21-22 Predator Season

[Tisto]

OK, I have to ask. Have any of you ever encountered squirrels in the dark ?

I was out last Sunday afternoon at my deer camp and I set up my foxpro in the field next to the driveway. I got up in the treestand and settled in for sunset. Baby bunny in distress played quietly on and off for a while. I heard movement behind me, and turned around to check it out. By this time it was completely dark. I found a canine head in the thermal for a second, but then it disappeared. Then slightly further down the driveway I saw 2 animals chasing each other around like squirrels do. It seemed they were too big to be squirrels though. Raccoons perhaps. I don't know. Any ideas ?

I did soon thereafter see the canine again. It was my new neighbor's Belgian Malinois. Followed shortly thereafter by my new neighbor.

 

[JamieZ]

OK, I have to ask. Have any of you ever encountered squirrels in the dark ?

I was out last Sunday afternoon at my deer camp and I set up my foxpro in the field next to the driveway. I got up in the treestand and settled in for sunset. Baby bunny in distress played quietly on and off for a while. I heard movement behind me, and turned around to check it out. By this time it was completely dark. I found a canine head in the thermal for a second, but then it disappeared. Then slightly further down the driveway I saw 2 animals chasing each other around like squirrels do. It seemed they were too big to be squirrels though. Raccoons perhaps. I don't know. Any ideas ?

I did soon thereafter see the canine again. It was my new neighbor's Belgian Malinois. Followed shortly thereafter by my new neighbor.

A couple times now Ive seen animals in the trees, jumping/flying from tree to tree and I always say what the f--k are those,,, buddy says flying squirrels. Not sure if he is right though but they are the size of squirrels.

 

[Tisto]

Ive seen owls many times. I think I even posted pics of an owl trying to attack my foxpro deke. These two were not up high in the trees. They were only a couple feet off the ground, chasing each other around, up and down the tree. They seemed too small to be raccoons, but too big for squirrels, and I can't say that I ever saw a squirrel after dark.


Aliens ?

 

[Shoots100]

I think I see an Iray thermal scope in your 2022 future !
What your seeing on video, doesn't even come close to what you'll be seeing in the display.
I thought my XP38 had a great image and when looking at videos of the XG50 on line, I didn't think the XG looked much better, especially for the jump up in price for the BAE core.
I decided to jump on the deal I got for the XG and after comparing both, the XG didn't blow the XP away, but it was noticeable better.
If you can, keep the 536 around so you can compare the two.
My guess is that you'll be sending that 536 out the door in no time.
Flying tree rats are everywhere.
They are smaller than red squirrels, so I'm guessing what you saw were fishers, as squirrels should be nestled in their nests at that time of the evening.
Maybe your new neighbor was walking ferrets and a dog ?
Aliens ?
The Aliens I've seen and met were a lot bigger than raccoons.
I could easily tell the difference.

 

[JamieZ]

Should of waited for a Yote but couldnt because I wanted to try out my new rounds. Damn thing caught me off guard and either smelled me because the wind was headed in his direction or saw me swing the gun towards him.

View attachment Foxmiss123021.mp4

 

[Shoots100]

Were you using the PIP when taking the longer shots ?
I hate when that happens, but at least it was just a fox.
By the looks of your video, it was a very humid night.
The super hogster had no issues, just the guy pulling the trigger !
Just thinking out loud, but maybe you should stick to hunting with your proven load and leave the experimenting for the off season ?

 

[JamieZ]

Were you using the PIP when taking the longer shots ?
I hate when that happens, but at least it was just a fox.
By the looks of your video, it was a very humid night.
The super hogster had no issues, just the guy pulling the trigger !
Just thinking out loud, but maybe you should stick to hunting with your proven load and leave the experimenting for the off season ?

Wasnt using PIP, everything happened to fast. Humidity was killer last night. No problems seeing critters, I could see mice all over the field and could see many rabbits. Humidity problem only affected detail of the surrounding areas. Tree's and grass were damn near impossible to see.

That new load is super accurate, apparently Im not when it comes to running game. The 3rd shot when he was pretty much standing still had to be roughly 350yds. Even the first 2 shots had to be over 200 +

 

[JamieZ]

Wasnt using PIP, everything happened to fast. Humidity was killer last night. No problems seeing critters, I could see mice all over the field and could see many rabbits. Humidity problem only affected detail of the surrounding areas. Tree's and grass were damn near impossible to see.

