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2017 WeHuntSC Predator Challenge Recap
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The 2017 Predator Challenge was another successful event. We had hunters from SC, NC, & VA competing this year with a total of 86 teams and 281 hunters. We had been preparing to both host and participate in the competition all year and looked forward to its arrival. Out of all the years we’ve hosted the event it seemed like this year saw the most activity and movement from coyotes. Everyone we talked to seemed to have enjoyed the event regardless of how many coyotes they ended up getting on the ground.

Sponsor Thanks
As many of you know and as we mentioned yesterday at the check-in we don’t charge a fee for the competition and we don’t make money from it. We are regular hunters just like you who hope to protect our deer, turkey, duck, and others species for future hunters. (Hunting coyotes also helps protect local farmer’s livestock). 

We would not be able to host the competition without the generous donations from our sponsors. They donate their products and services for free for the winners. They don’t have to do this! We ask that you patronize the sponsors by buying your goods, products, and services from them. Be sure to be vocal about our appreciation for their sponsorships. Without the sponsors we would not have a competition.

Sportsman's WareHouse, Columbia SC
 
 Reel Determined Outdoors
 
 FoxPro Game Calls
 
 Sniper Hog Lights McKenzie Outdoors 
     
 AllPredatorCalls.com Wicked Hunting Lights  Sandhills DU 
     
 Killzone Flashlights  Whakum Outdoors Pin Oak Taxidermy 
     
 ICOTec
Crossroads Outdoors
   
   MFK Game Calls  

 

Competition Volunteers Thanks
Hosting a competition is not an easy task. There are tons of details to consider, emails to be sent, sponsors to connect with, hunters to explain (and re-explain) rules to, etc. You get what I’m saying… a competition doesn’t just host itself. With that said I’d like to also thank Gavin Jackson and Adam Smith. Gavin and Adam are the main guys behind making the competition possible. They stalk and wrangle sponsors, handle the Facebook promotions, constantly talk with hunters, promote the competition to everyone, build the check-in setup, handle the weighing of coyotes, and handle all the details that you don’t see on the surface. If you all see, know, or communicate with these guys be sure to thank them.

Adam Smith & Gavin Jackson at Weigh-In

 

Did Changing the Date Result in Better Numbers?
Based on feedback from last year’s competition participants we moved the competition from January to March. This was done for the sake of listening to our participant’s feedback. This change allowed for the use of night vision for hunting coyotes as SCDNR has implemented a night-hunting program where hunters can register their lands for night hunting and use infrared and/or thermal optics to hunt coyotes.

Moving the competition to March ran the risk of much warmer weather, but we lucked out this year as it was cool the entire weekend. We were interested to see how moving the competition would affect the numbers at the check-in. Of course, there are more variables than just the time of year, but we really can’t control the weather. We anticipated a good turnout at the check-in as we received messages during the competition of people seeing a lot of coyotes while they were hunting. It seemed they were moving well this past weekend. It would turn out that we had a total of 57 coyotes checked-in, which is more than all previous years combined. Whether it was changing the competition from January to March or just a lucky streak of movement we don’t know, but we were pleased with the outcome.

57 Coyotes at the Check-in

 

Competition Winners
This years winners were:

First Place – Jim Shepherd, Concord, NC - 12 Coyotes

First Place - Jim Shepherd

 

Second Place – Carolina Coyote Slayers, Denver, NC - 8 Coyotes

Second Place - Carolina Coyote Slayers

 

Third Place + Big Dawg (42.8 lbs) – Wind Walkers Kryptonite, Lucknow SC – 7 Coyotes

Third Place & Big Dog Winners - Wind Walker Kryptonite

 

Sportsman's Warehouse Gun Give-Away Winner - Ben McAlister, Monroe NC

Sportsman's Warehouse Gun Give-Away Winner - Ben McAlister, Monroe NC

 

Thanks, Surveys, & Video
Thanks to everyone who hunted in the competition. We appreciate your support and hope you enjoyed the event. We’ll be sending out emails asking for feedback very soon. We’ll see you next year at the check-in.


Announcing the 2017 Predator Competition

We've been hosting the Predator Challenge for 6 years now and we've seen it constantly grow in numbers and popularity. The awareness of what coyotes are doing across the state to both game & livestock populations is spreading quickly and as a result so is the sport of predator hunting. We're happy to continue hosting the competition and we hope you'll join us this year.

