Coyotes and lights at night

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YoteDuster78

New member
Is anyone having luck killing coyotes at night with lights? I do good on fox and cats and do get the occasional coyote ( 1 out of 75 sets) but the majority of my yotes come during the day.
 
I don't know how other guys are doing with lights, but since I switched to a FLIR for scanning a couple of months ago we have had 13 for sure coyotes come in. But, when we turn on the kill light all but 2 have instantly reacted by running away. We have managed to kill 3 with the light but the others ran away like they were on fire. We have tried starting out with the Coyotelight on low, trying to halo them, and trying to gently ease the light onto them. We have had them start to run when we turned the light on and it wasn't even pointed in their direction yet.
 
Originally Posted By: 1trkyhntrI don't know how other guys are doing with lights, but since I switched to a FLIR for scanning a couple of months ago we have had 13 for sure coyotes come in. But, when we turn on the kill light all but 2 have instantly reacted by running away. We have managed to kill 3 with the light but the others ran away like they were on fire. We have tried starting out with the Coyotelight on low, trying to halo them, and trying to gently ease the light onto them. We have had them start to run when we turned the light on and it wasn't even pointed in their direction yet.


We get the same thing. I dont have thermal or NV, but I can tell right away whether its a coyote or not by how fast it leaves the scene. I target mostly foxes now because of this. It seems nearly impossible to get one in a light long enough to identify and shoot...
 
I hunt at night during summer and fall due to the heat during the day, the doggs aren't out either. I hunt days in the winter. Night hunting is the only way when it's hot. I use a Wicked Light, either green or white. Just started using white light last summer, doesn't seem to matter the them.
 
I hear a lot of people who hunt at night who don't turn the light on as soon as they start calling. If that is the case, they are missing a lot of stuff.

If you don't turn the light on until after calling for 2 or 3 minutes? No telling what ran by.
 
I was really disappointed in night hunting; expected great things, and did shoot a few, but...........

I'm sure that I'm doing something wrong...probably a lot of somethings, but have never been as successful at night as during the day.

One thing I've noticed is the "moving" shadows cast by small bushes, etc. when slowly scanning the light. I seriously suspect these tend to spook coyotes.

Have all but quit night hunting.

Regards,
hm
 
Never had a problem with the lights scaring the yotes at night up here, but play heck with the wind because they can scoot around you so easily unnoticed at night. Had one Saturday night at 50yds that was done until the gust got to his nose.
 
Stand selection at night is different than during the day, some other factors come into play. But that isn't really answering the question you asked.

One thing I have really noticed, is that coyotes seem to get light shy way easier than they get call shy. Some of my calling areas I have learned to not even bother night calling because there are too many road and dog hunters that shine the country all the time. In those places a coyote will shag as soon as they see a light, and no way in heck you will call them. So I don't even waste my time, and educate them further. Other areas I have pretty good success and they will come right on in, because they are not used to the lights. Just depends.

I seem to do better in more open country with fewer dancing shadows myself.

For sure, run the light from the beginning and keep a good eye downwind.

If your coyotes are light shy, don't keep trying to call them. Don't add fear of the sound to their fear of lights, or you won't call them in daytime either.
 
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Calling and Killing coyotes at night is a lot about their environment. If your hunting "light" pressured coyotes, the solution is not to force trying to kill them at night as that just makes things worse. Find an un-pressured coyote in the rite environment and there isn't an amount of light that will hang him up and make him leave the country (at least an amount we've found yet).

Regarding turning the light on during the middle of a stand and not running it the entire time, bad idea! Either no light at all, thermal or night vision, or on the entire time.

Heres a few examples of " the rite coyotes " less than 40 yards. Each had been under a light for more than 2 minutes before these video stills were taken at the same brightness. Take it for what its worth but we have an occasional coyote that will spook from a light from time to time and when you spot light enough of them, its not hard to tell which ones have seen it before and which ones haven't. There is no one sized fits all approach to night hunting but the best place to start for certain is finding the least pressured coyotes you can in your area to attempt hunting with a light (some places this is easier said than done and some places your just better off sticking to day hunting). Once you've done that, then you can form your own opinion based on personal experiences and then you can figure out the best way to get them killed for the areas you hunt. If you start out hitting coyotes with a light that have been jacked with at night for several months, every opinion you form about spotlighting a coyote will be skewed from the get go. Thats like mixing a drink with bad ingredients. It don't taste too good! Gotta find the rite coyote first. Thats my two cents anyway. Take care









 
Thanks for sharing all points of view.

It's very helpful.

I have found that there are area's that are just way to open and flat to call during the day. But.. At night it's all good.. They can't get close enough to figure out they are being tricked and the light doesn't seem to bother them.
We tried using light, NV, and Thermal. Lights work ok, but could be better, and Thermal was the best obviously.

Use the light to spot, and Thermal to shoot. Laser to mark for the other to get the dead.
 
some coyotes are light shy some are not, I have called next to a road and watched a coyote as a car head lights scanned the field he and I where in, he never moved. now had the car stopped it might have been a different story, they see lights all night long cars, barns, farms. seen them hang up on the small red glow of IR at 400 yards, one reason In never use IR till needed to ID and ready to shoot.

like others said got to get away from the road hunters and pressure of light hunters, or go thermal and NV
 


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