Night hunting is becoming more popular each year. As more data is collected on various animals and technology becomes more sophisticated, night hunting is becoming a highly effective method for controlling nuisance animals and is very enjoyable as a past time. However, there are many hunters of all skill levels that are curious as to how to night hunt. This article serves as a beginner’s guide for those who want to learn about hunting at night.
What Can You Hunt at Night?
Each state has its own laws and regulations on night hunting, so you should always stay up to date on the rules – remember, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Generally speaking, there are a few animals that are more frequently hunted at night and likely have fewer regulations across most jurisdictions. These usually include wild hogs, raccoons, and predators such as coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. These particular animals are popular game for night hunting enthusiasts because of the lax regulation but also because these animals tend to be more active and may be less on edge at night.
One primary reason states tend to have fewer regulations on night hunting these animals is because they are largely perceived as a nuisance. There is often extremely lax regulation over these animals on private property, which is largely due to the havoc they can cause in large quantities. For example, landowners often hunt these animals themselves or give others permission to hunt them in hopes of controlling their population.
Farmers and other landowners can sustain serious property damage due to a large heard of wild hogs, and predators may catch chickens and the like. Larger predators such as coyotes can even kill small livestock such as goats and young cattle. Another species that may be commonly hunted at night includes alligators. Frog gigging is a popular activity, but some may not categorize that with hunting.
One common question is whether you can hunt deer at night? The answer to this is almost always no. In most jurisdictions, killing a deer at night will result in hefty fines. But some states may grant some sort of permit to landowners allowing them to kill deer at night in order to protect their crops. An example of this is Massachusetts, which may provide a permit to landowners to kill deer at night. But that permit is extremely restricted and has strict guidelines for who can kill the deer and when. (Source) These types of permits are not “hunting permits” but rather permits for animal control.
How to See at Night and Still be Effective
There is one necessary element for which night hunters must control – the inability to see in the dark. You can’t shoot what you can’t see – at least not safely. Broadly speaking, there are two primary methods for remedying the inevitable vision issue. The expensive method is using night vision or thermal devices. While this is the most effective method – and arguably the most fun – these devices can be very expensive. The more affordable method is simply using lights.
You may wonder how on earth a hunter could expect to be successful shining a light around at night. Intuitively, you would think the animal would see the light and either not approach your line of sight or run as soon as the light came on. But this is where science and hunting merge once again to secure humans’ place on the top of the food chain. Studies have shown that the way many animals perceive light and colors is different than humans. This has resulted in many products such as red and green lights of various intensities to flourish. However, the best color and methods for using them still holds some debate. That is the topic of this article, here which analyzes which color and level of intensity a light should be for different hunting scenarios.
Night Hunting Methods
Once you choose a method for seeing at night, you must decide the best method for locating the animal. This depends on a number of factors such as the time of year, geographical location, and the type of animal you are hunting.
The methods used may depend on the species of game, but there are two primary methods for hunting at night, which are very similar to those used for day hunting: (1) hunting over bait or a natural food source; and (2) using callers. Using hunting dogs may be an alternative method for some game such as raccoons and even hogs.
-
Night Hunting Over Bait
Utilizing bait and natural food sources is one of the oldest hunting tricks in the book. Many jurisdictions implement regulatory restrictions on hunting over bait, so always double check the applicable law before setting up a bait for any species. When hunting over bait or a natural food source, much of the same tactics used for day hunting can be transferred to night hunting. However, as mentioned above, there are extra caveats that apply to night hunting that day hunters may not encounter.
The inability to see at night is the most significant obstacle. Utilizing night vision and thermal technology is the most effective method, but it is very expensive. As mentioned above, science and technology has helped enable humans to use lights as an inexpensive and relatively effective method for night hunting.
There are several lighting methods. For hunting over bait, there are lights that are designed specifically for feeders. These lights utilize the data regarding light color discussed above, but there is much debate over the best light for this purpose. Check out my recomended feeder lights, here.
