Continued on the 2009 Hunting Page
2008 RIMFIRE HUNTING - Free men do not ask permission to bear arms
Since the squirrel population appears to be low, I decided to only hunt with my revolver. I sighted it in quickly in the field a couple weeks ago but the sights haven't been fine tuned at a range. I spotted 3 squirrels this afternoon, two small ones in the same tree and a larger squirrel a bit later. The two small squirrels were as dumb as I was a bad shot. Every 15 minutes or so they'd come out and sit on a branch and I'd pop off a few shots at them. They'd hide; I'd wait and in 15 minutes it would start again. I ended up shooting about half a box of ammo without hitting them. I should have thrown the gun at them like they do in the movies. If I had my Varmint Express they would have both been in my bag within 30 seconds, but what fun would that be? I didn't get a shot at the third squirrel, but it didn't matter because I would have missed anyway. There's no hunting on Sunday in this state, but I'm sure the fields will be flooded anyway. The temperature tomorrow is supposed to reach a record 65 degrees!I usually take a walk around the industrial park where I work when I'm taking my morning break and lunch. Today I was stopped by a salesman who was driving by. He warned me that a couple of years ago he was standing at the doorway of a company a few building down the road from where I work when all of a sudden a huge mountain lion stepped out of the treeline and and into the middle of the road! The salesman said it scared the heck out of him, but he stood still and studied it closely. He said that others have told him that he might have seen a bobcat, but he has no doubt that it was a mountain lion. He described the long tail, the massive forearms and distinctive head. He said this thing was big! Just like something out of a wildlife TV show.
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 9:53:36 AM
Subject: Re: Hidden Dangers at RorabackI was just looking up up some information on Roraback and came across your post. I know exactly were you are talking about and it's funny you mention this mountain lion story. I along with 2 of my buddies were squirrel hunting the day after thanksgiving 11/28/08 right across the street from that parking spot you are talking about. We came across a few large piles of skat and some paw prints. i had told my buddy to come check it out & we seemed to both agree that they did not look like bear tracks rather large cat tracks . My friend had said it could be a mountain lion & there had been some sightings threw out the state. I more or less ignored the whole thing until I came across you sight . I figured I would just drop you a line about my findings .
Graham D.
An email from Dirk received 12/26/08
Subject: Paw Print
"Hey Bob I was looking at your blog today when I saw he pictures of the paw prints. This fall I was at the club in Woodstock with Lucy. We went down to change our targets when she spotted some tracks same as the ones on your blog. The one we saw was about 4 inches long. At first glance i thought it was a big dog and she said NO WAY. Then as i looked closer she was right I thought to my self that is a big cat. Then Lucy says, I think we should bring a gun with us when we go downrange from now on. Now we do!" ~Dirk
Here's my 17HMR Ruger SingleSix in the Cheyenne Western Holster and cartridge belt that Triple-K sent me. I'm sure glad I had my hands free as I attempted to make my way around the flood water.
"...he told me that not long ago while on the job a small deer came running by his truck chased by a coyote. The deer ran into a fenced in area and was so panicked that it ran full speed into the fence and injured itself. The coyote then attacked the wounded deer and killed it right before of his eyes..."There were no other hunters in the field and very little was moving. The only game I saw all day were 2 squirrels that were obviously dislocated due to the flooding that leaped out of some tall grass that grew along the trail, ran across my path and disappeared into the trees. I only saw them for a matter of seconds so I never got off a shot. I circled around to the back side of where they had gone in, then pushed as quietly as possible toward the trail I had been on, moving through dense brush and thorn bushes. When I finally arrived at the spot where the squirrels had disappeared, a truck passed by and scared everything away.
"It would be a fairly long shot because the tree was so big, so I increased my scope's magnification to 6X. I could only see about half of it because a branch blocked the rest, so I aimed at its head and squeezed the trigger. CLICK! "Damn!" It was a misfire..."
Mike Adams, host of the Up North Journal Podcast sent me these two photos of himself and his son Mikey (his sidekick on the podcast). Man, what beautiful lighting! I know they're not holding rimfires but they're great photos, they're my friends and this is my blog. Thanks Mike! ~Bob
"Both Mikey and Me were near Alpena Michigan last year deer hunting. These photos were taken on opening day of firearm deer season Nov. 15th, 2007. Mikey and I are holding a model 94 Winchester 30-30 lever action rifle. This year I let him use my Remington and I opted for a Remington Bolt Action 30-06. ~Mike Adams"
"...The slower, more confident and less instinctive squirrels quickly die, leaving the more instinctive, faster and more cautious squirrels alive. This is 'survival of the fittest', or 'natural selection'. Generation after generation, the breed gets stronger and smarter...."
