Back in the day… 

Mark Healy and an Arizona Coyote & Gray Fox that Fell for Cottontail Distress - circa 1986-87

a tape recorder with a Johnny Stewart rabbit distress tape, or my Circe twist-top 3-sound mouth call would give a guy plenty of opportunities to call and shoot predators.  When I started predator calling in 1986, the sport was only somewhat popular and unless you called the same spots over and over, the chances of calling at critters that already heard that same ol’ song before was slim.  This was the same time in Arizona hunting history when guys got a December  “Any Antlered Deer” tag and would NOT even consider hunting for a Coues Whitetail!  My, my, how times have changed as thousands of hunters apply for what’s become just a handful of December Coues tags.  

These days it seems that just about everyone who likes hunting has added or wants to add an electronic predator call to his or her hunter’s gear bag.  Several years ago the predator hunting videos took off in popularity and people got excited about calling coyotes, bobcats, and other critters, to the business end of their rifle — especially in states where their chances of getting a deer and/or elk tag was fading every year.  With this sport’s new-found explosive popularity over the past decade, the chances of calling into country that hasn’t been called is slim.  

I just finished talking to a guy who called for a full 2-years with a mouth call before he ever called his first coyote.  Now, I will say that I appreciate this young man’s tenacity!  However, if he’d had some better techniques, better understanding of his quarry, and better calling equipment, I firmly believe he could have cut that figure down by 1 year and 11 months.   

But how? 

Let’s make the assumption that if a domestic dog can be conditioned, then a coyote can too.  I don’t believe that coyotes can “get smart”, but I’m certain that being called and shot at will have a lasting and negative effect on a coyote’s willingness to come running back to that sound.  In prior posts I’ve related it to behavior-conditioned dogs running for the sound of the kitchen can opener.  The only difference being, the hail of bullets outcome is very negative and repelling whereas the food reward from the Kitchen Aid very positive — conditioning nonetheless.  

Therefore, it stands to reason that a coyote that hears rabbit distress cries over and over that have nothing to do with a rabbit, dinner, or anything good, that coyote will become leary of that noise.  How then can it be changed? 

The electronic callers available today have many different sounds not only from the animal your hunting, but animal sounds like crows, hawks, and eagles that can be used to build a realistic “sound scene” that breaks from the traditional “waaa -waaa – waaa – waaa” rabbit cadence and provides the illusion of predator/prey/scavenger interaction that’s real and happening right now.  

So, what is a “sound scene”? 

Generally speaking, it is using a dozen or more sounds on a stand in an attempt to replicate a very busy and chaotic living scene surrounding a prey animal that has been brought down by a predator.  I always try to bring in the sounds of the prey distress and then mix in the sounds of coyotes fighting over food, foxes barking out warnings, or female cougars being aggressive and territorial.  Then to that I add the sounds of scavengers like crows, ravens, and even hawk screams.  In short, I make my scene come alive with animal activity and competition for calories. 

There are a few things that support this calling style. 

First – It’s successful.  I have called lots and lots of predators using this technique.   I have all of these sounds (and then some) on my Mighty Atom 21.  I may as well make use of them. 

Second – My time in nature has shown me firsthand this pattern of predator/prey/scavenger behavior.  For instance, on one of my hunts: 

After watching a cow stuck neck-deep in a soupy mud hole, yelling and raising heck for a half an hour (without stopping) I wandered over to see if there was something humane I could do. Just about 18 inches, or so, of her back was sticking up. She’d been struggling and getting deeper in the mud with her every attempt to get out.

Another Cow - Victim of Drought and Ravaged by Predators & Scavengers - Post Mortem

When I got down to the muddy pond, I noticed that coyotes had eaten a hole in the hide on the upper left hind area of the cow. They had eaten away at the muscles along the spine, the back flanks and had pulled guts up and out of the cows gut-sack leaving chewed-up intestines laying on the ground still connected to the screaming cow. To make matters worse, the crows had come in and pecked both eyes out and eaten the front two inches of it’s tongue.

This was a ghastly scene, and I learned a lot from it. While I wasn’t there, that scene was filled noises of scavenging & predatory critters competing for those calories and trying to survive. It was absolutely apparent they did not have the capacity to feel anything for the cow. Screaming dinner… Quiet dinner… They didn’t care, so long as it was dinner. 

Additionally, even though it couldn’t see me, the cow screamed the whole time I was next to her – never pausing.

Not wanting to be accused of a crime (the world we live in) I ended up finding a Game & Fish rep and sending them down to dispatch the cow.

