2014 rifle season pics, keep the pics from your stand and trail cam pics coming too!

[Luke E.]

Luke can you buy a goat, stake it out for bait and wait?

I certainly could do that, Red. We're not sure how large an area they roam so we're trying to establish so data. The kills and attacks that we know of are within a mile of my family land but I'm not sure how often they frequent the area that I found the tracks. I'm hoping the cameras will give some sort of idea of that so that I can bait them up when Tim and I go down in 2-3 weeks. I hadn't thought about using a goat, I was thinking that I would try to kill a doe as soon as we got there and drop the guts and carcass off wherever the cameras suggest is best. Maybe a live goat would better appeal to their killer instinct though? I hope that all of the killing is being done by these coy wolves because I'd rather leave the pair of panthers alone. I've got a night vision scope that I'll mount for wolf detail when the time comes.

[rugerla1]

We didn't either but after a great deal of research by my Aunt it turns out that there are small pockets or pairs of them in states that you would have never dreamed. My uncle, her husband, retired from the Florida Fish and Game commission so they were able to find info a little easier than most folks would have been. Those that have seen this pair are guessing them to be 60-70% wolf but I'm not sure about their qualifications for estimating wolf/coyote percentages though. My Aunt and Grandfather both said that one is noticeably larger than the other and the sizes of the tracks I found seem to back that up (male and female?). The general consensus is that even the smaller one is huge and they both have a reddish tint to the fur on their tail.
They attack the horses in 2 stages, they come the first time and injure the horse and then leave. They give it time to let the adrenalin run out and the injuries take their toll and then come back the next day or two to finish it off. The first one of my family's horses they got was torn up bad. One grabbed it from behind and is large enough that it, from the rear, it could reach around to the front side of the horses hips and it sank claws in and ripped half inch deep tears all the way to the rear while the other tore up the front legs and face. Theirs was the first in the area to be attacked so they had no idea what was going on so they stayed up that first night but saw nothing. They stuck the horse in a smaller fenced in area where they could care for it. That next morning the horse was still like they left it so they changed bandages etc and then, in the middle of the day, they happened to come outside and heard the horses raising hell so they took off towards their field and got there in time to see the two coy wolves running off into the planted pines. It was to late, they said that the poor horse had no more hide left on it's face and its neck was in really bad shape among other bad injuries. They had the vet come out and put the horse down. The vet also took samples to send off to check for rabies and ? (I assume) but I forgot to ask what they found out, I would assume that there was nothing that showed up or she'd have likely mentioned it.
It sounds like none of the kills have been clean kills but rather a slow painful one.

Holy crap, that is sickening. I think I'd be passing on deer hunting to focus on busting those things!

[RED333]

O are they endangered?

Might not be able to shoot them.

[Luke E.]

O are they endangered?
Might not be able to shoot them.

They are killing livestock and a number of my family are scared to walk about their own property, I don't much care if they're endangered or not. That may not be the way most folks would look at it but it's the only way I look at it. That being said, I can't imagine a mix breed wolf/wild dog would be protected. The panthers, I assume, are protected and I really don't think they are responsible for the livestock problems and even less of me believes that they pose much if any risk to my family so unless that changes I wouldnt even consider harming them. As far as we know there is only one male/female pair of panthers and thousands upon thousands of rural acres in the area that they can roam pretty much undetected so unless they start developing bad habits I don't think we have a problem.

[TNMTBik3r]

Going to see what the weather is like in the morning. Hopefully this rain passes over (70% chance in the morning) and I can get a few hours in the woods before Christmas with the in-laws.
I have the doe from Saturday waiting to be ground to burger still, would love to add another instead of messing with the grinder for just one.

[DaveS]

 jonathon1289 is correct, if on the interstate I would guess there would be little to salvage but on the slower roads and a well placed bumper there is not too much damage.  Most of the ones we recovered were hit in the head/shoulder area so a lot of meat left.

Yes, it is all about "bumper placement".....Sorry Omega, I couldn't help myself!

 

Dave

[Luke E.]

Going to see what the weather is like in the morning. Hopefully this rain passes over (70% chance in the morning) and I can get a few hours in the woods before Christmas with the in-laws.
I have the doe from Saturday waiting to be ground to burger still, would love to add another instead of messing with the grinder for just one.

Last night we had our annual pre Christmas "work on dirt bikes in the shop night" that a group of my childhood and motocross friends and I have each year. I'm not a late night person any more and am most always in the house by 8 but last night my wife and I were on our way home at about 12:30 which was when the break in the weather hit and there were deer moving every where. We were only 5 miles from home and saw deer in 5 or 6 places. I hope the rain allowed you to get out into some of the action this morning.

