To hunt or not to hunt the Muzzleloader season, that is the question

[ISP 5353]

Go hunt and stay close to a food source. They have to eat!!!!!

 

[trophy hunter]

I say hunt. I took a BIG doe at Jefferson Proving Grounds this year. TC muzzleloader. She was pretty fatty which made us think a harsh winter. I'd love to go again this year but don't have the time with Christmas coming soon. There is nothing more peaceful than sitting in the woods in total quiet except for the birds and critters. Even if I didn't harvest a deer this year the quiet time was well worth it.

Also, from my 2 days at JPG evening hunts were king. Saw a few in morning but stopped counting at 30 in evening.

you mean big oaks refuge? thats a lot of deer for in there. you must have a heck of a spot.

 

[dprimm]

I sat in a stand this am for 3 hours until I was soaked through and froze out. Saw NOTHING except 2 squirrels. Have not seen anything since opening day. I only get to go out periodically as it is a 90 min drive ea way for me. BUT go if you can! I'm done for this season, but the anterless season I'm not teaching (Christmas break) so with some luck, I'll be out there for much of those 9 days.

LOVE the chainsaw thing. We don't have that option (AFAIK).

But I know where several are bedding down. The only problem is there is no place to sit and not be seen where you can get a shot. If I can get the blind setup, I have a chance.

HOw long does a blind need to be up to get the deer used to it? (should I put that in another thread?)

 

[Frankingun]

Almost got something... Ugh

Thanks for the replies and advice. I always had the incentive, and now I even have more incentive to go out into the cold.

I went out last Friday afternoon. After fiddling with my P.O.S. Traditions Tracker 209 muzzleloader, which I don't carry primed because it's a slide action and I'm a dumb newbie to deer hunting, I headed into the woods. As I went I noticed a lot of dog prints that looked fresh. I go around a bend in the trail, and I see a ginormous coyote trotting toward me. I freeze, and realizing that my muzzleloader isn't primed, I think to myself, do I prime it, or just stay still, or what. Then it saw me, did a 180 and ran back where it came from. I'm guesstimating it was about 45 to 50 pounds, being that it looked like it was twice the size of a poodle my mom had that came in at about 22 pounds. I decided to sit down close to that spot for the rest of the afternoon, figuring if they pushed off the deer, maybe another coyote will come by. Then, with about 15 minutes after sunset I hear the whole pack begin to howl. I looked down at my piece of junk, said to myself "single shot, better not stick around", and I headed back to the car.

I'm going out the end of this week also, and will be more wary and ready in case they coyotes are still around. And I now have more incentive to finish a second AR15 that may or may not have been lost in a tragic boating accident, and get some coyote calls. That I will research thoroughly before buying, unlike my muzzleloader, which will also be getting upgraded with a break action that can be carried primed and ready to go.

 

[Hookeye]

Single shot should have said to you "one dead coyote"
Stay and kill one, reload and kill another (if by chance it's stupid enough to stick around).
While a pack of them might have been unnerving, they're yotes, maybe coy-dogs. I wouldn't fret about either.

A few stray domestics would be of much more concern.

I have yet to meet a yote or coydog that would stick around for more than a nanosecond. Esp after bullet launch.
Granted, I've only had a couple dozen encounters, but when one trots by you..............when you're on your hands and knees in a stalk, and almost steps on your bow in passing................I figure if the SOB wanted a taste that would have been the best time, and he didn't.

Yeah yotes have hurt some folks, maybe even killed a few (Canadian folk singer...............maybe they just don't like other critters howling?).

I think people put too much into the coyote threat to adult humans. You weren't competing over a food source, you didn't come up on a sick one. I'd think it a pretty safe bet if you popped one they'd all boogie.

Not a macho guy, but if only one load (in the gun) and they came in after the shot......... I'd stand and beat the SOB's to death with the gun. I think there enough food around here that they wouldn't see me as a food source, or be too competitive over a different type.

People mean death to coyotes, we have enough interaction around here............enough to keep them afraid of us.

Don't think there a reason for it to be the other way around.

 

[Jeepster48439]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I always had the incentive, and now I even have more incentive to go out into the cold.

After fiddling with my P.O.S. Traditions Tracker 209 muzzleloader, which I don't carry primed because it's a slide action and I'm a dumb newbie to deer hunting

I have 2 Traditions MLs. The safeties on them work quite well. I find them to be as safe as a rifle or shotgun.

And I now have more incentive to finish a second AR15

I agree that the AR15 would be better for whacking coyotes.

 

[trophy hunter]

Thanks for the replies and advice. I always had the incentive, and now I even have more incentive to go out into the cold.

I went out last Friday afternoon. After fiddling with my P.O.S. Traditions Tracker 209 muzzleloader, which I don't carry primed because it's a slide action and I'm a dumb newbie to deer hunting, I headed into the woods. As I went I noticed a lot of dog prints that looked fresh. I go around a bend in the trail, and I see a ginormous coyote trotting toward me. I freeze, and realizing that my muzzleloader isn't primed, I think to myself, do I prime it, or just stay still, or what. Then it saw me, did a 180 and ran back where it came from. I'm guesstimating it was about 45 to 50 pounds, being that it looked like it was twice the size of a poodle my mom had that came in at about 22 pounds. I decided to sit down close to that spot for the rest of the afternoon, figuring if they pushed off the deer, maybe another coyote will come by. Then, with about 15 minutes after sunset I hear the whole pack begin to howl. I looked down at my piece of junk, said to myself "single shot, better not stick around", and I headed back to the car.

I'm going out the end of this week also, and will be more wary and ready in case they coyotes are still around. And I now have more incentive to finish a second AR15 that may or may not have been lost in a tragic boating accident, and get some coyote calls. That I will research thoroughly before buying, unlike my muzzleloader, which will also be getting upgraded with a break action that can be carried primed and ready to go.

the coyotes won`t attack you, if you shot one out of a pack one would be dead and the rest run off..