Third – If you watch nature shows like the Nature special  Yellowstone: Battle for Life, you’ll see that the process of predators hunting and consuming prey is sometimes fairly quiet and fast (like a red fox finding a vole and quickly chewing it up) and sometimes it’s a very noisy process (like a wolf pack killing an elk, consuming it while surrounded by crows, hawks, eagles, and magpies, and then killing and consuming a coyote that ventured too close).

What happens in nature supports both calling more quietly and calling aggressively with several sounds.  So I have adopted an approach of starting out a bit more quiet with fewer sound changes, and then getting progressively more aggressive and loud as the “sound picture” I’m creating turns into predator/prey/scavenger scene that deserves investigation by the predators in the area.

This process is covered in more detail, with sound choices, in this blog: Gray Fox & Bobcat Calling – What Sounds? When? How Long? How Loud?

Truthfully, there aren’t a lot of guys that will outlast 24 months of blank stands and still head out for month number 25.  Most would have called it quits in 90-days!  What a shame that would be – this is a very rewarding pursuit.  Actually, once you get the hang of it, it’s completely addictive (in a positive and good way).  So use your e-caller and all of the natural sounds that it can bring to bear on every stand and set-up you make. 

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Thank you again for reading – have a great fall season!

Mark Healy

Are you an outfitter?  Hunting or Calling Club Member?  Please call for details on bulk purchasing rates.  We can save you even more money on a group order!  Toll Free 1-877-734-1010 

Regular readers to The Wildlife Callers’ Blog know that routine scouting has been a huge part of our success in calling mountain lions.  Before we spend a lot of time mountain lion calling in a particular area, we use trail cameras to find out if an area is getting frequent cougar activity.  These cameras are also part of our scouting arsenal for Coues Whitetail and Elk. 

We’ve had great luck with the infrared flash DLC Covert trail cameras, believe other people will too, so we became a distributor.  They have a fast 1.2 second or faster trigger, take excellent 5mp photos and up to 60 seconds of video.  We’re offering these great little cameras as a single unit and in a money saving twin-pack.  To see specs on these battery-friendly, compact cameras in our store, just click on the photo, or CLICK HERE.  As of this blog post we have them in stock and ready for immediate delivery. 

Covert II Trail Camera by DLC

There is another compact game camera that caught our attention as well.  Wildgame Innovations has taken some of their best & time-tested trail cam technology and put it in a much smaller case.  They’re calling this camera the Wildgame Innovations X6c – boasting infrared flash technology, crisp 6mp still photos and up to 30 second video in the video mode.  At under $150 this camera is priced right.  To see the X6c game camera specs CLICK HERE:   

Wildgame Innovations X6c - Compact Trail Camera

And, don’t forget your memory cards.  We searched for high-quality memory cards that we could bring to you for a great price – we found them.  These Kingston Technology 4gb SDHC cards will store thousands of images and we’re selling them for less than the Kingston Tech 2gb cards we bought for our own use (live & learn).  At just $13.48 in the Wildlife Callers’ Store you don’t have to compromise and get smaller cards!

Kingston SDHC 4gb Class 4 Memory Card

So, there it is — the whole package.  Compact trail cameras and 4gb cards priced right.  Our mission is to keep bringing these useful field items to you at the best prices possible.  As we get a chance to test mounting brackets we’ll add more camera mounting accessories to the site. 

If you’re wondering why we haven’t put some of the larger body cameras on the site, we really didn’t see a need to.  Bigger is not better when it comes to these cameras.  We have used several of the larger camera brands, but nothing we’ve used takes a better picture, has better battery life, and packs into the field as easily as these compact models. 

Thank you again for reading and subscribing to the blog.  As always, if you have any questions, we’re just a phone call away at 1-877-734-1010.  You can also reach us at info@wildlifecallers.com 

Good scouting,

Mark Healy

The Wildlife Callers’ Team is listening to your requests for more choices in quality predator calling and hunting gear.  We are now offering the newly redesigned MOJO Critter and the entire  MOJO Outdoor’s predator hunting decoy lineup.   We’ve shopped the competition to offer you great prices on this great gear.  We appreciate your business!

MOJO Critter

The MOJO Critter, the world’s most popular predator hunting decoy has been added to our store for just $37.99 (plus shipping & tax if applicable). 

To see the MOJO Critter in action, CLICK HERE

MOJO Woodpecker

We also have the the MOJO Woodpecker in stock as well as the MOJO Clip on Dove 4-Packs, and the MOJO Hawk. 

The MOJO Puppy Dog

The MOJO Puppy Dog will be arriving around July 2010.  We’ll make another announcement when it is in stock. 

We are also waiting for the MOJO Critter Extension Poles to arrive in July as well. 