TYPICAL WEAK AND STUPID SUBURBAN SQUIRREL
TYPICAL STRONG AND SMART WILD SQUIRREL
Toward the end of the week I was dying for the work week to end so I could get out and hunt this morning. Every day I'd show up for work and the weather just seemed perfect for hunting, so I was thrilled to hear that the weather was going to hold up through Saturday. They were right and the morning temperature was 21. Clear blue sky with sun streaking through the branches, which squirrels seem to like. I also figured that at such low temperatures, the bird hunters would wait to come out. The wind was brisk at the water's edge, so I was glad that I brought the mask that Arne gave me last year for winter coyote hunting as well as my ProEars, which greatly improved my hearing and kept my ears from freezing.It's November 15th and the temperature was a balmy 65F with intermittent rain throughout the day. The only thing I have to wear that's waterproof are my 2 camo jackets. They are thin yet warm enough to wear in the dead of winter with a sweatshirt underneath. On days like today they are miserable. It was the kind of day where if I put on a jacket, I'd sweat to death. If I took it off, I'd get soaked from the rain. That helped make the day miserable. I ended up pulling my arms out of the sleeves and basically strapping the jacket to my body with my backpack. That worked OK, but it was still hot and in the middle of November, my chest and back are covered with huge bites of some kind. I thought everything was dead! That just added to the day's fun. I hunted with my varmint Express from 7:30 - 11:30 and only had 3 quick glimpses of squirrels. There was nothing I could get a shot at. For you guys (including my brother) who are so sure that if you wait 15 minutes, the squirrel will forget and come back out, let me just say, "YOU ARE WRONG!!". It isn't true; at least around here. I've waited an hour for squirrels and 95% of the time, once they are spooked they don't come back out, no matter how long you wait. So once you are busted, you might as well just keep moving. There were a few times when the squirrel came back out to give me a shot, but those instances are very rare and not a rule.
I just returned home from hunting and my feet are killing me! I arrived at my spot at 7am and was amazed to find that there wasn't a single car in the lot. It was a balmy, cloudy morning with a light mist in the air. Everything was wet from last night's rain and it was difficult to decide what to wear. If I put on something that was waterproof, I'd become so hot that I'd be drenched under the jacket in minutes. If I just wore a T-shirt, I might get really wet and sick. I ended up wearing a tank-top under a button-up cotton hunting shirt that I left open. I then wore the required blaze vest and hat over that. The jacket went in the backpack and I was good to go. Just as I was about to close up my vehicle, a pickup pulled in with a guy with his wife and young son, who were all going to bird hunt. We talked a bit and since it was his first time out in this area, I pointed him to where they usually drop off the birds.
"What a day I had today, I missed the buck of a lifetime tonight. I took a shot right at dark and I shouldn't have, but it was one of those things that at the time seemed good. I saw 5 bucks this morning along with a skunk and bobcat! I heard a pack of coyotes at day break and they were pretty close by! My hair on the back of my neck stood on end!! I also heard a flock of turkeys coming off roost this morning. Then this evening I saw 24 deer and 6 of them were bucks!!! I watched three little bucks sparing one another. It was hilarious to watch them try to fight. Right at dark I started to come down out of the tower blind and I saw more deer coming towards me. I knew I couldn't get down and spook them, so I waited it out. Then I saw three more coming and I heard the big boy grunting! I knew it was the big one, so I waited and watched. Here he came and then he started fighting with the other two. Then they started to come in together and I couldn't tell which one was which becasue there was no light. I grabbed my field glasses and found him. All I could see was antlers! I let him get to about 20 yards and then I pulled back I had a hard time seeing the pin sight and then I let it fly, I really shouldn't have. I just bareley clipped him enough to say I hit him. It was a stupid move on my part. Then I got down and found a porcupine climbing in one of our old deer blinds through a broken window. So mr. porcupine and I had a knock down drag out fight in the blind. I won! He left with his quills between his legs! It was a beautiful day, warm, sunny, and you could smell the autumn in the air. What a day to clear my head! Life is good again, at least for a day! I'm back at it again tomorrow.I replied to Mike that if I've told him once, I've told him a thousand times; HUNTING IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE ZOO! ~BobOh yeah I forgot the story about this morning. My dad took a shot at a 8 point buck last night right at dark and couldn't find anything when he came down, including his arrow. So when I got out this morning in the same blind, I was watching the field right at day break and noticed something white flickering in the field. I grabbe the field glasses and saw a skunk! Right behind the skunk was my dad's dead deer!!! I couldn't believe it. A little later I was watching two little bucks sparing with one another, and then I looked back to the dead deer and noticed that there was something by it. I thought it was a coyote, and I looked through the field glasses again and saw that it was a bobcat trying to munch on the deer. I climbed out on the platform through the back window and the cat saw me and ran away. I took some photos of it and my dad. I will forward you one as soon as I get them uploaded. Take Care and good luck when you get back out."
Mike Adams
Mossy Oak Pro Staff
Up North Journal
www.upnorthjournal.com
Well friends, hunting season is here at last! I've been sick with a fever for the past 3 days, but it broke this afternoon so I'll try my best to be out there with you tomorrow. If worse comes to worse, this will be our last opening day in years when Obama isn't president and the liberals don't have total control of the White House and congress (God help us). I suggest that you get out there while you can and make some memories, because memories may be all we have in upcoming years.
A few days ago with the help of a B-Square scope mount I mounted a 2X fixed magnification scope on my Ruger Single Six 17HMR revolver and today was my first chance to shoot it. Immediately after mounting the scope, I used my LaserLyte bore sighter to get the revolver on paper at 50 yards (where it's set for parallax). There was no time to hit the range prior to this hunt, but I couldn't resist taking it out anyway to see what it could do. I brought a piece of paper with me and set it out about 50 yards and pinned it to a tree. I shot two rounds and was amazed that both bullets hit about 1-2" low and dead center! Not bad LaserLyte! Since I don't believe in target practicing in the woods, I decided to hunt with it as is.A reminder not to put your cylinder up against a tree to steady yourself when you take a shot or you could burned yourself.
