Predator Hunts

While you can hunt them year round in Texas, the colder months of Dec-Mar will have the best pelt quality for getting trophies mounted. Another good time to hunt is mid September through November when the sub adult predators born in the spring are now old enough to hunt on their own. This can make for some great shooting because the youngsters have not yet been educated. The summer can be really good so long as someone doesn’t want to mount anything besides a bobcat. The hot days push the predators to hunting almost exclusively at night. The animals have laid up in the shade all day enduring the Texas heat but come nightfall they are all on their feet and on the hunt. Summertime hunts can really help break up the long dry spell between winter and fall. Bobcats much like house cats look good year round and can be mounted. Coyotes, fox and coons loose too much hair and do not make good mounts but they still make for great sport responding to the calls.

Usually hunting 7 days preceding the New Moon (dark of the moon) until 3 days afterwards is best for night hunting. However when the predators are breeding in late January through Marchyou can see predators moving at any time of night or day. Any weather pattern that deviates from what is normal for that time of year can trump the best laid plans. Wind above 15 mph will have a negative effect when predator calling since most will approach from downwind. Cloud cover can definitely make a difference, usually in a good way unless hunting closer to a town where the glow from the light bounce off the clouds making a full moon effect. Darker nights are preferred simply because the predators have to hunt longer in order to make a kill. Once they have they will not usually respond to a call.

It’s hard to go wrong with an accurate bolt action rifle in smaller calibers such as .204, .223, .22-250, .243 etc. They are flat shooting and when using the right bullets cause less pelt damage. Barnes bullets work well because they don’t usually blow up on impact and offer great penetration. Suppressors definitely have their place in predator hunting as do thermal scopes at night. Semi-auto AR style rifles are ok but their short barrels tend to be loud and the ejected brass can rattle around in a high rack for a while. If you have ever had a hot spent round get ejected down your shirt collar you will not soon forget it! Shotguns with improved modified or modified chokes work good with larger pellets normally associated with predator hunting. Sometimes a too constricted forcing cone such as a full choke or turkey choke can lead to a damaged barrel. A semi auto .12 gauge seems to work nicely with the right loads, either tungsten or heavy lead but certainly not steel pellets. The pattern must be tested out to 40 yds and the pellets must be substantial enough to penetrate thick fur and break bone. It has been reported that suppressors on shotguns do not work very well. Something I guess needs developing.

Yes we do! We have a good selection to choose from including most popular calibers topped with high definition scopes, both thermal and traditional, suppressors, including shotguns with extended tubes requiring less reloading.

A lot of the time we can customize a hunt to meet a hunters needs however most folks prefer hunting at nightbecause it is the most productive and in many states other than Texas it’s illegal. When we are calling coyotes out in West Texas or in New Mexico we really enjoy daytime calling when we can see them responding to our calls from far away. When we hunt South Texas we normally do very well hunting early mornings, late afternoons followed by a great nighttime hunt.

Not usually. We save that fun for the taxidermist since they are going to charge you the customer for it anyway. Besides, they know how best to make the cuts. Our staff specializes in harvesting the animals and after staying up late at night the last thing we need our guides doing is playing with sharp objects while half asleep.

Most hunters purchase the 5 Day Non Resident License for $48.00