Night Hunting Indiana Predators Flatlander Style.
By Craig Travis (Swift One)
It was a late October afternoon when I received a phone call from my hunting partner Dennis Yon. “Let’s go calling tonight.” He tells me. It doesn’t take much convincing on his part to get me on board with the idea of calling in some early season predators. With my constant watch on the moon’s cycle, I know that it is in the last quarter and not scheduled to rise until early the next morning. The evening’s weather was supposed to be in the low 30s (some of the coldest temps so far this fall), 5MPH winds, and clear skies. Game on.
We meet up shortly after dark and get our game plan together. Tonight’s orchestra of rabbit blues, coyote howls, and any other type of spouse- annoying sound is going to take place in a 200 acre cut corn field behind a my parent’s house. They have recently been complaining of all night coyote howling and barking in the field and surrounding areas.
We pull up and park the vehicle out of view, get out gear together and set up in a row of mixed Cedar and Pine trees that borders the north end of the targeted cut cornfield. We set up facing south, over looking the field and the large wood lot at the south border of the field. The south wind is gently blowing in our face and we can hardly wait to get calling. It’s just one of those stands where you know you are going to get some action.
After we set up and let things settle down for a bit, we turn on our scope lights and begin our initial scanning of the field. Dennis was sweeping south to west, and I sweeping south to east. After a couple of minutes on the mouse squeaker, I give out two juvenile howls. After a few minutes of silence, I begin to play the rabbit blues on my Sceery AP-7. After about 15 minutes of rabbit screaming, we both begin to think there are going to be no takers.
All of the sudden, we hear some excited coyote barks to the southwest of us. No eyes shined yet though. I begin to give out some pup whines and almost immediately after the first series of whines, I hear Dennis start to lip squeak. I know that he has found some glowing eyes in the vast darkness of the field. I scan my light into his zone and see what Dennis is lip squeaking at. Two sets of eyes coming in fairly fast and very committed. At about 50yds, Dennis lip squeaks again and the eyes start to materialize into two coyotes that don’t seem to be stopping for nothing. I turn my Lightforce 170 Nite Hunter scope light to full power, drop the full intensity of the beam onto the song dogs, which are now glowing bright red.
I quickly put the Coyote to the left in the crosshairs of my NEF Handi Rifle .223 bull barrel, pull the trigger, and the 50gr Sierra Blitz bullet hits the coyote’s neck, dropping it instantly. The second coyote stops, walks over to its down friend, and Dennis sends a .243 80gr Sierra Game King bullet from his Handi Rifle right through its lungs. It looks at Dennis, and then drops in its tracks. Dennis and I have just taken our second double of the season, and both of us have had yet another adrenaline dump from night hunting.
Night hunting can be one of the most exciting and productive ways to take predators. There is something mystical about shining a light into the pitch black of night and discovering that two red eyes are coming to you like glowing red orbs floating across the night air.
There are many tactics and different types of equipment that can be applied to successfully take predators at night. So many that I won’t mention them all in this article. I would be writing until the end of the calling season. What I am going to do is, tell you what has worked for me, especially in the flat agricultural terrain of northwest Indiana.
Northwest Indiana is primarily what is referred to as “Pancake Country”. It is made up of small wood lots that are surrounded by large and sometimes several hundred-acre crop fields that are bordered by thin tree lines, irrigation ditches, and creeks. This all makes for some prime nighttime hunting conditions for predators and especially Coyotes. Gray fox are the exception to the rule here. They tend to stick to the deep hardwoods that southern Indiana has to offer. I am talking specifically about Coyotes, Red Fox, and even Raccoon.
SHED A LITTLE LIGHT ON THINGS
I think that the first thing a newcomer to night hunting has to overcome is the pitch black of night. There is a sinking feeling about going out for your first night time hunt, setting up, looking out into the dark and realizing that you have got no visibility. Even when you turn on your scanning light, it seems like all you are doing is just shining a pitch-black wall. This brings me to my first and probably most important aspect of night hunting- the light.
I started off with hand held lights and on occasion still use them in certain situations. Headlamps are an excellent choice for using shotguns in tight cover, but my hunting grounds rarely offer thick brushy areas to hunt. I have found that a good scope mounted light is perfect for scanning the vast open areas that I hunt in.
