Scooter

So I head out this morning and get to a spot where I've called in 3 coyotes before and missed them all because of a scope problem on my Rossi 223. I solved that problem by taking the scope off and sighting in with iron sights. I can still deliver one of my Hornady 55gr Soft Point hand loads to a clay bird at 200yds with the fiber optic front and rears on this rifle. Anyway, I get to the spot and wait for some daylight. I strap on my gear and head up and walk along a little ridge that overlooks some GREAT Coues country. It did not disappoint. As I was slowly and quietly stepping along I bumped a few does and a spike that were feeding in one of the bottoms. Another 100 yards and a doe and fawn combo busted out from some cover about 10 yards away from me downhill, neither of us knew the other one was there! After I had walked about a mile I came to a spot where the end of the ridge overlooks several thick shelter-belt type cuts that feed into a long grassy valley. The coyotes ALWAYS come out of one of those cuts and try to circle around the ridge to catch the wind. There was no wind today and I set up on a little pile of gravel that had a bush behind it to break my outline. I had the "sun" to my back (more like really bright clouds today) and I fired up the Thermacell. I just bought some new Primos mouth calls that were on sale at Goodwill for $5 each so I decided I would try the Primos 3rd Degree Randy Anderson Signature call first... I blew the call for about 15-20 seconds and then waited for about 30 seconds. I didn't see anything moving or hear any coyotes answer so I blew it again but this time only for about 5 seconds because I heard something behind me in the bush I was sitting against... I turned my head to see what it was and AHHHH!!!!! Scared the living daylights out of me!!! There was a bobcat standing no more than 5 feet away from me staring me down, and it wasn't running away after my involuntary shriek of surprise and fear. At this point I am literally having a significant emotional event and instinctively my right hand reaches for my right hip where I usually keep the .38 snub... huh? Yep- it's not there. It's ALWAYS there. Nope- not today I forgot it. Now after all that movement the cat still hasn't moved a muscle and I figure it's gonna slash me up if it pounces on me any second now. The rifle was on safe and hammer forward- nowhere near ready to go so I slowly cocked the hammer back and disengaged the safety all while the rifle was on my lap. The cat is still just standing there crouched in the bush staring at me- not a sound, not a twitch. I start to edge the muzzle in line with the cat because I've decided to try to just shoot it point blank. I moved the rifle into position and just let one fly... BANG!!! Now all of the last paragraph has happened in a matter of about 8 seconds. I missed the cat shooting from my lap but it must've gone deaf because it was RIGHT THERE. I think I shot high over it's head somehow. The cat now is acting unafraid, but is just walking slowly away and still staring at me. I try to eject the spent round but can't get the break action to budge. This happens sometimes- it's a Rossi. I finally get the action working and I cram another round in the chamber. Lock it up and engage the safety. I saw the cat go down the hill about 60 yards so I got up and followed it... I saw it again and it was still just walking away like nothing had had happened- I think it's ears were ringing and the shot at point blank range stunned it. I raised up the rifle and shot off hand at what I guessed to be 60-70 yards. BANG!!! The cat jumps straight up in the air and starts to roll around. I jack the action open and cram another round in there as the cat is limping downhill towards a thick cut- Now he's about 100yds away and has stopped moving. He's sitting up like a house cat and looking uphill at me so I raise up and deliver a second round that kills it instantly. It's over. I start to actually breathe again. I get downhill to where the cat was and it's stone dead, two shots on it's right side- one a little low on the shoulder and one up high on the same shoulder. It's a great Bobcat!!! Not huge, not winter colors, but WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!! That's why I hunt and call predators... for the sheer excitement it brings! I hope the pictures are visible on here- and if not I'll get them up soon. Thanks for reading, and good luck!

Almost got mauled by a bobcat. 30 seconds after I called with one of my new calls. No seriously it was very close... Will update later.

Hero pictures... Hero.

The only way to permanently stop pitting is to remove some of the affected metal and re-blue or re treat with a parkerization or duracoat. I used to use a product called Sheath, by birchwood Casey, now I think they've switched to barricade or something. It works. Just be diligent and store it in a humidity controlled environment.

Eh, I'm excited... Never called any in with mouth calls- first try.

