The Voice of the Cougars, Joey Strosnider, is also known for his predator hunting searching for coyotes making a true call of the wild among the farms and hills of Hardy County.
Strosnider resides in Wardensville and is the East Hardy High School Football announcer and an assistant coach for the East Hardy Early Middle School Football team.
Strosnider’s love for hunting started at the age of six years old searching the Hardy County woods with his father and grandfathers.
The first night hunt for red and grey fox as a teenager at 14 years old with his father making calls for ten minutes before a set of eyes appeared lurching in the darkness truly ignited the passion for predator hunting.
As the vice president of the Future Farmers of America during his senior year at East Hardy High School, Strosnider knew the importance of protecting the livestock and how wild animals could attack at any time.
Strosnider helps to eliminate the coyote population on local farms during his night hunting.
Strosnider is a member of the EHHS Class of 1998 and will be turning 40 years old soon (didn’t reveal the date).
During the day, Strosnider is an automobile/diesel technician and hunts for coyotes at night, “Trade by day, coyote by night.”
Strosnider studied Automotive/Diesel and High Performance Technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio from 1998-2001 and earned an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science.
The thrill of predator hunting has been in his blood for the past 22 years and is teaching his 11-year old daughter Madison the art of the hunt.
Madison killed her first coyote during Easter weekend with her father guiding her during the process.[private]
Joey Strosnider is a field staff member of Foxpro Inc. which is an electronic game calling company based out of Pennsylvania.
The sounds one hears at a football game will certainly bring cheers among the crowd as this predator hunter knows how to create attention.
Strosnider has special equipment that makes a wide range of calls to lure the coyotes during the hunting sessions.
Stosnider took time to describe the Foxpro organization and answer questions about his coyote hunting:
Strosnider knows all too well about the popularity of coyote hunting as he is a team member with one of the most popular Electronic Game Call Companies in the world Foxpro Inc. Foxpro Inc. is a relatively small company located in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Foxpro Inc. specializes in a variety of game calls such as hand calls for Elk, Turkey and Predators. However, they are most notably known for their electronic games used for Predator hunting such as coyotes. We have a variety of game calls that will fit any hunter from a person who is just getting into the sport or the most advanced hunter who is wanting the more sophisticated features of our callers. With all of our electronic callers, we use 100% real live animal sounds. So, if you’re playing a sound on one of our callers like a coyote howl that sound was recorded from a real coyote. The best part of being a team member of Foxpro Inc. is that all of our callers are built right here in the U.S.A. From the housings that are molded, circuit boards and all assembly is done right here in the U.S.A. No other company in the industry can say that.
Foxpro also has a very popular TV show called Foxpro Hunting TV that can be seen on YouTube, Amazon Prime and Roku TV. We used to have Foxpro Furtakers which aired on The Outdoor Channel but with the popularity rise of Streaming TV it only made sense to switch providers. We can reach out to a broader viewing base and fans can watch any episode anytime they wish. With streaming tv we can also produce videos all year long rather than having a single show that airs once a week for 2 months.
What does a Field Staff Member do?
As Field Staff members we are kind of like the behind the scenes guys. We are the major promoters for Foxpro. We have a lot to do with recording new sounds and working with new and current callers that we sell. We test the equipment to its extreme and then give feedback on the pros and cons on them and how to make our products better. We also give out ideas on the type of equipment we would like to use in the field. We also do a lot with the filming of our tv show. When you watch one of our tv episodes there’s usually a field staff member that’s guiding that hunt. For example back in January of this year Mike Dillon who is the General Manager of Foxpro Inc. came down and we were working on filming an episode in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side so our filming was cut short. With scheduling conflicts and now with this pandemic in full swing the filming process has been placed on hold for now. Eventually we’ll get back together to film and people will get to see some coyote hunting action that took place right here in Hardy County.
How popular is coyote hunting?
The popularity of coyote hunting has really grown in the past 5-6 years with the increasing population of coyotes. Coyotes have no natural predator east of the Mississippi River so the only effective way of keeping their populations under control is by hunting and trapping. One of the biggest reasons more people are getting involved in coyote hunting is due to their predation on deer and turkey populations along with the predation they cause on livestock such as goats, sheep and cattle. A lot of hunters are also getting into the sport because it helps them improve their hunting skills during the winter and the offseason of Deer and Turkey season.
