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Post by bucksathome on Jan 12, 2008 22:21:48 GMT -5
A couple of years ago we been seeing a lot of foxes on the property where i do most of my hunting! we decided we were going to start to take out some because we worried of the impact on the small game.On the second saturday of deer shotgun i busted a red in the snow. So i decided to buy a electric game caller and decoy from cabelas. when is the best time to set up, and should i purchase a night vision scope?? I was using my 22 ruger, When i tried calling one in. Is this good enough or should i step up to a magnum or maybe 223. or 22/250 ?
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Post by brandon on Jan 12, 2008 23:18:23 GMT -5
.223 and 22-250 are to big, stick with what your using i would say. the best time is when its been cold for a few nights, like in the twenty's. they get real hungry then. i just got the all call decoy from cabelas and called 1 in last night but i think he winded us b/c he ran back (to far to shot) and started barking. an huge owl and a stupid cat came to! congrats on the red, they're rare. i missed one at about 10 ft. last weekend. but.. i know where he lives and i;ll get em!
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Post by bucksathome on Jan 12, 2008 23:27:21 GMT -5
Thanks ducks n bucks !! yAH I DID NOT KNOW THE REDS WERE RARE , I GUESS I GOT LUCKY ON THAT ONE!
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Post by brandon on Jan 12, 2008 23:40:32 GMT -5
did you keep the pelt? also, we use .22's and shotguns, but i think the best may be a 17hrm which is what im looking to buy now. charles and dorchester counties have open season all year round.
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Post by bucksathome on Jan 13, 2008 12:06:03 GMT -5
NO i sure didn,t keep it . I was planning toget it mounted but it had mange on its tail and must have been rolling in something rotten! It was so bad it made me get sick ! I guess i should have gave him a bath!!!
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Post by davep on Jan 13, 2008 12:25:47 GMT -5
Reds? Rare? Tell that to Phil Brown up on the PA/MD line. He caught over 1,200 last season and is stacking them again this year! ;D Actually, I haven't caught a single red this year around here. Seems every few years either mange or distemper or rabies rolls thru here,and the numbers crash. Then numbers of greys start to climb.
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Post by brettgerhart on Jan 13, 2008 13:43:29 GMT -5
Had a beautiful red walk under my tree during the first day of shotgun! I'll be heading back for him soon! Bucksathome, I use a 17hmr which will drop them dead in their tracks! They will even kill Coyotes! Your 22 is great for fox. Buy a light with a red lense and hunt them at night with a buddy! It is some real fun hunting them at night!
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Post by brandon on Jan 13, 2008 15:32:31 GMT -5
yea, only at night... when its cold is the best.
1200 last season? there should be a law against that... yes, they are rare in so. md.
ive also heard of bobcats and even coyotes in so. md, but have yet to have any real proof. anyone ever seen either?
make sure your light is at least a million candle power, and if you dont and cant find a lense, the red tape they sale at autoparts stores to "fix" taillights will work good.
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Post by Jbird on Jan 14, 2008 0:32:53 GMT -5
It seems the northern parts of the tri county area are full of grays where as the southern parts are full of reds. Southern St Marys is full of reds. Me and my buddy killed 25 this year down there and only one was a gray. About 10 years ago we hunted from Hollywood up to Mechanicsville and killed 18 in two nights and only one was a red. We use 17hmr and 22mags and a 12 gauge with some 3 1/2" dead coyote loads for the stupid ones that try to eat the caller. Biggest mistake most people make is shining the light way too much. Even a red lense on a too big of light will spook them. Best bet is to locate em with the light and pop em as quick as you can before they spook. Gray fox killing cottontail tape is the most productive tape we have ever used.
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Post by davep on Jan 14, 2008 7:34:42 GMT -5
1200 last season? there should be a law against that... yes, they are rare in so. md. ive also heard of bobcats and even coyotes in so. md, but have yet to have any real proof. anyone ever seen either? WHY should there be a law against it? Phil works his butt off for the entire season,all within the law. He's up and gone in the wee hours, checking traps, remaking sets,and moving parts of his line. Then skinning,fleshing and putting up fur half the night. And he has been pulling big numbers for years, on many of the same farms. Fur is a renewable resource. He would be hurting himself if he trapped them completely out in his areas. Always leave some for breeding stock:heck I don't think you could trap them out if you wanted to:always a few educated one,and when you're rolling big numbers like him, you don't have time to fool with the smart ones. There aren't many where I am at, but there are areas close by where there are way more reds than greys. Greys prefer more wooded/thick areas and the reds like it more open/fields etc. And like I said earlier, you get cycles. (mange,distemper,rabies) And when the coyotes move in, reds suffer the most. Coyotes have been confirmed in ALL Maryland counties some years ago. I know of a few confirmed kills over near Nanjemoy.Heck, they're even in Rock Creek Park in DC,and parts of Montgomery are lousy with them. I think the Potomac is the perfect travel corridor. I suspect the cats will/have move down it as well. Right now, mostly in Garrett and Alleghany. We'll have more coyotes soon enough.Only a matter of time. In the last few years they have exploded in Garrett county. Go on up and take a listen one night:pretty cool. The Leggetts were putting up good numbers of coyotes in nortehrn MD 20+ years ago when coyotes weren't even "suppossed " to be here!
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Post by brandon on Jan 14, 2008 10:20:01 GMT -5
What are the Leggetts? I hope a Coyote runs to my call one day in Nanjemoy! or a bobcat.
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Post by brandon on Jan 14, 2008 10:22:23 GMT -5
Biggest mistake most people make is shining the light way too much. Even a red lense on a too big of light will spook them. Best bet is to locate em with the light and pop em as quick as you can before they spook. yea, we use that primos blood light to find them b/c its not bright at all, but it will light up there eyes w/ no problem! but its not nearly enough to shoot with so we have a 2 million candle power spotlight with a red lens when there in range to pop em.
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Post by bucksathome on Jan 14, 2008 17:05:14 GMT -5
I thought i saw a bobcat a few years back in the zekiah swamp but never any coyotes! You know what will happen if i do see one, banggggggggggg!!!
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Post by davep on Jan 14, 2008 20:28:55 GMT -5
The Leggetts were a father and son team of trappers from MD that are legendary. The dad passed away a few years ago, but the son is still out there, putting it on them. They were catching plenty of coyotes before the state ever acknowledged they were here.
And Phil Brown caught # 997 today, so he'll break 1,000 on the season tomorrow. Again!
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Post by brettgerhart on Jan 14, 2008 21:52:11 GMT -5
I am from Somerset county in PA, just north of Garrett county. There are tons of Coyotes up there! It is really cool!! Planning a trip to Garrett county pretty soon. Should be a fun time!
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