YOU WON'T GET A FLASH LIKE THIS FROM A 17HMR, BUT YOU GET MY POINT
MY HENRY VARMINT EXPRESS 17HMR WITH NEW ADDITIONS TO MY TAIL COLLECTION"While I was trying to spot squirrel movement in the trees the thought came to me that this is like trying to fish while something repeatedly tugs at your line making it impossible to know when to set the hook."
A nose and vehicle update: The doctor decided against doing anything with my son's nose because he said that often kids break their noses multiple times. With the swelling down it doesn't look that bad so he'll wait till he's older to get it done. I told him I'd fix it for him...
One final comment: Hunting after a rain makes it much easier to stalk and sneak up on game. The leaves, dirt and sticks are soft and you can walk in almost total silence. Take advantage of it.
Most people never stop to realize that animals in the wild rarely die a natural death. Earlier this year I witnessed a squirrel being ripped from a tree by a pair of stalking hawks. If this was put in human context, it would have been a death of the most violent and unthinkable kind. But in nature this is 'natur'-al.
Mike Adams of the Up North Journal podcast and author of 'Hooks and Bullets' asked me if he could post this article on his blog. It received some nice responses. Click HERE to read it.
What a change in weather since Saturday morning! Today was just perfect, and since I was chained to my tiny cubical all day like a veal calf to his stall, I immediatly headed into the woods as soon as they released the chain from my ankle. I hunted for an hour and came across 3 squirrels, but only got a shot at one which I blew. I did meet a friendly snapper along the way which let me photograph him. I also took this leisurely movie at sunset so I'll have something to watch tomorrow while I'm once again chained for the day. Enjoy.
"I silently took cover behind a tree trunk, acquired the target in my cross-hairs and fired. The first squirrel dropped with a 'THUD!'. I sighted in a second and ...CLICK... misfire*. Damn!"
Hi there Bob!
I was just looking at your two new posts highlighting the start of squirrel season, so I thought that I would keep you up-to-date with my recent hunt. I am fortunate enough to be in contact with a fellow who owns 75 acres in my town, and he is kind enough to let me hunt there as much as I like. It's a wonderful piece of land, most of which is situated on a large, sloping hill. This Monday I headed over there to start squirrel season off right.
Decked out in my camouflage suit and orange vest, and armed with my Winchester 99/22 Legacy (with 3-9 power scope), I hiked up into the woods around 3 pm. After two unsuccessful attempts to lure the squirrels to me with my call, I decided to get up and go after them. This was a winning strategy! After only walking for about 10 minutes I happened upon a squirrel. I fired one shot as he came to a stop near a branch, but missed! Luckily I was able to keep my eye on him as he crossed over two other trees. Then, as he came to a stop again, laying flat atop a branch, I took aim and fired. This time the shot was true and I soon heard the reassuring sound of something falling through the branches of a tall tree. Hitting the ground, it took the squirrel only about 10 seconds before it expired. I quickly snatched him by the tail
and made my way to a point on the hill that overlooks the town (you can see for about 15-20 miles), and took a seat in some tall grass. The weather was just perfect! The sun was out, and there was a cool breeze that kept the heat down. As I looked at the squirrel I noticed that my shot had gone through his right eye and out the top of his head.
Having to get home by 4:30 I packed my trophy into my vest's game pouch and ran took a 15 minute hike down the hill to my car. All in all, though it was a quick hunt, it was a wonderful one! I'll be leaving work early tomorrow and heading back to see if I can't flush out another couple of squirrels. I'll let you know how it goes.
Also, what do you do with your squirrels? I attempted to field dress mine so that I could use the meat but that didn't work out. I ended up keeping the tail but burying the rest - leaving it as an easy meal for some local coyote or fox.
Mat
"...the first thing that greeted us was a big, gray coyote standing where I normally park!"
"I fired at the one we had followed in and it fell like a stone. I lost track of the other squirrel so I turned to the squirrels at my right and dropped another."
I can't believe how opening day of squirrel season snuck up on me again this year. I'll never forget sitting in total silence while coyote hunting last year and all of a sudden hearing a ton of shooting going on in the background. I was really pissed because I figured it was some idiot just shooting at nothing and in the process they ruined my hunt. I didn't figure out what was going on until I got home and realized that I had missed the opening day of squirrel season!! I was the idiot! It almost happened again because I was thinking that the season opened the second or third week on the month and not on the first. I'll be there this year with my son Jamie if I can get him a license. He didn't hunt this year so I inspired him by basically giving him my 10/22 which he loves. I called Wal-Mart and they are out of 2008 licenses. My wife will try to get him one at the town hall tomorrow because he starts school the following day. If that fails I'll try Dicks. Time got away from me again because I should have done this months ago.


I hunted Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings and I'd like to report that at this time hunting stinks. The foliage and brush is so dense that it is very difficult to see anything. In the few open areas where I am able to see something I'm spotting very little; a few squirrels, a rabbit and some deer. Not nearly what I was seeing a couple of months ago, and no sight of any chucks last week. Squirrel hunting starts a week from today and my 14 year old son Jamie plans to hunt with me. He'll be shooting the Ruger 10/22 and I'll have my Henry 17HMR Varmint Express. I hope things improve by then, but I doubt it. It will be a war zone and everything will be dug into the trees. For info on the Varmint Express, check out the homepage and the 2008 Range Report. Good luck if you plan to be hunting next week. Maybe if there's more bodies for the mosquitoes to feed on in the woods they'll leave me alone.
