Night Hunting - A game changer for this yote hunter

[17cal Fan]

I've been coyote hunting for nearly 50 years now and still get just as excited about calling in a coyote as I did the first time which was January of 1975 or 76. Way back then the goal was make a little money along the way. Fur prices being what they are, not much money to be made any longer.

But coyote numbers are through the roof. Now we can hunt at night in February and March and additional time with written authorization from the state. Since 12/1/21 I've killed 22 coyotes daylight and night combined. The bulk of that number February through May helping with predation problems.

Yes, I had to spend some money on equipment but I did not break the bank.
My equipment list in order of purchase:
Sightmark Wraith 4-32 scope
Bushnell Equinox Z2 4.5x40
Bog Death Grip Tri-Pod
ATN Thermal Monocular OTS LT 320x240 4-8
ATN Thermal Scope ThOR LT 320x240 2-4

If I had it do over again my list would look like this:
Sight Mark Wraith 2-16 scope
Bog Death Grip Tri-Pod
ATN Thermal Monocular OTS LT 320x240 3-6 or maybe even drop to 2-4
ATN Thermal Scope ThOR LT 320x240 2-4

Notice the absence of the Bushnell and notice the drop in power on Sightmark and the ATN Monocular.
The Bushnell is cool and lower end on the money but much more impressed with thermal for a scanner.
The power drops are the reality. It all happens just as fast at night as it does in daylight. They are not there and then they are and when they are they are close quick. Can't find em with night vision, but lower power night vision would help and I like the quality and clarity of the Sightmark well enough I wouldn't give it up.

I've lost coyotes charging in when going to the rifle especially with the night vision. That's why I bought the lower power thermal scope and it worked. Longest shots have been 150-200 yards, most are less.

Yes, I could put my call farther away and buy some time but I risk cattle stepping on it and I'm more likely to be seen(silhouetted) or winded setting the call out.

The Bog Death Grip, I love it enough I'm getting ready to buy a 2nd one for a spare. Great piece of equipment. Just got back from a Montana Prairie Dog trip and would have been s*&t out of luck with out the Death Grip. It rained the 1st 3 or 4 days we were there, couldn't get the trucks into the field between storms but we walked in with tripods and it worked just fine.

Back to the yotes, the thermal scope sits on top a 788 in 222 and the Sightmark is on an AR15 in 224 Valkyrie. I switch guns depending on destination and or mood but usually the 788.

Taking a break for July I think, but will be back after it ahead of the fall calf drop.

 

[K22]

The most successful predator hunters I know all hunt at night with night vision equipment here in the east.

I just dabble in predator hunting, something to do between varmint seasons. I have an electronic call, hunt day light only. Too old to invest in night equipment and I don't have the energy to hunt at night.

Foxes are easy, yotes are difficult at best.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I have shot coyote with both of the Wraith, in our open fields(winter hunting only). I prefer the 4-32. Want to try thermal.

 

[Carl S]

I shoot most foxes at night time,always used a lamp.we used to shoot from 150 -200 per year.not that many these day's.not as keen,must be an age thing.i use thermal now and its a game changer.my spotter is a pulsar Helion2.XP50 PRO.scope is a pulsar XQ50.they are a game changer and the lamp shy foxes arnt a problem now.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

The most successful predator hunters I know all hunt at night with night vision equipment here in the east.

I just dabble in predator hunting, something to do between varmint seasons. I have an electronic call, hunt day light only. Too old to invest in night equipment and I don't have the energy to hunt at night.

Foxes are easy, yotes are difficult at best.

That’s me too now since I passed 60. I need to be home in bed so I feel like making it through the workday.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

I've been coyote hunting for nearly 50 years now and still get just as excited about calling in a coyote as I did the first time which was January of 1975 or 76. Way back then the goal was make a little money along the way. Fur prices being what they are, not much money to be made any longer.

But coyote numbers are through the roof. Now we can hunt at night in February and March and additional time with written authorization from the state. Since 12/1/21 I've killed 22 coyotes daylight and night combined. The bulk of that number February through May helping with predation problems.

Yes, I had to spend some money on equipment but I did not break the bank.
My equipment list in order of purchase:
Sightmark Wraith 4-32 scope
Bushnell Equinox Z2 4.5x40
Bog Death Grip Tri-Pod
ATN Thermal Monocular OTS LT 320x240 4-8
ATN Thermal Scope ThOR LT 320x240 2-4

If I had it do over again my list would look like this:
Sight Mark Wraith 2-16 scope
Bog Death Grip Tri-Pod
ATN Thermal Monocular OTS LT 320x240 3-6 or maybe even drop to 2-4
ATN Thermal Scope ThOR LT 320x240 2-4

Notice the absence of the Bushnell and notice the drop in power on Sightmark and the ATN Monocular.
The Bushnell is cool and lower end on the money but much more impressed with thermal for a scanner.
The power drops are the reality. It all happens just as fast at night as it does in daylight. They are not there and then they are and when they are they are close quick. Can't find em with night vision, but lower power night vision would help and I like the quality and clarity of the Sightmark well enough I wouldn't give it up.

