Predator Call

I purchased my first deer rifle when I was thirteen years old.  Being a southpaw and wanting a bolt gun, my options were somewhat limited.  Savage Arms was making the Model 110 in a left-handed model and Remington was beginning to build a few as well.  After comparing the two rifles and pricing, I chose the Savage in .270 caliber.  Over the last 40+ years, “Old Nasty” has served me well.  I have no idea how many deer, whitetail and mule deer have fallen to this sweet shooting rifle, but no doubt in the hundreds. 

While working the Savage Arms booth at the NRA Convention in Phoenix this last season, I found myself handling the recently introduced Model 14.  The smooth action, straight stock and 24 inch barrel in the magnum calibers were most appealing.  The Model 14 features a new bolt release, cleaner lug that locks the receiver to the action, hinged floor plate and Accutrigger.  Another feature that I am a huge fan of is the three positon safety.  The first position locks the bolt and prevents firing.  The second position unlocks the bolt but does not allow firing.  The third position (full forward) is the “fire” position.  When walking through the brush which I seem to do quite often, I have had a problem of the bolt on my rifle hanging on brush and coming open, ejecting the round.  The locking position prevents this accidential ejection from occurring. 

A few years ago, I hosted a predator hunt along with Winchester/Olin in South Texas.  The writers and the folks from Winchester/Olin had hunted Nilgai on the King Ranch before arriving in Tilden to hunt predators.  The .270 WSM had been recently introduced and the group was testing it’s killing power on the tough gray ghost of the Texas plains.  The group of hunters had orders to shoot all Nilgai cows in the shoulder region with 140 grain Fail Safe ammo.  The results were amazing as 17 of the 21 cows dropped in their tracks.  The guides on the King Ranch had never seen a rifle of any caliber perform as the .270 WSM.  After hearing this report, I had to have one.

I mounted a Nikon Monarch 2.5-10×42 BDC on the Savage 14 with a DNZ mounting system.  I have not found a system that is so easy to install as this new one piece system.  If you have not seen this new mounting system, I strongly recommend that you do so.

After zeroing the rifle 1 1/4″ high at 100 yards (zero at 200 yards) while shooting 150 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertip ammo, I was ready to take it on it’s inaugural voyage.

I decided to deer hunt at the head of a rough canyon for a period of time and if nothing showed, to move west with the sun at my back to another huge bowl where I had seen deer in the past.  After sitting for about an hour and freezing until I was shaking like a leaf, I decided that it was time to make a move.  As I stood up, something caused me to look over my shoulder to the northwest.  There on the crest of a low ridge was one of the largest whitetails I had ever seen in West Texas.

The buck was standing broadside looking straight at me no doubt somewhat blinded by the intense early morning sun.  Approximately half of his side was shielded by extremely thick catclaw brush, making my favorite shot to the pocket behind his front shoulder impossible.  I estimated the distance to be approximately 200 yards and held at the top line of the dense brush.

After recovering from the recoil I saw the monster whirl, make a couple of jumps and disappear over the low ridge.  I was sure that I had made a killing shot and fully expected to find the buck just over the hill.  Topping the hill, I scanned the low brush for the shine of a heavy dark antler.  When the deer was not readily visible, I unsuccessfully began to look for any sign of blood.  I decided that I should step the distance back to where I had taken the shot to ensure that it was indeed 200 yards.  To my suprise, I had misjudged the distance as I stopped counting when I reached 250 steps.  The extra 50-60 yards would have caused my bullet to drop approximately 2 inches which would have caused my bullet to impact deeper into the brush.  Boy, I can really come up with excuses. 

What a way to break in a new rifle, miss the biggest whitetail that I have shot at in many years. 

See you outdoors.

Gary Roberson  

Last Saturday morning, I was deer hunting in the open desert country of Southwest Texas.  Daylight found me glassing the head of a canyon and surrounding hills looking for a mature whitetail buck.  Without success, I decided to walk westerly, taking advantage of the sun and glass a huge bowl where I have found bucks in years past.