[TNMTBik3r]

I woke up and wasn't raining, weather said 0% and the radar was clear so I headed out.
Pulled up at my spot and it started raining. I sat in the rain for an hour and half, got soaked through, and then the sky really opened up so I climbed down and went home.
Didn't see anything except one squirrel.
I will be back out there on Friday.

[rugerla1]

I saw a doe that'd just been hit on the way out this morning at around 5am. Sat in the blind till 10-10:30 without even wearing gloves, not cold at all. No deer movement at all and rained the entire time. As I was getting ready to pack it up at 11, the wind picked up and got cold. I thought, "That figures!" as I had to come home and get ready for family coming over. On the good side of this day with no harvest, my wife has a huge crock pot of venison chili and 3 small crock pots full of venison stew from the deer I got a few weeks ago. Kinda hard to complain now :) Merry Christmas y'all and good luck if y'all hunt this evening.

[maroonandwhite]

I'm headed out to the stand now. We came back to west tn for Christmas. Hopefully they are moving today. I need some meat!


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[Luke E.]

Well it finally quit raining and cooled down so I would think your chance is better than anytime in the last week or more.

[bigtruuck]

I had 4 big shooter quality does this morning they just didnt seem to want to jump the fence and come on my property they just kind hung out on the other side. so i put them to bed and am hoping they come back later.

[Omega]

I had 4 big shooter quality does this morning they just didnt seem to want to jump the fence and come on my property they just kind hung out on the other side. so i put them to bed and am hoping they come back later.

I had that issue a few of times, some I can draw in with a bleat but most times they just sit there teasing me.

[TNMTBik3r]

Low 30s in the morning, hopefully they are moving. If I can drop one I will probably be done for the year, unless family visiting next week drives me out of the house.

[TNMTBik3r]

Dropped a monster doe at 9am. When I say monster, I don't have a scale to weigh her but probably the largest doe I have ever taken.

Will spend tomorrow grinding this one and the one from last Saturday into burger.

That is 6 for the year and I am probably done, unless I need to get out of the house next week with my parents visiting :)

[10-Ring]

Haven't been out since Thanksgiving. Just got on stand at a location that hasn't been hunted this year. Not a lot of movement here traditionally but they are heavily pressured on all surrounding land so I thought that I would give it a shot. I'll be danged if I don't have people on 2 sides of me probably within a half mile target shooting like ammo it's free or something. I had a great early season but it seems my luck has hit a wall.

[Luke E.]

Wasn't plannimg on hunting this morning but sleeping just wasn't in the cards for me tonight so I was sitting there watching the weather and decided since we've got a weather/pressure change coming that I'd make the trip. Good luck to everyone else headed out this morning.

[Hozzie]

I decided to take my caller out to try to call in a Coyote. Not sure how it will go, but is good to be out in the field.

[Omega]

I decided to take my caller out to try to call in a Coyote. Not sure how it will go, but is good to be out in the field.

What brand?  I may need to get one, seems like there are at least 2 decent packs out here by the sound of their calls.

[Hozzie]

I am using a FoxPro Hellfire.

[Lumber_Jack]

I decided to take my caller out to try to call in a Coyote. Not sure how it will go, but is good to be out in the field.

Dang, I'm itching to shoot a coyote. I'm gonna have to get out there and give it a whirl.

[Hozzie]

I didn't see any yotes, but saw 3 small does.

[Luke E.]

When I parked the truck this morning there was a pack south of me raising Cain. By the time I got to the blind there were three packs all yapping back and forth. I heavily considered going back to the truck to grab my calls. I guess I should have because the only deer I saw were before daylight. Both groups came within 25yds of me but I could still only see sillhuettes.

[10-Ring]

Going to make what is likely my last deer hunt of the season this evening.  If I were in a greater need of meat I would have hunted these past few days but at this point I'm really just trying to get some meat for some other people, my freezer is full!  It just isn't worth sitting out in cold dampness at this point with plenty of meat in the freezer.  So who is going to start the great rabbit/squirrel hunting thread of 2015 once deer season is over?

[Luke E.]

Going to make what is likely my last deer hunt of the season this evening. If I were in a greater need of meat I would have hunted these past few days but at this point I'm really just trying to get some meat for some other people, my freezer is full! It just isn't worth sitting out in cold dampness at this point with plenty of meat in the freezer. So who is going to start the great rabbit/squirrel hunting thread of 2015 once deer season is over?

I've met my number for TN hunting this year and have more than enough for my wife and I to make it to next year. I am providing for my parents and sister and bil but I'll have plenty of opportunity once I had for Florida in a couple more weeks. I am planning to hunt a 700 tract down the road some between now and closing to help a friend fill their freezer and might carrying a few first timers out but that's about it for me here at home. As for the rabbit and squirrel thread, I nominate you to get that one fired up! I've never been a big rabbit/squirrel Hunter but who knows maybe a dedicated thread will get me into it!