SCDNR Coyote Incentive Program 
Since last year SC DNR has implemented a Coyote Harvest Incentive Program! If you are not aware of this (and registered in it) please take a look at SC DNR's site. You could win some cool stuff from SC DNR simply by shooting coyotes! Visit the Coyote Harvest Incentive Program page

WeHuntSC.com Predator Challenge


What's New This Year 
Competition Date - Based on feedback and requests from several competition participants we're moving the competition from January to March. This year's competition will be held the first weekend in March, March 3rd-5th. We're going to see if we can get more coyotes shot outside of their breeding season. Again this is a response to requests from our competition participants, if we have lower numbers this year we will adjust accordingly. 

Gun Give-Away - The Sportsman's Warehouse has been kind enough to donate a gun for a give-away to this year's Coyote Hunting Competition. The way you win is simple, register for the competition & show up at the check-in, and you'll have a shot at winning it. Each coyote brought in by teams will result in an additional ticket for the gun drawing. So the more coyotes you bring to the check-in the higher your chances of winning the gun. There is no fee to enter the competition and no fee to win the gun. Both are free!

Learn more about the competition and register your team for the WeHuntSC.com 2017 Predator Challenge

See you at the check-in! 


Tech-Turkey Brings In Coyotes
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This year turkey season came in on a cool and windy Sunday morning. A cold front came in that brought some really strong wind with it and conditions were not the best for turkey hunting. On top of that we couldn’t hunt too long as we needed to head to the early church service too, Palm Sunday. Nevertheless we still wanted to give it a shot.

As most of you are aware I’ve been working on the Tech-Turkey this off-season and was ready to give it a test run. My friend Will List picked me up early and we headed to the woods. We’ve got some turkeys on the land we hunt that consistently come out in the field in the mornings. 

Tech-Turkey - Internet Controlled Decoys

When we parked the wind was really gusting and pollen was in the air. I didn’t know if we would be able to have any success with the wind blowing so hard. On the way into the field we found a nice shed rack which I always enjoy finding. I was hoping it would be a sign of good luck. 

We set up on an island of woods that overlooks a field. I went and put the decoy out about 35 yards away from us. Once set up I logged into WeHuntSC.com on my phone and tested connectivity and movement. The turkey was moving around just as it should. We were good to go and the sun was rising.

As it became lighter in the sky we were able to see the trees swaying back and forth in the wind. We hadn’t heard a gobble in the distance and really couldn’t hear much other than the wind. Usually by this time we would have heard some gobbles in the distance. We stayed and waited it out hoping for some gobblers to come around.

Will wanted to video the turkey from his phone and he asked me to make it move. So I made the turkey move and he videoed it. We were both looking down at our phones and I looked up to see 2 coyotes coming straight for the decoy. We didn’t hear a howl or have sign of coyotes coming, they came in silent and were focused in on the decoy. The wind that had been blowing so strongly was directionally blowing across our face so the coyotes couldn’t smell us. I couldn’t believe how close in they came. 

Coyotes chasing the Tech-Turkey decoy

Since Will was looking down at his phone I said “Will” and I turned the camera on. Will grabbed his gun and I was videoing. The coyotes came within 35 – 40 yards of us and like 10 yards from the decoy. Will debated letting them get even closer, but if he waited we may have been leaving with a mangled up decoy. In the video you can see the coyote pause for a second and that was the moment that Will pulled his gun up. Then seconds later he shot twice and hit the coyote both times. The coyote was flat getting out of there, but Will’s 20 gauge, 5-shot wasn’t enough to bring him down. It was definitely an interesting hunt. I think the coyotes will think twice before rolling up on a turkey again though!

So as you can imagine this wasn’t the hunt we had hoped for and it’s definitely not a good sign to have coyotes aiming for turkey decoys and our turkeys in general. Though, for the part of the Tech-Turkey decoy it is a good sign that the coyotes came to it because it was realistic to them. Usually coyotes are very keen on things and it’s a positive sign that they came in.

Hopefully next time we’ll be able to get some turkeys to come in.  



First Coyote

 

On the morning of August 16th I was heading into hunt. Here in the low-country deer hunting season comes in earlier than in most area. On this particular morning I was running a few minutes behind.. I rushed to grab my Cross Over Camo from of my Mckenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag.  The unique pattern of CrossOver Camo combined with the scenting abilities of the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag meant I would be well camouflaged and smelling strongly like the scent of a pine tree.  I also sprayed my snake boots down with Atsko?s scent killer to help minimize any human scent or scent from my vehicle.

 

 My scent and gear were under control I was ready to head in. I grabbed my flash light and headed out in to the darkness.  As I was walked down the edge of a corn field toward my stand I heard a loud crash just ahead of me.  I shinned my light in the direction of the sound and there were two does standing in the edge of the corn looking back at me. 

 
   First Coyote

As I continued walking I thought to myself that this early encounter was a good sign that the deer were moving.