I found a couple of does browsing over half a mile away and concentrated my glassing efforts around them as there was still a little rutting activity.  About a hundred yards past the does, I found the head and ears of a deer staring back at the does but it was too far to see antlers in my 8x glasses until the buck moved his head.   Finally the deer moved from left to right, revealing a tall, dark horns.  Based on what I had seen, the buck no doubt deserved a better look so I commenced to cut the distance. 

At a distance of approximately 400 yards from the buck, the terrain started to roll off into a small canyon.  If I moved any closer, I would loose elevation which would make it more difficult to see the buck and get a bullet to him.  Though it was a long shot, I began to look for a place to sit my butt without getting on a dog pear or other sticky vegetation. 

The old buck was moving around a little more in his attempt to check all of the does.  Everytime he moved, I had to relocate in order clear my shooting lane.  After three moves, I finally had the buck in a fairly large clearing and I was still undetected.  As I reset my shooting sticks, the buck began walking from right to left.  I could see that he would disappear behind more brush if a shot was not taken in a matter of a couple of seconds. 

I found the shoulder and raised the crosshairs 6-8 inches above his topline and squeezed the trigger.  The recoil caused me to loose target but there was no mistake in the sound of a bullet smacking bone and flesh.  Working the bolt, I looked over the scope for a fleeing buck but the only movement was one of the does trotting to the left.  I looked through the Nikon scope for any sign of life where the buck was and there was none. 

I eased the rifle down and glassed for several minutes.  The does were not spooked and were back to browsing on the brush and weeds.  I found a couple of landmarks, one a cedar with an exposed root and a sotol that was light yellow around the base.  Crossing the small canyon that was choked with catclaw, I found the cedar and proceeded to the sotol.  There was my buck, lying where he was when I took the shot.  There was no sign of a struggle, not even the kick of his legs.

The 150 grain Ballistic Silvertip impacted the buck’s shoulder just under his spine and exited the off shoulder.  Upon field dressing the buck, I found that the bullet had barely cut the underside of the backbone which explained the clean kill.  It was as if lightning had struck him that cool, clear West Texas morning.

See you outdoors!  Gary

While predator hunting is my first love, I still enjoy chasing whitetails in Texas and mule deer in New Mexico.  My weapon of choice for deer has been a Savage Model 10 in .270 caliber that I purchased as a 13 year old.  I cannot tell you how many rounds have been fired through “Old Nasty” as I call her or how many deer it has hung on a meat pole.  This rifle has served me well and at age 56, would no doubt last the remainder of my lifetime and then some.  Sometimes, you get the hankering for something new even when it is not really needed.  Kinda like wanting a new pickup when your old one is running just fine.

While working with my good friends at Savage at the NRA Convention last spring, I fell in love with the new Model 14 American Classic.  The rifle features a straight walnut stock, shot action, accu-trigger and a 24 inch barrel in the .270 WSM that I chose.  The Model 14 is available in a left-hand model for us southpaws. 

I received the rifle last Friday and mounted a Nikon Monarch 2.5-10×42 BDC riflescope on it with the aid of a one piece DNZ mounting system.  This is the first time I have used the DNZ mounts and I can tell you that mounting a scope on a rifle has never been so easy.

I sighted my rifle at 1 1/4″ high at 100 yards which should zero me at 200 yards and approximately 5.5″ low at 300 yards.  I have not had the time to check at these various ranges but plan to do so in the next few days.  As soon as I find a mature buck, I plan to see how the rifle performs in on a West Texas whitetail.

See you outdoors,

Gary

I woke this morning to be greeted by an inch of snow and 27 degrees.  It is still snowing and we have at least two inches on the ground as I type.  This weather should help to get the deer moving which have been pretty tough to find as there are so many acorns.  The rut is in full swing but the full moon seems to be negating any advantage that the rut might offer.

