You must not possess night vision or thermal imaging devices when carrying a firearm, bow or any other device used to harvest wildlife. (See Special Methods Permitted for Coyotes.) The second part of the recently amended regulations will allow appropriately licensed hunters to use artificial light, night vision, infrared or thermal devices in conjunction with other legal hunting methods to track and capture coyotes from February 1 to March 31. Allow predator hunters and, in turn, landowners to work together to control the population of unwanted predators on their property. The new two-month hunting period begins on February 1, 2021. As mentioned briefly, the second advantage is that the hunter has more options to go out and track predators over a longer period of time. The winter months of the year, especially February and March, are among the best times for predator hunters. The coyote`s breeding season usually occurs in the last half of January, in February and until early March. Meanwhile, hunters want to spend as much time as possible in the field. Sometimes, however, due to a job or other priorities, only the hunt for daylight leaves little time to pursue that passion. It gets dark early with daylight saving time, leaving little to no time for those working all day.
Now, with this extended hunting season, more hunters will have the opportunity to hunt. More time and opportunities for hunters to be in the field is always good for hunting. There is a passion of its own, which is felt by night hunters. It provides another type of adrenaline rush for the hunter. With these new laws, maybe more people will try, creating new passions, new memories and more opportunities to help landowners and ranchers along the way. All this together undoubtedly means success for the sport of hunting. The first to benefit from the new changes are the landowners themselves. One of the main reasons I hunt predators is to help wildlife by controlling predators that have no natural predator other than humans to control the population. I also enjoy hunting predators to help livestock owners who need help controlling predators that may injure or kill their livestock at night. With the new laws for Missouri, a concerned landowner with problems can legally have someone like me to help them control predators. The hunter will have more opportunities to hunt as long as he has written permission from an agent of the Missouri Department of Conservation and the owner himself. The revised regulation allows landowners who own property of any size and their authorized representatives to own, inspect and use night, infrared and thermal vision devices to kill wild boars on the property of the landowner when they are in possession of equipment that could kill or take wildlife.
Landowners and their representatives would have the right to use these methods to kill or take wild boar year-round without the prior authorization of a conservation officer. Electronic calls or electronically activated calls can be used to track and catch crows and fur carriers. They can also be used to catch light geese during nature conservation order. Electronic calls cannot be used with artificial light or night vision devices, except during coyote hunting from February 1 to March 31 in conjunction with other legal hunting methods. Related: Do you only have a light to hunt coyotes? How to choose the right light color for night hunting. MDC notes that landowners and their representatives can still use night vision, infrared, thermal imaging devices or artificial light to kill coyotes or other wildlife that cause property damage at any time of the year, with written permission from a conservation officer. For all the Missouri landowners who constantly have problems with wild boars and other invasive species, the hunting game has made it easy for you. The Missouri Department of Conservation has responded to citizens` requests to change regulations around the use of heat, infrared and night vision to control invasive species.