Posted on 01/18/2017 8:29:37 AM PST by Perseverando
WYTHEVILLE — Wayne and Roger Shaw, of Illinois, pulled into town on Sunday with 19 dead coyotes piled in the back of their truck and blood running down the bumper from their nine-hour drive.
It was a good haul, but not enough to win the “most kills” award at the first ever Eastern U.S. Predator Calling Championship.
That honor went to Jeremy Brown and Mike Burgess, of Maryland. They rolled in with 31 foxes in a basket on the tailgate.
“People are really weirded out by it,” Brown said. “They see this driving down the road, and we get a lot of middle fingers.”
It’s a misunderstood sport, several hunters said.
Competitors are killing nuisance species with no natural predators and out-of-control populations, said event organizer James Groseclose, of Dublin. They cause issues for farmers’ livestock and have wiped out other animal populations, like quail.
Competitions are designed to help keep ecosystems balanced.
The rules stipulated that all hunters had to stay east of the Mississippi River and could only hunt between 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Sunday. There was no trapping, use of hunting dogs or collecting roadkill. Otherwise, competitors simply had to follow local laws and bring in as many predators as possible.
The $6,000 grand prize for most coyotes went to Alex Poole and Logan Jones, of Lynchburg. They counted 20 kills, and they refused to reveal their secret hunting spot.
“We hunt three or four days a week anyway,” Poole said, when asked why he entered the competition.
Other prizes were awarded for the most combined coyotes, bobcats and foxes, as well as the heaviest of each animal.
After two nights of hunting, the camouflage-wearing competitors brought their kills to Wytheville from as far away as Maine for official judging.
A total of 300 hunters participated. They each paid a $50 entry fee, which was all given back in prizes.
Groseclose said he’ll lose money on the event, which he hopes to turn into an annual tradition. He’s competed in these kinds of competitions all over the country, but he’s never seen one this large on the east coast.
“We’re fortunate enough, we do this quite a bit and are able to travel around,” Groseclose said. “A lot of these local guys, they just don’t have the opportunity because it’s too far for them to get away. We wanted to bring something here and give the guys here an idea of what it’s like to hunt a really big tournament.”
Brown and Burgess, who counted a combined 31 kills, said they had been planning for the competition for weeks.
The pair has hunted together for 15 years, but they avoided their favorite spots this season in order to let the populations build up. Then they mapped out about 17 different hunting locations to minimize time wasted driving around.
They used an electronic caller, which looks like a large speaker. Brown said they had the best luck this weekend blasting out the sound of a rabbit in distress, which attracts nearby foxes looking for an easy meal.
“Our farmers beg us to come out and hunt. They’re going to poison them or trap them. So we’ll come out and shoot what we can,” Brown said. “You can tell relatively quickly whether you’re going to have a really good night and they’re moving well, or they’re just in a den and aren’t going to pay any attention to what you’re doing.”
The Eastern U.S. Predator Calling Championship concluded in Wytheville on Sunday, when hunters brought their game for official judging. The predators hunted anywhere east of the Mississippi River. Awards were given for most kills and biggest animals.
They need to be holding these types of events around the country every weekend. IMHO
They need to hold one of these for Canada geese.
Is there one for culling liberals?
That is a fine group of coyotes. I bet they got some look driving down the highway.
I bet they did too. I was wondering about problems taking dead animals across multiple state lines, but guess not.
The pair of hunters blasted the sound of rain bits in distress? Wouldn’t want to listen to that for a minute. It sounds like a baby screaming in pain. Awful.
what do they do with the pelts????
I would love to get some of them
“rain bits”
Don’t you just love Auto-Correct on your phone? And I agree, the rabbit in distress call is awful. I’ve heard it in the wild and over a speaker with a predator call...equally irritating.
Ben Lilly probably did that before breakfast. :-)
Lots of good fur, there.
Ha! And the worst part is my brain didn’t catch that as I quickly proofread before posting lol.
FReeping by phone does have its drawbacks.
I think I would make a killing if I set up a car wash across the street.
To nit-pick, they *do* hold a season for Canada Geese, depends on your state.
Our boy brought in 18# Canada goose from a very cold water cove in the CT River. Good boy!
On another side-note; when the kits are still around and a fire truck goes by ....they howl *back* at the fire siren. Kinda funny to hear.
No persons of color in those photographs, no identifiably LGBTQIAXYZ folks in ‘em either. Very discriminatory. We must ban this immediately as it is not inclusive enough!
Why do the "L's" always have to be first. Talk about discriminatory?
THE CONFESSION
Hi, Bob, this is Alan from next door. I have a confession to make. I’ve been riddled with guilt these past few months and have been trying to pluck up the courage to tell you to your face, but I am at least now
telling you in text as I can’t live with myself a moment longer without you knowing.
The truth is - I’ve been sharing your Wife, day and night when you’re not around. In fact, probably more than you. I haven’t been getting it at home recently, but that’s no excuse, I know. The temptation was just too much. I can no longer live with the guilt and I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies and forgive me.It won’t happen again.
Please suggest a fee for usage and I’ll pay you.
Regards, Alan
NEXT.....
Bob, feeling insulted and betrayed, grabbed his gun, and shot his neighbor dead. He returned home where he poured himself a stiff drink and sat down on the sofa. He took out his phone where he saw he had a subsequent message from his neighbor:
Hi, Bob, this is Alan again from next door. Sorry about that typo on my last text. But I expect you figured it out anyway and that you noticed that the darned AutoCorrect changed “WiFi” to “Wife”.
Technology, hey??
Regards, Alan
Having more problems with rabbit control, so I’m takin it easy on the coyotes.
....until I see evidence of them impacting the local deer population....
Because if they weren’t first, there would be “L” to pay!
Too bad that they can’t do this in the western states with the wolves.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.