May 2018 APC P.O. Box 1172 Mesa, AZ

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1 May 2018 APC P.O. Box 1172 Mesa, AZ Dear APC Members, President s Message By Dennis Slade This is our last newsletter of the year - or at least the season. Coyote pups are only a week or two old and a new crop of deer killers is waiting to learn from mom and dad. We are camping and fishing instead of hunting. Maybe some of you are turkey hunting. I have spent the last two weekends camping with my grandkids and every morning have woken up to turkeys gobbling. What a great alarm clock. I am looking forward to putting a new rifle together for next year, dialing in my new choke tube for better performance out of my shotgun for next year and just unwinding from a long season. I am planning a trip to Africa in July and will have a chance to call for some of the native predators there, jackals and Caracals being top of my list. I will take some photos and tell the story when I get back. I hope all of you find time to come to the awards banquet on the 10th. Many of us didn't do well in putting fur on the stretcher this year- no shame if you are part of that crowd- come and join us for some awesome Barbeque from Jalapeno Bucks who is catering the dinner. We will raffle off a bunch of Yeti coolers and accessories. Enjoy your summer, spend time with your families. Come up with a plan to be a better sportsman or woman this coming fall. Get some young people interested in the outdoors. Head up to the high country and see some elk- plenty of things to do. Until fall Dennis ARIZONA PREDATOR CALLERS 2017/2018 Board of Directors President: Dennis Slade dwslade@gmail.com Vice-President: Jeff Heinze jeffheinze@gmail.com Treasurer: Jerry Thorson jerry.d.thorson@gmail.com Secretary: Hank Scutoski hpski9@gmail.com 1

2 Hunt Report By Dusty Mosier Another season has past and a new one has begun. Hope all of you were able to get out at least a few times. The final numbers are in and the totals have been included in this newsletter on pages Thanks to all of you who turned in your hunt reports, approximately 26%. Considering that letting us know how you did or didn t do is about all that we ask of you, to have only a quarter of you respond is pathetic. People, your hunt reports let us know not only the total predators removed, but also determines the Caller of the Year for each category. The top callers will receive recognition and a cash prize at our awards banquet May 10th. I do not hunt over the summer, I use this time to check and or repair my equipment. This is the best time to paint or touch up the paint on your weapons. The fresh paint smell will be long gone by August. If you have acquired a new firearm, this is the time to sight-in or pattern and find that sweet load. Even though I m not hunting, I do look for sign when I m driving around up north on my quad. Keeping track of what I see and where, will help determine where I call next fall. Be Safe, Have Fun, Shoot to Kill!...Dusty Membership Report: Welcome New Members Matt Gold of Peoria Thanks to Renewing Members Jeff Heinze Expiring Soon Jeff Serdy, Thomas Blum, Elvin Lightfoot, Caleb Hendrikson, Arther Hawk, Justin Mueller and Marv Buck. May Meeting Program Awards Presentations and Dinner The May meeting will consist of the annual presentations of the Caller of the Year, Novice Caller of the Year and Amateur Caller of the Year. In addition, dinner will be provided by the Arizona Predator Callers. Be sure to come and enjoy the meal and see who the most prolific predator callers for the 2017/2018 season were. The next Arizona Predator Callers meeting is: Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 7:00 PM The meetings are held monthly at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 at 1450 E. Main Street, Mesa. The FOP Lodge is on the north side of Main Street between Stapley and Gilbert Road in Mesa in the strip mall behind the Filiberto s. The meeting is free to APC members and students under 18 and $5.00 for non-members. Refreshments and door prizes are included in the admission price. 2

3 Adopt-A-Ranch Cleanup at the Griffin Ranch The Arizona Game and Fish Department s Adopt-A-Ranch Program saw the Arizona Predator Callers participate in the Griffin Ranch cleanup on April 14, Dennis Slade coordinated the cleanup crew and provided tools and lunch to all of the participants. Sounds like there was quite a crew doesn t it. Not so. John Albin and son Craig, Marv Buck and his wife Linda and Dennis Slade and his dog Ruby were the only members to show up for the event. Sorry you all missed a great time. 3

