Predator Hunting Annual 2024

predator hunting texas

PRIME TIME FOR COYOTES

A Place to Shoot

San Antonio, 210-628-1888

Abilene Indoor Gun Range

Abilene, 325-698-4224

Able Ammo

Huntsville, 936-295-5786

AJC Sports Clute, 979-265-4867

Ally Outdoors Midland, 972-332-3700

Richardson, 972-332-3700

Alpha Armory

Houston, 888-932-7660

Alpine Shooting Range

Ft Worth, 817-478-6613

Americana Arms, LLC

Beeville, 361-362-3673

Athena Gun Club

Houston, 713-461-5900

BPS Outfitters

Sherman, 903-832-2227

BTO Range

Conroe, 936-588-3333

Buck & Doe’s Mercantile, LLC

San Antonio, 830-980-3637

C.A.C Tactical

Southlake, 888-211-8191

Caroline Colt Company LLC

Abilene, 325-232-7501

Carroll’s Gun Shop

Whaton, 979-532-3175

Carter’s Country

Houston, 713-461-1844

Houston, 281-879-1466

Pasadena, 713-475-2222

Spring, 281-443-8393

DFW Shooting Sports

Bedford, 817-285-0664

Champion Firearms College Station, 979-693-9948

Collectors Firearms

Houston, 713-781-5812

Danny's, Inc.

McAllen, 956-687-4692

Defender Outdoors

Fort Worth, 817-935-8377

DFW Gun Club

Dallas, 214-630-4866

Dury's Gun Shop

San Antonio, 210-533-5431

Field & Streams Sporting Goods

San Angelo, 325-944-7094

Fun Guns

Waco, 254-755-0080

Gibson’s

Weatherford, 817-594-8711

Glick Twins

Pharr, 956-787-429

GRITR Sports

N. Richland Hills, 817-200-7470

Grabagun.com

Coppell, 972-552-7246

Guard & Defend Firearms

Silsbee, 409-201-9468

Guns Warehouse LLC

Cedar Park, 512-986-7330

Hoss Arms, LLC

New Braunfels, 830-609-8891

John Doe Investigations, LLC

Lewisville, 214-773-0129

Kirkpatrick Gun & Ammo

Laredo, 956-723-6338

Marksmen Firearms

Mansfield, 817-453-8680

McBride's Guns

Austin, 512-472-3532

Misson Ridge Range & Academy

San Antonio, 210-504-9000

Mister Guns LLC

Plano, 214-901-7429

Modern Pawn & Guns

Corpus Christi, 361-993-9390

Nagel's Gun Shop, Inc.

San Antonio, 210-342-5420

Nardis Gun Club

San Antonio, 210-369-9199

Omaha Outdoors

Rosenberg, 713-703-4648

Past & Blast Antiques & Firearms

Whitesboro, 903-564-5444

Point Blank Sporting Goods

Pharr, 956-992-8799

Primary Arms

Houston, 713-344-9600

Ranger Firearms of Texas Inc.

San Antonio, 210-822-4867

FROM WORK TO PLAY

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CUSTOMIZED

Fusion’s Vision of Heat

Fusion Thermal’s new optics make the complex seem simple. The new Avenger 55XR and Avenger 40 utilize the company’s T3 Three Button Control System, along with the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) menu.

“It’s super easy to use,” said Ryan Warner, who is with Owens Outdoor Sales and also an avid hog hunter. “The owner of the company helped design it after being frustrated with having to look down to focus or operate the thermal. The Avenger has a dark, raised middle button — you don’t have to look down and you always know where your fingers are.”

Warner said the lens type and quality also make the Avenger models stand out.

“They are incredibly clear, thanks to the use of the higher quality Germanium lens and a larger lens size with more curvature to maximize the amount of heat it picks up.”

Warner has been using thermal optics for years while hog hunting.

“I’ve used every thermal out there,” he said. “I used the Fusion product before I was a sales rep. It held up to everything I threw its way.”

With any thermal product, heat is an issue. The Avenger series utilizes aircraft-grade aluminum housing, while most other brands use plastic.

“Once you heat up a thermal, the performance goes down,” Warner said. “The aluminum housing allows it to escape, whereas plastic holds in the heat.”

