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Author
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Topic: Midwest night hunting discusion page #1
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted April 01, 2010 11:00 AM
I'm putting this here because Jason's forum is restricted and I get inquiries that I want to refer over there, but the info is worthwhile and this is completely open, so I think it should be available here. read on
Posted August 27, 2009 05:05 PM
In 4 years of operation, Midwest Predator Hunters has accumulated 7,000 topics containing approximately 55,000 posts. In my opinion, you just landed on one of the most informative pieces of cyber-space we've ever chewed up.
This thread contains the writings of three men that I have great admiration and respect for in the art of calling predators. I've been fortunate enough to share some great discussions, a couple campfires, and even a few stands with these men over the years; I hope this thread conveys some of the great information I've absorbed from them myself.
Separately, these guys approached a list of topics submitted by our members, and gave their best advice. They did not collaborate on the topics, so their input may be identical... and it may be very different. These are the experiences and suggestions of men who've forgotten more than most of us will ever know about night hunting predators. Take them for what they're worth-
Important Legend to Color-Coding:
Input submitted by Steve Craig will appear in yellow text.
Input submitted by Danny Batastini will appear in pink text.
Input submitted by Leonard Bosinski will appear in white text.
Topics for Discussion: As they pertain to Night Hunting.
A) Hunting with Lights
B) Hunting with Night Vision
C) Hunting with Moonlight
D) Shotguns
E) Rifles
F) High Racks
G) Most Productive Timeframes
H) Moon Phases
I) Shot In the Dark
J) Calling In General
K) Predator Behavior
L) General Input
M) Parting Thoughts
An Introduction to our Authors:
Steve Craig-
Born in Indiana in 1952. Married in 1971 and have 6 children. Own a Paint Contracting Company. Steve Craig Custom Ptg. LLC
Trapped and hunted all my life. Became a Professional Hunter and Trapper in 1979 to 1985. Ran a private Predator Control Program during that time also. Hunted, trapped and snared in several states across the USA. Co-authored a Fox Trapping book in 1983 with R.C. Smith.
Proficient in the use of Foothold traps, Cable Restraints, Live Traps, Restraining Devices, M44's, Coyote Getters, Aerial Gunning, Predator Calling. Started calling in Indiana at the age of 12. Learned how to Night Call from Winston Burnham in 1967. Everything I know about Night Calling came from him and he gets the credit.
Moved to Arizona in 1985. Trapped in AZ until the loss of trapping on public land in 1994. Applied and received a Guides license in 1996 and started Arizona Predator Hunts. One of the first to advertise calling predators. Instructed over 200 students in trapping and calling predators during that time. Called in over 100 Mtn. Lions in 11 years.
Shut down AzPredatorHunts in 2007, to spend more time with the Wife and family. Due to illness was not able to trap in 2008. Have written many articles in various publications over the years, including....The FurTaker Mag.; Trapper and Predator Caller; Predator Hunting.
Danny Batastini-
I have been predator hunting/calling for 45 years. An article that I read in a magazine written by the Burnham Brothers inspired me to try predator hunting. I have done all of my night hunting in California and Nevada but have hunted Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora Mexico, Baja California, Utah, Wyoming and a few other western states.
Leonard Bosinski-
Hello everybody. My name is Leonard Bosinski. I have been involved with predator boards, on the Internet for ten or twelve years. I started with the CSVCA message board and was a moderator on The Shade Tree and Posse Country. I was a charter member of Predator Masters, hand picked by Will Craig to be Administrator when he knew that he was dying. Since then, late 2001, I have run my own board, Huntmasters; the third edition of which is known as The New Huntmastersbbs.
However, before all that stuff, I joined the The California Varmint Callers Association way back in 1968. I was a member of the Covina Chapter, and the San Gabriel Chapter. The focus was on competitive hunting, primarily. I served over ten years as Hunt Chairman of the State and served a few terms as President of San Gabriel Chapter, as well.
I have hunted predators, mostly the western states, Canada, Mexico and jackals in South Africa. Their habits are so similar that I was calling them "coyotes" by the second day.
These days,I don't take it as seriously, occasionally enter the World Hunt, and the St Francis hunt in Kansas, but nothing like before. These days, I try to help with the finer points on the Internet and have met some great people. I really enjoy invitations to hunt all over the country, with folks I only know from the boards. It's always rewarding to put a face to those I only knew previously as a screen name.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jrbhunter, August 27, 2009 08:01 PM
Posts: 6159 | Location: MPH Headquarters | Registered: September 02, 2005
Jrbhunter
Charter Member #1
Posted August 27, 2009 05:10 PM Hide Post
A) Hunting with Lights
Steve Craig-
I began my career using an old Carbide Miners lamp. It was all I had at that time. But back then (mid sixties), that was all you needed to call and kill predators.