"A big fat chuck came running across the field about 30 yards in front of me and disappeared...I hit the dirt and within less than 5 second I must have been covered by a thousand mosquitoes!"
I took the picture above of myself when I came out of the woods to show you what I have to do to survive in this area. I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt that closes around my neck, a net over my entire head that exposes only my eyes, and they are covered with my glasses. The ProEars amplify sound 9X, keep me from going def when I fire my magnum handgun, as well as keeping my ears covered and protected. I wore a hat because if my balding head touches the net, they can nail it right through the netting. I also wear leather fingerless shooting gloves to protect my hands from thorns and keep them from being bitten. Long pants of course as well as boots. Recently I also started carrying a TheraCELL unit to repell mosquitoes and I douse myself with 40 DET before going out. With all this I STILL end up getting bit, but not all that much."He came RUNNING down the road toward the street like his ass was on fire..."
It won't take new small game hunters long to discover that run-ins with non-hunters that ruin your hunt is more common than encounters with small game.
As soon as work was over today I rushed to the gun shop to finalized the purchase of my new Ruger SingleSix 17HMR revolver. I sold the 22LR/22Mag version that I bought from my brother earlier this year to one of my friends for what I paid for it. It's a great revolver but since I can't use the magnum cylinder on state land, I wasn't getting the firepower I needed. The 17HMR cartridge is straight shooting and fast, as my Henry 17HMR lever rifle proved this year. When you are shooting through a 6.5" barrel, you need all the velocity you can get out of your cartridge. A 22LR just wasn't cutting it. The 17HMR cartridge has the same velocity at 100 yards and a 22LR does at the muzzle... and my ears are now ringing to prove it. I'll start wearing my ProEars in the field as soon as the temperature cools down a bit.Fantastic! After a year of searching, I finally located a cluster of woodchuck holes so I quickly took a seat under a tree to see if something surfaces. After sitting 20 minutes in absolute silence, I head a motorcycle in the parking area revving its engine. "Great" I thought. That's all I need. Some inconsiderate @#!* scaring the game into hiding. For the next five minutes I could hear someone riding a dirt bike through the grassy fields that run perpendicular to the parking area, which happen to be favorite woodchuck spots. "Nothing is coming out after this" I thought, so I headed back to the car.
After a sweltering hot week and a couple days of rain, there was finally a slight break in the weather today. Having expected this to happen, I brought my hunting gear to work and at 3:30 punched the clock, changed into my camos and headed for the woods.I can't believe the amount of damage a tiny 17 cal. hollow point can dish out!
This is mostly for Mike. What a miserable morning. It's overcast, humid and should reach almost 100F today. On the way to the woods I whacked a possum with my car, and that was it for kills after 3 hours of walking in the heat and bugs. No sign of chucks today and not a single squirrel sighting. I did see a half dozen rabbits as I did yesterday, so this should be a good year for them. While exploring a back road that I've never hunted I saw a head above the brush at about 100 yards. I slowly walked toward it trying to figure out what it was. Being nearsighted didn't help. Three times it looked at me, I froze and it returned to what it was doing. When I got within about 60 yards, it dropped out of sight. It didn't leap away like deer usually do, but instead, ducked down and disappeared. It could have been a coyote, but I'm not sure.
"Woodchucks hibernate from October through February, so they eat heavily during the fall, sometimes doubling their weight. During hibernation, their body temperature drops to 40°F, and their hearts beat only four to ten times per minute."
I will say one thing for you, you are a hard core small game hunter! You hunt harder for small game than anyone I have ever talked with. Now taking game with your vehicle is not considered hunting, except down south where my family is from! LOL! I find it encouraging to read your posts, even when you don't find game or take game. It shows me that hunting is still ALIVE! Sometimes I don't feel like getting out, then I think of how fortunate I am to be able get out, both physically and still having the opportunity to get out without the laws telling me I can't. It isn't always about taking or even seeing game, it is about the experience with nature that fuels the soul. Keep after those varmits and it won't be long until the fall seasons open for us both! Man I can't wait to get into the woods!
Mike Adams, The Up North Journal
I went hunting after work today. It was 95 degrees and absolutely miserable at 4:30PM. Ya, so I'm nuts, but I figured that chucks might like the heat, so I gave it a shot. Well, I did come across a big, fat chuck which went into the brush before I was able to get close enough to attempt a shot. So I decided to dig in and wait it out. I sat there cooking in my long sleeves and a net over my head so as not to be eaten alive by bugs. All of a sudden a man, his wife and a boy about 10 on an ATV come down the center of the path, passing by me and the chuck. That killed the day for me. I realize that this is a family trying to give their kid some quality time, BUT THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO DO IT! IT IS ILLEGAL.
Yeah, Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice shot, and nice exit hole. You've got more determination that I do, 90 degrees? No way would I have sat that one out. Mikey said, nice job, and wants to know are you going to skin it out? LOL ... Now back to the chuck, find his or her den if you can. It shouldn't be to far away. Keep looking the area over there should be more of them around the same area. One down and many more to go. Mikey shot at one two days ago. These kids are crazy, they fight over who gets to shoot the chucks. I think I will send them out to you to help you thin them out. Now another thing I would try with that chuck carcass, is go back to where you left it and look for coyote sign. If you can't find any, try to put it in an area where you could look for coyote tracks. Maybe in a spot that has soft dirt around that would show some tracks. This might be a good way to check for some yotes in the area. Good Luck.