I use a Lightforce 170 Nite Hunter package. It’s my opinion that it's the best you can get as far as a scope light goes. With a 6.5” lens, 12V battery, 400,000cp of either a pencil beam spot or flood light, rheostat controlled and an auto charger, it gets the job done and then some. If used in conjunction with the rheostat, it will last all night and I have been able to positively identify critters out to 150yds plus. The light has no problems at picking up eyes at 500yds.
The Lightforce 170 Night Hunter Scope Light on top of my
NEF Handi Rifle in .223 Remington.
There are other less expensive options on the market that I have found to get the job done. Western Rivers has a 12V scope light package that lasts all night and puts out a sufficient amount of light to scan and shoot with. I like to use a light that puts out enough light to positively identify your game to minimum distances of 50yds and shine eyes to minimum distances of 250-300yds. I like using something that is in the range of 30,000- 500,000cp. I do not like the 6V batteries for a scope light because I use my scope light for scanning and shooting. The 6V batteries just do not last that long, especially in the cold weather. Find a light that has at least a 12V battery.
REACH OUT AND TOUCH THEM
As far as firearms go, I like to use center fire rifles for night hunting the open terrain. True, you can sometimes coax a predator into shotgun range in open terrain, but you can do it a lot easier in tight cover. You will be happy you brought a center fire rifle with you when hunting open areas and the predator that you just called in hangs up at 100yds.
I use a .223 Remington for night hunting. This caliber is more than enough for the average distances that you will be shooting at. I reload my own ammunition and have found that the 50-55gr varmint style bullets for the .223 do a great job for coyotes and cause minimal pelt damage. They can be a little harsh on Raccoon and will probably be just as harsh on Fox. I have a friend that shoots a 22 Hornet and it seems to be an outstanding round for Raccoon all the way up to Coyote in night hunting applications.
Larger center fire calibers will also work but it has been my experience to stay away from the varmint style bullets. I would recommend going with a deer hunting style bullet. These seem to cause a lot less pelt damage on the critters when shooting bigger bullets than .224 diameter.
There has been a lot of debate about rim fire calibers in predator hunting circles. I believe that the 22WMR and 17HMR have their place in night hunting, especially with Raccoon and Fox. I also think with the limited experience that I have had with these calibers, they would take a coyote, but at ranges under 75-100yds and shot placement would be absolutely critical.
SCREAMING
There are a variety of calls on the market today in both the hand and electronic call categories. I like to use hand and electronic calls when hunting. One good thing to know about night hunting if you are planning on getting an electronic caller (ecaller) is that you really do not need a remote operated one. This could save you a lot of money when purchasing. Whatever route you decide to go weather it be hand or ecallers, is to remember that the sound has to be next to you, so the predators will be looking at you, so you can see their eyes shine when your light hits them.
The same calls that call in predators during the day will also call in predators at night. This includes coyote vocalizations. I tend to like Sceery calls for distress sounds and a Dan Thompson Red Desert Howler for Coyote vocalizations. Not that I think these are the only good calls out there, they are just my preference. One thing to remember, closed reed calls will freeze up in very cold temperatures. I have had this happen to me a couple of times. I would recommend learning how to use an open reed or at least a variable pitched reed call for the cold months of the year.
I like electronic calls for night hunting when I want a sound that I cannot imitate with a hand call. I have found that cat in distress sounds and Coyote and Fox fights work pretty good when night calling. When I call Raccoon, I almost always use an ecaller because I find the Raccoon sounds hard to imitate.
The night air and especially the cold night air is much thinner and lighter than it is in the day. That means that sounds will travel farther easier. I have found that when using ecallers, I do not need to turn up the volume as much to get responses.
When I use hand calls, these workhorses are rarely without me in the field.
From left to right: ELK Inc. Mouse squeaker, Dan Thompson’s Red Desert
Mouthpiece, Sceery AP-7, and my personal favorite, the Sceery AP-6.
USE THE LAND TO YOUR ADVANTAGE, NOT THEIRS
When I look for land to call I am mainly looking at stuff to call on at night. Most of my predator hunting is done at night. Predators feel more comfortable moving around in open areas at night, and northwest Indiana has got more flat, open terrain than not. I look for open crop fields or grass pastures that have border features such as tree lines, irrigation ditches, creeks, rivers, or a mixture of these features. These border areas are where I am going to set up in to call from. They are what’s going to break up my outline. The light itself will act as a “wall” to hide behind because the predators cannot see what is on the other side of the light. But an approaching predator that does not have the light in its eyes will easily pick out hunters that have outlined themselves.
