The Last Stand

[THO Game Calls]

Browning204 and I gave it the good old college try yesterday.  We cut 6 miles of forest tote road from 7 am until 4:30 PM with just an hour break for lunch.  We made stands every half mile or so back in the timber, along creek bottoms, and in places I had taken coyotes in past years.  We blew Hand Calls, we used the M1 Bandit, and we used his Wildlife Tech E caller. 

Nothing all day long. 

We saved the best stand for last, just before dark.  This stand was a place we had pulled in coytoes twice this year.  It's a long filed that sits next to a small lake, with about 50 yards of open hardwoods from the field edge to the water on the west  side.  The north end of the field goes back up into the hills, and is all forest land, thick hardwoods and hemlocks.  THe east side is helmlocks, old growth trees.  There is a forest service road that goes up to the top of the mountain at the north east corner of the field. 

The coyotes here will work along the edges of this field in the late afternoon, sticking to the hardwoods between the field and the lake, but to get there, they use the forest service road and then stay in the shadows at the north end of the field to get to the west side.  What makes it even better is that about 70 yards from the north end of the field, there is a clump of tress and brush about 15 yards around right in the middle of the filed.  A great place for a stand.

We set the WT caller out, and got settled in.  It was about 3:30 in the afternoon.  Light was fading fast and we had about a half an hour before dark.  Perfect timing for this last stand of the day.

Browning204 let out two challenge howls and after a few minutes hit the old faithful cottontail distress on the WT.

It wasn't 30 seconds later we could hear him coming.  Fast, Hot, on a bee line right for us, and making a lot of noise doing it.   You could see the brush moving as he made his way in.  We kind of looked at each other from our stands with "you've got to be kidding me" looks as a US Army Medivac Huey flew at tree top level right over us.  He swung around the end of the filed and came back for another pass.  This time, slowly passing right over our stand location, not 30 feet in the air.  We could see the piolet looking down at us.  He banked and went over the east edge of the field and we could hear him land in the small fileld about 100 yards behind our possition.  We figured he might have had problems and had to set down so we got up to go see what was what.  Just as we got there, he lifted off and made a wide circle and came back.  When he got over the small field, the crew chief came to the door and let down a big yellow rescue boom.  Down it went, and then they pulled it back up.  They would make a pass, hover, lower the boom, riaise it and then make another circle and come back and do it again.  They were waving at us the whole time as we watched them.  Browning204 snapeed a few pictures with his cell phone and we headed back to the truck. 

I've been on stands were we called a lot of strange stuff in, but this was the first time we ever called in a hellocopter.  We made a bunch of stands yesterday, used a bunch of different sounds, both hand and electronic and came up empty, but we did call in a helo so the day was not at total loss :)

Al
THO Game Calls
www.thogamecalls.com

[FinsnFur]

 :roflmao:  wtf?  Were they performing some kind of training mission?

[Hawks Feather]

Way to go Al!  

I have heard stories of people calling in helicopters, but always that that it was just an urban legend.  Now I can honestly say that they are true.  

Jerry

[Jeb]

What sound was you using when you called in the flying predator ? 
                            Jeb

[WhiteHare]

Good thing you didn't "take em down".   Would have been a bear to field dress it....
   

[THO Game Calls]

Jim,

It was a medovac Huey.  It had the big red and white crosses on it.  At first, I figured some one was lost but it seems they were doing a training exercise there.  As we were walking back to where they set down, Mike looked at me and said, "You arn't going to have any flash backs are you?"  Helps to hunt with a buddy who has a sense of humor about stuff like this.  

I offered him a buck to go out and grap the rescue boom, but he was a whimp about it LOL.

Jeb,

we started the stand with two challenge howls from the WT.  Then he switched to a cottontail distress.  Since it was a medovac chopper, I figure it was the distress sound that brought him in LOL.

Jerry,

I hope Mike can figure out how to e mail me the pictures from his phone.  Neither one of us brought a camera yesterday.  It's kind of a jinx with us.  We bring a camera and shoot nothing.  We leave them at home and get something.  

[browning204]

Al, I just woke up, it is 10:15am. I was so tired from you draggin me around Gods creation that I layed down at 5 in the afternoon, woke up at 10:30 last night, ate some left over chinese food and went back to bed and just woke up now!!

You really need to get a 4-wheeler

I will figure out how to get those pics on the board in a lil while.

[Smith]

I've had alot of goofy things happen in the field but nothing like that.  :shck:

[Jimmie in Ky]

And I thought I did good calling in a couple of mountain bikers Jimmie

[Roundman]

THO calls will call in anything!

[keekee]

Dang....I have called allot of diffrent things.....Joggers, horse back riders, shed hunters, deer hunters, bird watchers, a good looken blond, a mink and lord knows what else off the top of my head. But thats beats anything I ever called...lol

Thats COOL!

Brent

[CCP]

NOW thats what I call getting busted Did he come in from the down wind side? Good story AL

You really need to get a 4-wheeler

I thought browning204 was a young guy?  Al you gonna haft to take it easy on the young guys!!!!!

[THO Game Calls]

You know, I was thinking the same thing LOL.  I've got at least 20 years on him.  But to his defense, they just did have a beautiful little girl, so I suppose he isn't gettim much sleep these days.

Al
THO Game Calls
www.thogamecalls.com