The post by skinner2 got me to thinking about the different critters that have come in while calling coyotes. I have had owls come at night and sit on a limb above me(telling on me to the world). I've had hawks, even one bald eagle come see what was going on. Skunks, deer(both bucks and does), bobcats, house cats, raccoon, of course coyotes but the one trophy we brought home four years ago was the best. The wife and I set up on a ridge quite a ways from where any people live and after about twenty minutes a movement caught the wife’s attention. Coming out of a little creek below us was, we though a pup coyote. Turned out to be a little dog. The wife called to it and it came close enough for her to throw it some bits of a sandwich. After feeding it most of the sandwich it finally came up to her and let her pet it. She picked it up and we took it home. Took it to the vet and he said it was about a 10 month old Welsh Corky. This is the wife’s dog now. He tolerates me and the family but while the wife is around the house he still won’t let her get out of his sight.

So ‘What’s the strangest thing you ever called in while calling critters? Lawdog

A woman on a golf cart..........

My wife....

A feral hog.

Once, I had one come to some horn-rattling too.

An Ermine. Quite a sight. Two grown men dancing around while trying to get a White Weasel focused in our scopes while basically aiming at our shoes!!

Good thread! Years ago I took my bride-to-be prarrie dog shooting near Wyarno, Wyoming. (since we weren't married yet, she was cooperative and game for most anything at that point). We shot a couple prarrie dogs and a badger came running over the hill. He started munching on the prarrie dogs we had shot. After watching him for a couple minutes, we commenced shooting again and it didn't phase the badger. I was shooting prarrie dogs within 75 feet of him and he didn't care.

The shooting was his dinner bell...the shots apparently called him in.

This was in an accessible prarrie dog town (back then it was easy to get access to shoot them). A month or two later he didn't show up, so I'm sure somebody viewed him as a target of opportunity.

The most bizzar animal I have called in was a 75 year old lady. I should say the circumstance was bizzar because it was about 105 deg F out and we remote. We talked to the lady, who seemed to be in good health and was out hiking. No missing persons were reported that week so I guess she was good on her own.
The scariest animal I have called in was wild horses... maybe someone on this forum (rancher) can help.... These horses 7, were lead by one Dominate male? he was a huge brute. Is this common? I heard them running and they all stood shoulder to shoulder with boss standing in front he was very agitated. They are teritorial? I was sitting under a mesquite tree holding a 22 mag. I was scared but stood and walked behind the tree and kept walking. Months later i watched in a spoting scope the same horses chased some people on domestic horses!
why is this so? is this common? Do male horses lead other horses?

Had a raccoon come in one time and even when I stood up and waved at him to shoo him off he wouldn't leave. It ended up chasing me away since I didn't want to shoot it.

I hunt in several State Parks near populated areas and several times have attracted people's dogs while they were walking with their owners. Quite funny since the owners have no idea why their dogs are running off. I always cut the caller off before they get too close.

One time I got suprised though, a house dog came in quietly and startled me. It stayed about 10-15 feet from me, not knowing what to do. Its owner came to get it and was about 15 feet from where I was set up. She was so intent on getting the dog back, she never even noticed me although she was looking right at me. Camo really works sometimes.

Had lots of birds come in. Got dive bombed by hawks a few times. Squirrels sometimes get real close.

Calling is loads of fun because you never know what will happen.

While turkey hunting a few years ago, I called in a huge woodchuck. I was sitting on the edge of a grassy field trying to keep from falling asleep between clucks and yelps when I heard something rustling in the grass. The sound was less than 20 feet away and getting closer! I was wide awake now, and had adjusted the shotgun toward the sound. It kept getting closer, but I couldn't see a thing and I was too curious to stand up and risk scaring it away. All of a sudden the biggest groundhog that I had ever seen stood up about 12" in front of the barrel of my shotgun. He was gone before I could even think about taking the safety off. I've called in feral cats too while turkey hunting, they didn't get off as easy as the grounghog

This is a little off the subject, but one time when I had my dairy farm we were having a very bad winter in Arkansas. We had had snow on the ground for a month or more and some very cold weather. The local coyote pop. was getting very hungry and they killed a newborn calf. I knew the old milk cow was having a calf. They were about three hunderd yds. from the barn, and I was going to go get the cow and calf up to the barn as soon as she had it. I didn't get to them quick enough! I had never had a coyote get a calf before, and I was amazed to drive up and find a bunch of coyotes had already eaten most of the calf. They ran away when I drove up. It was about 0*, so I tied what was left of the calf to a fence, got the cow back to the barn, and then went back with a bunch of steel traps. By this time, what was left of the calf was froze hard and I placed about 5 or 6 traps around the calf. Next morning, guess what I had caught, a damn white poodle dog! It had jumped and thrashed arouund until it had got caught by 4 of the traps. It had a trap on it's legs, one on it's ass, one on it's head....it was a very cold and miserable little dog. It had enough fur on it, that it was mostly unhurt. I knew that it belonged to a very artractive neighbor lady. I took it into the house and warmed it up before I took it to her. I didn't tell her were I found it. She was very happy to have her dog back. I guess the dog was lucky the coyotes didn't come back, and I always wonderd what that little yap dog was doing about 2 miles from home on a cold zero night.

