Predator hunting 2020-2021

[JamieZ]

Looking to start predator hunting this winter. One problem .... I have no idea where to even begin besides getting permission to hunt land. LOL

Best way? A good electronic caller, a thermal mono and a high dollar thermal scope or a cheaper night vision scope. When it comes to the scope I said what I said because if you dont spend big bucks on the thermal scope you wont be able to identify at distance exactly what you are shooting at but if you buy a NV scope for $500 to $1200 you will absolutely be able to identify what you are shooting at.

I paid $1800 for my thermal scope and have thought about going back to night vision because its a low end scope, sensor wise,,,pixel wise and I cant identify anything past 100yds

I say thermal mono because it will allow you to find a target/animal faster than any other way, even with a low quality one like I have. I have a Pulsar Axion XM30,,,paid 1800 for it. You dont need a high quality sensor for just finding the animals.

Cheapest way to start is with mouth calls, a red scanning light and a red scope light.

Though Ive always used an electronic caller, I used the red lights for years and have called in fox and coyote,,,,,did I ever get a coyote,,,NO. Shot and missed because I would get to excited when one would come in.

 

[Shoots100]

Thats good, nobody wants to see you twiddle your tweeter.

And why I hunt at night !!!

 

[Tisto]

And why I hunt at night !!!

At some point I was going to see if you wanted to meet at one of my hunting spots for a few sets, but I think I've changed my mind.

 

[Tisto]

Looking to start predator hunting this winter. One problem .... I have no idea where to even begin besides getting permission to hunt land. LOL

Although thermal and night vision are game changers, for years I hunted with a red or a green kill light mounted on a good scoped rifle. With snow on the ground, a good scope will allow you to see amazingly well. Eyes light up with red or green lights. I still use both red and green lights for scanning and signaling other hunters.

Red lights penetrate rain and snow without reflecting better than green, but green illuminates better when the weather is clear. This has been discussed in a different thread.

If you're interested in purchasing a kill light or scanning lights, contact me and I will put you in touch with a guy in Geneva N.Y. that custom makes predator hunting lights. I have 3 of his lights and they are great, not to mention they cost half of the lights from Wicked or Cyclops and the other big names. Personally, I think they far out perform them as well.

 

[pramaglia]

My Coonhound would not come back inside last night. She was on the scent of something. So when I pulled my trail cam card this morning this is what was on it. I have a camera aimed at my burn pile and the woods behind my house. Is this what I think it is? A coyote in my yard?

 

[Tisto]

I think that's your neighbor's poodle wearing a coyote costume. He probably was horny and came over looking for some action from your hound.

Bait and shoot.

 

[Saltwater60]

I have no problem with anyone shooting a fox at all. I just find them beautiful and fascinating and I won’t shoot one. Kind of like an owl or a frog. There’s just animals I really like and find very cool and won’t hurt them unless absolutely necessary. Now a coyote is shoot one any chance I get. No reason really just personal preference. I like head headed women too so maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[Tisto]

Went out last night ( New Year's Eve ). What a spectacular night. It was 24° with absolutely no wind. The nearly full moon was obscured by clouds, but produced enough light to see rather well. There was about 3-4" of snow on the ground and it had developed a hard crust with about 1" of powder on top. The first set was a bust. I no sooner got set up to start calling and i heard other hunters just across the street. I could actually hear them talking and they began to call. They had the volume set to unbelieveable levels. No dying rabbit in the world makes that much noise. I think they were trying to call the coyotes in Iowa. I packed up and went to a second location where I managed to draw the interest of some deer. They wandered across the field to check out my Foxpro. The random movement of the decoy had them bewildered. They sniffed it and stamped their feet at it, then casually wandered further down the field. The third set was beautiful. I set the Foxpro 50 yards into the field and climbed up in a treestand that overlooks the driveway and the field. I drew the interest of a coyote shortly after getting settled. I had him interested in the distressed kitten call. I spotted him back in the hedgerow making his way toward the sound. From my elevated position I could see him, but he could not have seen the caller . Once he crested the hill, he hung up there. He moved closer to get a look, then back again. Left, right, closer, stand and stare. He hung up about 150 yards from me up in the tree. The caller was a bit to the right of the line between he and I. It is completely possible that he could see my movement up in the tree and that is why he didn't commit to the attack.

 

[squib]

Tisto those images are from a 340 thermal unit? What distance was the target?