I've lost coyotes charging in when going to the rifle especially with the night vision. That's why I bought the lower power thermal scope and it worked. Longest shots have been 150-200 yards, most are less.

Yes, I could put my call farther away and buy some time but I risk cattle stepping on it and I'm more likely to be seen(silhouetted) or winded setting the call out.

The Bog Death Grip, I love it enough I'm getting ready to buy a 2nd one for a spare. Great piece of equipment. Just got back from a Montana Prairie Dog trip and would have been s*&t out of luck with out the Death Grip. It rained the 1st 3 or 4 days we were there, couldn't get the trucks into the field between storms but we walked in with tripods and it worked just fine.

Back to the yotes, the thermal scope sits on top a 788 in 222 and the Sightmark is on an AR15 in 224 Valkyrie. I switch guns depending on destination and or mood but usually the 788.

Taking a break for July I think, but will be back after it ahead of the fall calf drop.

I was thinking of the Wraith , do you know which is their best unit, I'm thinking of getting one. I can scan with a coyote light I only would night hunt a couple times a month, or maybe more on my place over bait.
Is the unit worth it? cheap scares me, and cheaper for me with a LE discount. dealt with Sightmark before good people.

 

[JB10]

I have thought about night hunting lately. Here in az can only use lights at night. No thermal or night vision. Can not be hooked th the vehicle either.

 

[17cal Fan]

I was thinking of the Wraith , do you know which is their best unit, I'm thinking of getting one. I can scan with a coyote light I only would night hunt a couple times a month, or maybe more on my place over bait.
Is the unit worth it? cheap scares me, and cheaper for me with a LE discount. dealt with Sightmark before good people.

My only complaint with the Wraith is the buttons. Too small and hard to operate even without gloves. I think that's an oversite on their part. They have some newer units out now but I have not checked them out. Their quality is excellent IMO and I wouldn't hesitate to buy again.

 

[Phillip Crowe]

Last year the state of AL opened night hunting for coyotes and hogs. Feb 11th (day after deer season ends) to Nov 1 I think. I bought a Pulsar thermal scope then a thermal scanner. A couple of my buddies did the same. We had an absolute blast in Feb and March. Breeding season. It slowed down after that, but we'll be back after them in a couple of months. We mostly hunt cattle and chicken farms. I've been very satisfied with the Pulsar thermals. Expensive yes, but the fun I'm having with them is priceless.

 

[K22]

That’s me too now since I passed 60. I need to be home in bed so I feel like making it through the workday.

Just to experience it, I went out one February evening, about 25 degrees with a friend who an avid coyote hunting who had all the night hunting equipment and a very expensive FoxPro caller. We had to change stands several times before he was able to call one in. He did make a great shot at about 100 yards or so. We only saw one that night.

It was brutal, I kept saying, this is not fun - this is torture. . That was my first and last winter night hunt. I was in my late 60's during this ordeal. I'm now in my mid 70's - the allure of painful hunts has long lost its allure. That a young man's game or a hard case old man's game.

 

[17cal Fan]

Just to experience it, I went out one February evening, about 25 degrees with a friend who an avid coyote hunting who had all the night hunting equipment and a very expensive FoxPro caller. We had to change stands several times before he was able to call one in. He did make a great shot at about 100 yards or so. We only saw one that night.

It was brutal, I kept saying, this is not fun - this is torture. . That was my first and last winter night hunt. I was in my late 60's during this ordeal. I'm now in my mid 70's - the allure of painful hunts has long lost its allure. That a young man's game or a hard case old man's game.

I'm 61, still working, sitting at a desk. This is my exercise program. Might be a short walk or a long walk depending on where I go but I just move slow and steady and enjoy the heck out of it.

 

[AWS]

I'm debating whether I should wade in on this or not. I've been an avid predator hunter for 60 yrs from bounty fox in WI in the 1960's thru coyotes all over the west. My personal opinion is night hunting should be restricted to registered ADC workers or with written permission on private lands. Coyotes are one of the best game animals to hunt and if you can be successful at it you can pretty much hunt anything. Spending thousands of dollars so you can eliminate some of the coyotes most important senses eyesight and the security of darkness. It is getting to the point where the kill is getting more important than the hunt. I love spending the DAY hunting and scouting for hunting, cruising two track seeing quail, turkeys, deer, antelope, elk even rabbits are fun to see, you miss all of that knight hunting. To me coyotes are every bit as important as deer and should be treated the same.

I love the challenge of calling coyotes that last season I started calling them to the bow, a rush to get them into bow range, called in five and missed two in Nov. before my wife got cancer and put an end to my season but we have six more trips to the hosp. and this fall will be open to hunting again.

