Predator Season 2025-2026

JamieZ

JamieZ

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I thought maybe someone I know would have started this thread, seeing how he was done staying accurate shooting mice and was back shooting coyote.

Either way, I'll start it because I had a hot night last night.

Told this girl at work if she stopped over, I would make her some smoked grilled chicken wings and take her coyote hunting because I knew she liked to deer hunt.

We got setup out in the field.
She wasn't hunting, but she was using my buddy thermal mono, so she could see everything I was doing.
We gabbed for about 5 mins, and then I played rabbit distress. Then what seemed like 3 mins was probably actually 30 seconds.

3 coyotes came running out of the thicket with my scent blowing directly at them. When they got to about a 100yds they knew something wasn't right and turned around.

I shot one when he stopped at 208yds, one when he stopped at 225yds and the last one, which is when I finally turned my video on, at 330yds.

*Video audio is for adults only*

View attachment 3 Coyote 10-10-25.mp4

10-10-25 D1.jpg

10-10-25 D2.jpg

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FP1201

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I know a couple guys up here that night hunt with thermals and or night vision...tie up a lot of money fast, but looks like a lot of fun!
 
JamieZ

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FP1201 said:
I know a couple guys up here that night hunt with thermals and or night vision...tie up a lot of money fast, but looks like a lot of fun!
Click to expand...
It is a lot of fun, and more fun with friends. Good quality thermals have come down considerably. I paid 1500 for a buddy scope, that is as good as the one I paid 3200 for, 3 or 4 years ago.
 
JamieZ

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I came real close today building another gun, because X-Caliber has their once a year sale going on till tomorrow. 30% off carbon fiber barrels. Normally their sales are only 20% off. I was going to build a 22 Nosler, but then I thought about it. I don't really need it, my 204 seems to drop them with the 40gr Vmax's pretty damn well. I'm telling you all this so I can convince myself not to order a custom barrel :)
 
Shoots100

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Well my season started off slow being it was so hot and bright with the Harvest moon.
It got luke warm as the temps cooled and Harvest moon went away and I was able to drop two females.
Before that happened I was dealing with major heartbreak as dogs were showing up in places I couldn't shoot them.
This is a video of a dog that wouldn't budge from an anti hunting neighbors property.
SJC
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10/18 Lucky One

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Shoots100

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After dealing with the non cooperating dogs I went back to the cabin and took a little siesta.
I got up and went cruising around when I spotted two dogs in a field I could hunt.
Unfortunately after the shot my rifle jammed as my elbow hit the side of the UTV causing me to short stroke the bolt.
That caused me to lose sight of where the dogs ran off to.
I knew I connected as only one dog left the scene, but I couldn't find the one I dropped till the next day when the landowner and I went out and spotted vultures circling.
SJC
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10/18 #1

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Shoots100

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The second dog I got in woods that were just logged about an hours drive north.
The leaves made it a quick and challenging shot, but the 20-250 is a laser beam and I put it right in it's ear.
SJC
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10/18 #2

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Shoots100

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Banner weekend and a personal best for us with eight dogs dropped.
Five on Sat at two locations and three on Sunday at one location.
Didn't recover the non photogenic third dog Sunday, but it dropped and was still for a good amount of time.
When we went to retrieve it a heavy blood trail was going into multiflora thorn bushes so it's staying there.
Needless to say the farmers and landowners were very happy with the results.
SJC
10-25 Quad.jpg
10-25 Solo.jpg
10-26 Dogs.jpg
 
Bustedknees

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I like these post you guys put up. I also just met a guy selling night equipment at the gun show. Its highly interesting for a guy like me that only has a cheap set of Chinese thermal binoculars. If you're willing I'd like to see a good daytime picture of the rifle set-ups. Wondering if these large scopes are odd to get a natural sight picture so high off the receiver.
 