The below picture is an area that Dennis and me have taken many coyotes from. It has all of the elements that I think are needed to night hunt open terrain such as harvested fields. It has tree lines bordering it and it has two small wood lots in the immediate area that I have confirmed from scouting, holds coyotes.
An ideal section of land to night hunt on. A large cut field, with bordering tree lines and nearby wood lots that hold predators.
Me and Dennis have taken many coyotes from this spot and have called in many more.
When I call in an area like this I will use the wind to my advantage. As a matter of fact, I always use the wind to my advantage when calling predators. Predators generally try to circle downwind when coming to the call and at night, they tend to do it more. Especially Coyotes. I like to set up in a crosswind or facing the wind. Crosswind is by far my favorite way to set up though. When setting up along tree lines with a crosswind, you have a better chance of seeing the predators trying to get down wind rather than having them sneak up behind you on the other side of the tree line.
If you are setting up with the wind in your face, the predators will work as far downwind as they can, which is the tree line you are in. Then they will turn and walk directly to you. This is the theory, and I would say it works 80 percent of the time. Once in a while, you will get one that sneaks up from behind and busts you. If you have an extra set of eyes, it’s best to have them facing down wind to avoid getting ambushed.
The orange arrow in the above picture represents north. Let’s say that we have a wind coming out of the west. I know from scouting that most of the coyote activity is in the wood lot on the south border of the field. In a situation like this, I will set up in the east/ west running tree line on the north end of the field and I will face south. Chances are, those Coyotes are going to come within a few hundred yards and start to work their way down wind (east) getting closer to you as they do. It’s good to have a shooter maybe 30-50yds down wind of the calling. This can be a good back up, in case for whatever reason, the caller cannot see the coyote before it gets past him.
I hunt solo a lot, but I hunt with a partner whenever possible. . There are a couple of reasons for this. First and foremost, the experience is fun to share. Second, an extra set of eyes and another light operating has meant more fur down for us.
Let’s go back to that east/ west tree line that we were talking about earlier. This is where an invaluable tool comes in to play. The monopod. I night hunt standing up. Why stand up? Elevation means better observation- even if it’s only an extra 3 feet. It makes a difference. There are times when the terrain or lack of an adequate background will require me to sit while calling, but I always prefer to stand if possible when calling at night.
I use the monopod to rest my rifle on. It is a great tool to scan with and reduce fatigue. When scanning with a monopod and scope light, your gun will always be at the ready for a quick shot if needed. There are many different styles of Monopods available, but I have found the Stoney Point line up of monopods to be the most durable and dependable to use. The Expedition or Explorer models are tall enough to be able to stand and scan.
Using a monopod will give you higher elevation for a better
view, keep your firearm at the ready while scanning, and reduce
fatigue on your arms and upper body on those all night hunts.
After we have set up and things have calmed down for about 15 minutes, I will turn on my scope light and scan the area that I am watching. If I have a hunting partner and we are facing the same direction, we will stand at distances of 10-50yds apart. The hunter on the left will scan 90 degrees from out in front of them and to the left; the hunter on the right will scan 90 degrees from out in front and to the right. It is important to not shine the other hunter when scanning because they will become visible to any critters in the area that are looking. If we are facing opposite directions, we will have a hunter on each side of the tree line. Each hunter will scan 180 degrees, from tree line edge to tree line edge.
It is important to scan with only the halo of the light, keeping the full intensity of the beam up off the ground. Predators and Coyotes especially start to get spooked if the full beam of the light hits their eyes. If you are using a scope light that has a rheostat, turn it down far enough, so that you are just lighting up the eyes. It does not take much light at all to get a predator’s eyes to shine even at distances of a few hundred yards. It is just as important to scan constantly with the light on. Predators can quickly enter an area and leave undetected. Always have the light on and scanning when the calling begins.
If you have another tree line in front of you or even random trees out in the field that you are calling, scan those treetops during the initial scan and even once in a while calling. Raccoon season runs while Coyote and Fox season is in. They are very curious creatures and even though you may not be using sounds aimed for Raccoon, they have come into a variety of different sounds that I have used- even after howling. Don’t miss an opportunity at harvesting a Raccoon. Calling around abandoned buildings can produce a lot of Raccoon.
