Predators come quickly to those who see in the dark.

Knowing predators are more nocturnal than not, it is time to began to explore night hunting. Over the last 30 years the spread of the coyotes became unstoppable. Today, there is a coyote population in 48 of our states. Being prolific and adaptable, they are here to stay.

Savvy hunters knew coyotes were most active and more aggressive at night. In the beginning hunters began to use long-range spotlights.  Success skyrocketed, but something was still missing. The bright light had a tendency to spook coyotes, especially if there were trees nearby to cause the light to cast a shadow. The addition of a red lens allowed the coyotes to come closer because coyotes are colorblind, and the red light, to the yodel dog, appears black.

The availability of generation-3 night vision to the public introduces a new twist to the old game of predator hunting. With no lights or shadows to spook the animals, the hunter becomes nothing more than a dark silhouette in the night.

Today we have sophisticated equipment, along with flat-shooting rifles and excellent scopes that allow the predator caller to bring in coyotes and bag them at astounding ranges. Still there are those coyotes that just won’t answer in the daytime. This is where night vision comes in. The availability of generation-3 night vision to the public introduces a new twist to the old game of predator hunting. With no lights or shadows to spook the animals, the hunter becomes nothing more than a dark silhouette in the night.

This is brought home by a story told by Emory Josey. His dear friend and hunting buddy, A.J. Niette, is obsessed with predator calling, especially the coyote. One night he phoned, and his enthusiasm was on an extreme high.

“You gotta come down tomorrow night and hunt with me. I have been playing with something new for several weeks, and it’s beyond your imagination,” he said. “Just be here at 8:30 in the evening.”

He met up with A.J. in Taylor County, and as soon as it was dark, they carefully unlocked the gate that opened up into a 4,000-acre cattle ranch. Testing the wind, they walked 300 yards to the west with the slight breeze in their faces. After quietly setting up the equipment A.J. placed the digital caller 50 yards to the north between them and a 20-acre wooded area. They were in the middle of a huge cow pasture where the cattle had eaten the grass down to a bare 6 inches. They were feeling a bit naked since there was nothing to hide behind or in front of.

Unexpectedly, a coyote serenade began with at least four dogs howling, barking and yipping. Ordinarily, that would have been a welcome sound, but the song was much too close. Those dogs were within 200 yards, and the sound was coming from the wooded area. They feared they had been busted before even getting started. Surely those coyotes knew they were there.

A.J. punched the remote and the digital caller offered the coyotes a pup distress sound.

“Two o’clock, two coyotes coming hard,” A.J whispered.

Emory panned to the right and picked up the coyotes in the scope’s soft-green glow. The female was lagging behind at 200 yards, which is typical, while the male trotted brazenly forward at less then 100 yards. When he gave out a “woof,” they both stopped. The female was broadside.

He settled the crosshairs on her shoulder and squeezed. When you have multiple coyotes approaching, it is best to take the longer shot first. The female collapsed as he turned his attention to the male. He turned to run, but another bark from Emory stopped him. He, too, turned broadside, and a second later he was dead.

On the next setup, within five minutes a female came within 30 yards and another coyote stood barking 100 yards away. Why the increased success? They were using night-vision equipment. There were no visible (to the coyotes) lights to spook them. There were no shadows cast by the trees. To the coyotes, they were camouflaged silhouettes in the darkness.

A sucessful nights hunt!

Night vision has been around for a long time, used mostly by the military. Generation-1 night vision goes as far back as World War I. Generation-2 was used in Vietnam. Generation-3 and 4 is now available.

Every savvy hunter knows the range of a rifle. The notes taken while scouting should also show the allowable field of fire at each setup. Day or night, a bullet intended for a coyote at 150 yards can easily ricochet and do irreversible damage a mile or more away. Full-metal-jacket ammunition should never be used. It not only is inadequate for making a clean kill, it is far more likely to ricochet.

Generation-1 night optics has been around for decades. These devices weren’t even close to the capability of the latest generation-3. Even then you had no problem identifying your target. The new equipment allows positive identification of targets out to several hundred yards. You must be absolutely sure you are squeezing the trigger on a coyote. With generation-3 night vision, you can count the feet on a coyote at 200 yards, and believe me you can call them much closer when you don’t have bright lights glaring in their eyes.

Night vision is the coming thing in hunting coyotes in open spaces. It has no place in close quarters. It is only for areas where you can see everything for long distances.
With night-vision optics, they will come faster, closer and with far more frequency than with any other method. As a friend of mine says, “Hunt hard — shoot straight — kill clean — and apologize to no one.”

Watch for PART TWO. June 23. All about the equipment available and how to put it to use!