Introduction to Thermal Hunting

A few years ago, I was introduced to Pulsar and thermal hunting by a good friend of mine. He came out to scout for the World Coyote Calling Competition that we were going to hunt together, and he brought along his Pulsar Trail 2 and the Helion 2 XP50. It opened a whole new world for me! I couldn’t believe what I could see and the opportunities it would provide for predator management in the areas we hunt.

I was able to hunt with thermals a few different times after that, and it became a goal to own one. In 2022, I purchased a Pulsar Trail 2 LRF XP50 and have been using that optic for the last year. It has really increased our time in the field and has helped save numerous calves and whitetail deer. In fact, it has brought many more phone calls from friends and neighbors looking for help with problem predators. Last year, we were also contacted to help manage several badgers that were wreaking havoc in hay fields and breaking equipment with the large mounds they leave around their holes.

One of the most important phone calls came from my father during calving season last year. The winter was exceptionally harsh with lots of snow, which drove the coyotes into the areas where his cattle were being fed and calving. His hired hand was feeding and noticed several coyotes hanging around the outskirts of the herd. He also noticed a cow that had moved away from the herd since she was calving. During the time it took him to feed, the calf was born, and the coyotes moved in and killed that calf before it could even stand up. This was late afternoon, and darkness came quickly. They knew the coyotes were still there and contacted me at work to see what we could do.

I came home quickly, changed, grabbed my gear and Pulsar optic, and headed down into the field. As I got closer to the cattle, I was able to spot a couple of the coyotes on the kill. I spent some time working my way into the cattle towards where I needed to be to try and get a safe shot on the coyotes. Once I was in position, I had to wait for some of the cattle to move out of the way, which left me a perfect shooting lane on one of the coyotes. I turned on the red-hot option on the Pulsar and was able to shoot that coyote as he was eating the calf that had been killed earlier.

By incorporating night hunting with day hunting, we have been able to help save several animals by controlling the predator population. Pulsar has created a phenomenal product that changes the opportunities and increases productivity for predator management!