Today is a different ballgame. When I hunt by myself, I still use a simple Nitelite Miners lamp. I do use and prefer a red lens on it and I use this to do my scanning for eyes, always keeping the direct spot slightly off the ground level, only using the perimeter glow to see incoming eyes. I leave the light on all during the stand, constantly scanning around me.
When eyes are spotted, I continue to call to bring the animal in closer. Once the critter is within shooting distance(30 to 40 yards for shotgun, 150 or less for rifle), I then raise my rifle with it laying on its side, turn on the Mercury activated switch, then when ready to shoot, simply raise the scope to my eye, a bright WHITE spot comes on automatically, so as to identify my target, and shoot! When using the shotgun, I simply use the Hat light.
Some may agree and some may disagree with this setup, but it is SIMPLE, INEXPENSIVE, and EASY to use. AND IT WORKS FOR ME!
When hunting with a friend, I prefer to have one man run the caller or call, and run a handheld light. The other is the shooter. When a critter comes within shooting range, the light man signals the shooter to get ready. Once the shooter sees the red eyes in his scope, he calls for the light man to “burn him” or light the critter with white light to identify. Again very simple and easy to do.
This system found its roots in California many years ago.
A) Hunting with Lights
Danny Batastini-
I don't use powerful lights, 150,000 cp or less is sufficient for predator hunting at night despite what others may say. The object is to light up eyes on incoming animals not burn the brush around them.
I have hunted with people who used rheostats. Unless you are using really powerful lights, I don't believe rheostats are necessary.
A light should be moved 360 degrees non stop on a stand. Never turn the light off on an animal that's coming in. Once the animal is shot, it is the lighter's responsibility to mark the area of the downed animal and continue lighting for a few minutes. It is also best to light slightly above the top of an incoming animal so you can just make out their eyes, until the shooter is ready to shoot.
A) Hunting with Lights
Leonard Bosinski-
First, the hardware itself. There are many lights available and they all work, to some degree. Lightforce is a good place to start. Forget the big flamethrowers, get something light weight and a four inch diameter is perfectly adequate.
Of course, it could use a few modifications! The first thing would be an adequate shroud. This protects the immediate area around the light man from "bounce back" and is necessary to shield the shooter's scope when you both line up for a shot. You want the light to be to the left of a right handed shooter and forward of the scope, when it's time to shoot.
But, for most of the stand, you are not snuggled up to the rifleman and the shroud helps to protect him from reflections and shine off his head, etc. The light man doesn't have to worry about any of this because he is always behind the light, but as he turns in the 360 degrees, at some point, he can reflect off his partner and that is not good in terms of the animal or the partner. One thing to remember is if you are accidentally illuminated by the lightman, (it's gonna happen) resist the impulse to suddenly duck out of the way. This is exactly the kind of movement that an animal can, and will pick up on. So, if it happens, remain perfectly still, and (then) get out of the way before the next pass.
A good light needs features that you won't find, off the shelf. We use terms like "flipper light" and "superposed" to describe lights that do at least two things that a single light cannot do.
The flipper uses cables and a lever to flip open a colored disc, exactly like the choke on a carburetor. This allows you to switch very quickly from a colored light to a bright "burn light" practically instantaneously. The colored lens will make the light appear dimmer and less intimidating for the animal. The burn light is strictly for the shot and ideally, should not be pointed at the animal for more than (?) five seconds, or so.
The superposed light has two sealed beam bulbs, each in it's own cylinder. These need to be calibrated to the exact same spot and then permanently secured via spotwelding or silicone. The trigger needs to be a center off, double throw, or just an inline momentary contact, or "maintained" if you prefer, to activate the burn light.
The superposed is the type I prefer for one reason. A tight spot is great for burning an animal but when you choke it down with a pot or a lens, it's still a spot and it doesn't cover much area. Therefore, you need to be busy and move it all hither and yon, not missing the cliff or the dry wash, or any other irregular terrain feature. With the superposed, one light is the bright spotlight and the other is not a spotlight, at all, but a wide 55 degree fog light. A fog light is so much easier to hunt with and nobody seems to have discovered this fact? It has a narrow band, vertically, and a wide "spray" that allows you to move it very slowly, and yet still cover a huge amount of ground, almost effortlessly.
