Predator calls?

"Check with your local Fish & Game department to see what is legal and they might be able to recommend somebody to teach you how to use them."

Hi David,

This is a good point. I know that the use of calls are illegal in certain parks, such as Yellowstone.

James

Thanks guys.
I know the use of some electronic predator calls are illegal for hunters to use in PA. I just assumed it applied to hunters and without any intention of killing the animal I was exempt. But now what you are saying James, is that perhaps in some areas it's illegal, period. David thanks, I will look further. And David I am of the same school of though as you, I though it a good idea. As I learn more tracking and hunting techniques, I will try and apply them to photography.
I liked that little hundred dollar unit, and thought it may work for me. I, however am unsure if I am prepared to Camo up and sit in still in the woods for hours. I am no hunter, but living in PA gives me access to one of the largest hunting cultures in the states. I have been researching the topics more this last year and find that hunting is a very boring hobby. I mean, there is brief moments of glory preceded by hours of pure boredom. I never realized until recently that deer hunters sometime climb into a tree and sit there near motionless for dawn to dusk.

It's ethical, but you will get limited results, and depending on your location, you would need to be aware of bear activity. The digital electronic calls are the best for predators. If you get the small, portable, hand-held units, buy the extra speaker and you will be able to pull the animal in closer as you can put the call in a location adjacent to you, thus tricking your prey into walking right past you toard the sound of the dieing rabbit.

It has limited application because most predators that are called, move quickly, often too fast for you to get set up, or they "hang-up" just out of range. If they spot any kind of funny business they will NOT come in. That's why it's hard to get really good shots and it has limited use - IMHO. In contrast to photography, A hunter needs only a split second to see the animal, put the crosshairs on him at a distance still too far for the animal to relize what's going on, and shoot - unfortunately, we do not have glass that long, and if we did they would see the front ellement long before you would get any good shots.

Also, a predator that's on the hunt and going after food, is also prey, therefore they are extreemly alert and will spook at the first sign that somthing's wrong. they are very, very aware of what's going on arround them when it comes to food.

You can improve your success by combining a digtial call with an electric or remote activated decoy like a rabit or some kind of fur that jumps arround. Those things seem to help a lot especially if the animal can see it. If he sees it and thinks it's prey, and nothing is there eating it yet, he will approch quickly, and with less apprehention.

Finally, the wind. No matter what you do use the wind, if a predator smells you you never even will know they were there. If they smell you they will head the oposite direction in a hurry, especially if they know that they have been tricked by a call. And, for most animals it only takes one or two times before they figure it out - keep this in mind when selecting a location from which to call, animals that have been called will be almost impossible to photograph.

A huge word of caution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hunt as well as photograph wildlife and I call in one or more gizzlies EVERY year. Just know that if youre calling predators, you could be the prey!

Good luck and have at it, it can be a lot of fun, so I'm told - LOL!
Take care.

Thanks Guys, lot of good advice here. I may have to see if a friend has any of these electronic calls to try before I buy. The one I linked above from Cabela's in my first post, is a remote controlled speaker with a fuzzy tailed bit of fur on a stick. All of what you are referring to. Again for me, it’s about finding the time to get out and sit in a blind. The damn job keeps getting in the way:)

BTW will these type of tactics get birds to come down also? And how load are the electronic calls?

David, I know of a few people from Ohio, but have never lived there. I would have to guess that PA has a stronger hunting presence. Sure, there is no big game hunting here, but per capita, there are more hunters in this state then nearly all the others. If I recall we rank about third. That is one reason Cabela's put there store here. So even though I am not a hunter, I have access to a boat load of information. And within say a 30 mile radius of the house I have access to over 40000 acres of state game lands. A good opportunity to say the least.

Hey David, I'll have to get that Audubon CD.
You are right, I fogot about the bear. Hunters killed nearly 1000 during this years week long season. And they are hunting elk once again i the north west corner.
My wife and I have frequentlly discussed moving to Alaska within the next 10 years or so. I'll have to pick your brain some day:)

You could download some bird calls on your ipod and then play them on a little speaker. In the Everglades,NP it is illegal to use any recordings to get a bird to come closer. During mating seasons it does put added stress on the birds. Rustin

Hey Rustin,

That is an interesting idea. It was once explained to me how to do moose calls with a rope and a coffee can. I was all worked up to try it until I learned that it is illegal in Yellowstone and the Tetons.

James

Coffee can and cotton shoestring, wet the shoestring, tie a knot in one end, run the shoestring through a hole in the bottom of the coffee can and run your thumb and forefinger down the string making the sound of a moose during the rut. Old hunting trick here in Alaska.

Hummm Rustin, you have me thinking now. On bird I would love to get a good clean shot of is a Pileated Woodpecker. I have only seen the bird 4 or so times. I would assume they are more talkative during mating season. I would also assume that's now here in PA.

I will have to do some searching

"Coffee can and cotton shoestring, wet the shoestring, tie a knot in one end, run the shoestring through a hole in the bottom of the coffee can and run your thumb and forefinger down the string making the sound of a moose during the rut. Old hunting trick here in Alaska. "

My friend told me that this was a popular practice among French Canadians who hunt. While I am not a fan of hunting, I can understand entirely this sort of things appeal to wildlife photographers. Believe it or not, we just received a solicitation to advertise digital calls on the website. As I am not interested in making NWP commercial at this time, I have turned them down. Still, it was flattering.

James

Yes Richard, that's the bird. I love them and would like to get a couple good shots. Like you say they are wary, and somewhat rare. I’ll keep looking:) Great shot. Nice and sharp on the eye with a good catch light. How on earth did you get that close with a 200mm?:)

Hey Dick,

Very nice photo of the the woodpecker. How close do you get when photographing birds? Also, when you talk about your technique, it seems that you go to them via an indirect route...how slowly are you normally traveling when you do this?

James

Wow Richard, we're going to start calling you the Wildlife Whisperer. That is very impressive. I like the way you kept a good size log between you and the deer. Looks like you old Buck Buddy has some good battle scars there too.
To within 25 feet of almost any bird is fantastic. I mean I find they rarely stick around long enough in one location with or without me approaching. I have to get out there and do some more looking. I did get fairly close to a turkey the other day, but that was only because he was on the trail of a girlfriend. So again it was a short lived encounter since she was not standing still.

"The thrill and enjoyment of getting close enough to the wildlife to watch their behaviours is far more rewarding than the photos I bring back."

Hi Richard,

I hear this entirely. Life is amazing.

"The last thing I want to do is disturb them but most seem to tolerate me pretty well so long as I behave!"

That is an art. One of my greatest frustrations is going into a park (in this case, Yellowstone) and seeing the lady shouting to her husband, "take a picture with me and the elk, Larry." A sadistic part of me keeps hoping that the elk they are cozieing (sp) up to is Charger.

James

Was involved in a discussion on this in another forum. Food for thought (no pun intended), if FL has restrictions for bird calls during mating season, the reason being that it puts stress on the birds, imagine what it'd be like raising a nest of chicks when a fake, squeaky mouse starts chattering in a photog's pocket 10 feet away...likely luring predators to a nest area. Turns out birds react very strongly to distressed rodent calls, as it makes them fear a predator is there, or will be coming soon.

Chris,
Thanks for that tip. That is good advice too and I will keep that in mind if I ever get out there with a call.