Red Light Spooking Coyotes ???

9322mag

New member
Ive been hunting a lot this year in SW Va and have had good luck calling in Foxes and a couple of cats BUT the coyotes have kicked my Butt ! Read a article in a magazine ( Fur & Fang ) that featured a article about calling in the East. Article suggested that a Red Light spooked coyotes and kill ratio went up a lot when they switched over to IR . True or False on the Light spooking them ??? Thanks
 
Everyone has different degrees of success, based on what they use and every coyote is different. No one can give you the right answer, if it was as easy as that everyone would be stacking them up. 10% of the guys on here kill 90% of the critters and they do it many different ways.

What are you gonna shoot with if you switch over to an IR light?

Which wavelength 850 or 940?

Search through threads here. Find guys who are successful and emulate what they do. That'll get you started then tweak it to fit what you need.
 
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I feel like I must be doing something bad wrong ! Foxes and Bobcats don't pay abit of attention to my light . I can't get enough experience with the dogs to draw my own conclusions. Having alot of fun though !
 
Canines see light sources at different wave length and a different color spectrum...Several years ago there was a pretty technical article that was written, and posted on this site, in lay person language on the subject and it might be worth your time to do a search and if not located here, go to the open Google search engine...I'm not sure exactly how you would have to enter your search criteria, so it may take some experimentation...
 
The longer the wavelength the less they will perceive the light or the led glow.

You need night vision for IR though you can't just use your eyes and IR.
 
A lot of spooking them comes with how you run the light. You might already do this but just in case... Try not hitting them with the main beam dead center of the light, I like to use the edges/Halo of the light so it is not so intense. If you need the brighter spot to shoot, drop it on them only when you are ready to pull the trigger. To demonstrate this point and drive it home to some hunting buddies I have made them go out about 50-60 yards and hit them with the main beam and then lifted to the halo only. When you are on the receiving end of the light you can really see the difference.
 
Originally Posted By: TXMACA lot of spooking them comes with how you run the light. You might already do this but just in case... Try not hitting them with the main beam dead center of the light, I like to use the edges/Halo of the light so it is not so intense. If you need the brighter spot to shoot, drop it on them only when you are ready to pull the trigger. To demonstrate this point and drive it home to some hunting buddies I have made them go out about 50-60 yards and hit them with the main beam and then lifted to the halo only. When you are on the receiving end of the light you can really see the difference.
Thank you for the advice, will certainly try it .
 
I can tell you without a doubt that in most of the east , yes, lights spook coyotes. I have my own theories on why but it is quite clear to me that the only way to consistently kill more coyotes here is nv/ thermal. I may get a tongue lashing for saying it but I have hunted with guys I consider the best predator hunters out there and have seen it for myself. Fox and cats could care less about a light in their eyes but coyotes here won't tolerate it for the most part. Yes, I have killed them with lights all over. Yes it can be done here but there sure is a better way to skin that cat.....if you can afford it
 
Originally Posted By: reaper4I can tell you without a doubt that in most of the east , yes, lights spook coyotes. I have my own theories on why but it is quite clear to me that the only way to consistently kill more coyotes here is nv/ thermal. I may get a tongue lashing for saying it but I have hunted with guys I consider the best predator hunters out there and have seen it for myself. Fox and cats could care less about a light in their eyes but coyotes here won't tolerate it for the most part. Yes, I have killed them with lights all over. Yes it can be done here but there sure is a better way to skin that cat.....if you can afford it

1000% agree with this.....all of it.
 
I hunt some spots near timber and in crop fields where the dogs are very weary of a light regardless of color. Nearly impossible to get one coming in with a light on them. I have another spot near a town that is fairly lit up and railroad tracks where they do a lot of switching. Can call them in pretty consistently with a light on them when hunting by those tracks. I think they are just used to the lights from the trains and from town.
 
Does red light spook coyotes? Yes and No all depends on how the light(s) are used. If you condition the coyote to a defused red beam first you are less likely to spook them. I hunt primarily in PA where NV is not legal. Here in PA we also have a limited number of coyotes and a high rate of night time callers compared to other states. Even with all the hunting pressure I can't say I have spooked very many coyotes while using red lights. That doesn't mean that they are easy to call especially the educated ones but when they commit to the call I very rarely spook them with the light.

It may not always be the light spooking them but possibly not using the lights correctly. Light discipline is very important. If the scan light (defused beam) is not kept on them the entire time while they are approaching they may see you and leave. Another common mistake is night hunters will sometimes place the call too far away. Remember you want them looking at you at night unlike daylight calling.

The scan light does three primary things: 1) It is used to locate the eyes of the approaching coyote. 2) It conditions them to the defused light as they approach so when the shooting light is activated they don't run off 3) It acts as your camouflage.

One other thing to keep in mind is not to set up near anything that your scan light can reflect off of. If you have brush, trees etc close to you your scan light could reflect off of those objects and silhouette you thus spooking the coyote while he is approaching.

Proper use of the light is the key, JMO.
 
I started hunting coyotes almost 20 years ago in Virginia, wasn't that good when I first started but got better with time, hunted with every kind of light you could imagine. I killed a lot coyotes with lights but over the past couple years my numbers declined pretty dramatic. My hunting buddy took the plunge with NV and thermal so I started going with him using his stuff and the numbers of coyotes we were calling in and killing were staggering.

If I have my choice I will never hunt with lights again in Virginia. I have my opinion on the success rate on hunting with lights but won't get into all that.
 
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I will not argue that NV will produce more coyotes especially on those light shy ones. My point was that if you are only able to use lights because of finances or it is not legal to use NV you can still be successful if the lights are used correctly.

Joe
 
this is the exact reason i finally got upset and bought thermal and night vision. about a month ago i lit up a coyote on low and he was in a neighboring state before i could even think about picking up my rifle.
 
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