How does it make you feel to save a farmer’s livestock?
It always feels good to help out a farmer. Livestock is how farmers make their money and support their families. Every time they lose an animal to predation such as coyotes that’s money taken out of their pocket. I also get calls from people who want coyotes removed from their deer and turkey hunting properties as well. Just recently my hunting partner Jason Lance and I received a call about a coyote that has been frequenting someone’s backyard while their 2 young children and family dog were outside in their back-yard playing. When we get calls of that nature, we tend to take them much more seriously almost to a personal level due to both of us having children and pets of our own. Although coyote attacks on humans are rare, they can and do happen. Coyotes can carry multiple diseases such as mange, rabies, distemper just as examples so by keeping these coyotes managed it also helps reduce the likelihood of spreading these diseases. If we can remove any coyote then we’re not only helping to prevent the spread of diseases to humans and livestock we’re also looking out for the overall health of our natural wildlife. Anytime we can do that it makes us feel great knowing that another person doesn’t have to live in fear.
What type of calls do you use to lure a coyote?
I use a variety of calls such as an electronic caller, hand calls and diaphragm calls. I have a multitude of sounds on my electronic caller that range from different animal distress sounds to different coyote vocal sounds. A majority of the calling I do is usually howling on a diaphragm (A diaphragm call is a mouth call to latex reeds like a turkey caller sometimes used) but I also use distress sounds such as rabbit and mice because coyotes are opportunistic animals and they will take advantage of a free meal. When howling for coyotes I’m portraying another coyote is in the area that could be looking for companionship or possibly even looking to take over for dominance. By howling it sends a message to other coyotes letting them know there is another coyote in the area and by mixing in some animal distress sounds now I’m sending a message that not only am I coyote but I’m also eating your food which can trigger a coyote into coming to check things out.
What type of equipment do you use?
The current electronic caller I’m using is the new Foxpro Xwave that has 2 separate speakers on each end. It has some great features built into the caller such as FoxMotion and Foxfusion. Foxmotion fades the sound from speaker to speaker portraying as if the sound is moving and Foxfusion allows me to play any 2 sounds together at separate volumes to create a realistic scenario.
About 4 years ago I made the switch from using red lights to using Thermal Imaging and Night Vision. I use a thermal imaging monocular to scan the landscape and watch for potential incoming predators while calling and I use a 3rd Generation Night Vision scope that’s mounted on top of my rifle for shooting. Thermal imaging allows me to see animals coming in from great distances such as 1,000 yards and the Night Vision allows me to positively identify an animal. To me using the thermal is much safer than the days of using red lights due to using lights you can only see as far as the light will shine. The Thermal not only allows me to pick up on a potential coyote that is responding to a call but it also allows me to easily identify where livestock or even houses are located several hundred yards away.
How long does it take to find one?
It usually doesn’t take long to find where coyotes are because they’re almost everywhere here. Just talk to any deer hunter or farmer and they will tell you where they’ve heard and seen them. I spend a lot of time throughout the year locating coyotes by just riding down the road and randomly stopping where I feel they may be occupying a property. I’ll stop and use a Lone coyote howls, Group Howls or even a Siren just to get them to be vocal. Once I get a response, I’ll then make up a plan on how I want to setup to call them providing I have permission from the land owner to access the property. If I don’t have access to the property I’ll go talk to the landowner and even the neighboring landowners to try and gain access. The coyotes here have such a large territory they can move from place to place on a daily basis. So, they may be here today but gone tomorrow and they may not be back in the area again for 3 to 5 days. Coyotes will also occupy different areas depending on the time of year it is as well. They may spend the fall and winter hunting during their breeding season in one area but then occupy a different area during the spring and summer during their denning season while they are raising their pups. The biggest factor that plays into hunting coyotes and being successful is knowing where they are and when they are there.
What is the best time and conditions for hunting?