Mike Adams
Up North Journal
www.upnorthjournal.com
Congratulations, and thank you for sharing. Hope all is well. We are in final stages of moving our factory to Bayonne New Jersey.
Anthony Imperato, President
Henry Repeating Arms, Co.
110 8th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Happy Independence Weekend! Here's what's been going on: I coyote hunted the last two weekends and I'm happy to report that I've seen an amazing number of rabbits and squirrels; all very young. Both weekends I set up my blind, used scent confusion, a decoy and a new electronic call. As far as I can tell, all elements were working, yet I did not bring in a single coyote. The question is, "Why not"?
The lousy thing about hunting during this time of year is the heat and bugs. Without this head netting, it would be impossible to spend much time in these swampy woods. My face and head are under constant attack by all types of bugs, flies and mosquitoes, so these nets are a necessity (as well as keeping me camouflaged). As you can see in this photo, they can be a problem for us guys who wear glasses. When the temperature and humidity is right, they fog up constantly and there's not much that can be done. It's a pain, but a lot better than being eaten alive. They also allow you to enter the woods without a hat, which keeps your head cooler and allows my bald head to maintain a nice tan.
"Unfortunately my buddy couldn't make it to the range with his pistol. Instead, the boys and I went to Kevin's and finally started to do some reloading. We made about 200 rounds of .22 Hornets. I let the boys make a dozen each to shoot themselves. They thought that was pretty cool. I actually got to use one of my homemade rounds this morning. Momma Coyote (the wife) alerted me again to those pesky ground hogs on the stump. I dropped a hollow point on him. It did a nice job passing just above the hip and exiting the opposite front shoulder. A clean entry hole and a nasty exit hole. It gives a little more satisfaction to use a round that you made yourself. I will blog on it later with pictures and a video Kevin and I shot yesterday. I have included some photos of the varmint and the rounds we made. If you look closely you can see the empty case in the up-close photo of the ground hog. That makes 2 this week and 4 this season. The boys have taken one each, so we have eliminated 6 of those pesky hole diggers."
Mike Adams, The Up North Journal
I'm green with envy Mike. While we speak his young daughter Mackenzie has another chuck in her sights. She shot at one earlier today and missed. Later she was able to hit it but it got away. With chucks you often have to nail them in the head to roll them away from their hole or they'll make it back in to die there. Mike lives next to some farmland, and his wife often spots the chucks and coyotes and sounds the alarm. Sure beats driving half and hour and not knowing if there's anything in the area. Nice shooting Mike and Mackenzie. When's the next flight out of Bradley?
Below is a list of items I carry when I go coyote hunting. It seems like a lot, but just about everything fits into a small pack which the chair is built into. I'm always afraid that I'll forget something. For instance, if I forget my magazines, the hunt is over before it begins. Use this as a starting point and take what works for you. ~BR
Predator Xtreme is my favorite hunting/gun magazine. It's the only magazine out there that consistently puts out important predator hunting information and stories. I've worked as an art director and a professional commercial designer/illustrator since 1982, so I think I can say with some authority that this is one of the highest quality magazines on the market today. If you're not a subscriber, you should be. You can't beat their one year, 6 issue subscription price. If you buy a magazine or go into a bookstore and steal a subscription card, you can get it for $12.99. Or you can get it legally on the web for just $14.99. Either way, it's the best magazine around. Get it."...Still others achieve a measure of success, then experience a declining ratio of sightings-to-calls and wonder why. This might happen to Western callers, but is more prone to happen in the Eastern and Southern states. The reasons are simple. First, our terrain is denser, and the predator, especially the coyote, has the opportunity to get closer to us before it is sighted. The coyote uses its magnificent nose, discovers us for the frauds that we are and turns on the afterburner, and we never know it was there...Sorry, but that's all I'm willing to type with my two fingers. You'll have to get the magazine to read the rest. Man, could I relate to this article. When I think about it, the areas that I hunt are so small that if one other guy hunts there once or twice during the month, I might as well forget about having a dog respond to my calls. It's time to really rethink my strategy. ~BR
...on a given tract of land, we kill a few, educate even more, and eventually reach a point where we get little or no response. At that point, it's time to make some adjustments...
...Once a small Eastern tract is hunted a few times, it must be rested. When you do everything right and take a couple of dogs, don't go back for at least a month...
...very low volume baby cottontail cry (my favorite short-range coaxer) and I leave the caller running. By adding the turkey and crow talk before the distress cries, I have increased my sighting-to-call ration threefold!...
...I've said that the rabbit scent is a must. The mixure of coyote, fox, fawn and rabbit seems to often cause a coyote to ignore or at least tolerate human scent and is my best combination to date..."