That new load is super accurate, apparently Im not when it comes to running game. The 3rd shot when he was pretty much standing still had to be roughly 350yds. Even the first 2 shots had to be over 200 +

Oh I forgot ,,, the gun jammed after the second shot because I had a little grab bag still attached to the ejection port from when I sighted and measured the loads. Well that little grab bag made it so one of the shells didnt eject and another one tried loading. I was able to get it out with some fingering and shot the 3rd shot

 

[Shoots100]

Happy New year.
Three words, Bolt Action Rifle.

 

[Tisto]

I have a few pics to post for all of you, but before I can, I have to figure out how to get them from the thermal onto the laptop, then onto the phone. I know I did it once before, but honestly, that was all done by happenstance and I don't know how I did it.

I went out on New Year's Eve. It was my 11th annual tradition. I don't drink and I HATE crowds, so I go hunting. The day started very nicely. I got to deer camp early afternoon. I spent a half hour repairing my treestand then went to the cabin to change. Hunting clothes on, I went for a slow walk down into the woods. Nothing spectacular to report, but I did find a deer carcass that the coyotes had torn apart. Nothing left but scattered bones and hair. It had obviously been there a while. As the shadows began to get long, I watched an owl watching me. That was cool. I headed back up the hill and traded one rifle for another. I set the Foxpro 60 yards into the field and got up in the treestand just as it was getting dark. Soon I drew in this coyote. He was so interested in the sound and movement of the deke, that he circled ever closer for almost an hour. I was just watching, and learning from him. Then we both heard a second coyote yip and howl from across the road. I watched him as he barked back and took off to find his friend. After a while, I saw him come back from the other side of the road and he laid down in the field, just gazing in the direction of my caller. I toyed with him. I played a few quiet sounds and made the deke twitch and then shut it all off over and over. He was mesmerized by it all. It was fun playing this game with him. Different sounds drew different reactions from him. When I got to the Vole squeeks, he really took notice. He sat up and stared. Then he got up and bounded for the caller. As soon as he did, I shut it off. He got within 30 feet of it and stood there like a damn statue for a solid two minutes. I made a blunder when the safety lever made an audible snap. He looked right toward me. He then headed back to where he had been laying. He paused there for a while, just looking back toward my setup, then I heard him bark and he trotted away. I could have shot him so easily, but I was having fun playing this game with him. Anyway, a few pictures to come as soon as I figure out how to download and transfer them.

 

[Shoots100]

I don't watch coyote, I kill coyote, especially coyote that prey on calves.
Started my new year doing over watch on a new dairy farm.
Didn't even have to call this one in.

1/2/22 Coyote

70 grn pill to the cranium

rumble.com

 

[Tisto]

I got the pics from the scope to the laptop. That was surprisingly easy, even for me. Now for the life of me I can't figure out how I send them to myself. Any suggestions ? I might have to wait until my neighbor's 8 year old gets home from school.

 

[nortatoga]

I got the pics from the scope to the laptop. That was surprisingly easy, even for me. Now for the life of me I can't figure out how I send them to myself. Any suggestions ? I might have to wait until my neighbor's 8 year old gets home from school.

Email them to yourself, I do it all the time. Usually from my phone to my lap-top.

 

[Tisto]

How ???? I'm sure that's what I did once before, but I don't know what I did to make it happen. I made my phone a hot sopt, and synced the laptop to it, but I can't get it to go any further.

 

[nortatoga]

You should be able to tap on the pic and the the share symbol,

 

[Tisto]

I just spent an hour and I can't figure out how to do it. I should have found it by accident already. I'll take the laptop to work with me tomorrow and one of the kids there will show me how.

 

[Tisto]

Nothing spectacular, but here are a few pics.

 

[Tisto]

Yeah.....I did it. It arrived on the brown truck today. I spent a couple hours getting it set up. Now I have to go sight it in. It really is AWESOME. Just because he deserves it, Cameron at THERMAL OPTICS PLUS was incredibly helpful. He answered all my questions, shipped the same day I placed the order, gave me a nice veteran discount, and was just a great guy to do business with. I would not hesitate to do business with him again.

