[StevenD]

Question -

How many of you mouth callers have had close calls with vermin jumping in your lap or owls or hawks attack?

Just curious.

 

[Floyd]

We weren't mouth calling.....

but were set up on a tank damn doing a quickie with the Johnny Stewart for coyotes. It was Texas cold and my partner had on a furry cap with ear muffs.
We heard this rushing sound and an owl swooped down and tried to ripe the cap off of his head....it was sudden and the quickness of it scared the crap out of both of us. Coyotes do not come to loud cursing.

 

[StevenD]

I guess furry camo is not the answer.

...my partner had on a furry cap with ear muffs.

That's funny. A friend of mine had a similar experience wearing a fur hat.
Decided to forego the furry camo approach.

 

[Bruce Eakins]

If you have called for very many years.....

you have had that happen numerous times. Calling pardner had stocking cap removed on one occasion by owl... ...lots of coyotes in laps, and jumping over hunters.....on one occasion calling over on Texas side of line one night, had a bobcat jump into back of pickup with guy calling....and on one occasion, had pardner "trip" over coyote one night going back to pickup...LOL, that was hilarious.

 

[Phil]

A guy where I used to work was turkey hunting one spring day,

using a hen yelp. I think he had a box call but am really not sure. ANyhow, he had a bobcat just jump right into his lap lookin for a turkey dinner! He said he screamed like a school girl and almost shit his pants! ( wouldn't have been an almost for me I don't think ) Then the dummy came to work and told this story to every one. For days all you could hear on the intercom loudspeakers was a cat meowing! Boy did he get mad after a couple days of that.

 

[Rocky Raab]

Several times. Was calling ducks in a beaver pond once, snuggled up against the lodge, when a bobcat screamed from the top of the lodge, about a foot behind my head. I levitated. Learned that waders keeps wet stuff in as well as out.

Have had fox come in so determined that one skidded to a (dead) stop touching my boot. I let him get to within five feet before I "Hornetized" him, wondering how far he'd come.

Had my old Foxpro set out a few yards away from my one evening, with a rabbit pelt draped over the caller as a decoy. THUMP A beautiful -and completely silent- barn owl slammed into it and carried off the pelt. Reminded myself to never tie the pelt to the caller.

 

[John in CA.]

nothing too exciting here

Have had a few ground owls swoop me when spotlighting, but no harm done. The red-tail hawks, IF they come in at night, they are easier to hear than owls. Owls are the silent "air-force" of night predators.

One time I sat down in an orange grove, near the base of a tree, began calling, then set my left hand down on the ground. When I did, I looked over and saw a small gray bobcat sitting, and staring at my hand, about 12 feet away. He spooked and disappeared. Glad he didnt think my hand was a white mouse

One other comes to mind. Very late in the evening, barely able to see, I had given up on a stand. Two coyotes had been zig-zagging toward me, thru the desert sage, but I had waited 10 or so minutes, and never saw them again.

But, as soon as I moved onto one knee, I heard a WHOOSH ! And two coyotes running away from me. They had approached unseen and were on both sides and not 15 feet away in the still night air. Stands like that will keep your bowel snug.

 

[StevenD]

Foxpro attacks

Had my old Foxpro set out a few yards away from my one evening, with a rabbit pelt draped over the caller as a decoy. THUMP A beautiful -and completely silent- barn owl slammed into it and carried off the pelt. Reminded myself to never tie the pelt to the caller.

Partner has a foxpro and a coyote was coming straight in and suddenly put on the skids and looked left. Before a shot was fired, a coyote bolted in and grabbed the foxpro and started off with it a few feet before realizing it had a funny taste and dropped it.

Both got away.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

I've had to yell at coyotes several time to avoid being "runover". Shot one in Wyoming that was at 6' and still coming. Also been dive-bombed by birds of prey. One strange thing I've noticed is that owls, at night, come to me better when using a howler than when using a distress call. Owls often come VERY close. Years ago, when our desert was mostly sagebrush, we often called ermine right to our feet while using distress calls.

 

[EricT]

Funny one

Was hunting coyotes in South Dakota, caller and shooter were set up side by side,I was off to the left watching the back slope of the ridge we were calling.They were sitting in a blow out with a bohunk in front of them. I saw the coyote running up the hill on their side they didn't see it cuz of the bohunk. It jumped over the bohunk and landed between them. The coyote saw them in mid-air and put it's feet down as if to stop.The look on that coyotes face was priceless.It turned and ran away down my side this time.The 222 ended the game. LOL
EricT

 

[clark22d]

After reading all this I can't help but think of a Far Side/Gary Larsen cartoon showing a couple of owls yucking it up about swooping down and grabbing some poor stealthy hunters hat!

 

[ollie]

3 Weeks ago i called in a opossum that had to walk around my right boot. I told him to leave,yelled get, but he looked at me and snarled ,10ga at 24inches stoped him. Ollie

 

[John in CA.]

Tell the story about the shadow coyote, Jim

I've had to yell at coyotes several time to avoid being "runover". Shot one in Wyoming that was at 6' and still coming. Also been dive-bombed by birds of prey. One strange thing I've noticed is that owls, at night, come to me better when using a howler than when using a distress call. Owls often come VERY close. Years ago, when our desert was mostly sagebrush, we often called ermine right to our feet while using distress calls.

I like that one, from a couple years ago in Nevada when you were out calling with 'Red Elk' (not sure it was him) Its a funny story, imho.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

That was funny! Red Elk (Art Burbank), and I were in a hunting contest out of Elko Nevada about 4 or 5 years ago. We were calling in an area about 60 miles northwest of Elko on the first day of the contest. On our last stand of the day I set us in a shallow valley that ran north and south. I had Art sitting about 70 yards in front of me and a bit to my right. he had the difficult job of looking into the setting sun to keep me from being surprised from my left, where I couldn't see due to a cutbank that rose about 6' to my immediate left. I was facing north up the valley, expecting any action to come from there. I made one good series on the call, and was watching quietly, when I noticed a moving shadow, with ears sticking up, on the ground to my right. I knew what that meant.....I was about to get "kamikazied" from my left. Before the thought was out of my mind, a coyote boiled over the cutbank and landed about 6' in front of me. He looked at me, as I looked at him, and then he hooked a right around me and headed back over the little ridge. I got one shot as he cleared the ridge, and another at about 250 yards when he broke cover for a moment, and neither connected. Art was really apologetic, but he just couldn't see into that low sun angle. The he started laughing...said all he could see was a cloud of dust with me and the coyote both in the middle, and then the coyote "exploded" out of it, and was over the ridge.....LOL. Thanks for the "reminder" John, I hadn't thought of that story for awhile.

 

[Crowhunter]

but were set up on a tank damn doing a quickie with the Johnny Stewart for coyotes. It was Texas cold and my partner had on a furry cap with ear muffs.
We heard this rushing sound and an owl swooped down and tried to ripe the cap off of his head....it was sudden and the quickness of it scared the crap out of both of us. Coyotes do not come to loud cursing.

Years ago I read of a game warden that was making rounds at night wearing a **** skin cap. An owl attacked it and ripped his scalp so badly that he bled to death.

 

[AceBall]

Every time I use a mouth call..

..while setting here on the PC here's comes Lucy Dog right in my lap. Almost made me spill my coffee once! Does that count?

 

[StevenD]

Why not

..while setting here on the PC here's comes Lucy Dog right in my lap. Almost made me spill my coffee once! Does that count?

I guess you can say you were calling varmints up on the internet... but don't tell anyone.