Tisto

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Bustedknees said:
I like these post you guys put up. I also just met a guy selling night equipment at the gun show. Its highly interesting for a guy like me that only has a cheap set of Chinese thermal binoculars. If you're willing I'd like to see a good daytime picture of the rifle set-ups. Wondering if these large scopes are odd to get a natural sight picture so high off the receiver.
Click to expand...
I first bought a Gen2+ nightvision scope a little over 12 years ago with the intent of mounting it on a bolt action .204 Ruger. I quickly found out that the scope would not work on that rifle because of how high it sat. No way to get your cheek down on the stock. So, I did what every red blooded American does, I built an AR15 rifle from the ground up, chambered in .204 Ruger. I mounted the NV on it and that was my first giant leap forward in night hunting. Prior to that, the bolt action .204 wore a really good daytime scope with either a red or green light attached. Of course, back then we used a cassette player with screaming rabbit sounds too...none of today's fancy electronic calls. Next giant leap was a Foxpro. Well, actually, I bought a GIANT POS electronic call and sent it back for a refund first, but that's another story. The Foxpro was a HUGE improvement. Then, as areas opened up to hunting with bigger calibers, I built guns in .223/5.56 and I bought a FLIR thermal. The FLIR was a good scope, but went through batteries fast and I quicklt outgrew it's capabilities. I now own a InfiRay RICO scope and a InfiRay ZOOM handheld mono. They share the same batteries and have the same button layout and menu which makes switching from one to another very easy. I'm happy with the performance of the InfiRay products, although I had a bit of an issue with the RICO

Oops ! Gotta work now. I'll finish this and post pics when I get home this afternoon.
 
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Bustedknees said:
I like these post you guys put up. I also just met a guy selling night equipment at the gun show. Its highly interesting for a guy like me that only has a cheap set of Chinese thermal binoculars. If you're willing I'd like to see a good daytime picture of the rifle set-ups. Wondering if these large scopes are odd to get a natural sight picture so high off the receiver.
Click to expand...
I only use night vision for navigation.
With the plethora of cheap thermal scopes available it makes no sense to purchase night vision or digital night vision.
One reason I prefer the tube style scopes is that they use the same 30mm scope rings as a day scope and can be mounted lower than the box style scopes.
All of my bolt rifles have stocks (Boyds At 1 and Pro varmint in Pic) with adjustable cheek pieces on them now.
The Savage Impulse rifles have receivers with a built in 20Moa rail so even the box style scopes sit lower and I was able to use the high cheek piece of the Accufit stock to fit my needs.
It also helps having a large melon head.
SJC
2025 Impulse.jpg 2024 Fall Predators.jpg
 
Tisto

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Finally back to finish my thoughts. Long day. Where was I ? Oh, yeah...the RICO. After about a year the RICO developed an issue where it would no longer keep an accurate time/date stamp. I sent it back and basically they returned it saying they couldn't repair it. But, they packaged it so poorly that the eyepiece was damaged in transit. Again I returned it with the demand that they fix the time/date as well as the eyepiece. My attorney's handwritten letter and business card as well as a copy of their 5 year warranty in the box. They did actually fix the time/date problem, and repaired as best as possible the eyepiece, and returned it to me, again very poorly packaged. So, honestly, I'm not thrilled with the customer service I received. The ZOOM mono is a newer generation and has been superb. No complaints at all. I suspect that InfiRay has worked the bugs out of the newer scopes by now. They have a reputation of being an excellent scope at a reasonable price. I hope their customer service has improved. Would I buy another ? I'd like to say yes, but I would be lying if I said I would without at least a bit of hesitation.

So, now to show-n-tell.

My first dedicated predator setup. T/C Venture .204 Ruger with kill light attached
20251027_192308.jpg

Then I built this from the ground up. .204 Ruger Wilson Combat barrel, wearing the Gen2+ nightvision
20251027_192533.jpg

After that, I built this .223 Wylde using a Wilson Combat upper and topped it with the RICO thermal
20251027_192826.jpg

And finally I built this just to match my snowcamo clothing. .223 Wylde, Ballistic Advantage barrel. Currently wearing a great daytime scope, but the RICO gets transferred onto it sometimes.
20251027_192931.jpg

All were purposely built for predator hunting. All have ARCA rail plates to attach the gun to a tripod ( except the bolt gun, no ARCA on that )

How well did I do with my paint job ? You be the judge... 20220710_193533.jpg
 
JamieZ

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Bustedknees said:
I like these post you guys put up. I also just met a guy selling night equipment at the gun show. Its highly interesting for a guy like me that only has a cheap set of Chinese thermal binoculars. If you're willing I'd like to see a good daytime picture of the rifle set-ups. Wondering if these large scopes are odd to get a natural sight picture so high off the receiver.
Click to expand...
In case you get too interested, don't buy anything unless you have done your research or spoken with people that have been in the thermal game for a while. It's way too easy to buy junk when you don't understand the specs.