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Dennis Yon spotted this nice size Raccoon while periodically
scanning the tree tops when calling.
After the initial scan of the area, I like to start the calling off with nothing more than a mouse squeaker. Predators and especially Red Fox have excellent hearing and you do not want to “blow them out of the area” with loud calling. I have on a couple of occasions called in predators with just mouse squeaking. After a couple minutes of random mouse squeaking I will then start to get into more volume with another call.
Let’s say that I am going to use a hand call and make rabbit distress sounds. The first series will be a very animated and excited sound. I want to imitate a rabbit that has initially begun to get stressed out from either getting stuck in a fence or being eaten by a critter or whatever. I like to get high pitched and sound very excited. I think this really gets the dinner bell going in a predator’s head. The remaining series of distress sounds can also be just as intense, but I think it’s important to initially give this excited, stressed emotion.
I will generally call for about 30 seconds, sit quiet for another 30 seconds to a minute and a half, and then repeat the process. I will do this for about 15 minutes. If I get no takers from the rabbit distress, I will give out some pup whines to imitate two coyotes that are fighting over a meal. This can really convince Coyotes that food is being fought over and can seal the deal for them to commit to the call.
When you do spot a set of eyes, remember to keep the just the halo of the light on them. Depending on the strength of your light, you might be able to see eyes from several hundred yards out, which is entirely too far to make a responsible shot.
After spotting the eyes, DO NOT take the light off of them. After calling a few critters in, you should be able to by the way the eyes are moving take an educated guess as to what it is. Stop calling. If you are not the caller and see eyes, give out a lip squeak or hit a mouse squeaker to let the caller know that an animal is approaching. Watch and see what the animal does. If it continues to walk in, just keep shining it with the halo of the light. If it stops, and at some point they generally will, give out a couple of mouse squeaks or do some lip squeaks to get it moving towards you again. Loud and excessive calling at this point may scare the critter away. The animal has entered your area; the new objective is getting it within shooting range. Once the animal starts moving toward you, stop squeaking. This may need to be repeated several times before the animal gets within shooting range. Be patient, if you have set up properly, there is a good chance you are going to bag the critter. Once the animal is within range, drop the full intensity of the beam on the critter (if you have a rheostat, turn up the power), positively identify it as a predator, and then shoot. We have called in everything from deer to domestic dogs to even a rabbit once. It is important to identify the animal before shooting.
After the animal is shot remember where it dropped by using a reference point on the horizon (i.e. a distant porch light, odd shaped tree, or a house) and continue to call with either some coyote distress whines or the same distress sound that you have been using. Predators are not necessarily spooked by a single gunshot and the possibility of calling in another predator is good. I have actually seen two coyotes called in at the same time, one got shot and the other walked over to the downed Coyote to look at it. It presented a broadside shot long enough that even a blind man could have made. Keep calling and you might double or even triple your fur before the stand is over.
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Keep calling after shooting. The Coyote on the left came in after the
one on the right was shot. It trotted right out of a standing
Cornfield while I was imitating a Coyote in distress on a hand call.
Once you are convinced that nothing else is coming in, it’s time to retrieve your harvest. This can get tricky if the predator has fallen in tall weeds and high corn stubble. If you are lucky, the critter has fallen so its eyes are facing you and you can still shine them. If not, you can walk from your position to that landmark you picked out that is in relation to the direction of the downed animal. At this point, use a white light to help with finding your game. I have used another method to find down fur if a friend is with me. The shooter will cast the beam of his scope light in the direction of where the critter fell, the other hunter will with the aid of a white light, will walk the beam of light out in the field and hopefully come across the critter at some point. Sometimes though, you just have to get out there and look. Once you find your harvest, leave the area, and head to the next stand. Your blood should be pumping well at this point and your addiction level to night hunting has probably risen 100%!!
PREPARING YOURSELF
I know a deer hunter that says, “Hunting Whitetail Deer doesn’t start when you get in the tree stand, it starts when you put your hunting clothes on.” This statement is equally true when it comes to hunting predators. You can have the right gun, right calls, good light, and predator rich land to call in. You will still not harvest predators if you have not made a few preparations and pre- planned the night’s hunt.