 

 I arrived at my stand at 5:45. By this time I could see into the wide open field, but it was that time where the light was bright enough to see but not bright enough to make out exactly what I was seeing.  Objects looked somewhat fuzzy as I scanned the edge of the field.  I thought I could see movement but I wasn't sure what it was. The sun finally began to peek over the tree tops when I looked straight in front of me. I saw something moving about 150 yards away.  I was getting excited to see movement since it was the second day of the season and the sight of a deer walking out in front of my stand was a sight I had not seen since in a long time. I flipped the camera on and zoomed in on the object. It turned out the animal was actually a coyote. I have never seen a coyote when I?ve been deer hunting before. I actually had to take a double take thinking maybe it was a house dog, but as it moved closer toward me I was sure it was a coyote.  As I was picked up my rifle the coyote started to lie down in the field.  I decided to watch it for a minute to see what it was going to do. After a few minutes of lying on the ground, I decided I was going to take the shot. Just as I was about to pull the trigger it got up and darted into the woods after the other coyote standing in the edge of the woods. I was thinking to myself I should have shot earlier while I had the chance. About 5 minutes later a bigger coyote emerged from the woods. The first coyote returned and they started playing with each other running around in circles. They played for a bit, but when the big one stopped I took the shot. I reloaded and tried to stop the other one as it ran straight toward me but I couldn't get a shot on it. I enjoyed watching them, but I?m also glad I got the opportunity to take one out. They are a big problem around the area I hunt.

 

 

I have also been filming a few deer since the start of the season. The problem I?m facing this year is the deer are walking right at dark. I can see them through my scope but it?s too dark to film a lot of the deer I have been seeing thus far. I?m going to keep after?em though and hopefully I?ll be able to get some good film in the near future.

 

 

Derek

 

 

 


2011 SC Predator Competition Winners

    WeHuntSC.com - The Predator Challenge Check-In
  The check-in sign
As you are most likely aware, we just crowned the winners in South Carolina?s first predator competition this past weekend. Terry Williams, Chip & Amanda Humphries emerged as the victorious team and they even got some of their hunt on video! Congratulations to the winning team hailing from McBee, SC.
 
I?m not a big predator hunter, but I don?t think I?d mind giving it a try!  Earlier this year some of our site members were mentioning to me that we should have a predator competition, but by not being an avid predator hunter this presented a dilemma for me.  I was hesitant to try to create and structure a competition that I didn?t fully understand.  For this reason, I?d like to say a big ?Thank You? to Chip Humphries (and everyone that helped him) for partnering with us and helping us properly structure, recruit sponsors, and run the competition.  We leaned on Chip and crew for insight in creating a good competition.  Without their help, it wouldn?t have been possible? so it may have just been destiny that they emerged victorious in the competition!   Also, we should give another big ?Thank You? to the Sportsman?s Warehouse in Columbia, SC as well for letting us base the check-in out of their facility. Pulling this competition off was a total team effort so thanks to everyone involved.
 
 
 WeHuntSC.com - The Predator Challenge T-Shirt  
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We really didn?t know what to expect from the competition given that there is no official predator season and due to the youth of the site.  We were pleased to have 19 teams entered in the competition in just the first year.  We think (and hope) that the predator competition will continue to grow and get bigger every year.  While we were at the Sportsman?s Warehouse we had several people come by and note that they ?wish they had known about the competition? because they would have entered.  This is a good sign.  We also got some good marketing while socializing at the check-in.
 
The final results of the competition were:
 
1st Place: Terry Williams, Chip Humphries, Amanda Humphries ? McBee, SC
2nd Place: Dan Brothers ? Santee, SC
3rd Place: David Pruett & Todd Davis ? Spartanburg, SC
 
While we were at the check-in, Chip told me that they had some of their hunt on video.  I was pumped about this and eager to see the footage.  Since they had the footage, they were nice enough to let me include it in the below video.
 
 
I think everyone had a good time? I know we did!  We appreciate the sponsors and hunters who competed in the competition.  We hope to see you at the check-in next year as well.
 
Regards,
 
Clint
 

1st trip Coyote Hunting

This past weekend some of the WeHuntSC.com team members went coyote hunting with Terry Williams.  Last deer hunting season we got a lot of coyotes on our game cameras and frequently see dead coyotes in the road on the way to and from a certain track of land.  So, this year we decided to try to hunt some of these ?Wylie Coyotes?.

 
We met up with Terry Williams early Sunday morning to try our luck.  Terry and his friend Chip frequently post images of coyotes on the web site so, after talking with both Chip and Terry, we finally lined a weekend up when Terry was able to come and educate us on coyote hunting.  Terry and Chip both are active coyote hunters and have a knack for the sport.
 