"BR:Great work Jake and congratulations. Send some chucks this way. I haven't even seen one in 2 years! Jake took the chuck at 60-70 yards with a Ruger .22 hornet.~BR
Well, I am happy to report that little Jake took his first game animal today! He came home sick from school a couple of hours early today. He was moaping around, when the wife yells out ground hog! I scurry to get the gun and took one look at Jake and asked him, do you want to take the shot? He looked at me and grinned, Yeah! So we sneaked into position and I positioned the gun for him and held it tight for him so he could steady up to take the shot. The chuck stayed still long enough for him to place the cross hairs on him and pulled the trigger! Over it went. I was so proud of him! He took his time and waited until he settled down to take the shot. At first I thought he wouldn't take it because he couldn't get a good sight picture on it. So he repositioned himself and took aim again. Bang! All of a sudden he wasn't sick anymore! Go figure! I will send pictures when I get them downloaded from the camera tonight. This all happened about 45 minutes before I had to leave for work. He wanted it skinned out to keep, so you should have seen me skinning that thing in 90 degree weather! I was a skinning fool. Fingers, knifes and elbows just a flyin' We got it skinned and Michael fleshed it out and preserved it when he got home from school. Quite the day. ~Mike

Good luck this weekend. I just had to reply back, I just checked my trail camera at the back of the yard, guess what? I got the yote on camera along with some deer, The photo of the deer is a nice buck in velvet, check out his antlers. The yote is in the same spot only 10 days earlier. He is out right in the middle of the night check out the times. The last photo is a young deer along with probably the mother doe, the stump behind it in the field is where I shoot the groundhogs. You can see a large maple tree over the back of the older deer to the right. About 30 yards past that tree line is where I shot the coyote last January. Although, I was up in the yard a lot further when I shot at it. Thought the photos would get your coyote blood pumping for next year!!!!
Mike Adams
Up North Journal
(Sept 2007 - Feb 2008) 19 for sure went into the freezer plus 3-4 at the beginning of the season that were not recorded. 4 were knocked out of trees but were able to get away. Not bad for my first season in 30 years and having missed opening day.
I'm extremely envious of my buddy Mike Adams from The Up North Journal because he's blasted his first woodchuck of the year. Mike just emailed me this photo and he has the full story posted on his blog (CLICK HERE). Here's part of the email he sent:
Scroll down the column at the right and look under 'Blogs you should visit' for links to Mike's blogs and audio podcast."...I thought you might like to use this one since it is with the Ruger .22 hornet. I really don't know why I originally picked the hornet. I guess because it was different and that for a small caliber rifle it packed one hell of a punch! Once I saw it I fell in love with it and haven't regretted one bit since I bought it. It is one loud little .22 though, and it does quite the job on the varmints. I've wanted to take a coyote with it but haven't had the opportunity yet. The day I shot the chuck was like the day I shot the coyote, I just grabbed the closest small caliber rifle with a scope out of the safe. I guess the other day for what ever reason the hornet was in front. The day I shot the coyote it was the .22 mag up front..."
Some of you guys might think I'm 'out there' with this post, but that's OK. It's my blog and I'll write what the heck ever I want to. I am a Christian and have studied the Bible for many years. I don't mean that I just dissected it as some do to find holes, but rather, I prayerfully studied it on my knees (so to speak). After reading Mike's letter regarding trapping and an angry response to it on his blog, I began wondering why some of us love hunting so much and why some hate it, as well as us. Here's my conclusion from my Biblically based understanding of reality:
In the early age of Adam there was no sin or death. The concept of hunting did not even enter man's mind. Then 'man' brought sin into God's perfect world and disease and death followed.
For some strange reason God then declared that man was allowed to eat meat (hunt) . Why? I believe it could be due to the fact that death, disease, over population, and other never before heard of things were now part of this world.

I finally got the mount back today, here are a couple of pics as it sits in my office. The pictures don't do it justice.Thanks Mike! This is a beautiful mount, but it seems to have lost that handsome smile in the translation :) ~BR
Mike Adams, Up North Journal
www.upnorthjournal.com
CLICK TO ENLARGE AND SEE 4 OF THE 7 DEER"My taxidermist told me this week that a lot of guys around here are having success with a wounded woodpecker call. I can't seem to find one around here though. He told me that since everyone is using howlers, rabbit distress calls and mouse squeakers, that the woodpecker is a new and unique call that they are not used to. Maybe give that a try if you can find one."
Mike Adams, Up North Journal www.upnorthjournal.com
Over the past year I have been told the following things from experienced hunters:
"Mr. BR,
The tagging requirement applies to the pelt or the whole animal. If you were to sell a whole coyote to a taxidermist it would require tagging. In the case where you are hunting coyotes but intend to make no use of them just reporting your harvest by phone or e-mail will be sufficient. I hope this helps. Paul Rego, Wildlife Biologist"
a second reply from Mr. Rego, 3/19/08:
"Mr. BR,
For a number of years we had a voluntary coyote collection program. We have discontinued collecting carcasses of these animals. People could drop the carcass off at some of our offices and we appreciate the efforts of trappers and hunters that cooperated. For now, we are not collecting coyote carcasses. Paul Rego, Wildlife Biologist"
"Yes you can bait for coyote on state land, you can also use an electronic call for coyote on state land. Sergeant Jim Wolfe, ECON Police"
My retired friend Bill and I decided to go it alone this morning because Arne had to work. We were almost rained out, but it stopped at 9am, so we decided to give it a shot. My hopes weren't very high because I don't know too many dogs that like the rain. This was Bill's first time hunting, so whatever the outcome, it would be a new experience for him and more fun than hanging around the house. A few weeks ago I drove Bill to Cabela's and Dicks to help him buy a camo jacket and face netting, so I was rather surprised this morning when he arrived wearing white pants! "He's going to stand out like a lighbulb" I though to myself, but it was too late to do anything about it. I had taken it for granted that he had a pair of camo pants. Oh well...Thanks Mike Adams, from The Up North Journal for sending me this link. It's an animal sound search engine and you can download the sounds of coyotes, squirrels, foxes or whatever. Play them back in your iPod or just become familiar with their sounds from your computer. This is an excellent resource. Thanks again Mike! ...CLICK HERE
Remember the good old days when a hunting outfit consisted of a red plaid jacket and a pair of jeans covered by a heavy pair of beige canvas pants?

