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Some Tips To Consider When You Go Out To Call Predators

Brett Calling
• During early morning, late evening, and night calling, call in areas where predators will be feeding. Good places are around fields (corn, soybean, and wheat fields), wetlands, wood lots, feedlots, dead animal dumps, and other feeding areas.
• During mid-day, call loafing areas, ravines, high grass, timber, sagebrush, cattail swamps, isolated brush and timber stands, and abandoned farm buildings.
• During cold months (November-March), keep predator food sources in sight. Antelope, cattle, sheep, deer, and prairie dog pastures make great calling areas.• During spring and summer, call around livestock pastures and denning areas. Ravines, irrigation ditches, woodlots, and places within 1/2 mile of water make good spots to call.
• Hide vehicles out of sight or cover with a camouflaged "cozy."
• Make sure sun reflection is eliminated from guns, zippers, glasses, scopes, etc.
• Make calls at intervals of 1/2 to 1 mile apart, depending on terrain. Flat country means widely spaced calling stands. When calling in heavy, rolling terrain, timber, or in high winds, space stands closer together.

• Move slowly and deliberately; move to get ready to shoot when the predator drops out of view or is not looking at the hunter.
• Take your time; carefully look over the terrain, slowly watching for movement, color or shape changes, bird behavior, and predator sounds.
• After a shot is made and the predator killed, continue calling, using loud ki-yi yelps (3-4), repeated for two minutes. Then resume rabbit squalls. The predator's companions will often continue to come in and give you more action.
• If the predator is missed, continue calling immediately, using ki-yi yelps. Often the predator will stop and provide another shot or come back for another shot.
• Mark successful stands on a map so you can find them again, and maintain legal access to the place.

 Lions
Be careful what you call, it may be more than you can handle!

Major's Articles

I have written columns on varmint hunting for the Varmint Hunter’s Magazine (now out of print), problem wildlife control for Sheep! magazine, articles about Remington rifles for the Remington magazine, big game articles for a Norwegian magazine, fire fighting articles for the the Smokejumper magazine and various articles on trapping and predator hunting for other U.S. outdoor magazines. I do, and have done, what I write about. My specialties are rattlesnake, coyote, beaver, and prairie dog control.

I have worked with wildlife in Peru and Africa as well and have written several articles about my work for the Smithsonian, working in those countries.

Below are links to articles that I have written about predator calling. I call them "Keys to Successful Predator Calling."

• Key #1 - Use the Predator's Senses to Your Advantage
• Key #2 - Guns, Cartridges, Clothes, Optics, and Paraphernalia
• Key #3 - Calls and Calling, Generally Speaking
• Key #4- Weather and Country, Coping with the Elements
• Key #5 - Managing People, Vehicles, and Things

• Key #6 - Tactics of Predator Calling
• Key #7 - The Senses, Generally Speaking
• Key #8 - Calling Bears, Hazardous Duty
• Key #9 - Mountain Lions, Calling's Top Trophy
• Key #10 - Mountain Lions, Key Strategies
Major Reading

Here I am studying by flashlight at night what we found during the day in Gabon, Africa. I visited Gabon five different times, working for the Smithsonian on the impact the oilfields and oil exploration were having on the wildlife there. I have added some of my articles about those trips.
Holding Pythons

I am carrying up the tail end of the python, one of the large snakes we found in Gabon. Better the tail end than the head!
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