Post by: rainshadow1 on March 12, 2009, 03:31:09 PM
Hunting was tough, late in the year, very educated dogs for the most part, and Grizzle had a recently sprained ankle which kind limited our movement. But we went for it anyway, had a real good time!
Saw lots of bird life, lots of hawks, a roosted Owl hooting at us on a night stand, a couple bunches of deer, 4 drive by Coyotes (Could have legitimately shot one, 150 yards, standing, on feel-free-to-hunt property, but we hadn't called it, so we left it for next year.) and had lots of howlers at dusk.
Here's some of the Country we found in SE with feel free to hunt signs on it...
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi234.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee99%2Frainshadow1%2FDSC05019.jpg&hash=8cc27a981aaddb8e88fbd457809f1730721cf572)
We ended up calling one by the book. It came in at 15 minutes like it hadn't been called before. I first saw it at 500 yards across 4 ridge tops. It came in a bee line, and never stopped once. 500 yards on the rangefinder, but probably over 1000 easily on the paw. WAY down, then WAY back up again, FOUR times! On a string, full sprint the whole way.
I thought it would stop on the closest ridge, I stopped the squalling and told Grizzle to be ready to take that shot at 120, but it flew right over the top and bailed into the draw below. I said, "Get Ready! He's Comin'!" and he topped the crown of our hill right in front of the WT.
35 yards. "BLAM!" 223 Death Spin! Perfect shot. Frontal chest, exited out the back of the ham. Then I flattened him with a 3.5" load of #4 Buck from the Bennelli just to stop the dance.
Here's the set-up...
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi234.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee99%2Frainshadow1%2FDSC05016.jpg&hash=fcf6bfab1fca208bfda3730965dee44a88238127)
Then the exclamation point on a great sentence and paragraph....
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi234.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fee99%2Frainshadow1%2FDSC05018.jpg&hash=676e5291e7ced0d672461e99093f2ed45c5bea7d)
Male. Probably a 2 year old by his build and teeth.
This trip really humbled me by lowering my call-in percentage... a LOT! But that was kind-of expected, all things considered. It was a great time, and I'm happy to have made a new friend!
Thanks Brook!
Post by: HawkenBob on March 12, 2009, 03:46:39 PM
Post by: ivarhusa on March 12, 2009, 03:59:13 PM
Post by: rasbo on March 12, 2009, 04:02:14 PM
Post by: tlbradford on March 12, 2009, 04:12:17 PM
Post by: deaddog on March 12, 2009, 04:27:17 PM
Post by: Big10gauge on March 12, 2009, 06:46:01 PM
Post by: rainshadow1 on March 12, 2009, 07:00:16 PM
It was ideal Cougar calling conditions here early this week wasn't it?!?! Dang it!! Seems every time when I leave, the cougar calling conditions are ideal at home! My friend came by this evening with a beauty he shot at about 3 today!! He was on one Monday too, just tracking, jumped it once, but couldn't close the deal!
GRRRRRRrrrrrr! I'm tickled for him, but now I'm pulling my hair out with one 3 days left to get a Cougar!
Good thing is, it came in to my #2 Juvinile Whistle on my CD!!! My first confirmed E-sound kill!
Post by: btlsoom on March 13, 2009, 09:39:56 PM
Great job.
Randy
Post by: ivarhusa on March 15, 2009, 10:43:18 AM
The powers of observation grow, with practice!
Sadly, despite having the rifle in the trunk, none of the coyotes seen this weekend could be harvested by me (private land).
I did see some sign, and another coyote hunter, down around Revere. One stand was at the base of a short basalt "cliff" (maybe 15 feet above where I could stand), where I found a 3' tall pile of debris beneath a bird's nest or resting point. The debris contained thousands of rodent bone fragments. I was guessing that this vantage point (it was high ground) was a preferred hawk lunching spot for perhaps thousands of years. One never knows, do one?
Ivar
Post by: heavy hauler on March 15, 2009, 03:35:57 PM