Thermal sensors require lots of power, and the Avenger Series has ample power with the 18650 battery design, run in parallel, providing an impressive eight-hour run time.

Hunters like to record their nighttime hog hunts, and the Avenger series includes a full media package, including photo, video and audio capabilities, along with Fusion Thermal’s HeatSync App, where you can download files through the App without having to get out your computer, and even includes livestreaming of what your scope is viewing.

“The Avenger is by far the best bang for your buck,” Warner said. “It’s easy to figure out, because all of the menu options are in plain and simple English. I have a unit that was almost twice the price, and the Fusion outperforms it. It’s a great value.”

The Avenger 55XR costs just over $6,000 and the Avenger 40 lists at $4,199. Both come with incredible customer support and a 5-year transferable warranty.

THERMAL HUNTING

Game-changing simplicity. Industry leading runtime. Onboard video, photo and HD audio recording. Meet the new AVENGER from Fusion Thermal.

AVENGER 40

WAVE12 384 Sensor 9+ Hour Runtime

MSRP: $4099

AVENGER 55XR

WAVE12 640 Sensor 7+ Hour Runtime

MSRP: $5989

Available at fine retailers all across the Great State of Texas

Fusion Thermal Exclusive Features

Micro Click Focus

Leave the Collars to the Dogs

Getting your target into focus quickly and easily is a must, and you won’t find a better system than our Micro Click Focus. Our tactile focus knob is conveniently located on top of the front lens, and unlike the dog collar design used by our competitors you won’t need to perform a circus act just to focus your scope. Plus, you’ll always get your best shot as the micro click adjustments put you on the perfect focus point every time.

ARCLIGHT Ultra HD Germanium Lens

High Purity for Maximum Energy

The single most expensive component of a well-crafted thermal is its germanium lens. If you skimp here, you’re not even in the game. Our high purity ArcLight Ultra HD Germanium Lens is the crowning jewel of our technology package. It perfects the task of collecting and funneling infrared energy into the thermal sensor unhindered by distortion. This clean transition results in an infrared energy dump that unleashes the full potential of our WAVE thermal sensor delivering a user experience well beyond expectations.

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Menu

Industry’s Easiest Menu System

We think you’re really going to like our menu; it uses words, English words. Written for Americans by Americans. That’s why we called it KISS. You’ve heard the phrase, and at Fusion Thermal it’s the reason we can make the industry’s boldest statement: Our operating system is so easy to use you’ll likely never read the instructions.

T3 Control System

Don’t Let Your Fingers Get Lost in the Dark

Our highly intuitive three button control system with center tower makes using your scope simple and easy. Every command is at your fingertips, and the Center Tower evenly splits the control panel, so you’ll never be confused about what button you’re going to press. We thought this a particularly good idea since you’ll be using it in the dark most of the time.

WAVE Thermal Sensor

Same Money, Better Performance

Is it possible for one thermal scope to dramatically outperform everything else in its class? Yes, so don’t make the mistake of shopping by specifications alone or you just might get burned. Our WAVE thermal sensors push the limit of what is technically possible and set the standard for image quality, ruggedness, and long life. So, before you plop down your hard-earned cash make sure you do a side-by-side to any similarly priced competitive alternative. We think you’ll find the difference to be clearly obvious.

XGEN Alloy Housing

Plastic is for toys. Metal is for tools.

It’s a fact, thermals produce heat, and heat is the enemy of all thermal devices. If you don’t get the heat out operational performance will degrade, and long-term internal damage is a certainty. Our XGEN (Next Generation Alloy Body) shields your expensive investment in a metal clad of armor, and our high-end AL6082 Conductive Structural Alloy displaces heat at an astounding 71,900% better than plastic. You don’t think of your thermal as some cheap plastic toy. Why should it be built like one?

Winter’s favorite — predator contests

It’s predator contest season, and events dot the calendar throughout February and March. Many of the contests are smaller events, often put on by local volunteer fire departments, local chambers of commerce, like Junction, where the sixth annual contest takes place March 16-17, and even by local baseball teams and church youth groups.

