Concealing at night

Jheibel81

New member
Will be night calling this weekend for the first time. My question is, at your stand do you need to be concealed? I have seen videos of guys just standing out in open. Will be using a night vision scope.
 
If it’s very dark, no moon, before moonrise, really cloudy etc., I will stand in the open without hesitation. Any sort of brightness from the moon capable of casting a shadow, or glow from nearby cities bouncing off cloud cover, I’m tucking into shadows or getting as low to the ground as possible. Keeping from skylining myself becomes a top priority when there’s any brigthness.
 
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on dark nights, you can stand in the open. no need for camo, just wear dark color clothing. i wear camo because its what i have. its hard to see ticks on camo clothing :)

if there is any light shining into your area from farm buildings, moon, whatever the source. find something to break up your out line.

a tree, some brush, tall round bales of hay, the shadow of a tree, etc..

and never skyline yourself like hunt0168 said.
 
Keep in mind that coyotes can see in the dark much better than you can, so unless it's like "can't see your hand in front of your face" dark, you should try to do something to conceal yourself a bit. Even just sitting or kneeling in the wide open is better than standing. I typically only stand if I have something (tree, bale, grain bin, etc) behind me.
 
Will be night calling this weekend for the first time. My question is, at your stand do you need to be concealed? I have seen videos of guys just standing out in open. Will be using a night vision scope.
when night calling i set up with some sort of backing to breakup my outline .. i mount the gun on a tripod and use a hand held scanner .. in the past while scanning i have inadvertently drifted a few feet (10 or less) away from the gun .. in the past there have been a few times when i spotted a coyote at 200 yards or less they see me take 3 or 4 steps back to the gun and they bug out fast .. my suggestion is while scanning stay close enough to the gun you can transition from scanner to gun with minimum amount of movement .. good luck ..
 
I always sit on a swivel stool cause l am old😀😊 and a better shooting platform besides a much lower profile. I try , if at all possible, to have something “around” me whether there is ambient light or not.
IT IS A MUST IF ON A BRIGHT NIGHT OR LOCATION
 
use the shadows, tree lines, fence rows, hay bales, barn yard shadows, and when possible ALWAYS seek the high ground.
This sparked a memory!
My wife took this pic one night when 3 of us were hunting, 525 yards away. 2 of us hunters were sitting, and you don't see us. One fellow was an avid "stand" hunter.
You be the judge of what a "coyote" MIGHT see.
Eric.JPG
 
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About noon Sat, slight overcast - sitting on the chair on the barn porch. Doe comes out of the new pine, flags, looks toward me. I don't move. She drops the flag and 2 bambiis come out. Walk across the pasture back into the hardwoods on the other side. Friday nite - dark, was watching a dillo out in the field and 4-5 hogs snuck up on me. I was in the chair but the roof post was in firing line - I did get one, they scattered very fast and never came back. Sat morning, noticed a new big torn up area near the house. Noise, motion and scent (for deer). Sat nite, after dark, 2 more doe in the field, grazing almost up to where I was. Didn't see a single yote or even hear a howl. It was very foggy Sat nite. Normally the tree line is quite well defined. IR still did good on animals.
IMG_194904_883.jpg
 
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2 of us hunters were sitting, and you don't see us. One fellow was an avid "stand" hunter.

When I hunting at night I usually stand. But if the Moon is big, or other reasons that make it bad to stand, I will Sit or shoot off my knees .

One thing really positive I have noticed when sitting, and with Coyote that are moving in to me in the dark. Coyote Get really close most times. At Night Coyote see a shadow 'sitting' outline in the dark. They tend to Come closer because the object they noticing is not much tall and bigger than they are. So a smaller shadow silhouette does not push their fight or flight danger button as hard.
.
 
use the shadows, tree lines, fence rows, hay bales, barn yard shadows, and when possible ALWAYS seek the high ground.
This sparked a memory!
My wife took this pic one night when 3 of us were hunting, 525 yards away. 2 of us hunters were sitting, and you don't see us. One fellow was an avid "stand" hunter.
You be the judge of what a "coyote" MIGHT see.
View attachment 34230
a coyote isnt going to see you 525 yards away at night anyway
 
this one never saw me and it was about 100 yards away, maybe less. its the dead white hot spot, near the tree line. (photo by limbhanger10)

7-30-26 mike at kosak after the shot.JPG
 
About a month ago a yote popped up about 50 yds from me, I was sitting on the barn porch, it was looking at me - just enough time to get on the rifle and shoot it. No moon, think it just heard a noise - me.
 
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