# Night vision scope or red spotlight?



## rubicon_in_ga

For night yote hunting, which would you choose?  

I guess ideally a really good night vision scope would be great, but the way a red spotlight lights up the eyes would make me think it'd be easier to spot and initially target coyotes, especially in the thick stuff (which is where I hunt).  Not to mention the night vision's expense, and if you don't have a dedicated varmint rifle, you'd have to swap out with a traditional scope every time you wanted to hunt during the day.

My situation....  Currently own only one centerfire rifle, which I also use for daylight deer hunting.  I hunt the 'thick stuff', woods, swampy areas, trails, no big clearings, pastures or fields, so my field of view is limited to shots under 100 yards.  I also have a climbing stand, so I can get up in the air a bit, but I don't know if that would matter for making the decision.  The area I hunt has only a few coyotes, and I don't want to wipe them out completely, because i enjoy the opportunity to hunt them year to year.


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## Wetzel

rubicon_in_ga said:


> The area I hunt has only a few coyotes, and I don't want to wipe them out completely, .


I don't think you have to worry about this....

I'd buy night vision scope.  Even with the red filter on the spotlight, you'll still end up spooking some game.  With the night vision scope, they wouldn't even know you're there.


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## Ihunt

When the red light shines the coyote he will still run.They are very light shy.


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## cmghunter

The spotlight can be shined to pick up the animals eyes.The night vision scopes are fairly expensive also,for a good one.When the animals are moving at night the spot light picks up the eyes quick.When you have the scope,you must already know the location of the animal.ANY movement and it's over for a yote at night...Just a little advice.Don't shine the light in the animals face.Use the halo of the light to pick up their eyes.They want spook as quick...Good luck on your hunt


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## murphy11gpc

If i was a betting man i would say cmghunter has actually done some yote hunting. First of all a night vision scope that would allow you to shoot a 100 yard shot would be more than if you went out and bought a new rifle, high end scope, fox pro fx5 and a light force spotlight; which is about the best setup you can buy! Buying a night vision scope = a waste of both money (a lot of money) and time. When you start coyote hunting you will understand this. Spotlights with a red lense does not scare the coyote off especially if you dont shine directly into the eyes. The spotlight is used as a sheild in fact. As long as it is on the yote he wont see you. However with a night vision scope, while your scanning, the yote will be long gone as the VISION hearing and smelling senses are exceptional with a yote. The only downfall to using a spotlight is walmart, basspro, ect isnt going to cut it. I tried and got about 10 min. hunts and no yotes. When yote hunting you shine from the time you start till the time you end anywhere from 10 to 45min. It happens quick if you have yotes and they havent been called to much. Light Force spotlights are the way to go. Its price is steep but you get about 3 hours of light with constant use with the option of extra batteries.  I hope this helps in getting you started. I normally dont respond to much to these but i almost gave up the sport of yote hunting with the endless nights with bordom of not seeing anything. Without the right equiptment its hard hunting. However be warned... with the first sighting of a yote in the field its an immediate addiction. Good luck and check out foxpro along with lightforce and you will be ready to go and in for a ton of fun. There is a really good forum on foxpro as well that will get you pointed in the right direction.


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## rubicon_in_ga

Would the IR light on a nightvision scope or goggles light up a coyotes eyes?  The biggest 'con' against a red spotlight is the limited battery life and the weight of it, hauling it up and down in the stand.  The other thing is, if I got just a nv scope, I'd have to be looking through it constantly to try to spot movement, which means holding the rifle up to eye level... and that would get very cumbersome and tiring after a while.  The other thing is, I could get a headset monocular for spotting them, and the nv scope for shooting... but thereagain, we're talking some major bucks.  I'm probably going to wind up just doing the spotlight, but nightvision is so tempting.


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## cmghunter

Your nightvision is like quality scopes.
You can buy a Simmons and see or you can buy a Zeiss and see clearer and better,thats for deer hunting..
Night vision you have generation 1 thru 3 or more.
Prices are GREATLY diffrent for this night time viewing..
If you're hunting public land you are restricted to 6 volt lights.If you have private land the voltage doesn't matter.As murphy11gpc suggested try to get a lightforce if it's within budget...
The lightforce runs about 250.00,the wally world light 30.00


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## rubicon_in_ga

What about combining the two ideas....  use a night vision monocular (I've got one I can borrow) to intially spot the yote, and then light him up with a scope mounted red spotlight and use a regular daylight scope to pop him? 

Or vice versa... use a red spotlight to initially spot the eyes, and then switch to a night vision scope to shoot him? That way you can turn the spotlight off when ready to shoot, and maybe reduce the chance of spooking him with the light?

I'm just trying to figure out which approach might increase my chance of success the most.

If I go with night vision, I was gonna stick with generation 1 and maybe add a more powerful IR light.  For my use, I can't justify the cost difference between 1 and 2, and there's no way I can afford gen 3 or 4.  Plus all my shots will be under 100 yards, because of where I'm hunting; all woods, some thick, some thin, but no fields.


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## murphy11gpc

Just got in tonight after a 2 hour coyote hunt. I took a friend of mine and we saw 2 yotes. The first one was approx. 200 yrds and we had no shot. The second shortly after was between 100 and 150. The closest i have had during night hunting but i do hunt feilds and dont give them a chance to come in much. Once again the light force justified its price as it has from day one. Its not heavy and i get about 3 hours run time on one battery 12v. You sound pretty set on wanting to go the night vison route but i really dont think you understand coyote hunting at night. A yote is very hard to see at night even when using a light. Its eyes are your saving grace. If its not looking at you it will not be seen. These things blend in very well with the environment and are rarly standing still. So good luck with what ever night vision scope you try, its not going to go as planned. I have tried and the cheaper scopes are like that walmart spotlight. I dont even think a high end nv would be a good choice. Things just happen too quick with a coyote. Do yourself a favor if your serious about this and get yourself a good light, a good call, and take to the woods. It wont take long to realize the nv would have been a mistake. Oh and when you see old yote... you had better be ready to shoot. He isnt staying for long! Again good luck and good hunting. Also remember to place the call at night close to you to help guide those eyes in your direction.


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## GunDog

> Would the IR light on a nightvision scope or goggles light up a coyotes eyes?



YES, and he don't have to be looking dead at you..... 

I looked into the LightForce also. Great lights with great reviews but all I found were twelve volts. Anything over six volts is against the law in my neck of the  Georgia woods for anything other than gators. We don't hunt them here. Good Luck to Ya!


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## cmghunter

What you also have to remember is the NV will also light up all critters at night,not just the yotes..What murphy11gpc said is 100%


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## rubicon_in_ga

Man, I went out last night with both a night vision monocular (my dad's) and a 6v spotlight, but I didn't have a red filter...  The spotlight was really bright, but with the night vision, every time I turned on the IR light, it lit up the nearby trees and leaves so much that I couldn't see much beyond about ten yards.  I think ya'll were right about the spotlights...  I like the idea of the night vision, but being in thick cover, I think I will take ya'lls advice of going with a red spotlight, probably a lightforce, since that's what gets all the best reviews.


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