Let’s talk about clothing for night hunting. I believe in scent control, not scent elimination when it comes to predator hunting. When coyotes can’t see what they are hunting, they will try to smell it and hear it. At the end of the day, you are not going to fool a predator’s nose and especially a Coyote’s. Even if you take a bath in Fox urine, a coyote will smell and analyze the scent cone you leave behind and it will eventually smell you. But that does not mean that we should amplify our smell either.
I keep my hunting clothes in a large rubber container when not in use and sprinkle them with Baking Soda that I put in an old sock. I also keep the sock in the container with the clothes. I believe that it helps minimize the scent. I also wash my hunting clothes in Baking Soda. I believe that while my human scent is still there, it is at least minimized by this process. When I am traveling in the truck, I put a rain poncho over my seat so that I will not soak up any smells that may be lurking in the fabric. I also do not smoke or use chewing tobacco when on stand.
I believe in wearing camouflage clothing. For one, it makes me feel more comfortable in the field and two, when there is snow on the ground; it is pretty bright out there at night. Some folks don’t wear camo when calling at night, but I like to have every edge that I can get. I even wear a facemask when night hunting.
Noise and light discipline plays a big role in how successful you will be. I disengage the interior light in my truck so when I open the door, it does not come on. There are barely any hills to hide the truck behind in my calling areas, and broadcasted light will alert predators and send them running in the opposite direction of you. Do not slam vehicle doors when exiting the vehicle. That is about as bad as getting out and shouting.
I like to pre-stage my gear as much as possible before I park my truck. That way when I get out of the vehicle, I can move quickly and quietly when getting my gear together. Pre-planning with a partner how you are going to hunt the area should take place before you get out of the truck and ideally before you even arrive in the area, not in the field on stand.
Light and noise discipline while walking to the stand is just as critical. Keep talking to a whisper and minimize that as much as possible. Use only a small red light if you need to when walking to the stand. Indiana law says a light that must be seen for 500ft. A single LED red light can be seen from much further than that.
If you do not call anything in and are ready to walk out of the area, do it as covertly as you did when you walked in. Just because you did not call anything into view does not mean that there is nothing out there. Sometimes predators for whatever reasons just do not come into the call no matter what you throw at them.
Learn to operate your equipment by feel, not sight. Your eyes have to be constantly watching the area that you are scanning, not fumbling with the control pad on your ecaller, or looking for a hand call in your pocket. Keep hand calls on a lanyard for easier access, practice using the buttons on your ecaller without looking at them, and learn to disengage the safety of your firearm by feel, not sight. All it takes is a few seconds of not watching the area being scanned for a predator to slip in and slip out without being detected.
I believe that the moon plays a role in how active the predators are at night. My hunting journal clearly shows that a dark night when no moon is in the sky is more productive than anything else. I keep a watchful eye on the moon patterns and the rise and set times of it. I plan my hunts around the moon’s schedule.
Choose your hunting partners wisely. You can be the most noise and light disciplined, experienced, fur producing predator hunter in the world, but if you take a hunting partner that is not going to be as disciplined as you are at least willing to learn to be, all you are going to do is educate predators and have a terrible experience. Predator’s keen senses of sight, hearing and smell make them quite a challenging quarry to hunt for. Encourage your hunting partner(s) to learn as much as possible about the behaviors and biology of the predators that you hunt. Encourage them to learn as much as possible about the tactics that are used and inspire them to experiment with new ideas to bring to the table for the hunting team. My hunting partners and me have come up with some good ideas that have proven to be productive in our area, and some that have not been so good. The point is to get your hunting partners involved with all aspects of the predator hunt. Not just tagging along with a firearm and a “whatever” attitude.
The best hunting partners will understand and stick with it through the periods when you don’t seem to call in anything but the cold, will share with you the great sense of accomplishment of calling in and harvesting a predator, and will constantly be a part of helping to make the hunting team a better, more knowledgeable group of night hunters.
Hunting at night has a lot to offer. It’s exciting because you cannot see as good. Your other senses such as smell and hearing become amplified. It’s mysterious because you just really don’t know what you are going to call in. It could be a Coyote running at you very fast, a Red Fox hoping through the tall Grass, a Raccoon climbing down a tree, or maybe even an Owl that wants a closer look at the origin of the screaming. It’s productive, because you are out when the predators are the most active- the pitch black of night. Don’t be afraid, the night can be your friend. Good luck and good hunting.
