Night Hunting: What To Put In Your Pack

If you’re planning on spending a night out hunting coyotes, you’re going to need to pack
accordingly. After all, even the best hunter needs to make sure they have the right gear to have
a successful hunt. This handy checklist will help you make sure that you have everything you
need to enjoy yourself and catch your game. It’ll help you make sure you have everything and
that you know exactly why you need it! 

Your Weapon
In any hunting excursion, your weapon should be one of the first things you pack. You have a lot
of different options but air rifles are becoming more and more popular. These come in a variety
of models that are good for all kinds of hunting. They’re lightweight and oftentimes more
inexpensive design has also gained them attention.

Gear to Let You See
While nighttime predators have superb night visions, humans, unfortunately, don’t. That means
that you need some way to see what you’re hunting. A plain white light might be effective at
illuminating an area but it’s also one of the fastest ways to alert wildlife of your presence. This is
why many nighttime hunters have turned to putting a red film over their light. This is an easy
way to add a little light to the situation without putting everyone else on alert because it will
reflect on the eyes of wildlife. Just make sure not to shine it directly in their face!

Some hunters who go for night game like hogs and coyotes prefer green light because it’s
slightly brighter in tone than red while still being low enough as to not alert the animals.
Unfortunately, green lights do have a disadvantage when it comes to cutting through moisture,
so they aren’t going to be as helpful as a red light on foggy or misty nights.

Alternatively, a lot of hunters like to use night vision to hunt. However, this does step into some
legally dicey territory. You have to be careful when reviewing the laws for night hunting in your
area. While it’s legal to purchase night vision gear across the United States, many states don’t
allow for this gear when night hunting or only allow it in certain conditions.

Calls and Decoys
Coyotes are smart creatures. In other words, you’re going to have to put in a bit of work to lure
them towards your position. Your best bets are to invest in some calls and decoys.
First, let’s take a look at calls. There are two primary calls you’ll have to choose from including
mouth calls and electronic calls and many hunters decide to use a mix of the two. When it
comes to the type of coyote calls to use, you have a few options. You might find success in
mimicking the sounds of a young coyote or coyote howls.

What’s often more effective, though, is to appeal to the coyote as a predator. Trying something
like a bleating fawn might attract coyotes to the area in search of a midnight snack. It can take a
little trial and error to nail down the most effective method for your area, so don’t be afraid if your
call doesn’t work on the first try.

If you’re just using a call and not seeing any results, that’s probably because the illusion you’re
creating isn’t quite putting the coyote at ease. Many hunters see better results if they have a
visual to work with their calls. This is where decoys come in. If a coyote hears a sound that
interests them and sees a visual cue with it, they’re more likely to approach. It’s important to
note that there is a chance they’ll charge at it which might be an intimidating enhancement to
newer hunters. Even if you’re only comfortable with a call, for now, you’ll have a lot more
success with one than without one.

Shooting Tripods and Chairs
Getting your shooting position a little higher can go a long way when you’re hunting. A shooting
tripod can help lift your point of view slightly higher and it can even make scanning for coyotes
easier and quieter.

It can also help to get a shooting chair to take with you. This doesn’t need to be anything highly
specialized but a little padding can go a long way in making sure that you don’t end up
uncomfortable or with legs that are falling asleep.

Warm Clothes
When it comes to dressing for the part of hunting at night, you’ll want to remember that if
hunting can get chilly during the day, it’s going to get even colder at night. As such, you should
make sure you’re dressing for the occasion. It’s going to make the waiting process much less

grueling if you aren’t freezing the whole time. Just like with the chair, the more comfortable you
are, the more alert and prepared you’ll be.

That being said, you don't want to bog yourself down with layers and clothing that sacrifices
movement for warmth. You should still be able to make any movement you need to as quickly
as you need to while you stay cozy.

You don’t have to worry about blending in with your surroundings in the same way as you do
when you hunt in the day but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about it at all. Pale skin,
in particular, will stand out to a coyote’s eyes as a sign of danger. This is why many night
hunters opt for extra coverage with gear like gloves and balaclavas. Just like your other
wearable gear, these extras should be light and breathable so that they don’t restrict you in any
way.

Hunting at night can be a rewarding and exciting experience. However, if you want to have a
successful rather than frustrating time, you’re going to want to make sure you have all your
ducks in a row. This means making sure that you bring all the right gear on your next night
hunting outing.