 

[JamieZ]

Yeah.....I did it. It arrived on the brown truck today. I spent a couple hours getting it set up. Now I have to go sight it in. It really is AWESOME. Just because he deserves it, Cameron at THERMAL OPTICS PLUS was incredibly helpful. He answered all my questions, shipped the same day I placed the order, gave me a nice veteran discount, and was just a great guy to do business with. I would not hesitate to do business with him again.

If you ever come down this way this season,,,, dont bring it with you. I dont want to see the clarity a 640 unit gives you.

 

[Shoots100]

Yeah.....I did it. It arrived on the brown truck today. I spent a couple hours getting it set up. Now I have to go sight it in. It really is AWESOME. Just because he deserves it, Cameron at THERMAL OPTICS PLUS was incredibly helpful. He answered all my questions, shipped the same day I placed the order, gave me a nice veteran discount, and was just a great guy to do business with. I would not hesitate to do business with him again.

Good deal.
Now we can see some more awesome video/pics of coyote you let walk away.
640 res is the Bomb.

 

[squib]

Giving it a go In the AM. I love hunting with snow on the ground.

 

[JamieZ]

Went out last night and going out tonight. Did 2.5 sets last night. 1st one,, is the one I have video of,,, which was behind the woods that is behind my buddies farm. 2nd one,,, was the woods across the street from my buddies farm and 3rd one was from the woods behind his house and on the other side of the first set.

1st set we were to close to the hedgerow, scent blowing hard right towards the hedgerow and we didnt put the caller out far enough so the damn things came out almost on top of us,,, smelled us and booked. Where they came out there was houses behind the thick hedgerow.

View attachment 2yotesnoshot010722.mp4

2nd set across the street from his house they were hooting and hollering at us from behind. From the same woods we hunted on the first set. Thats why the set that I have marked as half. We picked up and tried behind his house.

 

[Shoots100]

Went out last night and going out tonight. Did 2.5 sets last night. 1st one,, is the one I have video of,,, which was behind the woods that is behind my buddies farm. 2nd one,,, was the woods across the street from my buddies farm and 3rd one was from the woods behind his house and on the other side of the first set.

1st set we were to close to the hedgerow, scent blowing hard right towards the hedgerow and we didnt put the caller out far enough so the damn things came out almost on top of us,,, smelled us and booked. Where they came out there was houses behind the thick hedgerow.

View attachment 141839

2nd set across the street from his house they were hooting and hollering at us from behind. From the same woods we hunted on the first set. Thats why the set that I have marked as half. We picked up and tried behind his house.

Looks like their onto your shenanigans and you need to change your tactics.
I'll be headed out tonight also, hopefully we'll both have some luck.

 

[JamieZ]

I'll be headed out tonight also, hopefully we'll both have some luck.

Went out last night.

1st setup was suppose to be our best of the night because of the wind direction. Walked out there but couldnt cross the creek, it flooded. So we setup right on the creeks edge.

Within 5 mins after calling,, a fox tried crossing the creek 10ft in front of us, to get to the call. It saw us and turned and ran. It stopped about 30yds into the woods and I put her down not thinking I couldnt retrieve it.

Forgot to turn on the video too

Did 2 more setups with absolutely no results or callbacks.

 

[Shoots100]

Set up in a different location at the new farm yesterday pm.
Called for awhile and didn't see or hear anything.
Was making the decision to pack up and head to another location, when I spotted a lone yote perusing around the stand location we hunted last weekend.
I don't hunt the same stand location twice in a month.
It was too far away to shoot at and it wasn't interested in any calls.
It eventually went over the hill and disappeared.
Went silent for ten minutes, hoping it would come back, when I heard movement coming from our 9 o'clock direction.
It was another yote trotting down the hill.
I whistled to make it stop in a clear area.

It wasn't as clear as I thought.
No blood or hair found.
Leaving the area, we saw the yote that went over the hill heading down a field towards the farm houses.
We lit it up with a spotlight and scared it off, as we couldn't shoot at it because of it's proximity to the houses.
2nd stand location was a bust, but on the way out, we observed one lone yote cruising around a horse farm that we don't have permission to hunt.
Next time it might not be so lucky.