For me anytime I can get out and hunt is the best time (jokingly). The best time to get out and hunt coyotes is debatable, some people prefer fall and winter where others prefer spring and summer. Some people prefer to hunt daytime where to me I prefer to hunt at night. I’ve hunted in just about every condition possible. I currently hunt year-round in several different states so I really don’t have a specific preference other than to me “Night time is the right time”. A coyote’s life cycle goes from their breeding season which ranges from December through March, denning season when the females have their pups which is usually around March through May and May thru August the parents are teaching the pups how to hunt. October through November is what is called the dispersal period where the parents kick the pups out and send them out on their own to find their own territories and join into new groups. Each season poses different challenges and different techniques are used for calling. During the fall months I tend to use a lot of animal distress sounds. The reasoning behind that is that the coyotes are eating what they can to pack on some extra weight and fat to prepare for winter and the upcoming breeding season. When breeding season approaches and is in full swing, I concentrate on using more coyote vocals such as howls. During the denning season the female will tend to stay at the den with the pups while the male will go and hunt for food and bring it back to the den for the female and pups. The process of their seasons repeat year to year and its up to me to figure out what’s working and when and the only way to do that is to be out calling. There’s a big misconception about coyotes that they can have multiple litters per year and that just isn’t true. Coyotes will only have 1 litter in a single year and spend up to 8 months out of that year raising and training them how to live on their own. Learning the best ways and times to hunt coyotes really comes down to experience as being the best teacher. The more times you can get out and hunt the more you learn. I know for me the more often I get out the quicker I can find what triggers them to respond which in turn gives me the opportunity to remove more coyotes.
What is the adrenaline rush like in killing a coyote?
The adrenaline rush to me is kind of the same rush a deer hunter gets when a big buck shows up or when a football player scores their first touchdown. I get excited every single time I hear a coyote howl and the excitement goes up when I get one to show itself to my calling. Calling in any coyote is tough so when you do call one in it’s a special moment. You have just fooled one of the most intelligent animals in the wild. Their senses are unmatched in the animal world: eyesight, sense of smell and hearing. They rely on their eyes to see what they are hearing. A coyote can hear a mouse squeak under three foot of snow so when they hear something such as an animal in distress, they can hear that from several hundred yards away and even up to a mile away. When they hear something, they immediately want to put their eyes on it to see if it matches what they are hearing. The one sense they have that is unmatched is their sense of smell. When we as humans smell food such as a cake, we smell the vanilla, chocolate or whatever type it is where as with coyotes they can smell each individual ingredient that was used to bake that cake. A coyote can take in multiple scents at one time and then concentrate on the one particular scent they’re interested in. A motto I live and hunt by “You can fool a coyotes’ eyes and you can fool a coyotes’ ears but you will never fool their nose”. That’s one reason if you have a coyote responding into a call you have to keep in mind, they are on full alert putting all of their senses to work. So, if you can successfully call in and kill one of these animals that’s a big deal.
How many do you eliminate per week?
I don’t really like the term eliminate due to the fact that coyotes are here and they will always be here. There’s really no possible way to eliminate the coyotes so all we can do as sportsman is to keep them managed so their populations don’t grow out of control. Coyotes just like any other animal have to be managed so anytime a person can get out and remove one whether it be during deer, turkey season or just predator hunting alone is a win for the environment. Once an area has coyotes you can bet there will always be coyotes there no matter how many you remove. Every coyote that gets removed from an area eventually another coyote will come in and take its place. That timeframe can be within a couple of days, weeks or even months but eventually there will be more coyotes there.
How can a person get into hunting coyotes?
The easiest way for a person to get into is grab your favorite hunting rifle get some hand calls and or an electronic caller and get out in the field and go calling. Coyote hunting and predator hunting is a great way to get kids involved in with the outdoors. Unlike deer hunting where sometimes you can sit in a deer stand for hours not seeing anything where kids can get restless quickly. You can take a kid out on a predator or coyote stand and call for about 30 minutes or so and then get up move to the next one. You can also keep their attention by letting them run the remote to the caller or if you’re hunting at night with the use of lights they can hold and operate the scan light that is used for picking up potential animals’ eyes. And there’s also no bag limit so if you harvest one coyote you can move on to the next calling spot to potentially harvest another.[/private]