Haha! Been open since the 1st- but don't shoot 'Em or the trappers and traders will tan your hide online!!!

mount it square (like use the Crosshair leveling tools) and just go out and sight it in. I've been bore sighting rifles and slug guns for years and while it can identify if something is misaligned as far as scope base, rings etc., the only thing it can do is get you somewhere on a large sheet of paper. The BEST and most sure method is to zero at 25 and move back progressively until you are zeroed at whatever range you decide. Should not take more than 1/2 a box of ammo. There are several problems with bore sighters- but the most common issue is they don't really account for scope mounting height, so you may get a good windage boresight but miss the target completely because it wasn't exactly made for high or low scope height over the bore. Where laser or standard optic/muzzle arbor bore sight kits really shine is when they are used to verify whether or not your scope has been knocked off of zero. After you get sighted in, grab a pencil and a piece of paper and draw the bore sight target, then depending on which kind of bore sighter you use, place a dot on the paper where your crosshairs line up. If you think your scope is off- plug in the boresighter and verify that the picture matches what you drew on the paper.

Death Penalty by the jury panel... But there's still a lot of people in the chain of command that are required to authorize it. I was at Ft Hood when the shooting happened, and I had some friends killed and wounded. I am very glad to see the verdict and sentence, and I will be more glad to see the sentence carried out. I urge the Supreme Court and the President to make the right choice and authorize the commutation of the sentence immediately so all of us who lost folks that we knew and loved can close the book on a very dark chapter.

Technically since he did serve in the "enemy of islam" U.S. Army for as long as he did, he's already committed crimes against Islam according to his own philosophy, so yeah just kill him and let Allah sort it out. I doesn't matter what we do with him, if he languishes in prison he languishes as a living martyr and if we kill him quick he dies as a martyr- so either way in his mind (only) he dies as a martyr. I say do what makes the victims family feel better and that's kill him quick. I don't mince words about radical terrorist muslims- the only cure is total extermination of the species. The peaceful ones can stay and do what they want, it's the Jihadists that need to go.

I stand VERY corrected... looks like I need to brush up a little bit on my Lemaster method. Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)

Well played, sir...

The entire country is turning low-life if you ask me, so it would be a natural occurrence that they would infiltrate the ranks of so-called "hunters". Leaving $400 worth of gear laying unsecured in a public place is just icing on the cake to an opportunistic criminal. it is truly a sad moral state of affairs we're living these days.

Not a lawyer, just a guy who knows (not first-hand) what a pain in the rear a libel suit can be even if it doesn't make it to court.

Great shot! Light summer colors, but I'd still have it mounted! Where's the story?

No problem... Let G&F determine whether or not it was them before you slap the pics up... The only people that need to be going to court are the innocent until proven guilty parties involved.

First off, it's thieves- not thiefs... Second, that really sucks and I hope those lowlife scumbags get raped by a donkey with severe dominance issues and you get your gear back.

Shot those like they were nuisance animals back where I grew up... The little one looks more like a Brant. The smaller body and stubby bill would be weird for a Canada. Not ruling it out though- cool mounts!

Leavenworth???!!! Nope, he's got special medical needs courtesy of officer Kim Munley's and her on scene partner's 9mm. Just wish they'd have aimed a little higher and ended this thing long ago. If I was the cop I'd have finished his sorry butt off right there at the scene...

Yup, I'm sure we'll see each other out there sometime.

how are those quickfletch twisters doing for you??? Are they durable?

Ralph is a good dude- I went to his seminar and learned a TON!!!

Forgot... Yeah not illegal, just won't land you in the P&Y-

How well do you think a decoy would work on a November Archery hunt???

yes. but after it stops they pop out in the open to feed which works great! I just wish I had time to get out...

Them's the brakes. Just a case of "Barney" finding your spot and spotting the same deer. You have a right to be mad, but to a point. There's no guarantee you were gonna 100% harvest the deer, so unless they shot that buck right from under your nose you still would have had the deck stacked against you- they just tipped the odds in the deer's favor. Now, the two way radio thing? Yeah, that is kinda wrong but you and I both know pretty much every Barney does that these days with radios. Until there is some kind of enforcement that will not change.