How to Hunt Coyotes at Night?

A Comprehensive Guide

As a good hunter, you would agree with me that night hunting is full of many adventures, and Coyote hunting at night is even more adventurous. Running after Coyotes under the cover of the night, scouting the sparkling and shining eyes of Coyotes in darkness is one experience you should have if you love hunting adventures. Trust me when I say hunting coyotes at night is more beautiful than doing it in the day time

Table of Contents

Coyotes are nocturnal predators, which means they are more active at night. Calling Coyotes at night is more effective than day calling.  They are more vocal at night, and this makes hunting them at night more interesting. Night hunting of Coyotes provides you with the opportunity of upgrading your hunting skill.  Also, night hunting is the best for the hunting of coyotes although it comes with its cons. As adventurous as night hunting of Coyotes might sound, it comes with its challenges.

It takes a smart hunter to hunt down a coyote successfully at night. For night hunting, darkness can be of an advantage to the hunter and also a big disadvantage. This is why one needs to be well skilled with the dos and don’ts of night hunting. Do you want to successfully hunt coyotes at night? These are tips on how to successfully hunt coyotes at night, with ease.

How to Hunt Coyotes at Night?

Scout During the Daytime

As much as coyotes are active at night, this does not mean locating them at night could be so easy. As a smart night hunter, you need to scout. You don’t expect to find exceptional hunting spots at night, that’s why you need to scout during the day. All you need do is a scout and familiarize yourself with places coyotes live and feed at night. This makes locating them at night very easy. Look out for areas where coyotes are highly populated. Search out for edges and transition areas where cropland, grasslands, creeks, and timber come together.

Coyotes are predators that hunt small rodents and animals and are usually found in places like that. While scouting you need to think like them. Where do you think coyotes would hunt their prey around your field? This question would help you scout the right area. So scouting at night also involves looking for the right standpoint for hunting. If you want to scout from the best hunting standpoint you need to put into consideration your style of hunting. Scout for areas that would give you a clear sight for shooting. When using a blind also scout for the best area to place your blind.

Use the Wind to Your Advantage

Just like deer and foxes, Coyotes have very sensitive noses. They can smell people from afar. The human body has a particular smell that gives it away, and this is a disadvantage to hunters when hunting at night. The fact that you hunt at night does not mean Coyotes might not be able to detect your hideout or intention. They can smell humans from afar. So when selecting a location during your hunt, select locations with the position of the wind in mind and also with a good vantage point second. The best way to avoid your human smell from giving you away to coyotes is to plan on hunting crosswind or headwind.

Another way of being scent-free or reducing your human smell is by using scent-free products. Many hunters try to use this as a way of camouflaging their human smell. This might work, but there is no proven fact that it works. You can also try smelling natural by rubbing some dirt, leaves, and earth on your clothes and body before you hunt. This tries to align your smell with that of the forest. Some hunter friends attest to the fact that it works. But for me, the wind is my surest bet.

Baiting a Coyote 

Baiting is one of the oldest hunting techniques and it is still effective in today’s hunting world. Food brings animals out of their hiding place and coyotes are no exception to that. They are nocturnal animals and come out at night to feed. Baiting is a way to call out coyotes. The best idea of baiting coyotes is the remains of live animals. Meats go a long way when baiting Coyotes. The remains of animals like hogs, deer, pigs, dogs, and other sources of large meat are used to bait coyotes and bring them from their hiding place.

The smell lures them to the bait. Baiting Coyotes has a lot to do with where the baits are placed. To successfully bait a coyote you need to place it in a strategic place. Coyotes are intelligent animals. Place your bait in a place that would attract coyotes without tipping them off that it could be a bit. Also, consider placing it in areas that would be easy for you to shoot from.

Use High-Quality Firearms

Hunting with high-quality firearms keeps one at an advantage when hunting. A quality firearm is a big key to successfully hunting coyotes at night. When hunting coyotes, consider getting a very good firearm that allows you to target your prey from afar. When choosing a firearm for hunting coyotes at night, consider also getting a firearm with good optics. This helps to give a clear and bright target view of the coyotes at night. Firearms with flat rails also go a long way.

