Calling predators to a light at night can be a challenge. Some states don’t allow it, and in those that do, working a light, call, and firearm in coordination is nearly impossible when hunting alone. Teaming up is one method, yet don’t forget combining a coyote mini-hunt with the spring season.
If you’re in the woods at the first hint of daylight, blowing a soft rabbit call can bring a coyote right to your location without spooking turkeys from the roost. The same is true for end-of-day hunts in states that allow afternoon hunting.
My Hunting partner, Tom Haas, and I had been waiting all year for an opportunity to night hunt coyotes by a full moon. A cloudless sky with little to no wind and a snow covered landscape make for the perfect conditions. The odds of all this happening on the same night in North Dakota are slightly worse than winning the Mega Millions lottery or taking a selfie with bigfoot. However, the stars aligned and it happened the first weekend in December of 2014.
Calling to coyotes during turkey season can be very effective.
We geared up around 6:30 p.m. at the farm and headed out to our first spot. The temperature was about 15 below zero and wind was out of the NW at 2 to 3 mph. Moon rise that evening was just before 5 p.m., which meant we had plenty of shooting light by the time we set up our first stand. We decided to start out on a large slough about 3 miles from the farm. Being careful to approach the lake undetected, we walked in from about 250 yards down an abandoned road and positioned ourselves on the edge of the ice in the snow. I placed our new FOXPRO Shockwave (we paid for it with fur money earned last year) out front and 50 yards to the left. I started with a lone howl, then sat quiet for about 3 minutes, then cued up “lightning jack” on low volume for the next 2 to 3 minutes. I stopped calling and sat quiet for a minute, then started the call back up a bit louder and ran it for about 10 minutes.
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