 

[JamieZ]

Set up in a different location at the new farm yesterday pm.
Called for awhile and didn't see or hear anything.
Was making the decision to pack up and head to another location, when I spotted a lone yote perusing around the stand location we hunted last weekend.
I don't hunt the same stand location twice in a month.
It was too far away to shoot at and it wasn't interested in any calls.
It eventually went over the hill and disappeared.
Went silent for ten minutes, hoping it would come back, when I heard movement coming from our 9 o'clock direction.
It was another yote trotting down the hill.
I whistled to make it stop in a clear area.

It wasn't as clear as I thought.
No blood or hair found.
Leaving the area, we saw the yote that went over the hill heading down a field towards the farm houses.
We lit it up with a spotlight and scared it off, as we couldn't shoot at it because of it's proximity to the houses.
2nd stand location was a bust, but on the way out, we observed one lone yote cruising around a horse farm that we don't have permission to hunt.
Next time it might not be so lucky.

3 words,,, Semi Auto Rifle

 

[Shoots100]

I have a new/old semi auto .243.
Just waiting on the return of the improved trigger assy and then you won't be the only one here complaining about stove pipes and running out of ammo !!!!!
The first shot hit some unseen branches.
When we went looking for blood, the spot was so thick with small branches, we had to walk 20 yards to get access to the other side of the stone wall.
Wouldn't have taken the shot so soon if I knew that, but we set up in the dark.
Ten yards more and it would've been in the field.
Since it was already on the move , I didn't want to take the chance of it bolting across the field when it got into the open.
I had an issue with the call that was frustrating me too.
It was about 30 yards away on a slight down hill angle from the stand and it was acting like it was on some sort of time delay.
Freshly charged batteries and a good line of sight.
I had to move it closer and hold the controller up in the air for it to work properly.
I usually keep the controller on a lanyard around my neck and have had no issues with it until yesterday.

 

[JamieZ]

I have a new/old semi auto .243.
Just waiting on the return of the improved trigger assy and then you won't be the only one here complaining about stove pipes and running out of ammo !!!!!
The first shot hit some unseen branches.
When we went looking for blood, the spot was so thick with small branches, we had to walk 20 yards to get access to the other side of the stone wall.
Wouldn't have taken the shot so soon if I knew that, but we set up in the dark.
Ten yards more and it would've been in the field.
Since it was already on the move , I didn't want to take the chance of it bolting across the field when it got into the open.
I had an issue with the call that was frustrating me too.
It was about 30 yards away on a slight down hill angle from the stand and it was acting like it was on some sort of time delay.
Freshly charged batteries and a good line of sight.
I had to move it closer and hold the controller up in the air for it to work properly.
I usually keep the controller on a lanyard around my neck and have had no issues with it until yesterday.

Just an FYI,,,, I have had minor issues with my million dollar caller too.

Out of the blue the controller will shut off, even with what I think are charged batteries.

2nd thing,,, caller was about 40yds away and I hit pause,, call didnt stop but controller said it was paused. So I had to do it again and it shut off. This has happened a couple of times.

 

[Shoots100]

My Call has never shut off, just no control with the remote at ranges over 30 yards the last time out.
When I tested it earlier in the year, it worked at 100 yards, with a slight pause.
I also reprogrammed the call to not repeat the calling sequence.
Maybe the cold weather had something to do with it, but I'll be testing it this weekend in possibly subzero weather to find out.
Bought another 5,200 Mah battery and a different charger, as I don't like charging the battery through the call.

 

[JamieZ]

My Call has never shut off, just no control with the remote at ranges over 30 yards the last time out.
When I tested it earlier in the year, it worked at 100 yards, with a slight pause.
I also reprogrammed the call to not repeat the calling sequence.
Maybe the cold weather had something to do with it, but I'll be testing it this weekend in possibly subzero weather to find out.
Bought another 5,200 Mah battery and a different charger, as I don't like charging the battery through the call.

Testing mine this weekend also. Just bought brand new Panasonic Eneloop Pro batteries for it.

I wrote Lucky the other day and they are sending me a brand new caller, it arrives Saturday. They said nothing about sending the other one back.