Truck positioning at night...........

Woodrow

New member
Hello boys, I have a question on what is the best set up for parking your truck when calling. I don't have a "chair" in the back of my truck. We are usually just in the bed of my P/U. But one thing I want to make sure that I am getting the right idea on is that it seems to me that if you handle the light right, it doesn't matter where the truck is? But I feel less confident when I am in the open as oppose to trying to park in the brush or under some trees. Where I hunt both in South Texas and the Hill Country.....it is pretty thick to real thick. So to have the best visibility would mean parking in fields........would that make us too obvious?

And another thought I had was instead of sitting on the ground at night, what about calling out of deer blinds? Just a thought.
 
Howdy Woodrow and welcome to the board.

Depending on the moon, you can get away with a little more or less as far as hiding the truck. certainly, it's better to have a little cover, but on a really bright night, you need to snuggle up to some better cover. You might try to set up along some brush, on the side of an open field, that way you will be a bit covered, yet you can see the field. Keep the light moving at all times, and that will reduce the chances of getting "busted". Randy
 
Thanks Randy,
That is what I figured, but I wanted to make sure by way of someone with more experience.

Funny the mistakes a novice can make. Most of the guys I call with want to use the light as little as possible. I always kinda thought the quicker you can see em' the better. So it is good to hear you say to use the light the whole time.

From what I have read, it seems like you should shine the light just over the animal instead of right in their eyes.......is that correct?

Also, what if you have multiple animals coming in, is it bad to move the light from one to the other? In other words, if you take the light off the animal, will it spook em'?
 
Woodrow I'm no expert but I have notice that if you shine the light just above them they dont seem to mind as much. We tried it on deer and coons a couple weeks ago just to see what we could get away with. Most did not move till we hit them right in the eyes or shot at them (the coons)
 
woodrow,
I've learned to place the rear end(tailgate) facing the down wind side so when most of the critters circle to get your wind you will not have to shine your light overor across the hood of your vehicle and light it up while lining up for the shot.I need all the help I can get.

Note: not all the critters you will call in will come in downwind of ya /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
if you put a shield on your light you can keep the light from shining your truck!!! not a round tube but like a baseball cap on the bottom of the light!! mine has a dim switch and a kill switch!! you can shine the dim light right on the animal and it doesn't bother them!! hit the brite switch when the shooter says burn em!!!!! also my light has on-off for tape .vol. control and a button for a buzzer down in the truck!! works for me!! grandpa fudge
 
Woodrow, it is always better to keep them in the outside "halo" of the light, especially coyotes. Most fox and cats don't seem to mind as much.

As for multiples, again, a lot depends on the brightness of the moon. You can try to light up both critters, but don't lose both by being greedy, make sure you keep at least one lit up. I have a 75,000 cp red lensed flashlight that I'll keep on one , while the chair light(mounted) stays on the other. It's still up to the animals, on a double or multiple. Once you fire, it all changes, so multiples are fun and very exciting, but it takes a lot of practice and even more luck to pull off. I've killed several multiples, but I stay out a lot. The pressure on the animals also matters. In a place where there is a lot of hunting, multiples get pretty difficult. You'll get a few more early in the year, when the pups aren't too smart (yet). Randy
 
randy's right about useing the halo!!! if you don't have a dim setting you have to halo them!! we never burn them until the shooter is ready and calls the shot!! i never have much luck with multi's i use a second tape with howls that makes the second one look and then the shooter had better be ready!!! it will only look for a few seconds and you better kill it then!!! i wish i could hunt the country in tex's that i have read about for all these years!!! we kill most that we see out here in calif and nev. but we don't see that many!! good luck and shoot stright!!! grandpa fudge
 
Grandpa, are you using a varmint rig to hunt from? if you know what I mean, and I think you do ya old timer LOL. Hey, did you make your own lights or did you have someone else do it? I have some pretty cool high tech custom lights myself. You never told me what part of California you hang your hat in? I'm just wondering just in case someday we may want to try to do what we used to do LOL, Good Hunting.
 
We have killed coyotes on full moon nights setting right out in the middle of a field. We sit inside the truck. We take turns shining each side. I think it is the distance that gets them careless, and the fact that they see no movement. The shots are long, but it works. We also park in the shade of large oak trees when the moon is low.
 
DANNY- B!!!! OF COURSE I'M HUNTING OUT OF A RIG!!!! HAD THE CAMPER MADE BY THE OLD MAN ON BEACH BLVD!!!! GOT the idea from a hunting buddy and added some stuff on the light!!!! can adjust to the moon thanks to the railroad and adjusting rr lights!! we really need to get togather and swap some lies and maybe some truths over a cold one or dinner or alight some night!!! just got my second best thing in the world!!! the best / but the second one / he got here at 9: 25 am 7lb 3 oz mom and dad doing fine but grandpa is a little shakey!!!lol grandpa fudge
 
I've got two big coffee cans duct taped together and painted black on the out side to match the spotlight. I put it on the end of the spotlight. It does two things, keeps us from illuminating and keeps a finer beam of light. Try it. I like my "Light Man" to hold the light slightly over the shooters head when a shot becomes available so that the shooter can see the eyes illuminate on the critter. It's working brother!
 
danny-b!!!! remember in the 60s when we did the coffe cans!!!!! that was the cats meow !!! we need to get togather and go over some of the lights we have used in the last 30 or 40 years!!!!! did you ever see the van that jeff b. hunted out of???? brand new 4x4 van that he cut a hatch in !!!lol grandpa fudge
 
Grandpa, yes I know Jeff B and his van and he knows me from the many state hunts and from hunting Mexico, I use to hunt some of the same places Jim T and Jeff did LOL. I'll never forget that state hunt 1979 I think, when Jim T and his team brought back 42 critters, 15 were cats, wow. I only have two lights left, a red one and a yellow one. Stupid me, I gave the rest away to new guys. The years go by don't they, many things have changed in this sport. One thing for sure, if it were not for the oldtimers of the sport, the new ones would be lost LOL. Yep, we got to get togther and we well, Good Hunting.
 
danny-b!! did you ever see the stuff they did to hunt out of that van??????? lol!! lmao!!!! him and his fam .. were very nice people!! i had a ball with the club and all of the people at the rocks on cima!!! a warm fire and a cold glass with people you like is worth a mil-$$$ we had fun a some comp. shooting during the day!!! talk to you later grandpa fudge
 
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