# October PVCI Club Hunt



## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

The first real competitive hunt of the Phoenix Varmint Callers season was here, and we were leaving it up to weather on where we should hunt. Either up by Tim's parents' cabin where there are Fox, or down in the desert flats in the Coyote rich environment. Well the temperature made it pretty clear that we should go North as the desert area was forecasted to be in the 90's. Plus it was a rare weekend when the wind would not be blowing over 10mph! Another bonus was we would have beds to sleep in and Tim's Dad offered to have dinner cooked for us when we were done hunting on Saturday! On Friday we met up after dinner and made our way North, seeing an Elk or two on the drive up. We finalized plans on where we would hunt and then headed to bed.

Morning came and we headed off to the Ponderosa forest to call critters. Tim's Dad joined us for half of the day as he had a bear tag and the unit was open. This way he could shoot a bear if we called it in, and the rest of the predators would be targets for Tim and I. Well beyond seeing and hearing a lot of Elk activity, no predators presented themselves during the morning hunt. We headed back to the cabin to drop off Steve and then went to a new area to test our luck. Tim and I texted our wives about the slow morning and prayed that we would see something on the evening hunt!

Our first stand was located on a gentle sloping hill covered in pine and scrub oak that eventually gave way to a canyon a half mile out or so. There was fairly fresh Fox scat on the road where we parked so our hopes were high. We both backed into some scrub oak and placed the call on a log just 20 yards out in front. I began calling with an adult Cottontail sound on low volume. Tim had just looked my way and then turned to re-scan his area when I spotted a Coyote hauling in at the call/decoy. He turned the corner of the bush near the caller just mere seconds after I spotted it and in one quick motion I pulled up and sent a load of copper-plated 4 buck into the face and chest of the Coyote. Scared the heck out of Tim! I saw him jump in my peripheral even!

Well, we were finally on the board with a kill and were wondering if the predators finally turned on. The next 6 stands or so were duds. Plenty of fresh Fox scat but none interested in anything we threw at them. At last light we setup near a G&F trick tank that was within 200 yards of the large canyon and there was fresh sign here as well. It was getting dark fast and the only wind that was blowing was hard to get a direction on, not exactly ideal for calling! Tim started calling and we watched separate sides of the caller. About 6 minutes in Tim lip squeaked and I started scanning hard. Minutes went by and darkness was setting in when I finally made out movement around 80 yards out through the Junipers. It was too hard to tell what it was, and it never came closer. After the stand Tim told me 2 Fox hand darted in and back out, but neither ever came close enough for a shot. They had winded us.

We texted Steve that we were headed back to the cabin so he could know when to finish up dinner. Upon our arrival he asked how we did, and he thought it was hilarious that we killed a Coyote on the very next stand after dropping him off! He had just finished cooking and we all sat down to eat a delicious meal of Elk steaks, mashed potatoes with gravy, garlic toast, and broccoli. That was quite possibly the best meal we have eaten while on a predator competition.

The next morning Tim and I packed our gear into the truck and headed right back to where those 2 Fox skirted us last night. If we have learned anything while calling for fox, we learned that you can go right back in and call them up with different sounds. This time we chose a stand location a hundred yards in a different direction and I posted up a ways downwind to cut them off. Well, just a few minutes into the stand the wind changes direction and now Tim must cover the downwind. Tim watched as the Grey Fox worked straight towards the caller for a bit and then turned to head downwind. The good thing is Tim had setup to where he could see the far-left side as that is exactly where it headed. As it came around the brush at 25 yards or so Tim was able to pull up and make a perfect shot, Fox down at first light!

Now that it was light, we saw just how much Fox sign there was on the 2-track, so we made the call to walk in further and setup again. There was a small cut in the terrain that fell off from the road and the decision was made to do a stand down that. The wind had picked a direction that worked in our favor this time. I setup Tim downwind and then found a good hiding place where I could watch over the FoxPro and decoy. I think I went through a few sounds before Tim saw the Fox show up. The Fox worked through the brush but paused behind a Juniper, so Tim was waiting for it to pop back out. I switched sounds just by chance which made the Fox run out of hiding and now into my view as well. I pulled up my red dot and waited, but the Fox gave Tim a perfect shot and he piled up in the brush after the 12 gauge load did its job!

We hiked back to the truck and then continued to call the rest of the morning along the flats above the canyon and at its edge. We came across more fresh Fox and Bobcat scat but saw no predators respond. We did get to enjoy watching 3 Mule Deer just a stone throws away as we drove through the area. Well, it was time to decide what to do and, on the way back to check in there was a road that both of us have always wanted to call. We stopped for a quick stand off the highway and then headed to a gas station for some liquid energy to carry us through the evening hunt.