My oldest son, Clint and good buddy, Brandon Burch just returned from a few days of bow hunting deer down in Terrell County.  The cold weather really had the mature bucks chasing does and deer activity around the feeders was high.  Though they saw at least half a dozen or more mature bucks, they were unable to get a shot.

Stay after ‘em and good luck, see you outdoors,

Gary Roberson

The archery hunters have invaded the Texas hillsides; the regular archery deer season opened on October 3rd across most of Texas.  In Menard County, we were blessed with a good spring with at least average rainfall.  When we have a good spring, we typically have a pretty good crop of acorns on the live oak trees that are prevalent across most to the county.  The abundance of natural food and the full moon on the 4th of October has slowed daytime deer movement  around corn feeders to almost nil. 

I can tell when deer hunting is slow because the hunters start hanging around town more.  They come by the store and act like they are interested in some camo, scent or calls but they are really just wanting someone to visit with.  They want to be assured that the deer are still out there and that conditions will improve and so will the hunting.

Hang tough and see you out of doors,

Gary Roberson   

There is a nip in the air, leaves are changing colors and time for me to get back to what I love to do…hunting.  While I have never stopped hunting my hounds for coons and bobcats, I have given the coyotes a break to raise their young and now the youngsters are hunting on their own. I will begin my fall hunting in Colorado with Fred Eichler, Host of PREDATOR NATION, a new TV show that will be aired on INTERMEDIA’s TV channel.  We will be attempting to call coyotes and any other predator known to roam in the Trinidad area.  On my return trip, I will stop in New Mexico and hunt mule deer with good friends and a couple of my boys.

I hope that all of you have your fall hunting plans in place and are ready to “Crank it up”.

See you out of doors,

Gary Roberson

As a youngster, I thought that “rattling” was magic, a “cure all”.  If I only knew how to rattle, I would never have to experience another hunt without seeing a buck.  I could go to the woods, knock the “horns” together and all of the old bucks that had avoided me for years would come charging from the thickets.  After rattling for over 40 years, I am convinced that rattling is a truly a magic hunting technique when it works, but certainly no cure all.

While some rattling experts would want you to believe that if you do not perform a certain routine or sequence that your chances of calling a buck are slim to none.  I do not agree for it seems to me that the racket that you make may not be as important as when and where you are trying to call a buck.  My Great Uncle rattled many whitetail bucks by banging a four inch 2×4 block on the wooden stock of his rifle. 

I feel the key ingredient to successful horn rattling is to call where bucks are competitive.  As a rule, the closer the buck to doe ratio, the more competition between bucks for a receptive doe.  It seems to me that I have difficulty rattling a buck if the buck to doe ratio exceeds 1 to 4. 

If your goal is to call a mature buck, rattle in the pre-rut (the week to 10 days prior to the peak of the rut).  When numerous does are cycling as they do when the rut peaks, you can bet that a mature buck will be occupied by a receptive doe.  Rattling a mature buck away from hot doe is almost impossible.

Use the wind and terrain to your advantage.  I prefer to rattle in semi-open areas, if possible.  Older bucks are sometimes hesitant to expose themselves in wide open areas such as grain fields in daylight hours.  An area of with patches of brush or trees will give you visibility while offering a buck the security of cover.

Be aggressive.  I am sure most of you have observed at least footage of two mature bucks fighting.  There is nothing subtle about it…they are genuinely trying to kill each other.  Don’t bang the antlers together as if playing the symbols, hit the horns together and push and twist them against each other to mimic the sound of two bucks locked in combat.  It seems the more aggressively I rattle, the more aggressive a buck will respond.  A buck responding aggressively will make more mistakes by not going to the wind or looking for the source of the sound.

Use a coverscent.  I don’t believe that there is any way to mask 100% of all human odor.  But I do feel that by using the scent of a rutting buck, you can confuse a buck and buy a little time.  My favorite source for this scent is to remove the metatarsal glands from a buck that has been rutting.  Hang them on branches just downwind so that your scent is mixed with the odor of a rutting buck.  The responding buck fully expects to smell another buck or two because he has heard them fighting. 

