, one was just sighted on our road, right next to a guy walking. He said it was big! Scared him pretty good!”
“Where?”
“Just before my house, over the hill in the DNR clearcut next to such-and-so road…”

“How long ago?”

“10 minutes, he saw it ten minutes ago!”

As negative as I was about sitting on another calling stand, you just don’t pass up a located Cougar! That’s like turning up your nose at GOLD! (more…)

Categories: electronic callers, hand calls, mountain lion

Traffic Jam Bobcat – While Others are Commuting Ned Burris Goes Calling

Posted November 24, 2009 By Mark Healy and has 4 comments.

Ned gets caught in a typical Arizona traffic jam last week and takes full advantage of his delay getting home.

We appreciate veteran predator caller, Ned Burris sharing another success story with us. There are several informational calling tactics & take-aways in this post.

Have you ever been driving on the freeways/highways around your hometown and thought wow, that would be a great place to make a stand? The brush looks right, there are no homes nearby, there’s a good water source, you’ve seen a few coyotes and small critters killed on the road nearby, but you’ve never taken the time to call it or had your gear with you when the urge strikes and time permits. I’ve been there too, and here’s how a serious predator caller makes the most of his opportunities.

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Ned Burris was headed home from work last week in west Phoenix and like every other work day, he jumped on the freeway and headed east. Traffic on the AZ freeway system is never good at 4pm, but this particular day it was exceptionally bad. Ned knew he was going to be stuck for more than an hour trying to get home. Most people would have cranked up the radio, or called their aunt they haven’t talked to in a year and crawled along the freeway. Ned, on the other hand, hit an exit ramp and got back on the freeway in the opposite direction. In just a few minutes he was past the residential sprawl on the west side of Phoenix and looking for places to call.

Ned, who knows how to maximize opportunities like this, keeps a few hand calls in his truck, a reliable 20 gauge shotgun, and a camo jacket. He exited the freeway in some agricultural areas that were surrounded by thick stands of salt cedars and mesquite trees. He’s called around areas like this in the past, and knows that bobcats love to lay-up in the thickets around the fields. Today was no exception. (more…)

Categories: Game Callers, Predator Scouting, Predator calling, bobcat, hand calls

Tags: Arizona predator hunting, bobcat, bobcat calling, bobcat hunting, bobcat scouting, hand calls, Hunting, Ned Burris, predator call, predator callers, Predator calling, predator hunting

Burris’ Two-Tone Tom Bobcat. Hand Call & E-Call Combo Bring Him Quick

Posted November 16, 2009 By Mark Healy and has 2 comments.

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. (more…)

Categories: bobcat, coyote, electronic callers, hand calls

Tags: Arizona predator hunting, bobcat, bobcat hunting, calling coyotes, coyote, electronic game callers, electronic predator calling, hand calls, predator call, predator callers, wildlife callers

First Wolf Harvested in Idaho – That’s Right, It was Called In

Posted September 5, 2009 By Mark Healy and has 2 comments.

Robert Millage of Kamiah ID, uses a hand call to attract and harvest Idaho’s first legal wolf.

Millage Called this Wolf with Coyote Distress Sounds - Hand Call

The Idaho Statesman reports that two wolves were legally harvested on the much anticipated opening day of Wolf hunting in the state of Idaho. One wolf was shot while harassing a camper’s horses and this one pictured above, was called in at first light on opening day. The hunter, Robert Millage, imitated the cries of a distressed/dying coyote and got an immediate reaction from this female wolf. (more…)

Categories: Predator Scouting, Predator calling, hand calls, wolf

Tags: hand calls, Hunting, Idaho hunting, Predator calling, predator calls, predator hunting, wildlife callers, wildlife calls, wildlife images, wolf calling, wolf hunts

Make a “Little Noise”

Posted August 11, 2009 By Marc Reindell and has no comments yet.

Wildlife Photography – Sometimes to Get Closer you have to Make a “Little Noise”

A handheld predator call makes the difference getting these coyote images.

Just one of the many challenges in getting great wildlife images is getting close enough to a wary animal to get the impact and detail. Long fast lenses help, if you have the money. Most of us can’t afford extremely long lenses and/or lenses with fast apertures. So, how do you get close enough to wildlife to capture great images with photo equipment most of us can afford?

(more…)

Categories: Predator calling, Wildlife Photography, coyote, hand calls

Tags: coyote, hand calls, predator call, predator calls, wildlife callers, wildlife images, Wildlife Photography