WA coyootes

NM coyotes

Summer hunting, I'll just stop here.

 

[AckleymanII]

AWS, Eastern Coyote is nothing like the Western Coyote...nothing.

Also

Eastern Coyote hunting is a different world than Western type of hunting.

 

[AWS]

So where is the line where a coyote can't be called during the day. I doubt that there is, it is just easier to call them at night. Is a cental WI coyote different than an IL coyote or IN or MI one. They have to eat and procreate. No, you can't call them out into an open field during the day, they aren't stupid, just like anywhere in the country when they are shot at a lot getting them into the open is tough. Talk to a bunch of bow hunters in the east and they see coyotes walk past their tree stands or turkey hunters having them come into their decoys/calling during the day. You have to learn to hunt them.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

So where is the line where a coyote can't be called during the day. I doubt that there is, it is just easier to call them at night. Is a cental WI coyote different than an IL coyote or IN or MI one. They have to eat and procreate. No, you can't call them out into an open field during the day, they aren't stupid, just like anywhere in the country when they are shot at a lot getting them into the open is tough. Talk to a bunch of bow hunters in the east and they see coyotes walk past their tree stands or turkey hunters having them come into their decoys/calling during the day. You have to learn to hunt them.

I kill most of mine during the day whether calling or baiting, and kill more than my fair share. however on patrol at night I see way more coyotes at night than I do during the day on patrol. At night you can virtually get a vehicle within 25 feet of many before they begin to worry, on foot I've got within 50 feet of many before they panicked. Last week in mid afternoon on my atv in a hayfield with round bales I got within 25 feet before he casually walked away, no firearm's other than a Ruger 380 was at the ready, he lives another day.

 

[17cal Fan]

I've always loved coyote hunting (daylight) and also always said I enjoyed myself whether I scored or not. And believe it or not that is still true. Hunting at night is like stepping into a different world. I see zillions of coons, a lot of rabbits, rats, mice, o'possum and deer by the truckload. I lose all track of time and love the opportunity to be out there at night. The sights and sounds are nothing short of amazing.

Living in the midwest may be different than coyote hunting out west. Haven't yote hunted out west but PD hunt out west and dream of what it would be like to hunt for wiley out there. But people population here in the midwest does present challenges all it's own. Coyotes have heard every call made and learned their lessons. At night, I've seen them (through thermal) walk right past my parked truck. I've had them howl at me when the dome light comes on as I'm leaving. I've had them appear 50 yards in front of me at the first few squeaks on the call. Night hunting is a whole new set of challenges. Locating them with the equipment and judging distance to name a couple.

I avoided electronic calls for years thinking it to be a weakening of the challenge. Now I own 3 and have killed dogs over all of them. Burnham sold tapes, records and lights in the 70's and probably earlier. Coyotes are still here.

2 years into night hunting I have kinda come to the conclusion that it levels the playing field to some degree. I've always trusted our department of conservation. If they are letting us hunt at night, it's because there is a problem. And judging by the coyote numbers I'm seeing at night, I would have to agree.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

At a point coyotes - that your seeing as game animals - can certainly become a severe detriment in other areas. Just like any other animal. Around here, they have impacted the deer herd in areas extremely hard. So hard there are very few fawns in some ares.

There's so many that they are in bad shape. Mangy nasty looking and willing to steal cats and dogs off the porches in urban areas.

I don't want anything "fair" about killing them....just want them dead. Different areas - different rules.

If they are under control where you hunt, great, treat them as game animals. Not here....kill them by any means necessary.

 

[AckleymanII]

AWS, here in the South, coyotes are raised in very close proximity to humans. They know that human activity is less at night, so this is where they feel safe. Also, feed for the coyote is much more abundant in the South, so the urge to come to a call for a hungry animal is less, which creates another set of problems in calling.

It is hard to believe just how different the coyote hunting is between Arizona and SC.

Also, most coyotes here in SC are Coy dogs, crossed with Red Wolf from a strain in Mn, Mi, and feral domestic dogs. F&G explained to me that the mix of dog gene/Wolf gene made the coyotes a LOT smarter than the Western Coyotes.

2006 I killed a coyote that weighed 63 lbs, later on, a guy killed one in the same area that weighed 75 lbs in the Iva area in the Upstate of SC. I contacted the Wild Life dept on the size of the coyotes, and was informed that coyotes larger than 50 lbs were not uncommon, depending on the strain of domestic dog they were crossed with. F&G here in SC know the deer herds are way down in population due to coyote depredation. The Woman at the Fish and Game in Clemson, SC told me that they put out a Camera system by a Coyote den, and one pair of coyotes brought in 22 dead fawns for the pups to eat.

However, the insurance companies are very happy with the population down 60%.