No other single light, (that I am aware of) allows you to hunt with what is, (bar none) the very best design for night hunting. Yes, there are such as Maglights that change focus, but they are vastly inferior to the simple fog light element. Therefore, in my opinion, it is worth the trouble; but then again, I used to be quite a nut at this stuff, and I realize that it might be too much effort for a lot of us.
Well, what can I say? Night hunters are experimenters. We have to be because nobody understands the application. I have seen hundreds of custom designs, no two alike, even my own. Always have a spare light. This is excellent advice for those that hunt far from home or take extended trips.
How to use a spotlight. Sounds simple but most people do it wrong. To begin a stand, start behind you and swing the light slowly in a complete counterclockwise circle, (if you are right handed) and then swing it around to the starting point in a clockwise direction. Slow and steady and keep doing it. This is before you start a sound, to check the area for animals that just happen to be close by. After a couple passes while lip squeaking, you can begin a series or turn on the machine.
Some people like to pause, turn the light off and begin another calling sequence. I DON'T. Keep the light on for the entire stand and especially after the vehicle is started, but before you move it. If you need to turn the light off, to put on gloves, for instance, bring it back behind you, turn it off and wait a bit before setting it down. A hot element will break easily with a small bump. Never point the light straight up in the air. This could easily spook a coyote a half a mile away.
If you are working an animal, never let him see you turn off the light. Do it pointed in the complete opposite direction. If you have a cat, never take the light off of him. Keep him in the halo, of course, but be sure to keep the eyes illuminated at all times. Bad things happen with you take it off, and he may never look back again. Keep him focused on the light. A cat is not very light shy, so don't worry about it, unless he is very close and then it is a different situation. He is not inclined to look at the light because he can see everything in your halo and doesn't need to look at the light, any more. Now, you need to light him up and look at the light with special methods. The sound of scratching, or a clunk on the roof, tapping sounds, if there is a tree branch nearby, rustle it, or shake it...stuff like that. That really lights them up!
Now, if the reader is beginning to think that lights and their application is important, he would be right. There is nothing more important about hunting at night than the light, and anything you can do to improve the equipment is a plus. The whole theory of light work could possibly fill a decent book?
It should not take very long to identify various animals by the eyes and their movements. This comes with a little experience. There is always discussion about eye color, coyote eyes appear brilliant blue and cats looking yellow or green. But if there are two people watching the approach, there is a good possibility that they don't agree on the color, so that theory doesn't have much value. It has even less value when you are using a red lens. They all, (pretty much) look the same sort of amber shade.
So, you need to trust movements, assuming he is too far away to see the animals body. A coyote will take a direct approach most of the time. At some point, he will decide to circle downwind. It could be at 400 yards, or 40 yards, but he will eventually go the shortest route to get your wind; assuming he hasn't stopped and offered a clear shot before that notion occurs to him. If you think that coyotes don't always go downwind, you haven't observed them very much at night. There are solutions; maybe we will have a chance to talk about it a little later?
Fox and cats can be grouped in the same general category, as far as the reaction to the light and not addressing their reactions to sounds. A cat approaches deliberately (most often) and wanders his way down a trail that you may not be able to see, but he does, and it does not always result in a direct approach. A cat will never deliberately circle downwind. Yes, they may appear downwind and yes, he can smell you, but he won't leave, as will a coyote. He just doesn't recognize the threat and he is never afraid. They don't run off, they sneak away.
Anyway, the cat will not go downwind and they take a more zigzag approach and it is "generally" slower than both the coyote and the fox. A fox will likely hang around for quite a while and my practice is to leave them alone until I am fairly sure that there isn't a coyote or a cat in the vicinity. Then, go ahead and take him; it will have no effect on another animal that is out of shootable range and hasn't been spotted yet.
How to kill an animal with a partner, at night.
Bring the light close to the shooter as described previously. Make sure that he sees the animal and has him in the scope. Then wait for him to ask for the burn light for final identification and the shot. Turn on the spotlight immediately when he softly says: "burn him" and hopefully, there will be a shot, usually within seconds. Watch for indications; he falls, disappears, or you hear the impact. Make sure he is down. Mark the animal carefully and continue hunting while the shooter reloads. That's really all there is to it.
Posts: 6159 | Location: MPH Headquarters | Registered: September 02, 2005
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31467 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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