It is a universal rule for hunters to avoid hunting during nighttime. This is because hunting during the evening is dangerous, and you could disturb other animals that are hard to face during the night. But there is an exemption to this rule. Hunters are allowed to hunt at night if they have a legal license from the government. They are only allowed to hunt animals labeled for legal hunting, such as hogs, foxes, raccoons, foxes, and the most popular animal to hunt at night, coyotes.
Why coyotes? This is because coyotes are usually active during the night time and they are loud and noisy too. Since they are active during nighttime and create too much noise, hunters grab this opportunity to lure them out by using different coyote calls. These coyote calls provide different sounds that can lure coyotes out in the open such as the sound of a female coyote, food fight call noises, and a distress call.
Coyotes won’t have an idea that these noises are traps since they are often noisy and when they hear a sound of a female coyote or a food fight noise, they will automatically go to that area, and you can shoot them precisely and accurately. You can try looking for more coyote calls on different websites such as 10Hunt.com or outdoorlife.com. Another reason why coyotes are legal to hunt is that they overpopulate in some places, which is why they are called by local citizens a nuisance.
They are even labeled as the least concerned species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Reducing their population and preventing them from causing danger to citizens are two of the reasons why coyote hunting is legalized in some places. Hunting during nighttime is twice as challenging when you hunt when the sun is up. This is why many experienced daytime hunters are trying coyote hunting for the first time.
They want to experience the challenging tracking using artificial lights, hiking in the dark, and the adrenaline rush thinking of the lurking dangers in the dark. Maybe for us, this sounds too dangerous, but for them, this is truly a challenge. If you also want to try coyote hunting for the first time, here are a few tips on coyote hunting for beginners.
Study the life of a coyote
The first most important tip that you must know when you want to try coyote hunting for the first time is to study how their life works. I mean, you cannot hunt an animal if you don’t have an idea of where they spend most of their time, how they eat, where they sleep, and other things related to them. You must first have an idea of the pattern of their movements so that you can predict where they will go.
Learn what they regularly eat or what their favorite meal is so that you can use that information when you want to lure or bait them out for a clean hunt. You also must know what they sound like so that you can go directly to their location whenever you hear them fight over food or whenever they are mating. Lastly, you should know what animals are preying on coyotes because those animals are your enemies too during your hunt.
You also have to deal with these predators since you are going to be their prey too. Coyotes are often being stalked by wolves, bears, cougars, and mountain lions, so you better get ready to face them in the most unfortunate situation.
Train your body to adapt to the new environment
If you are used to hunting during the day, make sure when you transfer to night hunting, your body will be able to adapt to certain changes. The atmosphere will change and also the weather. You have to adapt and try to have even a slight vision in the dark.
Train your body well and be prepared because it is more dangerous to hunt at night. Learn how to fight against other animals such as wolves and bears, which are natural predators of coyotes, because there is a high probability that you will meet one when you hunt for coyotes.
Sharpen your mental strength
This is the most important and the most crucial tip that you should follow. You must increase your mental strength because hunting in the dark is not something you should take for granted. You must increase your awareness and alertness by a thousand folds because you cannot heavily rely on your eyes when you do night hunting.
You have to trust your other senses, such as your hearing and smell, which is why you need to train your mind. You must be vigilant to even the slightest sound that you can hear. Remember that you are not alone in that forest. Other predators also hunt coyotes. You might not know that a mountain lion has already stalked you.
Know the proper equipment
The equipment used for hunting during day time is different when you do night hunting. There are other tools, gears, and equipment that you should buy. You also need to know the appropriate gun to use for coyote hunting because, in some places, they only legalize the use of shotguns when you want to do night hunting for coyotes.
If you want some advice, coyote hunters use weapons with a mounted light source or a light with a handle when they go for coyote hunting. If you prefer using a light with a handle, then your gun or rifle must be supported by a tripod or a bipod to allow you to hold the light while aiming for your target. This may be challenging but having a light with a handle allows you to perfectly maneuver the light whenever you spot a moving coyote.
If you have the light source mounted on your rifle, then your accuracy in hitting the target is much better than having a light source with a handle. The downside of this is that you also need to move your rifle whenever you want to flash some areas.
Scout the area in the morning and familiarize the place
Even though scouting in the dark is one of the challenges of night hunting, it is still probably best to scout the area during day time. You can use this time to search the hunting area for grassland or croplands you can use as your hiding spot.
Searching during the daytime will also allow you to see clearly for coyote dens so that you will know where coyotes are. You also need to look out for some escape routes since things can get a little bit dangerous. Scouting during day time is safer and more practical so that you will feel a little bit at ease when your night hunting begins.