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The author with his first fox called in by his Dad. A Remington 700 chambered in 17 Remington was used for the hunt.
32 years ago I walked out into a snow covered field that surrounded a bunch of small sloughs filled with cattails and snow. I was wearing red snow pants and a big puffy black jacket. My Dad, who has been a lifelong predator hunter, was bringing me on my very first fox hunt. I don’t remember if I was really excited to go, but being my dad has always been larger than life to me, as is the case with most young boys who have the gift of a good father, I’m sure I was thrilled beyond words to be tagging along with him.
My Dad grew up hunting fox and coyotes in Eastern North Dakota. He started hunting quite young and was self taught other than some magazine articles he acquired along the way. His Dad, my Grandpa, wasn’t a hunter. By the time my Dad was in his 20s he was already a very formidable hunter and marksman. The older he got the more of a local legend he became when it came to shooting and killing fox. My Dad enjoys informal benchrest shooting to this day and always had a firm belief that being a really good shot was nearly essential to being successful when hunting fox and coyotes.
By the time my Dad drug me long on my first hunt, literally thousands of fox and coyotes had their last breath snatched away by one of his many varmint rifles. I don’t remember exactly where we were but I do remember very distinctly that we were facing North looking down into a small valley filled with a half dozen or so different cattail sloughs. My Dad took out a varmint call and began squealing some death tune into the air. It was sunny and the middle of the day as I recall. Not very cold but some light wind had a little bite to it. A few minutes passed and a fox was working his way towards us. I was laying prone behind my Dad’s trusty Remington 700 chambered in 17 Remington. Some kind of 25 grain match hollow point was loaded on top of the case and was ready to scream out at any moment. The fox stopped and gave me a really good opportunity. I was a pretty good shot for being young, but my Dad didn’t quite like the shot and told me to wait. He squeaked the call again and the fox worked his way to our downwind side, never stopping to offer a second shot. My Dad was visibly upset with himself knowing that he probably should have let me shoot. I was hooked and in awe of what just happened.
My first bedded fox at age 12. Once again a Model 700 Remington in 17 Rem was used to make the kill.
I firmly believe that not being able to take a shot at that first fox and watching it come to us, circle and catch our wind and watching it run off was better for me than actually being able to shoot at it and ultimately kill it. It was amazing to my little mind watching that animal come to use. Later that day we were able to call in a second fox, this one being more cooperative and I was able to connect, killing my first predator at the age of 8. I don’t remember the situation anywhere near as vividly as the first, but the day is a fantastic core memory of mine I will have with me forever.
At 12 years old I had killed a number of called in fox. We didn’t have very many coyotes in Eastern North Dakota at this point in time but fox were plentiful. The early 90s saw an onset of mange and the fox population started to dwindle. I snuck up on and killed my first bedded fox this same year. It was laying in a small rock pile in the middle of a section. Like many attempts before my dad would drop me off and drive away. I always came back to the road empty handed. Today was different. I slowly walked slightly upwind of the rock pile and when I was close enough that I thought I could hit something laying there, we didn't have rangefinders at this point in time, I got down and crawled to my left so I could see the fox. He was curled on top of a big rock sleeping in the sun. I found him in the scope, aimed very carefully right where his head met his body as he was curled up and squeezed the shot off. The 25 grain bullet from the 17 Remington popped as it hit and he never moved again. I remember being quite excited that I was finally going to carry a fox back to the road. My Dad was smiling from ear to ear. In the next five years coyotes began showing up a little more regularly and we changed quarries without ever missing a beat. My Dad had been hunting other parts of the state when I was growing up to chase coyotes and now we were both pretty excited the population was on the rise near home.
My first coyote was taken in the western part of North Dakota with my Dad doing the calling. I was 14 years old. We called in a pair and I was able to make a good shot on one of the two coyotes. At this point in my life I didn’t particularly enjoy hunting coyotes to the extent I do now. Cold weather didn’t agree with me that well. I didn’t care to be outside in it for extended periods of time and I wasn’t all that excited about snowshoeing a mile to try to kill a mangy dog. Much of the hunting I did at this age was in the fall or late spring when snow wasn’t as big of a factor. Thankfully I grew out of this phase and by my early twenties I loved being on snowshoes as much as possible. Many of the winters in my 20s and through my mid 30s I was putting on somewhere between 125-175 miles a winter on snowshoes. A few of the winters I actually wore a Garmin GPS watch whenever I was hunting so I know the numbers are accurate.
A pair of Western ND coyotes taken on the same stand. A custom Remington 700 chambered in 20BR was used for the hunt.
Today, the passion exists as strong as ever and I plan to continue to hunt as long as I’m able. I strive to be a student of the game and continue to learn about this craft every time I'm in the field. I decided to create Silence The Howl for a number of reasons. A very small business venture being one of them and as things progress, readers will learn more about that. The camaraderie of discussing all things coyote and predator hunting. My love of varmint rifles and the gear used to chase these animals through the fall and winter. And a place to offer tips, advice and answer questions for people curious as to what I’m doing when I’m hunting, looking to better themselves when they hunt or simply have a good conversation with another person who shares the excitement as I do.
I hope you enjoy Silence The Howl. Comments and feedback are always welcome! Please contact us using the “Contact” button on the top of the page. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for stopping by!
Justin Uhlir
A recent pair of coyotes taken on a long stalk and shot bedded. A custom Remington 700 chambered in 22-250 Ackley Improved was used to make the shots.
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