Predators I've seen

M

medic joe

Active member
I was talking to another predator hunter the other day. I got to reflecting back over my hunt years. Some rare sightings I've seen were; 3 lone wolves. Around 1/2 dozen coyote hybrids. I also seen around 1/2 dozen other large wild canines. I seen for only a few seconds. Before they disappeared into the rolling hills. I'm not sure whether they were wolves or not. But they were large & alone. I also seen 2 lions & 2 bears. I haven't tried my hand on a coyote in 15+ years. I haven't tried my hand on a red fox for probably close to 40 years. I just observe them, learn from them & often take their pics.
 
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spotstalkshoot said:
I should go for a ride with you, do you need sun and a northwest wind?
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You latter question. Are days I've seen the most canines in 1 day. I've had 1 or 2? of those days where I seen 14 canines in 1 day. I recall 2 other times where I seen 11 canines in 1 day. The majority of those canines were singles. However, of all the coyotes I've seen. A little less that 1/2. Were pairs of coyotes.
 
Maybe not rare, but I've seen coyotes, foxes, bobcats, badgers, ringtails, coatimundis, wolves (just our Mexican gray wolves, not the big guys up north), and bears. Still haven't seen a mountain lion, though I buy a license every year just hoping.
 
spotstalkshoot said:
I guessed you know the sun/wind reference, weekend hunters. I should have added snow also. I don't need the snow, so I don't think about it.
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I road hunt. Spotting my quarry most often from long distance; 1/4- 5/8 of a mile. I drive thousands of miles each season. As I scan all the terrain on both sides of the road. I often stop on high hills. Then get out of my truck & scan 360. I also serpentine & grid search sections. Depending on what I see/population as per densities early on. I might stick to part of a county. If the population is low. I'll branch & hunt 3-5 counties. Very low population years. I've hunted vast areas of the state I happen to be hunting in.
 
Saw a mountain lion years ago. Saw a black red fox back in 2020 and a black coyote probably 10 years ago. That's about as rare as it has gotten for me. Turns out the mountain lion had a radio collar on. It was released in Colorado and was killed in New Mexico.
 
I called in a bear to about 10 yards when elk hunting (archery) in Wyoming. I had my bear spray in one hand and knife in the other. We had a face off for about 10 seconds before he took off.
 
alf said:
I called in a lion to 20 yards or so when elk hunting in Colorado one year.

That'll get the sphincter to record levels of tightness.....
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I hunt in AZ with a guy who has called in several, and even killed a couple. He says much the same. :) I'm still waiting to feel that feeling.
 
DesertRam said:
I hunt in AZ with a guy who has called in several, and even killed a couple. He says much the same. :) I'm still waiting to feel that feeling.
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I forgot to say I was bowhunting. There was a bull bugling one evening, so I made a stand, sitting on a big downed tree. I was cow calling trying to lure him in, when I saw the flash of brown coming. As it got closer, I getting ready for a possibly shot, when I finally got a full view...HOLY SHIT !!!

I sat still, hoping it would go past me, but it stopped & looked dead at me from 20 yards. Not really sure what I should do at this point. So, right or wrong, I jumped up on the tree facing him, thinking it would spook him, but he just stood there. I broke off a dead branch, and he flinched at the crack, but held his ground. So I did what any scared white dude would do, and took off running down the tree at him, hollering. Luckily he didn't call my bluff, & skedaddle out of there.
 
Quite a few years ago. A co-worker told me. He was part of a group pushing a timber for deer. On the far side out on an open edge along a barbed fence. They let this teenager post. He was sitting butted up against a fence post on that fence line. Some deer shot out of the end of the timber. But none of them came his way for a shot. However, here came a lion walking down that fence line. Coming right at him. He was scared to death. Afraid to shoot it or move. That lion seen him sitting there & keep walking his way. The kid held still. As the lion walked right by him. It stared at him as it passed him on by. But then it looked straight ahead & kept on walking. After that hunt he told the group. They asked him why didn't you shoot it? He told them he was so scared he couldn't move even if he wanted to.
 
medic joe said:
I was talking to another predator hunter the other day. I got to reflecting back over my hunt years. Some rare sightings I've seen were; 3 lone wolves. Around 1/2 dozen coyote hybrids. I also seen around 1/2 dozen other large wild canines. I seen for only a few seconds. Before they disappeared into the rolling hills. I'm not sure whether they were wolves or not. But they were large & alone. I also seen 2 lions & 2 bears. I haven't tried my hand on a coyote in 15+ years. I haven't tried my hand on a red fox for probably close to 40 years. I just observe them, learn from them & often take their pics.
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Pictures? You have lots of pictures of other critters. Surely you have some photos of these most unusual animal sightings in Iowa.
 
alf said:
I forgot to say I was bowhunting. There was a bull bugling one evening, so I made a stand, sitting on a big downed tree. I was cow calling trying to lure him in, when I saw the flash of brown coming. As it got closer, I getting ready for a possibly shot, when I finally got a full view...HOLY SHIT !!!
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That would have been my response too. We had two close encounters with them while bowhunting deer. Once, I cut some real fresh deer tracks (snow was falling heavily and they were clear of fresh snow, so very fresh). I took out on the trail hoping to use the quiet fresh snow to sneak up on them. A half-mile along, in come the tracks of a cougar right on top of those deer tracks. I turned around. :) Another was my dad's. He was perched up in a tree stand when he glimpsed something under a nearby tree. With the brush, he never could quite see what it was. But when he crawled down for the day, he wandered over there and found fresh sign of where a lion had lain there in the brush watching him. He dragged me out there to show me the tracks and such as part of "training" me. Cool, but spooky.
 
Back in the 60s we were hunting in central WI, through the woods comes this very hot chick in a slinky red dress and short red jacket passing out cards for a bar that had strippers dancing during deer season, we weren't that close to the road.

In the late 70s my EX got tired of being mistaken for a man, shed been hunting her whole
life wearing her brother's hand me downs. We were standing near the truck and some stranger called her Mac. The next year she made a hunting outfit, orange knickerbockers, knee socks, orange wool short jacket(like an Ike Jacket) and an orange tam. On the shoulder she had a patch that said "I'm a Girl". Nobody mistook her for a guy after that. Quite a sight for n the woods.
 
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