 

[Tisto]

He was about 150 yards out. The pictures are from my FLIR Thermosight PTS 536. Base magnification is 4x.

Is that what youre asking, or are you looking for the specs of the scope ?

 

[squib]

He was about 150 yards out. The pictures are from my FLIR Thermosight PTS 536. Base magnification is 4x.

Is that what youre asking, or are you looking for the specs of the scope ?

I'm trying to decide between a 340/640 optic. It seems 340 is good for detection and 640 is better for identification.

 

[stokes]

Thats the view thru the rifle scope? Why didnt you move the crosshairs a little to the right and take him out?

 

[JamieZ]

I'm trying to decide between a 340/640 optic. It seems 340 is good for detection and 640 is better for identification.

If I could twist my arm hard enough so that it hurts as much as yanking money out of my savings to buy the 640,,,,,,I would do it in a heart beat. Huge difference in clarity between 340 and 640. There is a couple of videos on here somewhere from Shoots100 that were done with his Pulsar XP38. They are beautiful and the video is always worse than what you actually see.

My scope is a 384x288 and the 640 blows it away. Looking through mine compared to looking through Shoots100 scope,,, makes mine look like I bought it from Kmart

 

[Tisto]

Thats the view thru the rifle scope? Why didnt you move the crosshairs a little to the right and take him out?

The pictures are from the first time he stepped into the clear. I had not yet identified him as a coyote. It could have been the neighbor's dog for all I knew at that point. Add to that, the animal is on the horizon of a field. No backstop there, not a safe shot. Also, had I shot him there, he would have quickly disappeared over the horizon making finding him a chore. I try not to play that game at night.

I stopped back there yesterday during the day for a little while. There was a spot of leaves and dirt that I noticed when I was walking in that was all dug up that I wanted to get a better look at to see what it was. Turned out to be something digging at a woodchuck hole. No identifiable prints. Anyway, I walked over to the spot where the coyote was in the pictures and looked back at the treestand. The laser rangefinder said it was 182 yards. A bit further than I thought.

 

[squib]

If I could twist my arm hard enough so that it hurts as much as yanking money out of my savings to buy the 640,,,,,,I would do it in a heart beat. Huge difference in clarity between 340 and 640. There is a couple of videos on here somewhere from Shoots100 that were done with his Pulsar XP38. They are beautiful and the video is always worse than what you actually see.

My scope is a 384x288 and the 640 blows it away. Looking through mine compared to looking through Shoots100 scope,,, makes mine look like I bought it from Kmart

I know how you feel, I have a 640 thermal and keep going back and forth with need/want conundrum. I'm in the market for a thermal clip-on that won't make me more poorer.

 

[JamieZ]

I know how you feel, I have a 640 thermal and keep going back and forth with need/want conundrum. I'm in the market for a thermal clip-on that won't make me more poorer.

Its easy for me not to buy one,,,,,,,,I cant seem to shoot anything but fox.

Last night within 10 seconds of getting out of the truck I could of shot one.

Though last night I did get some coyotes to come in but my wind wasnt right and they smelled me, they didnt end up giving me any shots. They just kept popping their heads out of the woods about 50-75yds away. I didnt see it but one circled me and let out a screeching yelp about 15yds behind me and about 15yds away from my buddies sliding glass door.

 

[Shoots100]

I know how you feel, I have a 640 thermal and keep going back and forth with need/want conundrum. I'm in the market for a thermal clip-on that won't make me more poorer.

I went the Thermal/NV clip on route years ago and that's why I don't trust them.
They work great, as long as you don't remove them.
While it's nice to be able to use your day optic, it's not so nice when you accidentally bump your rifle and don't know if you knocked it out of alignment and trust that it's culminated after installing it.
I never went into the field with a clip on, without at least checking zero during the day.
That's why I have a Thermion with a good QD mount.
Pulsar came out with the krypton Obj mount thermal and I've heard good things about it, but it seems they only want our friends across the pond to enjoy it.
640 res x 12um BAE core, 8 hr battery, no issues with holding zero after removal and mounting.
Not cheap, but that's the price you pay for quality.
There's also the super hogster and I've also found some decent deals for demo units around.