Using such firearms makes it very easy for you as a hunter to mount your scope fast and easily. Rifles and firearms with semi-automated capability are better for hunting coyotes. They allow you to shoot multiple shots at once without any issue. This puts you at an advantage when you are around a group of coyotes. With this, you are sure of shooting at least one coyote dead. When hunting coyotes at long range, you would need to fire a precision shot. Try getting guns that can help you with precision shots. With such guns, you can shoot more than a few coyotes from a distance at a time.

Hunting Gears and Wears

For night hunting, wear clothes that would conceal you and blend in the darkness. Dark clothes are known as the best color of clothes for night hunting. This helps you to blend in with the darkness and serve as a source of camouflage for you. Far from this,  wearing comfortable clothes is also very important for night hunting. Because of the cozy weather of the night, thick wear would go a long way. Try covering your head. This helps to prevent colds. Try wearing clothes that would cover your body properly. For your shoes wear something that is forest and field-friendly.

Choose the Right Light for the Night

I understand that you depend so much on darkness for cover,  but darkness is a huge disadvantage to you when hunting coyotes at night. You need a source of light when hunting at night. You cannot depend largely on natural light. The moon can blow your cover to the Coyotes at night. This is why you should stay off spots with moonlight. Artificial lighting is your best bet for hunting Coyotes at night. You need artificial light for Coyote calling. Scanning your light around hunting areas puts them in distress. You need hunting lights to scan for your prey and know where they are answering your call from. This makes targeting very easy. For night hunting weapon-mounted lights are not bad. They help you scan and shoot with the same gadgets.

The only disadvantage of weapon-mounted light is the fact that it can limit you to certain areas because it is attached to your weapon. It is not as quick as using an independent light. For hunting lights, three major colors are widely used by hunters at night when hunting coyotes. These light colors are white, green, and red. These colors have their advantages and disadvantages. White-colored lights offer you a great number of details. It is clearer than the other colors. The cons involve the fact that it would affect your peripheral vision than others. Red lights on the other hand help you with better light shine hence reducing your eyes’ effect from the light. While the white light helps in seeing dark objects better than others.

Know Where to Shoot

Getting a clean shot is the dream of every hunter. A smart hunter knows where to shoot to bring down his prey. For coyotes, one needs to be careful to have a clean shoot. You don’t just shoot randomly at coyotes, it can run away, hide and leave you without a pelt. The best way to kill a coyote is to aim for its vital organs. The heart, the lungs, and the brain are the best targets for hunting coyotes. When shooting aim the lower part of its torso. Its heart lies around there. A shot on the head also helps kill the coyotes very fast. A shot on the head is likely going to kill the coyote. Although coyote’s heads are small and could be a hard target, this is why you should aim for the forearm.

Hunting Techniques

When hunting for coyotes at night there are some hunting techniques that you need to put in place. When scanning for your prey with your hunting lights, don’t start by scanning for the animal’s full body. This can be a little bit deceiving. Coyotes have shining eyes at night. The reflection of the coyotes’ eyes and eyeshine can easily be seen at a longer distance at night, so look out for this.

The sight of this allows you to identify your targeted prey and know the strategy to use according to their body language. Once you can identify this eyeshine or reflect, you can easily trance the prey. You can also follow the animal using the edge of your light. Keep the light on the animal’s body now, and identify what sort of animal it is. Is a deer, a fox, or coyotes that are your intended prey. With this, you can now shoot.

Hunt Only at Legal Locations

When hunting coyotes at night it is proper to consider the hunting regulation in your area. Some areas give rights to coyotes hunting, while others. Some areas restrict night hunting while some allow it. You need to put into consideration the hunting laws of your area. Hunting at night in areas where hunting at night is not allowed is a crime. You don’t want to be a criminal because of hunting.  It is better to consider this before deciding to hunt at night. In the United States, hunting laws differ from state to state. It is necessary to hunt only in legal areas. If you are in doubt about which location is safe and legal for hunting visit the U.s wildlife service online.

FAQs

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Conclusion

Hunting nocturnal animals at night. Could be a bit challenging because they see clear at night with their excellent night vision. Coyotes are very much active at night and it takes a smart hunter to take one down. Where it is legal hunting coyotes at night is advisable using these tips. This would guarantee you a good hunt. Get out to scout for a good location, call your prey, wear the right clothes, use the best firearm, then you are good to go for your night coyotes hunting. Also remember, you are to hunt hogs at night only in states where there is no legal restriction against night hunting.