My first thermal was a Pulsar, and it was low on the totem pole price wise. It got excellent reviews,,, but to me,,, it was junk.
www.opticsplanet.com

OpticsPlanet Exclusive Pulsar Core RXQ30V 1.6-6.4x22mm Thermal Imaging Rifle Scope

Shop OpticsPlanet Exclusive Pulsar Core RXQ30V 1.6-6.4x22mm Thermal Imaging Rifle Scope | 4.5 Star Rating on 18 Reviews for OpticsPlanet Exclusive Pulsar Core RXQ30V 1.6-6.4x22mm Thermal Imaging Rifle Scope + Free...
www.opticsplanet.com www.opticsplanet.com

The ones I have now,,, to me,,, they are great. Iray TH50c V2 (Res 640) and a RIX Storm S3 (Res 384)

20250611_195049.jpg 20251031_152313.jpg

If you want to go cheap as you can and get good units. RIX Storm S3 scope and a AGM Taipan 15 for a mono. Cost for both,, about 2500
 
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Tisto

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Holy F was it cold out last night ! I ☆THOUGHT☆about going out for a while...it's barely December and most of my hunting grounds have well over a foot of snow on the ground and last night's temperatures were in the single digits.

Think I'm gonna take up drinking as an alternative hobby.
 
RedBreast21

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Bustedknees said:

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My predator hunting is tough. Woods with hikes to power line runs up hill in the dark sometimes over a mile in then out. All in the dark and on some seriously cold nights at times dragging a 25lbs pack for safety with supplies, water, chest rig, rifle, thermal monocular and sight, caller and of course my clothing and boots. Probably 4k bucks or more. For what? A worthless pelt. Actually I enjoy it. Well sometimes. When I'm successful. Most times they call back at me from a distance. "We're over here bitch". Mocking me and my efforts. :ROFL: :beer:
 
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RedBreast21 said:
My predator hunting is tough. Woods with hikes to power line runs up hill in the dark sometimes over a mile in then out. All in the dark and on some seriously cold nights at times dragging a 25lbs pack for safety with supplies, water, chest rig, rifle, thermal monocular and sight, caller and of course my clothing and boots. Probably 4k bucks or more. For what? A worthless pelt. Actually I enjoy it. Well sometimes. When I'm successful. Most times they call back at me from a distance. "We're over here bitch". Mocking me and my efforts. :ROFL: :beer:
Click to expand...
No, "mocking you" is when they stand in the road behind you looking at you. All you can do is think to yourself "Well, at least I called them in..." then they blow you a raspberry and disappear across the ditch into the hedgerow once again. I don't know why, but one place I hunt, they always seem to bust me by sneaking up behind me. I've changed setups so I could catch them crossing the road, and then they come in from the pine trees atop the hill - once again, busting my setup. I've heard other hunters out there calling many times, so I'm sure the coyotes have seen everybody's tricks and gotten wise.
 
JamieZ

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Night of 12/20/25. Called him in within 5 mins to Squeaky, Squeaky by MFK. Should have waited till he exited the tall weeds because he was headed right to the caller. Should have turned on my laser after I shot him, so I could easily find him. Shouldn't of walked through the brush before knowing it was dead, because I could have been bitten. My lucky charm was with me. She hunted with me when I killed the 3 a couple of weeks ago. This is the 4th kill out of the 2 times I've been out. The landowner is going out today to search in the daylight. What I saw through the scope is much better than the video. Me pulling the trigger scared the shit out of my lucky charm. The shot went off before she ever saw it.

 
JamieZ

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Killed 3 more on 12/22/25. First set, one was sitting in the field, turned on the caller and called him in. The first shot was a miss, but he kept coming. 2nd shot killed him. Ten seconds later another one came from the right, shot it and killed it. Both kills were made by Keith.

We packed up our shit and set up a 1/4 mile down the road. Called another one in, got it to stop and shot it at 185yds. My kill.

Total hunt time between setting up and travel,,, less than an hour.

Music by Jay Webb and Bailey Zimmerman

Bunny Run Keits Kill 12-22-25.jpg Behind Keiths 12-22-25.jpg


 
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