Most contests are weekend events, with teams of hunters out for a 24-hour period. Some, though, last longer, like the monthlong Wise County Hog Contest, billed as the largest hog hunting contest in the world, which runs the entire month of February each year. The current leader, team River Bottom Killers, has the heaviest hog weighing 349.3 pounds as of Feb. 15.

a format that provided everyone a shot at winning the grand prize.

The first of three scheduled competitions took place Jan. 13, with 521 teams competing for $119,330 in prize money. During the event, contest officials weighed 25 qualified bobcats, with first place and $36,370 going to the team of Dustin Dubose, Buckshot Dubose, Hunter Phillips and Nick Homfeld for their 28-pound, 11-ounce bobcat. The contest permits each team to have a maximum of four hunters. Teams are required to kill either five grey fox or five coyotes to qualify their heaviest bobcat in the contest.

ESP APEX: HEARING PROTECTION AND ‘HEARABILITY’

Over the years we’ve heard all the excuses as to why folks don’t wear hearing protection: “I can’t hear anything” or “too uncomfortable” or “too cumbersome.” Electronic Shooters Protection (ESP) has specialized in one thing for 30 years: Custom-Fit Digital Hearing Protection.

The top-of-the-line model, the APEX, offers hunters and shooters optimal sound protection with all-day comfort and the ability to hear your surroundings with on-the-fly controllable volume. Now you can “tune in” to natural sounds that give you a tactical advantage.

The largest contest may be the annual West Texas Big Bobcat Competition, one of the highest-paying hunting contests in the country, started in 2008 by a group of San Angelo friends with a goal to create

The second event was held Feb. 10, with 660 teams competing for $151,300 in prize money. Teams brought in 45 qualified bobcats, with the winning team’s 32-pound cat brought in by the team of Cody Francis, Ross Smith and Brice Daniels, resulting in a $46,100 payout.

The WTBBC’s final event will be held March 9.

What sets the APEX apart is technology that has overcome the issue of “wind noise” that plagues other electronic hearing devices. ESP’s patented wind noise management system continuously monitors the environment, automatically stifling unwanted sounds.

Save yourself from a lifetime of hearing issues and experience the ESP APEX advantage. For those of you currently experiencing hearing loss — we can custom tune your ESPs to your hearing test results.

Features:

• Custom molded for all-day comfort

• Muffles gunfire to prevent noise-induced hearing loss

• Hear natural sounds for enhanced awareness

• Waterproof

ELECTRONIC SHOOTERS PROTECTION (ESP)

☎ (303) 659-8844 ESPAMERICA.COM

CUSTOM FIT DIGITAL HEARING PROTECTION

OWN THE DARK WITH THE RATTLERV2

Are you ready to own the dark on your next night hunt? Or is it time to upgrade your thermal imaging device? AGM has an extensive range of riflescopes, clip-on systems, binoculars, monoculars and so much more. 2024 is bringing a series of cutting-edge products, including the RattlerV2.

AGM took its best selling thermal scope and made it better. The RattlerV2 is available in 19mm, 25mm, 35mm and 50mm lens systems and with resolution options of 256x192, 384x288 or 640x512.

All RattlerV2 models have a few new gamechanging features such as an upgraded scope body design, shot activation recording, and a simplified menu layout. The upgraded battery compartment accommodates a rechargeable battery, extending runtime up to 11 hours depending on the model, and a new 12 micron thermal sensor that has the highest sensitivity rating (sub-20 mk) on the market.

The RattlerV2 has 10 reticle options with multiple zeroing profiles for various calibers and rifles. The scope also comes with a custom ADM QD mount for easy removal and reattachment, WiFi hotspot connectivity through the AGM app, a userfriendly, raised 5-button layout for easy navigation, even with gloves, and much more.

Make sure you are ready for your next night hunt by adding an AGM RattlerV2 to your arsenal.

Hunters can go to www.kenziesoptics.com and purchase one online today.

KENZIE’S

☎

Prime time for coyotes

Remember Valentine’s Day and Tax Day

By Mike Bodenchuk tar outdoor newS

Coyotes are, at the same time, a predator of game animals and a favorite target for predator hunters. Predator callers and trappers pursue coyotes for their fur value and for the outdoor recreation afforded year-long seasons. But big game managers worry about the impact of coyotes on deer and pronghorn populations — and biologists and managers are split between the impacts of predators on other wildlife.