None of the WeHuntSC.com crew had ever been coyote hunting before.  We?ve seen coyotes trotting through the woods when deer hunting, got them on the game-cams, and I even had one walk up in my back yard once, but we?ve never specifically gone hunting for coyotes.  Along with having a new experience, we looked to learn and see the proper way to hunt coyotes.  
 
Needless to say, we learned a lot from Terry and we were appreciative that he came and guided/hunted with us.  Terry filled us in on some details of coyote hunting.  He said that coyotes? senses are keener than a deer?s senses.  I?ve never really thought about it because I?ve never taken an interest in coyotes, but?coyotes are at the top of the food chain.  They are predators and eat what we are hunting.  In order to stay at the top of the food chain, they must rely on their senses and instincts.  Thus, they can hear, see, and smell very well.  
 
Because coyotes have sharp senses and instincts, it is important to know the track of land that you are on so that you don?t spread your scent everywhere on your way in.  Of course Terry wasn?t familiar with the land and we weren?t exactly sure on what the best set up would be, so we were not the most efficient hunters on this given morning.  
 
We arrived at the land early and got a semi-game plan together.  We split up into two groups of two.  Adam and I went and sat in some planted pines that is right beside of a grown up cutover.  Will and Terry went and set up by the gas line and pond which overlooked the gas line, a small pond, and a different set of pine trees.   Essentially, we were both hunting the same game call, but from different areas of the land.  We made sure we weren?t going to be in danger of shooting in the direction of each other and we all sat at the base of some pine trees.  In our group, Adam carried his gun and I had the video camera in hopes of getting a coyote shot on video.  Terry did the calling and Will had the rifle in the other group.
 
   WeHuntSC.com - Coyote decoy
 

Terry's coyote decoy

 

Since we had never coyote hunted before we were unsure of how it would all go down, so I will try to fill you in on the details (of how we went about it) in case you?ve never done much coyote hunting either.  We got there before daylight and got into position and waited for the sun to rise.  As you would imagine, Terry said it?s important to enter quietly so as to not spook any coyotes in the area.  After we got in position and the sun came up to where visibility was good? Terry started his call.  He had two pieces of equipment to call in coyotes.  He had a decoy which simulated movement of any kind of dying animal.  It basically looks like a tail that flaps around.  He also had an electronic, remote control game call.  This game call makes all kind of different sounds and is very loud.  When he turned that thing on you could hear it for a good distance.  The sounds it makes are loud, screeching, piercing sounds.  Terry let the game call run for around 15 minutes and then we sat a little bit more.  At one point he turned on the crow call and I mean within minutes there were at least 30 crows flying around making all kind of noise.  So it definitely calls attention to the area! Off in the distance we also heard some gobblers cackling around.
 
Terry said that if a mature coyote hears the sounds from the game call, he will get downwind of the sound and try to get a sniff of whatever he hears in distress (i.e. the game call).  Then he will work his way up to the sound.  Terry and Will set the game call up at a good distance away from them so they wouldn?t draw attention to their area and spook any coyotes.  
 
  WeHuntSC.com - Custom Coyote Call Made From Cow Horns
 

 Terry's custom coyote "Howl Call"

 

We hunted that section of land for 30 ? 45 minutes and then when nothing came around we moved to a different section of the land.  This specific track of land is very hilly and Terry said that the sound wouldn?t carry of the bottom that we were initially in.  Coyote hunting is different than deer hunting where when deer hunting you wouldn?t move around too much, but with coyotes Terry says you can move around to different areas to try to pull the coyotes out from different cutovers, thickets, or bedding areas.  We moved up to the top of the hill and set up shop.  This time Adam and I climbed up in a box stand overlooking a long cut food plot and Will and Terry were around the corner facing the cutover.  We did the same drill of letting the game do its work and then waited, but here again nothing came up.
 
After the hunt was over, I had Terry set up the game call so I could get video of the sound.  Terry also has a neat coyote call that a guy made from cow horns.  The below video is a video montage of the different sounds + Terry blowing this coyote howl call. (At the end of the video be ready cause the last call is very loud?so turn your volume down so you won?t get blown away)
 
 
On the way out we talked about the lay of the land we realized that if we were to go coyote hunting again, we would have hunted the land differently than we did this day.  Though, we knew going in that this would be a learning experience for everyone.  Terry gave us some insight and now we are a little better prepared with regards to coyote hunting when and if we get to make it back out there.  Also on the way out we saw some nice sized turkey tracks!  And speaking of turkeys? turkey hunting season is just right around the corner!
 
Hopefully we?ll get back after these coyotes again at some point and be able to get some good photo/video footage for you!
 
Also, if you would like to in touch with Chip or Terry to come get coyotes off of your land, just Contact Us and we can put you in contact with them!
 
Regards,
 
 
Clint

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