 

[FrankenCub]

Though I might have had an easy coyote last night. I'm in the bathroom taking a dump and my wife is yelling to me there's eyes running back and forth in the yard, was seeing them on the camera. IR was showing their eyes.
I rush to pinch it off, scramble to get my pants up and throw 2 rounds on the AR.
Sneek out on the deck, nothing, anywhere. Walked up the yard a bit to find tracks everywhere. Fuckin turkeys
Lmao

 

[squib]

I went the Thermal/NV clip on route years ago and that's why I don't trust them.
They work great, as long as you don't remove them.
While it's nice to be able to use your day optic, it's not so nice when you accidentally bump your rifle and don't know if you knocked it out of alignment and trust that it's culminated after installing it.
I never went into the field with a clip on, without at least checking zero during the day.
That's why I have a Thermion with a good QD mount.
Pulsar came out with the krypton Obj mount thermal and I've heard good things about it, but it seems they only want our friends across the pond to enjoy it.
640 res x 12um BAE core, 8 hr battery, no issues with holding zero after removal and mounting.
Not cheap, but that's the price you pay for quality.
There's also the super hogster and I've also found some decent deals for demo units around.

I am looking into a Flir Apollo. I have a dedicated NV bridge on my rifle chassis so I hope i won't have an issue.

 

[JamieZ]

I am looking into a Flir Apollo. I have a dedicated NV bridge on my rifle chassis so I hope i won't have an issue.

Are you looking at a used one? Reason I ask is because I tried to look it up to check it out and everything was coming up as discontinued.

Are you reluctant to buy a discontinued item? I ask because I would be worried about repair if something were to go wrong with the unit you purchased.

Did Flir Apollo make these for Armasight?

I see they made them in different sensor resolutions,,,Im going to assume you are looking at the 640

 

[squib]

Are you looking at a used one? Reason I ask is because I tried to look it up to check it out and everything was coming up as discontinued.

Are you reluctant to buy a discontinued item? I ask because I would be worried about repair if something were to go wrong with the unit you purchased.

Did Flir Apollo make these for Armasight?

I see they made them in different sensor resolutions,,,Im going to assume you are looking at the 640

Yes, used/discontinued, Flir has left the civilian market I believe. Looking at an Apollo Pro 640 30hz unit.

 

[Shoots100]

I am looking into a Flir Apollo. I have a dedicated NV bridge on my rifle chassis so I hope i won't have an issue.

The Apollo is a good thermal, but with FLIR giving the middle finger to the civilian market, I would be hesitant at buying anything from them that's been discontinued for awhile.
If you found a good deal on one, you should call FLIR and see if they'll service it before purchasing.
With other options available that have product support and a warranty, It would have to be almost free for me to look at buying any FLIR product.

 

[JamieZ]

Tonight was the greatest night in a long time!!! LoL

So I took the advice from a friend on this board. Have I ever met him? No,,,,but he is a friend.

One of the things he told me, with all the advice Ive gotten from him, was to go out as soon as it gets dark/dusk because thats when he shoots the little Wile E. Coyotes. I always go out at 9pm or later and I rarely see them.

So tonight I'm in the spot where I am going to make my stand, at around 6pm.

I set everything up, then I sat there in silence for roughly 10 mins then decided to play a coyote locator sound,,, coyote siren. Never played it before but it sounded nothing like a yote but like a car siren at its highest pitch and not descending till the call was ready to stop playing. I was like wtf

The caller stops and 2 seconds later I think I here a yelp way off in the distance,,,not a howl but just a yelp and it for sure seemed far away. Like I could barely hear it.

I wait like 5 mins and decide to play another coyote locator call, coyote serenade howls.

As soon as the call ends I hear a yelp and the yelp came from my downwind side and it was close. I would have to say within 200yds.

So I start looking that way through the thermal mono and sure enough Wile E. Coyote pops out of the woods and Im like O'fuck and put the mono down, grab the gun and the tripod and start positioning it that way. Look through the thermal scope and I dont see anything. Picked my mono back up and immediately see it walking another 5ft. I look through the scope again and I could barely see it. Hit the button on the scope to light up Picture In a Picture mode. Which basically is a little square that is magnified in your display.

Now Im really worried that the canine varmint is going to smell me because like I said he/she was downwind of me and roughly 150yds away. Though I did spray some buck urine on the weeds when I setup but I wasnt thinking about that.

So I immediately pulled the trigger. I saw it jolt to the left and then it yelped.

Me saying it was the greatest night in a long time,,,,,,was me being sarcastic.

Did I hit it? Fuck if I know. I didnt even walk over there because it was dark, there was a ton of water over that way from the pond being flooded over and it just seemed like I missed. I continued to play more sounds but heard nothing else.

