Solo night hunting - dangerous?

G

GJJ

New member
I hunt in the Southern California high desert for coyotes mostly in the daytime. I occasionally night hunt solo with my Gen III night vision goggles and a red dot sight. I am very careful about where I walk due to rattlesnakes.

Last time out in the Mojave National Preserve on a day hunt, I came over a small hill and saw a mountain lion at about 50 yards. He ran like crazy the other direction.

It didn't bother me because it was daytime. But, at night it seems like it would be much easier to have a cat get the jump on you.

Do you guys think it is overly risky to be out night hunting solo making the sounds that might attract a mountain lion to you when you are most vulnerable (night)?

Thanks,
Dave
 
Just keep a sidearm handy. If you have a revolver, keep a couple of CCI snakeshot cartridges in the first two chambers and then follow it up with standard loads of your choice.
 
I guess I didn't think of a sidearm, sorry man, total skip on my part, and what exactly are CCI Snakeshot cartridges?

Never heard of em,

they pretty good?

Simon
 
Everything that will get you at night is there during the day. If there arent people there really ins't much to be scared of. Justin
 
I'm not really worried about snakes or people. The mountain lions seem like the biggest threat.

Is solo night hunting the equivalent of swimming in the ocean with a big cut on your leg?
 
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I'm not really worried about snakes or people. The mountain lions seem like the biggest threat.

Is solo night hunting the equivalent of swimming in the ocean with a big cut on your leg?



GJJ, I'm not worried about snakes, people, wolves, coyotes, lions, komoto dragons, godzilla, or gila monsters .........what I AM worried about is the possibility of getting injured in the boonies alone. ANY avocation that we do outdoors can be inherently dangerous. Heart attacks, broken legs, head injuries, all these things are a real concern if you are alone. And cell phones are useless if you are unconscious. Am I paranoid? Not at all. No one should be afraid of nature or going out and enjoying our sport. But common sense should be your objective. I'm a pilot, and I can assure that the old saying "There are no OLD, BOLD pilots" is correct. There's a fine line between BRAVE and STUPID. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Over the years, I have hunted alone, fished alone, and put myself in other situations where I was opening the door for something bad to happen to me. I may do these things again. But I'm not going to make it a habit anymore.

The fact that you posted this is proof that you are genuinely concerned and should make some adjustments.

Use your head. Be careful. Stay alert. Be more cautious than you normally would if you were with a partner.

Best prevention: Find a partner to hunt with.
 
If you are worried about mtn lions at night set yourself up in an area where you can see pretty good all around you. Don't setup right next to a boulder or something that could hide an approaching animal. If you setup right and keep your light moving it would be tough to miss them eyes. The same cat might go unnoticed in the day, but not at night.
 
GJJ, hunting at night with a partner is a very good idea. I started night hunting in the southern California deserts and mountians years ago so I'm talking from alot of experience.
The most dangerous critters out there are other humans, not to many other animals are going to bother you including lions.
I've called a couple bears up in the mountians, now that's a little scary. I've also called in lions and I'm still here.
Lots of things can happen at night. You could fall and brake something, you could get snake bit, you could get stuck on a cliff ( something that happend to me ) you could get lost and the list goes on and on. Remember, you are not invincible, things can happen.
Night hunting is a totally different game. A partner is a good thing to have around for many reasons.
 
Quote:
I hunt in the Southern California high desert for coyotes mostly in the daytime. I occasionally night hunt solo with my Gen III night vision goggles and a red dot sight. I am very careful about where I walk due to rattlesnakes.

Last time out in the Mojave National Preserve on a day hunt, I came over a small hill and saw a mountain lion at about 50 yards. He ran like crazy the other direction.

It didn't bother me because it was daytime. But, at night it seems like it would be much easier to have a cat get the jump on you.

Do you guys think it is overly risky to be out night hunting solo making the sounds that might attract a mountain lion to you when you are most vulnerable (night)?

Thanks,
Dave



There's probably quite a few guys who'd like to hear how that night vision gear is working out for you. And maybe some more about your mountain lion encounter too. You ought to come to a club meeting sometime and tell those stories in a lot more detail.
 
My thoughts are to make sure to take enough gun to kill anything that may respond... and even a side arm as was mentioned by BroncoGlenn if you feel it necessary.
 
The nightvision is awesome. My last trip was a 3/4 moon. When I arrived at 9:00pm at my spot I could hear coyotes in the background. I geared up and was walking to my spot, I turned around and saw two coyotes walking down the road at 50 yards. I did not shoot because I had my shotgun with #4 buck. You can't get a cheek weld with goggles, so I was planning to point shoot with the butt of the gun under my arm. 50 yards seemed far and I didn't want to wound them.

Next time, I am going to take my AR15 with an Eotech sight. With a vertical foregrip, you can hold it away from your body and get good hits out to 50 yards easy.

The goggles turn night into day. But, they are $3500. Ouch.
 
Quote:
The nightvision is awesome. My last trip was a 3/4 moon. When I arrived at 9:00pm at my spot I could hear coyotes in the background. I geared up and was walking to my spot, I turned around and saw two coyotes walking down the road at 50 yards. I did not shoot because I had my shotgun with #4 buck. You can't get a cheek weld with goggles, so I was planning to point shoot with the butt of the gun under my arm. 50 yards seemed far and I didn't want to wound them.

Next time, I am going to take my AR15 with an Eotech sight. With a vertical foregrip, you can hold it away from your body and get good hits out to 50 yards easy.

The goggles turn night into day. But, they are $3500. Ouch.



That ought to do the trick. What kind of coyotes do you think they were? Mojave purples?
 
Hidalgo and BillyTheKid, are you sugesting that the most dangerous thing to me is my own stupidity? Well I guess I realy cant argue with that. Ill bet the odds are like 99-1 that anything happening to you while night calling will be self inflicted. Justin
 
Dont worry about lions, they really are usually not interested. The only aminal id be worried about is calling in a bear. Which should not be a problem in your area. I did not thing night vision was legal for hunting here? It is always best to use a caller and be atleast 10' away. Also id thing that if in doubt, firing you weapon in the air would scare off any of the animals we have down here and snake shot would be absolutely worthless, less than hitting a charging deer with a red rider. Ive tried to call lions i saw crossing the road as well as followed after one, never had a bit of luck with them, they really dont like people at all. How well does night vision work for seeing predators(eyes) at night?
 
Oh man it sounds like fun. I don't have the big bucks yet to afford someting like the night vision. I would just put my back against something solid so an old mountain lion would have to face me head on. Once I could see him coming at me, then I think it would look like the 4th of July. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Thanks to everyone for your opinions. They were helpful except for Nahuatl. I can usually count on something stupid coming from him.
 


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