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Guess
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| Joined: | Thu May 1st, 2008 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
| Posts: | 74 |
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Posted: Wed Aug 27th, 2008 04:33 am |
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This story may not mean much to some of you guys because it was mostly attended by locals from Kansas and Predator hunters from another forum AKA PM. You may know some of the the guys though.
I really don’t know where to begin. I hadn’t planned on going to the World Predator hunting expo due to all the unexpected cost I’ve encountered this year. Michelle talked me into going anyway. It was also my daughter Jayden’s 9th birthday and having never missed a birthday I hated that I wouldn’t be there. I started my journey Wednesday 8-20-08 and headed out to Byron South’s{coming to the call video series}, we made a few stands that evening {I think he’s holding out on me}, but we had a good time anyway. We talked a lot; well Byron did anyway and slept very little. About 5:45 am Rod Haydel{Haydels game calls} called me and said he was to be there in 10 minutes so Byron could take us to a couple more of his old wore out hunting spots.
We loaded up and headed to Kansas to the 1st World Predator hunting expo. Rod has a friend there in Kansas with a small hunting cabin {yea right 3,200 square feet of luxury} we planned to spend the night at and do a little calling before heading on up to Kansas city.
On the first stand in Kansas we called in a coyote that was in the only blind spot I had, I have no idea why Rod didn’t shoot he claims he was just trying to let me get the first shot! Any way it got away! On the third stand we called in a bobcat in less than a minute {say we’re in Decatur Texas Byron PLEASE}. No furbearers license and not season we just had to watch and cry! Early the next morning we called in 3 coyotes on the first stand, 1 of them dang near ran over us and we only managed to kill 1 of them. We had to call it a day and get back on the road to the expo.
The Expo
We got set up on Friday 8-22-08 and right away started meeting a lot of good people from PM and others. It was great to meet and put faces with names for sure. If I missed getting to talk with anyone I truly apologize. We have an awesome community in the predator hunting world for sure. The highlights for me were meeting the guys I had never net mostly PM members, Gerry Blair{ he has appeared in many outdoor publications} and his lovely wife, AP and his lovely wife and some of the other super stars of the hunting world. Me being the kind of guy I am I was constantly jacking with somebody. The best planned prank was aimed at Mike Dillon{1 of the owners of FOXPRO}, I’ll let him give the details if he chooses, but everyone in the Foxpro Mafia got to see it. Mike being the great individual he is took it well or so I thought. Later that night me being a non-drinker was chosen to help Todd and Jeff{both of Predator Pursuit vidoes} hunt a beer store {total set up}, while Mike schemed against me. Let me say that I have never stayed in a fancy motel so I really didn’t know how they do things. So at 3 am when Uncle Jay{Jay Nistetter of Rhino calls} and I returned to our room the lights were down low and the main light wouldn’t come on {light bulbs unscrewed}. I noticed right away that my wet hunting clothes that were hanging in the shower to dry were gone. I thought maybe house cleaning was washing them for me heck I didn’t know. I went over to the bed which had all my junk on it just as I had left it and noticed the bed was hard as a rock! I moved my gear and discovered Mike had gotten into the room and moved the box springs to the top and remade and the bed! He then stuffed sweet gum tree balls into the pillows {they look like a green golf ball with spikes all over them}. He put clear plastic over the toilet and put the seat back down and there was soap smeared in the only drinking glass in the room which Jay drank out of and Mike still claims he didn’t do. I later found my wet clothes in the fridge frozen stiff! The next day Mike tried to start trouble between me and Al Morris of Hunter Specialties. Let me tell you Al is one big feller! I proceeded to tell Al that I could have him down on his knees in a millisecond {you should have seen the look on his face, you gotta remember I‘m only 5‘7“}. Then I said; trying to dig me out from under the truck! I thought he would fall out of his chair. Al is a Super nice guy it was a pleasure to meet him. Randy Anderson{Primos Predator videos} asked me if I was married after seeing me aggravate Mike and Jeff Thomason, I thought he was asking me for a date. Then he asked me if I knew Elton John. He said you know he wears an earring, funny hat and sunglasses to. I think he was trying to tell me something! Anyway we all had a great time at the show.
The Trip back
We again stopped a Rod’s camp on the way back, we got to make 1 stand that evening, nothing came in but we heard coyotes in three directions. Early the next morning we headed back to that area again, easing closer to one of the areas we heard coyotes the night before. I sat next to a big ol tree that the cows had been rubbing {BIG MISTAKE} and we started calling. Shortly into the sequence in came a coyote that stopped perfect for a shot, but again I was blocked by the only weed there. The coyote circled to our down wind side which was as far to the right as I could turn. I dropped my sticks, raised to miss more brush, twisted all the way to my right and shot freehanded as the coyote stopped slightly quartering towards me at Byron’s woof. I fired missing the chest and hitting the coyote in the hindquarter. I quickly reloaded and shot the coyote again dropping it right there. We kept calling and all of a sudden I looked down and discovered I had thousands of seed ticks on me and that was just the ones on my right hand! I headed to the truck to shed my clothes, having a spare set in the truck and went back to were Byron and Rod were talking about the hunt. I then walked over to the coyote that was gone! Nowhere to be found! The second shot looked on film to be a good hit we have no idea what happened. So never lean against a cow rubbing tree in Kansas, you‘ll get ticks and your coyote will vanish! We move to the next stand Byron and I both thought it looked like a good bobcat stand and sure enough, shortly into the stand the blue jays started fussing and we spotted a bobcat standing right out front. Dang Kansas game laws! After the cat left 10 minutes later, we moved on. A good ways into the call a coyote came in hard at first from the opposite direction of the first stand coyote, possibly one of the three packs of coyotes we heard the night before. As it reached a spot about 150 yards out it locked up and just sat down, you would have thought it hit a glass wall, we think it may have came to a territorial boundary. I won’t say who but some one missed it! That pretty much ended our hunt and it was time to head back to Texas for Me and Byron, back to Cajun land for Rod.I had an awesome trip to say the least. I can’t say enough about Kansas hospitality and the fine folks from PM.
Tanner South on stand.
Kansas sunrise.
World Predator Expo critters.
left to right Mike Dillon,Byron South,John Summerfield {winter magic video}, Bearmanrick,Mojo guy, Uncle Jay, Rajun Cajun, part of Steve Dillon's head,Abner with Foxpro,Rod Haydel,and back Mojo guy and me.
The gobfather/Beastmaster himself Gerry Blair with som eof the foxpro Mafia. Mike, me Gerry, Ernie 3rd in the World predator caller and Steve Dillon.
Me and Gerry Blair.
Me and Rod haydel with a Kansas coyote.
Kansas Sunset
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I simply write what happens. God created it and made it all come together. I was just blessed to be there when it did.
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