Thank you again for reading and for being great customers.  Your comments and suggestions for site and store improvements are valued, so don’t hesitate to send us an email:  info@wildlifecallers.com

All the best to you and yours,

Mark Healy

mark@wildlifecallers.com

 Dave Martens and I have placed trail cameras in dozens of locations that have rendered great photos & videos of mountain lions.  It wasn’t always as easy as it is today for Dave to locate a lion hot spot to place a camera.  Dave’s many hours in the field and the experience that’s come with it, allow him to quickly size up a long ridge or hardpan wash bottom and hang a camera that will produce lions nearly 100% of the time. 

Some guys will say, “hey, I’ve taken lots of pictures of lions on my deer cameras on such & such waterhole”.  That’s great and we love to get pictures of lions anywhere, but keep in mind we rarely put cameras on waterholes.  We’ve had much of our success calling lions well away from waterholes and we’re more interested in how lions travel in their territories and where they go to lay-up after they’ve been to water. 

There is, however, a feature that we always look for when scouting for lions.  When we find it, our success in finding lions travelling through the area has been 100%.  That feature is scent marking areas, or as well call them, scent stations.  There are times when we locate a small area that is literally covered in a wide variety predator poo — and poo from many other critters as well.  The spot that you’ll see in the video is one such place.  Since finding this location we have taken still photos and videos of several lions, fox, bears, and other predators.  This location, which unfortunately is well off the beaten path, if called frequently will eventually produce a lion. 

Have a look at the first video of a fox, bear, and coati, using the scent station:

Then, have a look at this female lion (we’ve taken many pictures of her) and the way she behaves on the scent station:

Just like humans, where there are ladies the guys seem to just show up.   We’ve taken a few photos of lions much larger than this female that we hope to someday call.  We have worked diligently in the area to find the best places to call from and be able to see lots of open areas and tight cover.  Now it’s a matter of getting the stars to align and be there calling when one or more of the mountain lions are home. 

As always – you can subscribe to this blog for FREE by adding your email in the SUBSCRIBE box on the upper right side of this page.  Or:   

Please add your thoughts or questions in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this page. 

Thank you all for reading and good hunting,

Mark Healy

Mark@WildlifeCallers.com

The current vendor list on the site shows more than 65 exhibitors that will be on hand for predator callers to visit!  For a complete exhibitor list CLICK HERE.

Here is a list of the sponsors who helped make this show possible:  2010 Sponsor List

Predator hunting and calling seminars will be held all weekend – Click Here for a list of seminar times and featured speakers.

Mark Healy of Wildlife Callers will be taking the stage in Seminar Room B at 2:30pm on Saturday the 20th to give a one-hour presentation on Mountain Lion Calling Basic & Advanced Techniques – Click on the Video Below for a preview.

We are particularly excited to see DPMS firearms bringing a strong presence to the Predator Expo this year.  They’re coming to the show in style and will have the DPMS Black Cat Express parked inside the Expo Center!

DPMS and Predator Masters Forums have teamed up to provide a Limited Edition “Predator Masters 2010 Coyote Edition” .223 rifle.  Click Here to see & order this beautiful piece of predator hunting equipment.  Orders are being taken through May 1st, 2010 and when they’re gone, they’re gone – don’t be one of the “I regret not ordering one of those…” guys.  Jeff Mock has the information laid out on the PM site – have a look.

I have been using DPMS rifles for the past couple of years with excellent field results.  They build rifles just the way we like ‘em – rugged, reliable, all of what you need, nothing you don’t.  Here are a fine pair of predator trophies taken with a DPMS AP4 .308:

Tom Bobcat and Mark Healy with his DPMS AP4 .308

Mark Healy and a Large Arizona Gray Fox, Called with a Mighty Atom 15 and taken with a DPMS AP4 .308 Rifle

The AP4 is very versatile, packs a heck of a punch, and takes tons of field abuse in stride. We’re looking forward to meeting the DPMS team!

Remember!!  The Ohio Deer and Turkey Expo is happening right next door the same weekend.  Kill two birds with one stone (pun intended) and attend both!

If you make it to the Ohio show, please come see the Wildlife Callers team in booth 415.  We’re going to have the new Mighty Atoms from Wildlife Technologies on hand for demonstrations.  We’re also bringing a supply of Gerry Blair’s Predator Hunting Books that have been autographed by the Beastmaster Gerry Blair himself! 

For an unsigned version click here:  Predator Calling With Gerry Blair

Our autographed supply is limited, so come see us early.

That just about sums it up!!  We’re headed out tomorrow to get set up and hope to see lots of our blog readers at the show.  Again, we’ll be in booth 415 and on the stage at 2:30pm Saturday – please stop by.

Good calling,

Mark Healy

mark@wildlifecallers.com