A black bear with a wounded jackrabbit call in Bonita Canyon in the Zuni Mountains about 20 miles from where I live in Grants, N.M. All I had with me was a .223 Remington with p-dog loads in it, so I made a hasty retreat back to my truck. It wasn't a huge black bear, but big enough to raise the hairs on the back of my neck and make me think twice about what I was shooting out there. Tom Purdom

Last winter I was trying to call in some Coyotes on a power line right-of-way when a couple cow moose stuck there heads out to see what kinda racket that was going on.

Hey, I tried for 2 days to bag one of them Jak-a lopes.I saw some at a store/bar in New Mexico.The owner told me how to call em and everything.i must have been doing something wrong because all I ever saw was females with no horns. The guy told me they were out of season.I plan on trying
again this fall.Any suggestions.What do you bow-legged fellers use to get the bigguns. Jak

Them JakaLopes is sum kurius kritters.

I used tah seen sum onna way hom frum thuh bar.

Thay wuz rilly fast. Wunce wun gothisself onna hud uh mah pikup. boywuz I skeert!

I kep ahtryinn to shake 'im offn but wel... Ah driv a difrent truk now.

Yew only yewshally seen 'em lait at nite like 'bout 2 er 3 inna mornin' neer the barrs.

Maybee thay lik beer to... hic!

sum uv 'em kin fly 2. Mose uv thu wuns yew sea lat at nite hev antlurs.

Iwundur if'n ther iny guud tuh eet? hic!

$bob$

Was setup calling coyotes in the Missouri Breaks in Montana.First stand called a nice coyote in and shot him,next stand nothing,next stand called 23 head of Elk to within 30 yds.Cows,calves and 2 spike bulls.Everytime they started to leave I'd sqeal and they'd come back.This went on for a while then the lead cow had enough and they trotted back down the drainage.

I had an outfitter call in a leopard with a wounded rabbit call.

Not a coyote calling story, but...Met a guy archery hunting for elk. He was propped against a tree cow calling some. Never heard anything, but sixth sense told him something was eyeing him from behind. Turned to find a black bear sneaking up 15 yards away.

Since I was hunting alone and had just seen a VERY large black bear at 60 yards opening morning, I quietly slipped my cow call in my pocket for the duration of the hunt after that story. AZ won't let you carry a sidearm bowhunting - makes a fella feel mighty helpless at times with that little stick and string.

I guess the one that first comes to mind happened to me one morning Turkey hunting. I had a Bobcat come in and attack my turkey decoy. I don't know to this day which of us was the most suprised. But it sure got my attention.

[ 02-11-2003, 20:01: Message edited by: Handloader ]

While hunting coyotes I was using a wounded jackrabbit call and wound up calling in a gray fox. It's the first one that I ever saw in Santa Barbara county (CA) in over 30 years. I watched it look for the rabbit for about 5 minutes before it disappeared.

The local Game Warden!
MtnHtr

No, he did not cite me for anything!

A pair of 'granola's. I was scoutin' some new area and came across this perfect
ridge, down below was mess of brush and little arroyos. I set up and started
screamin' when I saw a mass of hair move just to the right of me and disappear. I
eased over my rifle and watched in shock as a male and female strolled towards
me, one carrying a rock and the other looking for one. I sat very still and they passed
about 30 feet in front of me, they were searching for the squalling and my guess
is they were hungry as well. I let them search around me, 10 to 15 feet, then they walk back to their camp which was just below the ridgeline. Thank god for the cammo headnet
and my homemade ghillie suit.

The most interesting thing was what I thought was a wolf, I knew that they didn't
exist in my part of Arizona. But what I saw was big and it wasn't no dog or coyote. It covered ground quickly and had some shoulders to it, I sat quietly and watched as it looked me over about 200 yards out. I wish had brought my ever-present camera but I don't think I would've gotten much of picture. It passed behind a little Yucca scrub and I raised up my rifle to 'look it over'. I looked over what I could see, the hindquarter, and pondered about dropping the hammer. It never gave me the opportunity because a second later, poof! it was gone. I suppose I could've shot through the brush or angled for a high spine shot but I like my kills through the lungs or head. I found a story in the local paper a few weeks later that a transplanted Mexican Red Wolf was killed (run over) on a major road about 20 miles from my calling location, I'm pretty sure that was the sucker I called in. I wonder what would've happened if I dropped by the Game & Fish with it's radio collar. Probably put me under the jail.

Out late night one night spotting coyotes and heard rustling in the trees behind me. I turned around and a rather large hairy creature slowly appeared before me. The horrendous beast was slowly making its way towards me. I was petrified with fright. It was making an terrible noise and the smell coming from it was making my eyes water. I put the light on it and raised my rifle but had to pass on the shot. I just couldn't bring myself to shoot my mother in law.