"It should be illegal for non-hunters to wander the fields and let their dogs run free"
"Hey Bob,
I didn't see any squirrels at all... I went to the south end of the forest. I stood at the big circle of brier thicket looking at the highway. I was looking at a tree that was dying and it had to be about ten feet high. It has brier thicket on it and the thicket makes it look like a Indian tepee. Well I stood there for about two minutes and then at the bottom of this tree something jumped up it was a doe. Then another one and another one until I saw six doe run off towards the marsh*. That was a first for me in the WMA. Well I guess I'll have to wait until September first. On the way out I saw the bird hunters shooting up into the trees...Well that was my day and I had a fun season and a learning one too. Stay in touch I'll see you in September. ~Vinny"
"Bob: I just read your last post. I couldn't agree more with you on the non-hunters on hunting land issue. We have the same problem here in Michigan where we hunt. Most of the people we see are horse riders on the trails through the state land we hunt. Atleast they are usually smart enough to wear blaze orange. A couple of years ago, (during deer firearm season) my hunting partner was in his tree stand atleast 100 yards off the trail, when he saw coming towards him 3 people on horseback! They rode right under his tree stand! What are these people thinking! I have heard hunters starting to talk about trying to get state wildlife departments to think about requiring hikers, riders, walkers, etc... to start buying permits to be on state land!!!! Wow what a concept! Finally, let them pay to use the land like we do with our hunting permits. Might keep a few people from venturing out, they might go somewhere else where they wouldn't have to pay. Well that's enough of my ranting. I might get out tonight if the moon cooperates. Let the yotes howl!!!!!"
Mike Adams
Up North Journal
www.upnorthjournal.com
http://michiganhuntingtoday.com/hooksandbullets/
I decided to get in another hunt this morning because the season is drawing to a close, so I was in the woods by 7:30. We had a major weather shift overnight; today being sunny with a blue sky but cold (it started out at 18F) and windy. The water level was still very high, and my usual path was 2 feet under water. The level did drop a bit since yesterday and crossing the road was no longer an issue. Since everything was frozen, it was easier to walk through the fields without sinking in the mud, but when it gets this cold, the inch of snow on the leaves gets very crunchy. Every step was so loud that I might as well have been yelling, "RUN AWAY!".Don't shoot it if you don't plan to eat it.

Considering the weather this morning, I didn't expect much and that's just what I got. I drove into the parking lot at about 7:15, which I thought was early for squirrels, and Vinny's car was already there. When we met up, Vinny suggested that we hunt together. I took the right, walking the water's edge while Vinny covered the road. It didn't take long for us to loose each other because I guess I'm used to hunting alone. The sun broke through the clouds for a short time and I located Vinny by the sound of his air gun (which was surprisingly loud). He took about a half dozen shots at a squirrel, but he ended up empty handed as well. Vinny mentioned how he was amazed that a squirrel could run toward a tree, zip around behind the base of the trunk then simply seem to disappear. You have no idea how many times I have seen this happen. Considering that they have brains the size of a nut, The Lord did program them amazingly well with a large playbook of defensive maneuvers. In total I saw three squirrels from a distance, but I never was close enough to take a shot. In fact, I didn't fire my rifle once this morning.
A TIP: I learned this the hard way; carry a zip-lock freezer bag with you when you hunt. Then if it begins to rain or snow, gather all of your electronic gear, including cell phone and camera, and put them in the bag. Last year I got caught in a hail storm and when it was over my digital camera became a paper weight.
"...It was like I was in the center of a swarm of rats! I fired at one in the nearby tree and it dropped, then another. About 100 yards out I saw at least 4 more in various trees..."I couldn't believe that I was seeing nothing in this area. I considered backtracking, but decided to first move forward another 50 yards. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement on a tree. I couldn't believe it. There were at least 7 squirrels chasing each other around the trunk near the top of the tree. I haven't seen that all season! I crept up, leaned against a tree and began to fire. I dropped one, then click (misfire!), click (misfire!), click (misfire!), click (misfire!). "FOUR MISFIRES! WHAT THE %$!!!##**!!!" The next round fired but they soon disappeared into the tree. I brought my small folding coyote hunting stool and set it up. Within 15 minutes they were at it again. They started running around the tree as before, but this time, in a tree to my left at about 75 yards at least 7 more were doing the same thing! This was almost scary. It was like I was in the center of a swarm of rats! I fired at one in the nearby tree and it dropped (number 2), then another (number 3). About 100 yards out I saw at least 4 more in various trees. This was like a dream. When everything went into hiding, I moved my chair closer to the other tree. In about 20 minutes everything was moving again and I dropped another 2. This area is full of thorn bushes so when both of these hit the ground (and left a lot of blood), they managed to drag themselves deep into the brush and into a tree to die. I plowed through the thorns both times and ripped my legs to shreds to get them, but the thorns slowed me down so much that they had time to get away. What a waste.
