# December Club Hunt Outcome



## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

Hey guys, finally have some free time to do a little write up of the hunt this weekend. There were 7 teams out hunting this time around, which is pretty good compared to the participation last year. Only 3 teams checked in with kills and we are glad to say we were 2 of the 3!

Tim and I had an interrupted hunt since we had to come back to town for him to attend his wife's work Christmas party Saturday night. But we tried some near Phoenix hunting in the morning which is always a bit frustrating with all the joy riders in the desert. Six stands in the morning hunt and not a single animal was seen or heard. On the way out we stopped at a spot Tim has had success with Fox in the past. We hiked off the main road about 300 yards and setup under a mountain with a rock bluff. He began calling and I watched his downwind area. About 5 minutes into the call low and behold there came a Grey Fox bouncing its way in from the top of the hill! I lip squeaked to let Tim know it was approaching. I watched through my scope as the Fox cut the distance to 50 yards and paused. I had a shot and was not going to chance losing the first predator of the trip. I squeezed a bullet over the top of a Saguaro and it smacked the Male Fox right in the center of his chest. Dead on impact. He kept calling but nothing else showed. We hurried back to town in order to get Tim back in time. I visited with the family for a few minutes and then headed back out to do a bit of solo hunting the rest of the evening.

There is a honey hole that Tim and I have close to town and we haven't hit it since August. I parked the truck and headed in on foot. The objective was to hike along the wash and call quietly every 200 yards in hopes of getting multiple animals called in on different stands. First stand was a bust so I made my way to an area that produced a Coyote pup in August.

I was able to silently walk in through all the dead weeds and grass using the donkey trails that they have made.... at least they are good for 1 thing! I picked a larger bush to back into as my back would be to a wide open grass field and the light breeze would be to my 10 o'clock position. The second I let out some bird distress I heard some shuffling behind me. I hunkered down and did the distress yet again. This time I heard a low bark/growl repeatedly! I spun my head all the way around and there was a Coyote just 10 feet away! I had setup on the very bush he was sleeping under! At this point I honestly froze, not a clue of what to do since branches were blocking my shotgun from spinning his way. So I just watched in silence as he kept huffing at me. He quickly changed to the loudest and sharpest barks I've heard yet as he started backing away. He went back and forth from growling to barking for a minute or so! I decided to lip squeak in hopes of enticing him around the bush for a quick shot. It appeared to be working as he went behind some more brush. It sounded as though he would pop out any second but suddenly movement to my left caught my attention. I looked up and there was another Coyote just walking straight towards my downwind! It was at 35 yards and closing so as it glanced away I raised my shotgun. It was now right around 20 yards and as she came to a stop I dumped a load of 3" 4 buck into the chest cavity and she fell over stiff. I tried everything to get the other Coyote back but as soon as the shot sounded he went silent and never showed his face again. That will go down as one of the most amazing stands I've done for sure, what a rush!

2 stands later I setup on the edge of a brush line that lead out into Creosote flats and they faded into the heavy wash about 200 yards later. Once again I started into the bird distress. After 2 30-60 second sequences on the hand call I saw a small critter blazing in at my 1 o'clock position. It was the first Kit Fox I've seen yet and he was coming in quick! He stopped behind a bush at 12 yards and had me pinned. I lip squeaked him into 8 yards right at the edge of the bush to give me every advantage possible since I knew he'd split as soon as I moved. I decided it was now or never and spun to get on target. He also spun to retreat but I would win this duel. As he got back to 12 yards my buckshot met up with the front half of his body and he skidded to a stop. I kept calling but nothing else showed. My first Kit Fox, and I got to watch him come all the way into 8 yards!

That was the last of the action that evening and the beauty of hunting near town is I was home early to eat dinner with the family! The next morning Tim and I headed to a spot that we saved just for a club hunt as this area was Coyote gold the past few years! Well to make a long story short, we did 6 stands that morning and didn't see or hear a single Coyote. Heck, there weren't even any tracks or feces on the road! We were completely puzzled and it didn't hit us until later that day why the area didn't produce like it has in the past. Game and Fish did their helicopter Coyote killing in this unit just a few months before....and apparently it was VERY successful. Frustrated from the lack of sign we headed to some old hunting grounds a ways away. By this time the winds had picked up but we did stand after stand hoping for something to show. We only had 1 stand the entire day (16 stands total) that produced a predator....but boy is it a crazy story!

