Author: Michael T. Huff, CoyoteLight Pro Staff; is a professional outdoor writer specializing in predator hunting. He owns and operates Master Predator Hunting – Limited Liability Company, a retail supplier of premium predator hunting products.
Owner: masterpredatorhunting.com
December 5th, 2014
Driving home from work Friday evening, I heard the familiar chime of my phone notifying me a text arrived. I smiled when I saw it was from Brett Kolb, President and CEO of CoyoteLight. He and I had been trying to predator hunt together for the past two years but could not make it happen. Brett asked if I could guide him and Luke Long, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, tonight! They were hoping to film some fox hunting footage of the CoyoteLight in action.
“Heck yeah…come on up, I would love to take you guys out!” Knowing Brett and Luke on a personal level is a pleasure. They are talented predator hunters, men of integrity, and they produce the best light for hunting predators and hogs. Most hard core hunters eventually migrate to the CoyoteLight. They are an investment in American made quality, but if you demand the best light to harvest the most critters, there is no equal.
Checking the weather conditions for the night made me a bit nervous. The forecast indicated a full moon for the entire night with clear skies and winds from 15 to 20 mph with 30 mph gusts! I usually avoid hunting in these conditions, especially when hosting others. Flipping through aerial photographs of my hunting properties, I searched for areas having thick cover surrounding open farm fields which would be good for filming.
Luke had recently purchased a rifle chambered in .17 Hornet and was anxious to get his first kill with the gun. Having just picked it up from his gunsmith he discovered his scope was mounted so close to the barrel that a light could not be attached to the scope without a new base and rings. I offered him my .17 Rem. Fireball, but he was excited to try out his new gun. Since we had the brightness potential of the powerful CoyoteLight, he was able to shoot fine without a light on his scope.
We arrived at our first set of the night and after five minutes of calling we spotted red eyes in thick brush 150 yards across a cut hay field. Brett turned up the power of the CoyoteLight he was using to scan and Luke positively identified the animal as a beautiful red fox. He could have dropped the fox at this distance but since we were filming, he demonstrated great patience in waiting for better camera footage.
Over the next ten minutes this cautious and weary fox slowly slipped closer using the thick hedgerow as cover from the bright moonlit field. Finally, at 120 yards the fox broke cover and trotted into the open field towards my FoxPro Krakatoa II. As the fox approached twenty yards downwind of the caller and closing fast, I pleaded for Luke to shoot before it picked up the smell of the ecaller and bolted. Luke’s .17 Hornet barked and his perfectly placed shot dropped the fox in his tracks! (You can view the footage of Luke’s harvest at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XmYCQqKLIU).
Next, it was Brett’s turn behind the gun while Luke worked the camera. We set up in a long rectangular cut alfalfa field, approximately 200 yards wide and 500 yards long. Completely surrounding the field was standing corn. Approximately ten minutes into our calling sequence I spotted a fox pop out of the corn on a full charge headed directly towards us. It is amazing how quickly they can close the distance. I almost tackled Brett in pointing out the fox to get him on target for the shot. Luckily for us, the vixen decided she wanted to be a movie star and stopped to pose for the camera at 40 yards. Luke gave the signal and Brett made a perfect shot dropping the fox on the spot. It was indeed a great night! (You can view the footage of Brett’s harvest at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJCgqHN01MQ).