Check out the photo I took this morning and the exit wound. This is what a 17HMR hollow point does on the way out. I find that amazing for such a small bullet. Now a Ruger 10/17 would be really nice! I'm going to have to contact Henry about those misfires. I'm wondering if the firing pin stuck since there were 4 in a row, then it functioned normally. I believe if it was a head space issue, it would have continued to misfire. If it was bad ammo, it would not have been 4 in a row.
I'm VERY happy to report that Mike Adams Sr. from The Up North Journal sent me an email today with this photo to let me know that he bagged his first dog today! He has a great story posted on his new blog: http://upnorthjournalhunting.blogspot.com/. You definitely need to go and read it. Here's a short excerpt from the post:"...They headed back across the field towards me, but about 150 yards out. They were running the near fence line, but started to turn away. I knew that it was now or never if I was going to get a shot off. I could see a small opening between some brush and trees. I had my Winchester 94 22 mag up and ready, looking through the scope, as soon as the yote stepped into the opening, Crack! The yote snapped around at its rear end as if someone had bitten it. It was then I knew that my shot connected! I watched as it danced around and ran about 50 yards. Finally one last leap and over it fell. YES! All the while the second yote was at a distance watching..."One note about the end of his story; I really like the fact that there was some sadness in Mike because he took a life. As you can see in his story, even predators watch out for each other and have some sort of connection. If coyotes are anything like domestic dogs, I'm sure they have feelings of some kind and it should be normal that at bit of sadness go along with the pride of taking one of these animals. It really bothers me when I watch coyote hunting videos and the hunters laugh like fools after making their kill, then throw the carcases around like they are handling a bag of garbage. Thanks Mike for sharing your feelings. I sometimes have similar thoughts after bagging a lousy squirrel, especially if it's female. Questions come up like, "Did it have young and if so, will they just die?" Those thoughts don't stop me from hunting, but they do go through my head.
Mike,
"Dear Bob,
This is Vinny from (withheld). We met Saturday while hunting. I just was on your blog. It's a nice blog and I like it a lot. After you left with that nice kill I had four more shots at three different squirrels. They were at one time in the same tree top fighting for space as I was shooting at them. They were so fast and allusive I didn't get one kill. I did wound one but it and the others disappeared into and behind the tree branches. I realize I made a mistake on the very first one I saw that morning before I met you.I shot at it as it was four feet from the ground. It froze for a second and ran back up the tree. My continuing efforts proved fruitless as I tried to get a few clear shots but that squirrel as I told you that morning also disappeared into the tree. I think that wma is a great place for squirrel hunting on the right days. It has a lot of aged trees with natural cavity's in them. I saw a total of five squirrels and shot at four of them. I had fun! I hope to talk to you again. ~Vinny Angell""...I had four more shots at three different squirrels. They were at one time in the same tree top fighting for space as I was shooting at them..."
On Jan 14, 2008, at 7:35 PM, NELLIE ANGELL wrote:"Hey Bob,I forgot to mention to you that I saw a coyote for a brief second disappear into the brush. It was on the access road right to your left as you enter the wma just as you come out of the tunnel underpass. I hope that helps your future scouting efforts. Fellow squirrel hunter, Vinny Angell"
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 10:07 PM

Hey BR,"My dad kicked one up... It was on the run... CLICK. He forgot the safety. BOOM! Miss.... CLICK.... Double trigger. BOOM! Miss! He reloads and saw it sitting 20 yards away...BOOM! Bagged him."He reloads and saw it sitting 20 yards away...BOOM! Bagged him LOL. Everyone was laughing at him by now. Then he kicked up another one about 60 yards further and popped him first shot this time. Then we walked through a brushy fence row and my Uncle Jim kicked up 2-3 and shot one of them; his first rabbit! That was cool! So we stood and talked and made a game plan and walked the fence row back again. We kicked up the first one and no one could get a shot. It went to another pile and kicked it up. I shot once and missed. Darn! lol We started to walk through the field and my dad shot the two. I was in the back of everyone and they all walked past this little pile. I thought, "what the heck". I kicked it and one ran behind all of us. I shot him and scared the poop out of everyone! We had to blood track him cause I clipped him in the back, so we walked to a pile about 50 yards away and kicked him up again. My Uncle Les took 3 shots at it lol and we tracked that rabbit 350 YARDS!!!!! then had to kill him. So we now have 4 in the bag. We walked in one more field and my dad kicked one up. The same thing happened to me with the safety cause we traded guns. Dad took a shot and dropped him, so now we had 5 in the bang and called it a day. It was sooooo fun !!! For my first time Rabbit hunting I'm HOOKED!!!!
The question: "...He wanted me to ask you if you had ever gone coyote hunting at night? We were going to try here locally. Also he wanted me to ask you if it's correct that you would go day the before a full moon, during a full moon, or the day after a full moon?..." ~Mike Adams Jr., Up North Journal PodcastI don't believe night hunting of coyotes is legal in CT, so this was never an issue. My friend Arne Thompson has hunted coyote in various states, so I contacted him for an answer. The Adams hunt in Michigan. ~BR
The answer: "It's illegal to hunt at night except coons, and possum (in Connecticut)..... the moon phase has no effect on dog hunting...... they hunt to eat.... anything that sounds like it is in distress is a meal to them...... if they are within ear shot of the type of call you are using, consider that they will come. If nothing shows within 45 min. or so, move on to the next spot.... at lease 1 to 1.5 miles away from your previous stand." ~Arne ThompsonThanks Arne!