Tim was up for calling this stand. We walked into the set which produced Coyotes in the past and Tim setup just at the edge of the bowl near a wash and I was up behind him and to his downwind. 8 or so minutes in and I caught movement straight out all the way on the edge of the wash about 40 yards out. The entirety of the rest of this story took place in about 10 seconds. As the animal screamed in towards Tim I was trying to identify the animal. At first I thought it was a small Fox, but as it cleared the brush I saw that bobbed tail....a small black/dark grey colored Bobcat was headed right for Tim! I lip squeaked but Tim was still on the call and never heard me trying to get the cat to stop! I stood up and lip squeaked louder hoping to draw attention but by now that cat was within 10 yards of Tim and still closing the distance! Very shortly after that Tim caught the movement and told me later that all he saw was a small Bobcat bounding over the bushes at him claws and teeth out, ready to eat the "rabbit." Tim jumped up and as he spun he let a round fly, but it was a clean miss! The Bobcat turned on a dime and started sprinting away as Tim discharged his shot gun with a quick double tap. That cat escaped all three shots and was on a dead run back the way it came. I lined up the shot now that it was a safe distance from Tim and dust flew all around the Bobcat...but to our amazement the cat was untouched and disappeared! We searched the thicket and didn't find a drop of blood. What a bummer! Later on our way back to check in we had a good laugh about that stand!

1st place team checked in with 8 Coyotes. We ended up placing 2nd with 1 Kit Fox, 1 Grey Fox, and 1 Coyote. Nathan and Dad got 3rd with 1 Bobcat. Nathan called in the Bobcat and shot it at 50 yards through a Juniper to put it down. Very pretty Bobcat too!

I also learned a very important lesson on this trip. Always be aware and go over your firearm when going to each stand. A 17 Hornet round was apparently loose in the gun case from a past trip. Upon putting my 30-06 into the case, the 17 Hornet casing slipped right into the end of my barrel. I luckily spotted it as I rested my gun against the tire before heading to the stand. I'm not certain it would've been a big deal as the round wasn't wedged tightly into the barrel.....but I sure didn't want to find out!

-Mark


































































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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Lots of great action! Hard to comprehend how that coyote in the bush didn't detect you when you set up. Another cat! Good work again!

Even a using a shotgun at a fast-moving target can be a challenge. I'd blame the ammo. Anyone break down and purchased any of the Winchester Varmint X yet?

Thanks for taking the time to document your adventures and for sharing the pics with us.


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Congrats. to all, thanks for sharing.


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## prairiewolf (Feb 19, 2012)

Congrats to all ! great job, fairly rare to call a Kit Fox in, in daylight


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

Glen, I blame the ammo as well. I know that Varmint X BB would've had a pattern tight enough to connect on that shot! I've been trying to convince my buddies to buy some....and I will be as soon as the rest of my 3" buckshot is gone. A bummer deal for sure, but it happens I guess.

- Mark

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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

prairiewolf said:


> Congrats to all ! great job, fairly rare to call a Kit Fox in, in daylight


That's what I've heard, and clearly it is true since that is my first Kit Fox in 6 years....shoot, I got a Lion before I ever saw a Kit Fox! Haha.

Thanks Ed.
- Mark

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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Congrats on another fine showing in your club hunt Mark ! Great write up as always.


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## SWAMPBUCK10PT (Apr 5, 2010)

* THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING YOUR HUNT-----Great pic's and write-up---I enjoyed it very much---Sure missed Our Hunt this Fall with all the Guys----My best spots are mostly void of Predators this year too mostly from Mr Mange AND Canine Distemper the last few winters---Congrats on your kill's and thanks again Mark*


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

Thanks guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the writeup as it takes a while to put the memory on "paper."

Sorry to hear about your best spots being down this year SwampBuck! Sure is a huge bummer when the best locations don't produce.

- Mark

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## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Congrats on the kit fox... You still using the syco tweety? Your gonna have to give us a demo of this bird sound you make ????.


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

azpredatorhunter said:


> Congrats on the kit fox... You still using the syco tweety? Your gonna have to give us a demo of this bird sound you make .


Thanks! Yep, still using the Syco Tweedy for bird & rodent sounds. I can't seem to upload sound files from my phone through the Tapatalk App..... They don't show up on the list of items to upload.

- Mark

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## Larry (Dec 2, 2010)

Great jog to you and all of your friends. Are you getting the fox mounted? I ask as they seem like special creatures to me. Can' say enough, start shooting BBB steel and all your troubles will disapear ( Ok I wont say it again!)

For the record we all have a new expert caller in the world and he's about 14 miles west from my camp. This Sat at the FFA Calling contest a 17 year old single entry caller won. He not only won, he called in 10 yotes more than second place. You see he called in 14 total!. I have not talked to him, but guess what his first name is....MARK? true story!


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

Larry said:


> Great jog to you and all of your friends. Are you getting the fox mounted? I ask as they seem like special creatures to me. Can' say enough, start shooting BBB steel and all your troubles will disapear ( Ok I wont say it again!)
> 
> For the record we all have a new expert caller in the world and he's about 14 miles west from my camp. This Sat at the FFA Calling contest a 17 year old single entry caller won. He not only won, he called in 10 yotes more than second place. You see he called in 14 total!. I have not talked to him, but guess what his first name is....MARK? true story!


No not getting the Fox mounted...I currently have a big Lion mount to pay off. 

I will be switching shotgun loads to get a better pattern very soon. Wow, 14 Coyotes on a solo trip? That's very impressive! Doesn't surprise me that his name is Mark with those kinds of skills....haha, just kidding.

- Mark

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