I went ahead and spent the money on a Gen III night vision monocular to be able to see at night. I don't use any light at all, and I can see as good as I can in the day time. I have been using a Ruger 96/22 mag and have been real happy with it so far. I use a night vision compatible Eotech on the rifle and this enables me to make shots at night. I wished South Carolina were a little more night hunting friendly, like Texas. Having the night vision, I don't need to use a light, but it would be nice to be able to use a small caliber centerfire to ensure an ethical kill. I would rather see SC make the .223 illegal for deer and ok to use on coyotes at night, than to be able to deer hunt with the .223. South Carolina's game laws are set up to mainly protect the deer. Coyote hunting is realitively new here, and the laws, in my opinion, have not adjusted to the growing coyote population. Stick with the rimfire, and don't ride around with it loaded, so as not to look like a poacher. It has been my experience that most of the coyotes that I have called in at night have been within 75 yards. Private land is all I hunt on at night. I would say that for every 1 coyote that I have called up during the day, I have called up 5 or 6 at night. They don't seem to circle as much as they do during the day. It is fun just to go out after dark with a call as see what will come out of the dark, even if I am not hunting. One word to the wise about hunting after the sun has gone down, take you time and be absolutely sure of what it is that you are about to shoot. I have an advantage, but I paid a good bit for it; but looking back on when I didn't use the NVG, I let a lot of critters go because of not being able to confirm what was running out to my call. The last thing you want to do is shoot a land owners dog or a deer, and yes I have had deer come to the call to see what was going on. Be careful after dark.
