Ky is opening a night season need advice

racer48

New member
Ky is starting a night coyote season which will open feb 1st for shotguns only. I was needing advice on what light since most shots will be within 60yrds and do I set up just like I was hunting in daylight ( decoys,full camo,etc. ) also coyote hunting has really took off in my area in the last 2 yrs so there harder to call now, will over called coyotes come in better at night. Thanks
 
I got a Noxx flashlight and headlamp in red from Boondock Outdoors. Won't get them out in the field with wildlife until Feb, but in my testing, they seem to work very well for the price. Since it's been legal, I've hunted a fair amount under moonlight or snow cover at night with moderate success. I play the wind and rarely have my decoy more than 20-30 yards away from me at night. If there is a moon, treat it just like daytime, stay to the shadows. I think coyotes are easier to call, but harder to kill at night. We will see how much lights change the game. I see you're a Racer, you in Murray?
 
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I'm in tompkinsville about 3hrs from murry use to race xc on atv and dirt bikes but after a few hard crashes and a hospital stay it was time to quit.
 
You need your call much closer to you at night. That way they are looking your direction and its easier to pick up their eyes with the lights. I'll be crossing the river in Feb too. I don't really like the shotgun limit or the date for lights, but I'm glad they finally opened a night season. I bet they loosen up on the weapons and dates before long.
 
Originally Posted By: racer48 also coyote hunting has really took off in my area in the last 2 yrs so there harder to call now

You are right about that! I guess I am greedy, and wanted to keep the coyotes all to myself, and that's the way it was up until the past few years. Predator hunting is the big thing now, and the thing is, it's a different kind of hunting than deer or turkey. Coyotes are just about impossible to call in a place that's been overhunted, and that's just about any place you go around here. Too many guys think all the have to do is buy a cheap e-caller, a rifle and they will immediately start slaying coyotes right and left. There is much more to it than that, and all it does is give the coyotes a good education. I suspect that night hunting them will eventually be just like day hunting, in that it will be hard to kill a coyote.
 
I've educated a few yotes over the past years just part of learning to hunt them. Looking to get my feet wet on this night hunting. Will continue to read what I can on here and hope some of you better experienced at it will chime in soon on your KY experiences. I'm in the central region and also dealing with some over hunted areas.
Mainly looking for decoy info and how they are being used and types of calls that having success. How many people are denning them prior to going after them? What calls are working after locating them?
Just any info in general is appreciated.
 
All of us at one time or the other have educated our share of coyotes as well as other predators while learning and we still will. Ever the ones with years of hunting still educated them.

Look at how many people in Ky are complaining about being limited to shotguns at night yet refuse to look at several states that have been doing it for years and are doing good getting the coyotes. You can bet those people educated quite a few coyotes over the years while they learned just like we are.
 
Originally Posted By: Ky ColAll of us at one time or the other have educated our share of coyotes as well as other predators while learning and we still will. Ever the ones with years of hunting still educated them.

Look at how many people in Ky are complaining about being limited to shotguns at night yet refuse to look at several states that have been doing it for years and are doing good getting the coyotes. You can bet those people educated quite a few coyotes over the years while they learned just like we are.


I've seen quite a few people whining about being limited to shotguns and educating them on te ky hunting forum. I think you could educate just as many.. And it's not like they're gonna be hunting on your land anyway so why would it matter. I'm gonna try sitting up in places where if i call one in and see it has to be in shotgun range.

Also, I bought a Brinkman LED spotlight from wal mart that has the red LEDS also. Very bright and stays charged for a good while. Gonna try to shine the red LEDs around then if i pick up eyes switch it over to regular beam to make sure of my target.

Good luck to everybody trying it.
 
I've done some night hunting. Everyone thinks they are so much more braver at night and bla bla bla. My favorite is when some idiot says they use to play a rqbbit in distress tape in their truck and flip on the lights after about 30 minutes and there would be 10 coyotes standing there just waiting to be shot.

The truth is they may be a little bolder after dark sometimes but usually still work the wind plenty far out of shotgun range. This leads to 1 of 2 things. Either the coyote will be 75-200 yds downwind most of the time and well outta range or 2 you will have idiots that think because they have a dead coyote choke with dead coyote shells that they can take these 50-75 yd shots thus just peppering or missing coyotes. Yes i know there's been some guys kill them at long distances but its not the norm.
What state is limited to shotgun only that they just wear them out?
 
Originally Posted By: cawilson82I've done some night hunting. Everyone thinks they are so much more braver at night and bla bla bla. My favorite is when some idiot says they use to play a rqbbit in distress tape in their truck and flip on the lights after about 30 minutes and there would be 10 coyotes standing there just waiting to be shot.

The truth is they may be a little bolder after dark sometimes but usually still work the wind plenty far out of shotgun range. This leads to 1 of 2 things. Either the coyote will be 75-200 yds downwind most of the time and well outta range or 2 you will have idiots that think because they have a dead coyote choke with dead coyote shells that they can take these 50-75 yd shots thus just peppering or missing coyotes. Yes i know there's been some guys kill them at long distances but its not the norm.
What state is limited to shotgun only that they just wear them out?
+1
 
And another thought. You say people won't be educating coyotes and hunting on "your " land. That is far from true. Any property within atleast a mile and up to several miles can be affected by your one stand. So it really does kinda matter. I'm telling yall if you can't get them killed on a consistent basis with a rifle in the daytime your not at any advantage at night with a shotgun only. It is not the magic ticket to make you successful.
 
cawilson82, you are exactly right. I hunt at least 20 different groups of coyotes and I feel that everyone and their mom is out there trying to call coyotes right now. It's tough at night and the vast majority of those out there will likely never see a yote. I feel they are getting tougher to call already. They may not be calling on my hunting land, but they are definitely affecting the area. I actually witnessed a group of three younger guys pull up on what I assume was a predator hunt on an adjacent property one night. I had been on stand for about 30 minutes and saw them pull up around midnight. Doors slamming, cutting up and carrying on, making all sorts of noise. They walked out across field with red lights and guns. If coyotes were around, they were educated.
 
Ponder this. Even the well-season coyote hunter educates them. Every time we (or "they") go into the field on a hunt, some dogs are ALWAYS downwind of wherever we are, so those dogs get "educated" once the calling starts and get a whiff of us. No two ways around it.
 
Originally Posted By: specPonder this. Even the well-season coyote hunter educates them. Every time we (or "they") go into the field on a hunt, some dogs are ALWAYS downwind of wherever we are, so those dogs get "educated" once the calling starts and get a whiff of us. No two ways around it.

You got that right.
 
I feel pretty certain that I do not educate coyotes every time I go out. I've done my homework I usually know where they are on the properties I hunt and do not make the mistake of letting a coyote have the opportunity to get my wind without getting killed. Is there an occasional one? You bet. But definitely not every time I go out and I would say it's more of a rarity. Do most guys educate coyotes every time they go out? Yep and that's the problem.
 
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