When hunting over natural food sources, such as open fields, using lights becomes much more complicated. While a high-quality lighting system may work fairly well for feeder hunting, night vision or thermal is much more effective for scenarios where the animal’s specific location may be uncertain. Make no mistake of the importants of lights anytime you’re hunting at night. This article explains five types of lights I recomend every night hunter have.
-
Using a Predator Caller at Night
Using a predator caller can be a highly effective method for hunting coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and even hogs. But once again, the limited vision aspect of hunting at night must be remedied. Most hunters prefer hunting in an open area such as a field so they can see the animal as it approaches and hopefully get a clean shot, or maybe two.
Animals’ alertness level is drastically inflated when coming in to a predator call – much more so than when feeding. This makes things much more intense and move much faster. While it can be done, this all makes using a light with a predator call even harder. It’s a good idea to have a light attachment on your rifle for taking the shot as well as a hand-held light for scanning the area for glowing eyes.
Obviously, night vision and thermal devices render huge advantages to night hunting with a caller, often even more so than when hunting over a food source.
What Kind of Weapon is Used for Night Hunting?
Hunters can use virtually any weapon they would otherwise use day hunting, provided there are no legal restrictions. However, many hardcore night hunters prefer AR-style assault rifles. These tactical weapons are popular for night hunting for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most popular reason is the ease of adding accessories to them that may help accommodate for the restrictions the darkness bestows.
Some popular and very useful accessories include flashlight attachments and laser sights. The most diehard night hunter may even choose to install a suppressor (or “silencer”), which can dramatically decrease the amount of sound a firearm makes if used with the proper ammunition.
Another reason this type of weapon is so popular is its efficiency. Often, when hunting wild hogs, for example, the hunter may desire to shoot multiple times. Assault rifles are semiautomatic, allowing the hunter to fire multiple rounds simply by releasing and pulling the trigger. These guns are notorious for their magazine capacity and they are designed to allow the hunter to shoot multiple times while maintaining control over the weapon. For hunters whose primary purpose is to eliminate as many targets as possible, assault rifles are hard to beat.
Advantages of Hunting at Night
So now that you know what you may be able to hunt at night and some of the general methods for doing so, you may still ask why you would do it? The simplest answer is that it’s fun. There’s nothing like sneaking around in the dark, unsure of your surroundings, knowing there could be a wild beast standing just feet away from you licking his chops getting ready to pounce when you’re least expecting it! Just kidding. It’s not really that scary. But it does certainly place a certain twist on the hunting experience. Those who like a bit of suspense may find it most appealing because the sounds of the forest definitely trigger enhanced excitement when the lights are out.
One strategic reason for hunting at night is that many animals tend to be more active at night. Some animals that may be hunted at night, such as raccoons, are primarily nocturnal, thus naturally roam at night. However, animals are very intelligent and learn from their experiences, which can explain much of their nocturnal behavior in areas with significant human activity. Thus, even those that are not instinctively nocturnal, often prioritize the night for much of their movement for purposes of stealth.
In the summer months, animals may prioritize nighttime activity to avoid the heat. Therefore, it can be strategic to hunt at night because you may see more animals, and they may not be as on edge. Most hunting seasons are closed during the summer, but many jurisdictions allow hog hunting and predator hunting during the summer, especially on private property. Therefore, nighttime may be a more comfortable time to hunt in some geographical locations during the summer to avoid the heat.
One disadvantage of night hunting in the summer is that snakes may be more prevalent and harder to see, so wearing a good pair of snake proof boots may be a good idea, I recomend something like these.
Final Thoughts
Now you know the basics of how to night hunt. Night hunting is much like daytime hunting with a major twist – darkness. Not only is night hunting exciting and suspenseful, it can render some great advantages if done properly. Of course, the element of darkness adds an extra challenge and perhaps inflates some of the dangers associated with hunting, but it can be a very effective method for controlling unwanted animal populations and a great experience for those wanting to take their hunting adventures to the next level.