Care of antlers.  While rattling with synthetic antlers can no doubt be effective, my favorite “horns” were removed from a buck I killed in 1987.  I have rattled literally hundreds of bucks while using this set of “magic” antlers.  I have found a way to preserve my antlers while helping them to retain their natural odor.  Remove the kidney fat from a deer when field dressing, whitetail or mule deer and melt it down in a frying pan until it turns to a clear liquid.  When it cools, it should look like hog lard or shortening.  I store it in tuperware or plastic containers in the freezer or refrigerator.  At the end of the deer season, rub the antlers down, leaving a coating of the fat on the antlers.  Hang the antlers indoors so that they are never in direct sunlight.  When next season rolls around, wipe the excess grease from the antlers and they will be ready to go.

Rattling is not magic and will not call in a Boone and Crockett buck if there is not one in the area.  Rattling can be a very effective and exciting method to help you bag your buck this season. 

See you out of doors,

Gary Roberson

It is no secret that proper deer management can improve antler growth and overall deer health.  Removing excess does is a management practice that is needed across most of the country.  In the Hill Country, I feel that it is a good idea to remove the excess does early in the season while they are in good body condition.  Another reason to remove the does as early as possible is because they consume food that a deer that you want to keep could eat. Shooting does early in the season, especially in South Texas can create a few problems.  The rut in South Texas generally peaks 30 to 45 days later than it does in the Hill Country therefore, the fawns will be considerably younger in the first part of deer season.  I have seen a few situations where killing the doe stunted the fawns, as they were still nursing.  Though it was impossible for me to monitor the fawns on a 5,000 acre ranch, I always felt the fawns that were stressed might not ever reach their potential.

Everyone knows that an old buck can be difficult to find but, I have found that a whitetail doe can disappear as well.  When whitetail does realize that they are being hunted, I have to change tactics to find them.  I have found that deer calls, especially bleat calls are very effective on whitetail does.   

Last Saturday morning I awoke and walked out of the camp house over an hour before daylight.  I heard the rolling of rocks as my presence had evidently spooked some of the deer that feed and water near the camp.  A few seconds later, I heard the unmistakable sound of two bucks fighting.  The clashing of the antlers, rolling of rocks and breaking of brush lasted less than 30 seconds but is a sure sign that the rut is very near.  Fights regularly break out as bucks compete for territories.  The older more dominant bucks prefer to control high traffic areas as their chances of encountering a receptive doe is increased.  Bucks make scrapes, paw the ground and leave their deer scent from periorbital glands on overhanging branches to mark their territories as well.

A few years ago, my good friend Jim Zumbo and I were deer hunting in South Texas.  One evening we got bored and decided to watch a video that was lying around the camphouse.  The video was produced by someone attempting to sell a bleat call that mimicked the sound of a whitetail doe that is in estrus.Through the years, I have had the opportunity to observe whitetails on an almost daily basis and have raised quite a few on a bottle.  The sound that the “hot” doe was making was one that neither Jim and I had ever heard for she was “honking” like a goose.  Since that day, I have not heard a doe make a sound like a goose and it concerns me that someone will do anything to sell a call. 

A rare sound to hear a deer make is a “snort wheeze”.  Last weekend, I had a chance to observe two mature whitetails that were aggressive posturing at each other (trying to bluff the other out of an area).  Most hunters have heard deer snort and grunt but I do not recall observing and listening to two bucks “snort wheeze” as much as these two old boys.  They stomped, walked stiff-legged, snorted and wheezed for over ten minutes.  Finally the four year old yielded turf to the older buck and moved to a friendlier neighborhood. 

If you are ever in the woods and hear something that sounds like a steam engine and there is no rail nearby, get ready for a mature buck may be in your neighborhood.