Thinking of 'yote hunting

I've called coyotes for over 40 years........never sat at night. They may get harder to call as the season progresses, but it depends on numbers and pressure by others. I'd think that success during the day would relate to success at night, regardless. If you enjoy hunting them often during the day, then that rig might be for you, but if you're only an occasional daytime hunter, I wonder for how long the motivation would last to go out at night.
 
joe...you might look at ebay,,, predator hunting lights,,they have similar lights in red or green for a lesser price,,,just a thought,,,and if you like the hunting you could always upgrade to a nicer light

i know people do it but i dont think i would want the weight of a light hanging on my scope under recoil,,torquing the scope tube,,,but they do make rail mounts

i did a lot of fox hunting at night a long time ago,,,they will come right up to you,,,shot gun works best,,,not sure about a yote,,,but they call them in pretty close on some of the hunting shows,,,at night

just some thoughts

ocharry
 
Thanks for the replies.

buck-- I get what your saying about the motivation. There's getting to be a lot of them around here, evident by all the tracks around my farmstead. I won't have far to go---that's the reason I'm interested. Many winter nights you can hear them, just a few nights ago as well.

I will look around some more. You gotta hand it to Midway though, they know how to advertise.
 
I've sat over a bait at night waiting for coyotes. It wasn't nearly as much fun as I'd hoped. Foxes seem far easier duped by night calling vs yoties.
 
I will admit my coyote hunting experience is not recent (30-35 years ago), but I shot quite a few of them for pelts back then. My greatest success was right at dawn. They are active at that time because their prey is active, and you can see them several hundred yards away which will help you quite a bit. Don't know about you, but I don't like sitting in the cold and dark so I don't think I would hunt at night in the winter time.
 
Hunting Wiley at night with any light isn't legal in Iowa. The last thing you need is being accused of 'jack lighting' deer. Read page 15 of Iowa's hunting regs.
"...sitting out in the cold at night..." Isn't what I'd call a good time unless you have very good clothing.
 
OK to hunt Coyote at night in most places, Iowa is no exception. Page 5 of Iowa hunting regulations. Coyote are generally considered non-game animals with no closed seasons and few if any restrictions on taking them.

SPECIES SEASON SHOOTING HOURS BAG LIMITS
DAILY POSSESSION
Rooster Pheasant (Youth) 1,2 Oct. 21-22 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 1 2
Rooster Pheasant Oct. 28 - Jan. 10, 2018 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 3 12
Bobwhite Quail Oct. 28 - Jan. 31, 2018 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 8 16
Gray Partridge Oct. 14 - Jan. 31, 2018 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 8 16
Ruffed Grouse Oct. 7 - Jan. 31, 2018 Sunrise to Sunset 3 6
Rabbit (Cottontail) Sept. 2 - Feb. 28, 2018 Sunrise to Sunset 10 20
Rabbit (Jack) CLOSED 0 0
Squirrel (Fox and Gray) Sept. 2 - Jan. 31, 2018 No Restrictions 6 12
Groundhog3 Continuous Open Season No Restrictions No Limit No Limit
Crow Oct. 15 - Nov. 30 and No Restrictions No Limit No Limit
Jan. 14 - March 31, 2018
Pigeon Continuous Open Season No Restrictions No Limit No Limit
Coyote3, 4 Continuous Open Season No Restrictions No Limit No Limit
Click to expand...
 
Joe-ker - I've done a little bit of coyote hunting here in VA. I say go for it, but I would be sure to get a light with red. I've tried green and red both, and red seems by far to disturb them the least. I would also say, don't expect to be crazy successful right out of the gate. I sat through many a dull night seeing nothing, missing, learning. But it's worth it when you start getting them!
 
One of my co-workers is an avid coyote hunter. Last year at their big annual hunt they had 114 coyotes in a pile at the end of the weekend- several two-man teams had an informal competition.

He has told me that a red vs. green vs. plain white light doesn't make a bit of difference to the coyotes. My regular white light flashlight doesn't bother any other critters at night, so I'm not sure why coyotes would be different.

The light you linked comes with a bunch of nice accessories, but the light itself seems pretty pathetic. Only 250 lumens and 220 yards of throw.

For this kind of light, the throw is more important than lumens. Throw is rated by how far it can project a half lumen (IIRC) on target, which is not nearly enough light to actually pick out a coyote against the brush. The practical light would be done after about only 40 yards.

For some reason, lights marketed to mount on guns cost 3 times more and have half or less of the performance compared to a similar hand held flashlight. And I honestly don't believe they're built any tougher in most cases. I'd look for a better light first, and then see what kind of mounts you can put it in. Best place to start the search is this website, where you can enter in your criteria. http://flashlights.parametrek.com

There are lights out there now rated for over 1500 meters of throw, which is flat out amazing, and should give you an honest 300 yards of range for night hunting.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and the link possum. I'm sure I can find a better lite and piece together a mount cheaper, plus having all colors cant hurt. As far as range or light I shouldn't need the most range- I don't plan on being in the bush--open snow covered farmland around my place so I should be able to call them in and pick them out easily.

The hardest part will definitely be working up the ambition to go out early in the wee hrs.....but like I said its just out my back door so that helps.....a lot.

Seems like my best "ratters" (barn cats) went missing last winter so I'd like to help them out as well as the dwindling fox and pheasant population.
 
...plus having all colors can't hurt.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind the rated lumens you see advertised are for the white light. If you go putting a red filter over the lens, you cut that down to less than half, at least just going by the ones I've played with. So if you insist on having other colors, rather than using a filter, look for lights that have actual red or green LED diodes. This way you're still getting the full brightness & range.

Yeah, those big search lights are probably overkill for your needs, but the point stands you can do a heck of a lot better than the one you linked in the OP. A LOT better.
 
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