With Turkey Season just around the corner, you're likely patterning your shotgun, checking out new camo, and polishing your decoys. However, if you truly want to increase your odds of success, you ought to be out there hunting coyotes. While the fur market for their hides has plummeted, and you’d have to be mighty brave to indulge in consuming their flesh, culling the predator population is crucial for harvesting more birds. As a casual coyote hunter at best, I've put together a kit that cuts just the right corners but certainly punches above its weight class.
Like hogs, very few restrictions apply to hunting coyotes, but, of course, check your local regulations before following any advice. In most cases, the use of thermal devices is allowed, making nighttime hunting a viable option. I understand the night. I know, cracking open your wallet for a rifle scope is tough when it comes to killing a dog, but products like the Wraith Mini Thermal make it a fair bit easier. With an MSRP of just $2,099, it offers 384 resolution, common features with other optics in its class. Above all, it’s simple to use, and has an intuitive control set. It also records video (or stills) to allow you to capture the hunt and relive the action.
The Sightmark Wraith Mini Thermal is an excellent optic for any nocturnal hunt.
Of course, spotting coyotes only comes after you get one to come within range, which is where a quality game call comes in. Luckily, the best in the business is just a stone's throw away, allowing me to support a hometown hero while devastating the song dog crop. With close to a dozen guided coyote hunts under my belt, I have yet to find a professional hunter that doesn’t run a Fox Pro electronic call. I like the mid-tier Hellcat Pro, as it comes pre-programmed with more sounds than I’ll ever use, doesn’t have any moving parts to break, and is loud enough for my neighbors to know when I’m up late killing yotes. It comes with the TX-1000 controller, which displays a full menu of available calls and allows you to set your favorites for easy scrolling and switching. Typically, I place the call a few feet off the ground, about 25 yards out from my stand, and this control has no trouble reaching it. Additionally, the Hellcat Pro has a built-in decoy, which, even at night, generates enough motion to catch a curious mutt’s eye.
The Hellcat Pro has a diverse array of calls and is trusted by hunters nationwide.
While I like my calls loud, I like my guns quiet. I seldom have a shot beyond 100 yards in my woods, so using .300 Blackout makes the most sense. These days, there are enough parts lying around to build your own, which is precisely what I did with Hornady's Subsonic Sub-X load. This quiet, subsonic round ensures both reliability and precision, with sub-MOA groups, making my ammo selection an easy choice. Additionally, it’s one of the only projectiles that expand at these reduced speeds, ensuring lethality accompanies silence. Sealing the deal is a HuxWrx FLOW 7.62 Ti Suppressor, which is undoubtedly in a price class above all of the aforementioned gear. However, when it comes to your health, should there really be a budget? As you’ll have to rely more on your sense of hearing during the evening hours, earmuffs are out of the question. At the same time, suppressors plus ARs equals blowback, exposing you to lead fumes and worse. This can is built with HuxWrx’s Flow-Through technology, which pushes the nasty business out the muzzle instead of down your windpipe. Nothing forces weakside shooting like hunting, so odds are, one day, you’ll have to fire off your left shoulder. Using a can without this tech will put your face right in line with this blast path, leaving you gasping for air after you pull the trigger. Trust me, this is money well spent.
HuxWrx's Flow-Through technology revolutionizes suppressors by minimizing gas blowback for a cleaner shooting experience.
This kit has proven effective in numerous evening hunts and is just plain fun to practice with when I’m not hunkered down in a wood pile or balancing items in a tree stand. Above all, it keeps me sharp during the off-season and reduces my competition for a delicious turkey dinner. Nighttime coyote hunting is just the excuse you need to incorporate thermal imaging into your arsenal. However, be warned: once you pop a dog through a viewfinder, it’s going to be hard to go back to anything else.
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