night hunting

[stoner]

Anyone tried going out at night for coyotes yet? Full the Oct 18th barring any cloud cover it could be worth a try.

[Drew1233]

Morning time is better I think...

[Moveon]

Anyone tried going out at night for coyotes yet? Full the Oct 18th barring any cloud cover it could be worth a try.

Coyotes are nocturnal creatures and mostly hunt at night under the cover of darkness. You can hear them howling right after it gets dark. That is when they are gathering the family unit together to go out on a night hunt.

You can see them early in the morning when they are returning to the den from a night time of hunting.

So hunting them right before sunset and right before sunrise are good times.

Now at various times of the years like in the early spring when they are mated and having new pups the male will hunt during the day time to help feed the mother as she is nursing the newborn pups.

During the winter months from Dec Jan they are more interested in mating. Other times they are more interested in defending their territory.

You can call them in with dying animal calls. A Distress bird call or a dying rabbit call can work most of the time. A mouse squeak works great as well.

During the mating season when they are looking for mates and defending their territory coyote vocals can be effective.

You can use hand held calls or mouth pieces to call in coyotes. Or you can use a electronic game caller to do the job for you. Some E Calls can also let you control a decoy remotely.

Scent is a coyotes best friend. They like to circle downwind before coming into a calling setup. So try to control where your sent cone flows by checking the wind direction before setting up to call. A cross wind situation can be helpful when calling coyotes. Also using cover scents can help confuse the coyotes to some degree. But they have a great sense of smell and if they smell a human they most likely will head for the hills.

Also they have good eye sight and are very good as spotting movement. So try to use camo and sit very still without moving around a lot. They may often see you or smell you long before you know that they are around.

Hunting with a partner who can watch your back side helps.

Approaching the calling setup is critical. Don't slam your trucks door or you will chase most all the nearby coyotes into the next county. Be very quiet and again figure the wind and where you sent cone will flow and where you expect the coyotes to come to you from.

Be careful at night. In Indiana you are required to carry and have a light on that can be seen from at least 500 ft away. This must be a light that's continuously one during the hunt.

You can hunt coyotes at night and use artificial spotlights but try not to point the light directly at the coyotes until you are ready to pull the trigger. Hold the night higher and just allow the hallow or outer area of the light fall on the coyotes. Their eye shine will be seen in the dimmer light and when they get within range be ready to turn the light on brighter and more directly at the coyotes to confirm your target before you pull the trigger.

You can make a bark sound to some times stop a coyote that's on the move. They may stop for a second or two to look around to see what made the barking sound. That's when you pull the trigger.

Check out the Johnny Stewart or the Fox Pro E Callers. You can add different sounds to both unit's.

[roughscott]

Its against the law in ky.

[stripernut1]

Its against the law in ky.

not true, check the kydfwr homepage

[Moveon]

not true, check the kydfwr homepage

But it's good to know that KY allows one to hunt at night also. I have not hunted in KY for over 30 years now.

IN now allows one to hunt with a noise suppressor on the rifle from what I'm reading.

[roughscott]

not true, check the kydfwr homepage

as long as u don't use a light

[stripernut1]

as long as u don't use a light

. There is a special announcement on the kydfwr homepage, it explains the new regs for night coyote hunting, shotgun only, and the use of artificial lights are allowed from feb1 through the end of may.

[stoner]

Gave it a try Friday night under the moon light. I would say it's going be more challenging than most people realize. Will no doubt be a lot of fun though.

[Moveon]

Gave it a try Friday night under the moon light. I would say it's going be more challenging than most people realize. Will no doubt be a lot of fun though.

Coyote hunting is not like hunting deer. Coyotes are smarter than a deer.

Did you use hand calls or E callers? Did you see any or hear any yotes that night?

You are going to have to get them in close to get them with a shotgun.

One tip I've read about is to keep the coyote in the Light's Halo and used a rheostat to keep the light at low level until you are ready to shoot. They amp up the light to full power and pull the trigger. Just keep the main part of the light pointed up at the sky and only allow the edge (halo) part of the light to show the coyotes eyes at night.

In INDIANA you must have a white light shining that's visible 500 ft away at all times while hunting at night for coyotes.

I have read that coyotes are much braver at night than during the day.

[stoner]

Coyote hunting is not like hunting deer. Coyotes are smarter than a deer.

Did you use hand calls or E callers? Did you see any or hear any yotes that night?

You are going to have to get them in close to get them with a shotgun.

One tip I've read about is to keep the coyote in the Light's Halo and used a rheostat to keep the light at low level until you are ready to shoot. They amp up the light to full power and pull the trigger. Just keep the main part of the light pointed up at the sky and only allow the edge (halo) part of the light to show the coyotes eyes at night.

In INDIANA you must have a white light shining that's visible 500 ft away at all times while hunting at night for coyotes.

I have read that coyotes are much braver at night than during the day.

I used both, it's definitely different than going early morning or late afternoon. Had one to challenge us from a distance, but that was the only vocal we heard. There will be a learning curve involved that's for sure. I'm thinking maybe a little less calling the next time out.
Would expect this winter, assuming its as harsh as predicted to make calling anytime a little more productive. Good luck to those that give it a try and report back when you can, we can learn from one another's experiences.

[roughscott]

. There is a special announcement on the kydfwr homepage, it explains the new regs for night coyote hunting, shotgun only, and the use of artificial lights are allowed from feb1 through the end of may.

thanks nut , they just changed the law in the middle of the year . I hope they told the officers . I wonder if they changed the casting art. lite rays law ?