Predator Xtreme - Feb 2012
Caller For Hire Tom Austin 36 www PredatorXtreme com FEBRUARY 2012 Pro Staff TOM AUSTIN Tom Austin began his predator hunting journey at age 7 when his father introduced him to the sport of calling Over the years his fever intensified Hes finally found a cure as a professional guide hunting predators 40 hours a week using his experience to gain the edge over his quarry Tech Savvy Hu nting Get interested in your kids electronic hobbies a bit more and you might get them in the field doing the real thing distress for another minute as I cautiously raised the Vortex binos to my eager eyes I heard another bark accompanied with a challenge howl this time The howl allowed me to pinpoint the howlers location with my binos I watched as the old male paced back and forth as if he dared not cross the invisible boundary at his feet Howl back at him I whispered to Race A quick press on one of the preset buttons and the FOXPRO howled back at the curious onlooker He barked and huffed and challenged again Race ramped up the volume to 30 as if to sound closer to him than before and challenged right back It was on He charged toward us like he was shot from a cannon with ears pinned back As he closed the distance we switched sounds to My 11 year old son Race donned his new Kings Snow Shadow camo quickly and climbed into the cab of the Tacoma while I cleared ice and snow from the windshield The twist of the key and the trusted hunting truck roared to life Town disappeared behind us as we pointed the truck eastbound towards coyote territory Snow and slush sprayed from the knobby tread of the meaty tires as we hummed along the interstate Twenty minutes later we were overlooking a giant winter swept meadow with snow deep enough to hide a Buick Fog rose from the small stream which wound its way through the frozen wonderland Canadian geese hooted and honked from above as their hollow and gaunt cries echoed across the valley for miles Neither of us had ever called here before but we knew it held coyotes along with antelope elk mule deer whitetail and moose Without saying a word we skirted the tree line of the meadow and waited for the sun to give us ample shooting light We situated ourselves with our backs to one another trying to cover all avenues of a curious coyote I quietly hung the FOXPRO Firestorm 30 yards upwind and 7 feet off the ground with the handle slung over a broken branch of a slender lodgepole pine tree Then I gave the remote to my son and said Its all yours buddy He started the stand by playing coyote pup distress at 13 on the volume setting After just three minutes of continuous play I heard a familiar bark An old male coyote a quarter mile away We continued to play pup
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