You can hunt coyotes at night in Michigan during the regular season, which runs July 15 through April 15 statewide, with no bag limit.1Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary After dark the rules tighten: you’re on foot, your firearm choices are capped by caliber, your light has to be hand-carried or worn, and you can only have a loaded gun or nocked arrow when you’re actively hunting with a call, bait, or dogs.
When Night Hunting Is Legal
Nighttime hunting is permitted for the full length of the regular coyote season, July 15 through April 15. Legal night hours begin half an hour after sunset and end half an hour before sunrise.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 2 of 2026 Michigan publishes exact start and end times in the annual hunting and trapping guide. Use those printed times rather than estimating from sunset; a few minutes on either side can turn a legal hunt into a violation.
Michigan also added a separate coyote management season running March 2 through October 14, which overlaps with the regular season but closes some options. During the overlapping dates, night hunting follows the same equipment and method rules as the regular season. One date-based limit worth knowing: coyotes cannot be taken in state parks and recreation areas from April 1 through September 14.3Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Michigan’s New Coyote Management Season Starts March 2
Firearms You Can Use After Dark
At night you must travel on foot. No hunting from vehicles, ATVs, or other motorized equipment. Your firearm options are capped as follows:1Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary
- Rimfire rifles .22 caliber or smaller.
- Centerfire rifles or pistols .269 caliber or smaller.
- Shotguns of any gauge, but loads cannot include buckshot larger than size 3, slugs, or cut shells.
- Bows, crossbows, and pneumatic guns.
Semi-automatic centerfire and rimfire firearms cannot hold more than six shells in the barrel and magazine combined.1Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary
There’s one additional restriction specific to state parks and recreation areas: you cannot use a centerfire rifle or centerfire pistol at night to take any animal in those locations.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 2 of 2026 Shotguns, rimfire, bows, and crossbows remain legal in those areas.
Lights and Optics
Artificial light is allowed at night, but only portable lights you carry by hand or wear on your person. Flashlights, battery-powered spotlights, and headlamps all qualify.4Michigan Department of Natural Resources. NRC Approves Year-Round Coyote Hunting Season Vehicle-mounted lights are not an option. Michigan law separately prohibits casting artificial light from a vehicle in areas frequented by game while possessing a firearm, and that applies regardless of your other permissions.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 324.40113
Optics rules are more permissive than many hunters expect. Scopes, open sights, thermal sights, infrared sights, and laser sights are all legal during nighttime furbearer hunting, provided you’re following the other night rules.1Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Furbearer Harvest Regulations Summary
The Call, Bait, or Dogs Requirement
This is the rule that catches people. At night you cannot carry a loaded firearm, a cocked crossbow, or a bow with a nocked arrow unless you are actively hunting with the aid of a game call, predator call, bait, or dogs.2Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 2 of 2026 Walking the woods after dark with a loaded rifle and a flashlight is not legal on its own. You need to be set up over a call or bait station, or running dogs to the point of kill. Electronic calls are legal in Michigan for coyote hunting.
One seasonal limit on method: hunting coyotes with dogs is prohibited from April 16 through July 7.3Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Michigan’s New Coyote Management Season Starts March 2
Where You Can Hunt at Night
Michigan’s recreational trespass law applies around the clock. You need verbal or written consent from the landowner, lessee, or agent before entering private property to hunt. On farm property and wooded areas connected to farms, consent is required whether the land is fenced or posted or not. On other private property, consent is required when the land is fenced or posted against entry.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 324.73102 Trespassing to hunt is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine between $100 and $500, or both.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 324.73110
Property lines are harder to see at night. If you’re hunting unfamiliar ground, walk and mark your boundaries in daylight before setting up. State game areas and other public land remain open, but verify any site-specific closures or restricted hours, especially near residential development.
National forests in Michigan generally follow state hunting regulations and add their own layer. You cannot discharge a firearm within 150 yards of a developed recreation site, a residence, or any place where people are likely to gather, and shooting across a body of water or a Forest Service road is prohibited.8U.S. Forest Service. Hunting National wildlife refuges set their own rules per unit, and not all Michigan refuges permit predator hunting or nighttime activity. Check the specific refuge’s hunt plan before going.9U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hunting on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lands and Waters
License You’ll Need
License requirements don’t change at night. Michigan residents need only a base license, which costs approximately $11. Nonresidents need both a base license (roughly $151) and a fur harvester license ($15).10Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Coyote Hunting, Trapping and Management Season Anyone who traps coyotes, regardless of residency, also needs the fur harvester license.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 324.43531 Carry your license or keep it accessible digitally. Conservation officers conduct field checks at all hours.
Carcass Disposal
Michigan requires that coyote carcasses either be used or properly disposed of. You have three options: bury the carcass completely underground, wrap it and dispose of it in a landfill, or compost it on your own private land if local authorities allow composting.3Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Michigan’s New Coyote Management Season Starts March 2 Leaving carcasses on public land or dumping them on someone else’s property is not legal disposal. If you’re hunting public land at night and don’t plan to keep the animal, bring a bag and pack it out.