Pennsylvania native actively seeking to change laws affecting hunting in her state.
Fort Worth, Texas (March 2018) – Sheri Baity is no stranger to predator hunting. Born and raised in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Sheri grew up in the great outdoors. Whether it was trout fishing or hunting groundhog, whitetail, turkey or black bear, Sheri’s first love was being outside. She married a dairy farmer in 1992 and not only found herself on a working dairy farm established in 1848, but facing a devastating problem: coyotes. She set her mind to learn about coyote hunting and learn she did. One year in the month of October, Sheri took 17 coyotes on her property. Word spread in her small community and the next thing she knew, she was helping other farms out with their coyote problems.
Not one to let a good story go to waste, Sheri took up the pen and wrote about her hunting adventures for outdoor magazines. Her book, “Coyote Hunting Farm Style,” was released in 2001. While working with a game call company, she traveled to Bass Pro Shops®, Cabela’s® and Gander Mtn® stores giving coyote hunting seminars and demonstrating game calls. She is now the owner and president of her own game call company, Crow’s Nest Calls.
As a predator hunter in Pennsylvania, Sheri was limited in what she could use for night time hunting. In her home state, red and green lights and spotlights are standard, but as a solo hunter, she wanted to travel light. Using only a 50mm scope and binoculars for light gathering, she was able to hunt from the half-moon to full moon or when complete snow cover was available. This severely limited her hunting options.
Sheri first ran across NiteSite™ at a SHOT Show in Las Vegas. The NiteSite team took time to explain the NiteSite set up to her. “These guys from England just pulled me right into their world of the coolest equipment I have ever seen. They took the time and thoroughly showed me the equipment and explained things,” Sheri recalled. “Then they took me into the blackout room and demonstrated the infrared system. All the possibilities in my mind just opened up to what doors this equipment would open up!”
Within the year, Sheri became a NiteSite system owner. And not just any ordinary owner. As passionate as she is about coyote hunting and teaching the skills to new hunters, she is passionate about her NiteSite system. She explained, “One of the first things I learned before I got my (hunting) license is to 100 percent identify your target before you pull that trigger! NiteSite is the only equipment that I have found in over 25-years of coyote hunting that can do that and so much more! Without a doubt, you can clearly identify, see the back stop and precisely know what is coming to your call with crisp clear detail.”
Living on a farm and in a rural community, the ability to clearly identify your target and clearly differentiate between a farmer’s dog and a coyote is extremely beneficial. “You can definitely tell what livestock is, horses and what are predators with the NiteSite system,” she added. “I have put ranchers and farmers at ease, once they look at the equipment. Places that wouldn’t allow predator control on their property at night for fear that their livestock would be shot by mistake, have changed their minds once they saw what I would be using. Other types of equipment out there in the market is just substandard, in my opinion. NiteSite in my books is the only way to 100 percent identify your target properly. NiteSite takes the guessing out of predator hunting.”
But, unfortunately for Sheri and other predator hunters in Pennsylvania, the NiteSite system is not legal. The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has deemed the use of infrared or laser beam for night time hunting illegal. States on Pennsylvania’s border, such as New York and Ohio, have opened up night time use of infrared for hunting predators. She feels it is time her home state does the same. Sheri has been a voice of change for the past several years from letter writing to actively engaging in conversations with state legislatures, Game Commission and the Tioga County Farm Bureau on behalf of the State Farm Bureau. Now, as working on behalf of the Pennsylvania Predator Hunter Association, she is continuing her pursuit of changing the current law.
“Right now, I have to go out of state to hunt to use infrared in our predator hunting. It is a shame that after all my traveling and returning back home I then have to go back to the old ways. Protection on my farm and the surrounding farms are still in need,” Sheri explained. “We are part time hunters, hunting the full-time hunter (referring the coyote population).”
Part of the problem is a lack of education on the benefits of the NiteSite infrared system. Game commissioners fear this type of night vision system would provide poachers with an advantage. Sheri refutes these claims, “All the surrounding states that have already allowed this equipment have done it with no impact on the species, according to biologists in Ohio and New York that I have spoken with. At no time has any of this type of equipment been confiscated during a poacher’s arrest. According to law enforcement, the poachers are still using the traditional spotlights. We predator hunters should not be put in the same class as poachers!”
“Another argument that was brought to the Game Commission was that it is not ‘fair game.’ They also said you can’t see the backstop behind the animal,” she continued passionately. “The use of a NiteSite system is fair game. It doesn’t make you a better shooter, you do that. It does make you a better predator hunter, offer better choices, less guessing and helps you make more ethical shots by using their equipment. The NiteSite system allows the hunter to see everything in front of, beside and behind the coyote with a clear precise picture, even in the darkest of night. It’s like watching a black and white movie!”
The NiteSite system converts a day scope into a powerful night vision device with a quick and simple set up. Three different models allow hunters to hunt successfully, whether it is short, medium or long range. The NiteSite comes with adaptable fittings that allow it to easily mount on virtually any make or size of scope without rezeroing. Switch it on and go. Sheri summed up her experience with the NiteSite systems, “After using NiteSite equipment all over the country and talking about it, I can say, number one, it has instilled a certain confidence within me. I know what I have is top notch equipment in my bag of tricks. I know that I will not be pulling the trigger on something that I shouldn’t. I know that I can go out there and help farmers and ranchers with minimum gear to carry, which leads to a freedom of movement to get the job done. I know the company has my back if there is ever an issue with their product. And all of the above spells confidence to me. The NiteSite night vision system has totally taken my predator hunting to a whole new level.”
Meanwhile, Sheri is still pursuing her passion of coyote hunting and pursuing a change of laws for predator hunters in her home state of Pennsylvania.
Follow Sheri Baity on Facebook or visit Crow’s Nest Calls.
To find out more, or become a dealer, contact NiteSite at salesusa@nitesite.com or call 682-626-5290. For more on NiteSite, visit www.nitesite.com or visit the NiteSite Facebook page.
About NiteSite™:
NiteSite™ LLC is the US Sales Division of the international developer, manufacturer and marketer, NiteSite LTD, for a line of patented night vision products for hunting and zero light observation. Using infrared in a unique way, NiteSite makes night vision more affordable, reliable and user friendly than traditional light amplification technologies. NiteSite converts day scopes into powerful night vision systems that are quick and easy to set up and use. If you want to hunt at night…it’s got to be a NiteSite. www.nitesite.com