We made it to the evening calling area around 2:30pm and worked through 2 blank stands before our next action came. The next 2 stands would be just off the edge of a canyon and the area was surrounded with stock tanks full of water. As we drove in the road got much rougher and instead of alerting everything, we were coming we decided to hike in. As we walked in, we found the area to be covered with Fox scat. Hopefully this would be the area we can capitalize on the last night!

The first stand in this area was Tim's to call. He worked us into an area up against the saddle between 2 ridgelines and we setup in the thick stuff. So thick in fact that I was wishing I had my more open choke on my shotgun. He set the caller in front of me and then tucked into a bush and started with hand calls. After switching hand calls a couple times a Fox materialized under 10 yards away to my 10 o'clock position. I froze as the Fox took its last couple steps and paused, staring towards Tim. It felt like forever but, I'm sure it was only a few seconds before the Fox looked my way. Now it really didn't like what was going on and turned to walk away. As quickly as I could I flung my shotgun up placed the red dot on the Fox and let a round fly! My heart sank as I saw flashes of the Fox through the brush as it escaped. Tim said he is so used to hearing my shot and having a dead predator waiting he didn't pull up his gun when he spun around. He was also surprised to see the Fox escaping. He started the FoxPro and played a few sounds but nothing else showed and that Fox didn't come back. Tim said a back leg was flopping as it ran, so we know I hit it, but it simply wasn't good enough to put him down. I absolutely hate injuring an animal and really get down on myself when I miss someone's called in animals. I carried that attitude with me until the last stand of the night.

Well after searching for the Fox for a good 15 minutes we headed over the saddle and into the next draw. This part of the road was covered even more with Fox scat, and we knew we had stumbled upon a great area. The wind was not ideal, but we were running out of time, so we bailed off the 2-track and setup. Tim would watch over the caller and I covered the uphill side of the next hill since I have a tighter pattern. After 5 minutes of calling the report of Tim's shotgun blast jolted me. Turns out this Grey Fox came running in from the road and was making a B-line for the call! Tim shot as the Fox got behind the prickly pear cactus the call was in. It was a face shot and the Fox dropped just a couple of feet from the call! I kept calling for a bit as we both hoped to get a double, but I'm guessing the poor wind direction helped the Fox in a big way on that stand.

We collected the Fox and then worked our way back out and up to the truck. We unloaded the guns as it was dusk and we had to drive out, but as we neared the fork in the road that last miss was still sitting very heavy on me. I told Tim lets blast out the next road and do a last second stand before heading to check in. He agreed and we hastily made our way towards the canyons edge.

We both chambered a shell, he grabbed the FoxPro, and we ran out across the flats until we were at the edge of the thickets. I setup watching the more open area and Tim watched over the thicket. By this time, we had about 4 minutes of shooting light left. Tim started the FoxPro and within 2 minutes I saw a Fox screaming in from the far edge of the canyon, right along the edge of the thick shrubs. I pulled up my shotgun and followed him in until he was at 30 yards and about to disappear behind a bush. I sent a load of BB's and they met their mark as the Fox front flipped then hit the dirt. It made a few short distress sounds and tried to get up, but it was a fatal shot, and the Fox fell back to the ground. I gave Tim a thumbs up and was so relieved to be able to get another Fox down for him, this time with a solid shot. We quickly gathered the Fox and made our way back to the truck, and down the hill to check in. On our way out we were blessed to see a herd of 40-50 Elk with one really nice Bull just off the road. What a way to end a weekend of our favorite outdoor activity!

We figured we might be able to pull off a 3rd place finish with what we had. We were guessing another team had found some predators more willing to show up this weekend. As we rolled into check in, we were shocked to see the next highest team had just 1 Coyote for the weekend. It truly was a rough weekend for everyone. We happened to find the most hungry and territorial predators this weekend and made all but 1 shot count!

Thanks for taking the time to read! 
- Mark



















































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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Sure must be a lot of small game for those predators to be so thick. So, how do you determine to use #4 buck versus BB loads on a given stand?

Congratulations on the productive hunts and showing those other club members how it's done.


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

glenway said:


> Sure must be a lot of small game for those predators to be so thick. So, how do you determine to use #4 buck versus BB loads on a given stand?
> 
> Congratulations on the productive hunts and showing those other club members how it's done.


Yeah that trick tank it's keeping the area full if all sorts of game. I was using 4 buck just to get rid of it. The Coyote coming in on that stand was just a coincidence. Haha.

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## azpredatorhunter (Jul 24, 2012)

Nice Mark and congrats on the win. If I had a hunting vehicle and some gas money I would join PVCI just to give you a little competition ????


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## Mark Steinmann (Jan 28, 2014)

azpredatorhunter said:


> Nice Mark and congrats on the win. If I had a hunting vehicle and some gas money I would join PVCI just to give you a little competition


Thanks....and that would be awesome! 

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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Another great read Mark. Congratulations on another first ! 
You and Tim make a great team.


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