Varmints, east to west across the nation, provide predator hunters with an excuse to get out and exercise their predator rifle setups. That alone is a standout reason to take an afternoon, or an extended weekend, to vacation with varmints.

In addition to rehearsing in real-world conditions, a varmint escape provides you with even more benefits than watching paint dry at home as you wait to give your fence a second coat. 

Travel Zone Restrictions

You likely have a handle on the ballistics of your particular caliber, but your DOPE card only gives you a cheat sheet. You still need to take the test of how your bullet will perform when it meets up with extended distance, wind and unusual shooting positions.

Those circumstances also test your aptitude to launch a bullet cleanly with a crisp, flawless takeoff. Range time is great, but shooting on the set of “Home on the Range” plants you in a challenging environment to hone shooting skills. 

Landowner Reconnections

A varmint outing is a good time to reconnect with landowners before predator and other hunting seasons. Ask any landowner and most will rank last-minute permission seekers as irritating and taking advantage of a previous open gate. Stop by, refresh friendships and even offer to help with chores for a day.

Never take the privilege of hunting of private land for granted. It’s a hunting advantage that is increasingly becoming harder to gain with the privatization of wildlife management on private lands.

On public lands, research if any new changes have occurred for management or access. A closed road on a large tract could put a quick end to a predator hunt if you arrive in the dark six months from now.

Re-assess the Land

Your varmint trip gives you a firsthand look at the land. Take note of what occurred and what’s occurring because any changes certainly have the affect of changing the way predators, and other wildlife utilize a parcel of property.

Scrutinize crop changes, livestock grazing rotations, subdivisions, wildfire destruction and other obvious differences to the landscape than prior. Make notes on your hunting app to refer to later as you plan calling sets.

Wildlife Inventory

As you assess the land, take an impromptu wildlife survey. Ask the landowner or public land managers if they have noticed any changes. How does the prey situation appear? Have they been seeing many predators or tracks near water sources as they patrol grounds during management missions?

Do your own glassing at dawn and dusk, and if coyotes are your game, send a howl across the landscape in the low light hours to get a return for your own auditory conclusion.

Give It a Whirl

Varmint hunting is an all-day event in most situations. Groundhogs and prairie dogs keep busy during a 9- to 5-schedule. At sunrise and sunset, you could break and attempt to call in a predator if the season allows. Most states have no season for coyotes so that would be the first target of choice.

Summer is an ideal time to call in defensive parents and young-of-the-year, inexperienced pups to give you a confidence boost before the big game in the winter. Plus, any predators removed now always lend a helping hand to other wildlife busy raising young families.

Summer varmint hunts are beneficial on their own merits, but for predator hunters they provide even more reason to break from the routine and escape. If you can add any other benefits, please respond in the comments below.