Originally Posted By: old cathere is some advice, take it for what is worth. just because you see more, does not translate to you will kill more. you probably have more open ground in your state than i do, so it might be a little easier for you. but due to your limited field of view with night vision & thermal, if they come in close you may not get the shot. a lot of times transfer from thermal to night vision, or visa-versa, they are gone you can't find them. last 3 I called in never fired a shot. daytime would have had 3 dead. see way more than you kill. if you are easily frustrated, or don't have a burning desire for this game, don't get in otherwise you will have a $2000 dollar toy just laying around. just my opinion. there are no secret weapons for coyote hunting. BTW I hunt 4or5 times a week.
This is spot on and is what I meant about thermal helping to teach you more about coyotes. I had a run in February of 3 singles, a double and a first ever triple that all got away with only one shot being fired. It was a combination of things happen so fast and having a rimfire restriction at night with coyotes just outside of 22 mag range and I could only watch them. It was frustrating as [beeep] and I made a few changes, but I have since been on a dang dry streak the whole month of March just about. I don't hunt a whole lot of open country or great big fields, so you can't see them coming from a ways out. The poop hits the fan quick when they do show usually. Either they charge the call in the first 15 seconds and if you aren't 100% ready you are caught off guard, or they pop out at the edge of a hedgerow and then pop back in. It's pretty rare to catch one that is an "easy" shot and gives you time to think it through. When I take people with me, they get tired of me telling them before the first stand that they have to get their mind right for a 3 second window of opportunity. That's to detect, ID and kill; anything more than that and the coyote gods have sent you a blessing.