4 April Meeting Highlights Dennis Slade and Jeff Heinze gave presentations on Guns and Ammo for Predator Hunting. Dennis has provided his power point presentation to us and the information has been printed on pages 6-8 of this newsletter. Dennis is showing the range of calibers that are used for predator hunting. Dusty Mosier won the Mossberg model gauge shotgun in the firearm raffle. One of the recommended choke tubes is shown on the left and one of the many recommended shot shells is shown on the right. To the right is a photo of a coyote and bobcat skull. Levi Slade provided these to show how fragile the skulls of these two predators are. This illustrates that a shotgun with only a single pellet to the head can kill these predators. A rule of thumb is that one to the head, or two to the neck or three pellets to the body will put them down. 4

5 Dennis answering questions after the meeting. Door Prize Winner Raffle prize winners 5

6 Guns for Predator Hunting by Dennis Slade Some rifles are more suitable than others. Heavy varmint style rifles are typically reserved for stationary shooting positions such as used for shooting prairie dogs and ground squirrels. Heavy rifles with high magnification scopes are hard to pick up a moving target or find one that is close. A typical deer hunting rifle would be a much better choice due to portability. Varmint and predator specific rifles will tend to have shorter barrels and lower to medium powered scopes. They are typically chambered in smaller cartridges as to reduce recoil and mitigate fur damage to some degree. Bolt Action Rifles The majority of predator hunters still use the tried and true Bolt-Action style rifle. The bolt action has a lot of great attributes. They are the most accurate of all the action types. They can be chambered in basically ANY caliber. They are relatively inexpensive in plain form. They are very reliable in all weather conditions. They are available as fancy and as plain as you want. They can be made very light or very heavy if desired. Semi-Automatic Rifles Semi-Auto rifles are becoming very popular-especially AR-15 style rifles. They have some real advantages too. They are the fastest to make follow-up shots. They are available in almost an unlimited number of configurations to suit most anyone. Semi-Autos have some draw backs as well. They come in a limited number of chamberings. They generally have poor triggers. They are often heavier than needed. In some instances they present the wrong image. Despite a few minor gripes, they make very effective hunting rifles. Scopes Nothing gets the opinions flowing around the campfire more than a discussion over what is the best scope. I will keep it simple. For calling predators you need a scope that has a wide enough field of view to pick up a moving animal or one that has crept into 50 yards. A 6-24 power scope might be great for shooting prairie dogs but is awful for calling coyotes. A sensible minimum is power. Red dot type scope and holographic scopes are good too but be careful as the dot can cover up too much and longer ranges. These are great on shotguns where ranges are limited to yards. There are a LOT of scope makers these days. Almost all scopes are made in the orient. With optics, to a large degree, you get what you pay for. Some of the better German and Austrian scopes can cost upwards of $3000. These scopes are not needed for predator calling. If you are wanting a good value, some of the better Chinese and Philippine made scopes are darn good and very affordable. Some scopes are pretty lousy too. If you put a $39 scope on your.243, expect to have problems with it at some point. A decent scope can be had for $200-$250 range. I like variables. I use a Leupold on my.222, a $350 scope. I have a 8-32X on my which is only used for shooting prairie dogs. Accessories Many of us like to customize our hunting rifles to make them a better tool for predator hunting. AR-15 style rifles are especially suitable for customizing. Scopes, bipods, lights, camouflage finish, cheek rests, slings, squeakers and muzzle devices are frequently installed on these rifles. Suitable Calibers A new rifle purchase often begins with a desire to have a specific chambering. A dedicated predator calling rifle does not need to be as powerful as a typical deer rifle. Suitable cartridges for calling coyotes are:.223 Remington,.243 Winchester, 204 Ruger, 17 Remington and the venerable Dual purpose cartridges- 260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, 25-06, 308 Winchester and the venerable