There’s no doubt that coyotes kill and eat deer fawns. Research over decades has shown that predation, mostly by coyotes, is the leading cause of mortality in deer fawns. When to manage predators is an important consideration for hunters.

Coyote biology is key when deciding when to hunt the predators. Coyotes have a single breeding season annually, with the peak of breeding occurring now, right at Valentine’s Day. Pups are born 60 to 63 days later, or right around everyone’s favorite, Tax Day.

Breeding coyotes, those 2 years or older, may represent only 25 percent of the total population, but they kill some 80 percent of the fawns, as they have to provision these fast-growing pups when deer fawns hit the ground.

The maximum number of coyotes which will respond to a predator call is in early fall, when pups begin to hunt on their own. If you want to maximize the chances of calling a coyote, October through December is the best time to call as pups disperse. These pups, which by this time of year are full-sized coyotes, often hunt together as littermates and will respond to a call thinking

that one of their own has a rabbit to share.

However, the best time to remove coyotes for the protection of this years’ fawn crop occurs after the breeding territories have been established (after January) and before pups are born (midApril). Removing coyotes this time of year maximizes the protection offered for deer by reducing the need to provision those pups.

Standard techniques may not work the best for hunters during this period. Coyotes are territorial and howling to locate a pair will allow you to target territorial coyotes at their lowest density. Hunters try to set up undetected as close as possible to the pair and “challenge howl” or otherwise try to sound like another coyote. Coyotes will likely slink in to investigate, so waiting 30 minutes may be necessary.

As denning approaches, pup yelps may often elicit a different, aggressive response. A pair of coyotes that believe there is a fight going on will run straight to the fight to assert their dominance. At times like this, try to sort out the female coyote, often the less aggressive one or the last one of the pair to show up. Removing the female will provide the maximum benefit to fawns.

Unfortunately, the removal of an adult pair will likely only last for one or two months before another pair takes their place. The good news is that these late commers won’t be able to breed during the current year as the seasonal heat cycle has passed. The new pair may eat a few fawns, but because they aren’t provisioning pups, their impact isn’t as great.

Timing coyote removal is important for game management if your deer herd isn’t at your property’s carrying capacity. Hunting coyotes in the early spring isn’t nearly as productive as hunting young-of-the-year in the fall, but it’s best for your deer.

David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News

Mike Bodenchuk

POWERFUL THERMAL OPTICS WITH INTEGRATED LASER RANGEFINDERS

At SHOT Show in January, InfiRay Outdoor, via iRayUSA — a Texas based company, announced several exciting new products with hog and predator hunters in mind. Common in many of the new products is the inclusion of an integrated or add-on laser rangefinder. Objects viewed through thermal imagery can often appear “flat” and it can be hard to determine the range of a hog, bobcat, or coyote — especially in wide open country. The laser rangefinder is useful in handheld scanners used to find game and in firearm sights. Some of these weapon sights even interpret data from the laser rangefinder to help shooters apply the right amount of elevation hold for the target’s distance.

Hybrid 75 (HYH75W)

The high-resolution thermal weapon sight, with a 4x base magnification, is ideal for longer range hunting. Buyers of this sight can take advantage of a program to get a free laser rangefinder that works with the onboard ballistic functions of the sight.

M6 Vehicle-Mounted Thermal

Scan 360 degrees without even leaving the comfort of your vehicle. The high resolution thermal PTZ runs on vehicle power and wirelessly streams a video feed to a phone or tablet. The M6 comes with a laser rangefinder and green laser indicator.

FINDER V2 (FH35RV2)

This handheld thermal viewer is a great option for finding, identifying, ranging, and even recording videos of predator and hogs, and comes in 640 resolution with an onboard laser rangefinder.

RICO Mk2 LRF (RH50R)

The RICO (Rugged Infrared Compact Optic) Mk1 series, one of InfiRay’s best-selling product lines, receives an update in the RICO Mk2 LRF that now includes a laser rangefinder, smooth zoom control, 60hz readout (for smooth motion) and other upgrades. Now, any application you need, from your hand to your rifle to your vehicle, is available through InfiRay, all with the best warranty in the industry.

INFIRAY OUTDOOR/IRAYUSA

☎ (800) 769-7125

IRAYUSA.COM

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