What mystifies me,, is the fact that it yelped 3 seconds after the shot. Did I hit it? Was it another yote in the thick ass brush? Who freaking knows.

Here is another question to myself. Is my scope sighted in? I thought it was but packed up my shit and drove to another location.

As soon as I got to the next location I see what I think is a fox sitting upright, roughly 150yds away. I setup the tripod. Took my time aiming,,,,pulled the trigger and I missed. WTF !!!

Thats what leads me to believe the scope could be off.

This is a long post but Im going to continue with a little advice from a first time Thermal owner.

When buying a monocular for scanning I can only say that you would be happy with the one I purchased. Like Ive said previously its a Pulsar Axion XM30. I really like it but..........

When buying a scope,,,save your money for something worthwhile. Some thermal owners might not agree with me when I say this but this is my opinion. Buy a scope that starts out at, at least 3 power and buy a scope with at least a medium range sensor or a high end sensor. My pulsar RXQ30v scope doesnt please me. It might be because its a bottom line sensor or maybe its because the power starts out to low. Starts at 1.6. You can up the power on my scope which is what you see in the picture in a picture mode but the pixels go to shit.

I think if I would of known then before purchasing the RXQ30v,,,,, I would of saved my money or took more out of the savings to purchase a Pulsar XP which has a 1024x768 display resolution and 640x480 sensor resolution,,,,,,,where mine is 640x480 display resolution and the sensor resolution is 384x288 . It might not seem like much but its a huge difference. Huge difference in clarity,,,which could also help when starting at low power but I would still start at 3.

My scope is only good for a 100yds if that.

Anyways,,,,,it was great night even know I missed 2 canines. I had a blast and plan on using more of what I learned to try again tomorrow night if I can think of a spot to go where the wind will be in my favor.

Oh one more thing about buying a scope,,,,,Make sure it has video capabilities!!!! My mono does but I was to damn excited when I saw the yote to even think about hitting the button. My scope doesn't have video, which is another reason Im starting to hate it

 

[squib]

JamieZ have you ever considered head mounted thermal monocular?

 

[JamieZ]

JamieZ have you ever considered head mounted thermal monocular?

I havent.

Though before I had thermal I was using a head mounted red scanning light.

Which I now use when Im walking out to my spot and use it to setup

 

[stokes]

Did I hit it? Fuck if I know. I didnt even walk over there because it was dark, there was a ton of water over that way from the pond being flooded over and it just seemed like I missed. I continued to play more sounds but heard nothing else.

You didnt walk over there because it was dark? And wet?So what if you knew you did hit it? You would just leave it there because its dark and wet?Thats great, lets just keep feeding the anti hunting agenda.

 

[JamieZ]

You didnt walk over there because it was dark? And wet?So what if you knew you did hit it? You would just leave it there because its dark and wet?Thats great, lets just keep feeding the anti hunting agenda.

Ive fed the anti-hunting agenda every summer since I was 5. I kill other varmints called woodchucks and leave them where they lie. Kill anywhere between 2 and 20 every time I go out.

As far as the coyote,,,Im pretty sure I missed because like I said if your left leaning attitude would of allowed you to read better,,,,,I went to another spot and shot at the same distance and missed the fox that I was aiming at while being totally relaxed.

How about instead of being a social progressive left leaning democrat you stay off this thread and worry more about the bugs you are stepping on and the cows and chickens you are eating

There is no reason to ruin a perfectly good thread with non-sense

 

[stokes]

Left leaning?How do you figure? Woodchucks are destructive vermin, I shoot a lot of them myself.Coyotes, not so much.How about instead of being a pussy afraid to go check in the dark and wet,you stay home at night.You should have just said "I missed" instead of making public how as a hunter you just randomly shoot anything that moves for the pleasure of killing and leave it to rot.There is a big difference between vermin and predators.

 

[Criticalt]

Got this small female the evening of 12/27.
Was set up with the rifle pointing down wind, so of course, it came from the opposite direction.
Pic taken with the AGM TM-384.

View attachment 101540

A glow in the dark Chupacabra!!!!!
Them things is nasty!!!!!!!!

 

[Criticalt]

Idon't hunt fox because the hunt club chases them around here and I love the sound of the hounds in pursuit and the riders after them. Pretty cool.
Robin

I have a horse and a Chihuahua..... Where do I sign up?