7 Bears and Lions Calling specifically for larger predators, especially bears, suggests bigger calibers than for coyotes. The 6.5s are a sensible minimum and the type cartridges are even better. Bears and lions don t frequently show up on a typical coyote stand and generally require different tactics which allows you to arm yourself appropriately. Small Stuff Sometimes you are hunting the brush and rock piles or the cliffs which are generally where you will only find Gray Fox and Bobcats. I have hunted these with a 17HMR many times. It is a very effective cartridge on foxes and works decent on bobcats. Another rimfire is the 22 magnum. They use jacketed bullets and typically expand. Some are big fans of the 22 Hornet family of cartridges. They work well on Foxes and close range coyotes. Ammunition It is very easy to over-think the whole ammunition thing. Most hunting ammunition is suitable for predator hunting. The polymer tipped ammunition is generally very accurate and often very explosive. It has a good balance of ballistics and terminal performance. Good bullets are Hornady V-max, Winchester Varmint X and Nosler Ballistic tip varmint. All are available in factory ammo. For Bears I would suggest any good deer bullets in the larger calibers and for 6.5s I would use heavy for caliber bullets such as 140 grain loads. Shotguns A more effective predator calling weapon has not been developed than a properly set up 12 gauge shotgun using predator specific ammunition. I prefer Semi-autos and pump action shotguns. Some guys like double barrel style. A shotgun set up for Coyotes and Foxes needs to have better sights than come with a shotgun set up for wing shooting. Turkey guns make great coyote hunting shotguns. They often have special sights, have camo finish and chambered for 3 ½ shells. A shotgun set up for hunting predators needs to have the right choke (tube) and the right sights. I would never buy a shotgun specifically to hunt coyotes with that wasn t chambered for 3 ½ shells. Scopes or even better, red dot sights, make them even better. You want dense patterns and this requires a better sight set up than a vent rib and a bead. Some excellent shotguns for predator calling are: Benelli Super Black Eagle, Beretta xtrema or A400, Winchester SX4 and for the budget minded, the Stoeger Benelli and Mossberg both make excellent pump shotguns. Pump vs. Semi-Auto Which is better? A Semi-Auto has three big advantages: Faster second and third shots, self-loading some quieter and generally slimmer and less parts to rattle. A gas operated shotgun will also recoil less if you are sensitive. Pumps have two nice advantages: They are much less expensive and theoretically, more reliable. Shotgun Shells and Choke Tubes Any new shotgun is going to come with interchangeable choke tubes. This is a very nice feature. It is imperative that you pattern your shotgun so you can choose the right ammo and find the right choke. Quality and suitable shot shells are frightfully expensive. In readily available shot shells, I feel that #2 Hevishot and B or BB in lead are minimum pellet sizes. Larger pellets kill better but pattern much worse. Dead Coyote is about $6 per shell. Other alternatives are $1-$4 per shell. Special choke tubes for buckshot and steel shot are best for most of these predator loads. There are myriad choke tubes available and all promise the best performance ad nauseum. Carlson is probably the largest manufacturer of choke tubes and make many of the tubes marketed by others such as dead coyote choke tube. Most of the specialty tubes will extend beyond the barrel and be ported. Some choke tubes are NOT compatible with some loads due to the type of wads used. Read the choke tube literature before you buy it to make sure it shoots what you think you want to shoot. Some even have velocity limitations. Winchester recommends using turkey choke tubes for their Varmint X shells. I have confirmed they work well. 7

8 The following four pictures are of shotgun ammunition that is recommended and works well. 8

9 Arizona Predator Callers Annual Hunt Report For SPE- CIES=> Coyote Bobcat Gray Fox UNIT # M F Unk TOTAL M F Unk TOTAL M F Unk TOTAL Misc. 2C A C B M-Black Bear 5A M F-Skunk 12B A C B M M-Kit Fox 30B M-Lion B A A B B A B Somewhere in AZ TOTALS Caller Awards Congratulations to the following listed APC members. These hunters, both experienced and new have shown a proficiency in harvesting predators for this season. These Caller of the Year recipients will be given their awards at the May 10, 2018 APC meeting. Join us for dinner provided by Jalapeno Bucks. Ken Eaton Expert Caller of the Year 2017/2018 Levi Slade Journeyman Caller of the Year 2017/2018 Hank Scutoski Apprentice Caller of the Year 2017/2018 Adam Johnstun Novice Caller of the Year 2017/2018 Kara Jensen Sportsman of the Year 2017/2018 9

10 Firearms Used in Predator Harvest Weapon Coyote Bobcat Gray Fox Misc Shotgun Kit Fox Creedmore Lion 250 Savage WSM mm LR Skunk Archery Black Bear Totals Past Years Harvest Totals Hunt Year Response Coyote G. Fox Bobcat Lion Bear Other NA Kit Fox, 3-Badger % Kit Fox % % % Coati Munda, 10-Raccoon % Kit Fox, 1-Raccoon % Kit Fox, 2 Coati, 3-Raccoon % Kit Fox, 2-Raccoon, 1-Badger % % % % % Kit Fox, 1-Ringtail Cat % Raccoon % Kit Fox, 1-Skunk 10

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