Duane Minnick

Meet staff member Duane Minnick.  He joins us from the Commonwealth of Virginia and has been predator hunting from an early age.  He started out trapping and raccoon hunting with his grandfather back in the mid 1990’s, and that soon turned into a passion for hunting predators that continues today.  His grandfather would set out one of the old Johnny Stewart cassette tape calls in hopes of bringing in a bobcat or a fox, as coyotes were not well established in Virginia at that time.

About twelve years ago, Duane really started to get involved with coyote hunting.  At first, he primarily used lights, but later on transitioned to night vision and thermal equipment.  As of today, he has owned just about every brand of thermal equipment and has become a very successful coyote hunter in Appalachia.

Duane has been on our staff at Night Vision Outfitters going on five years now, and is using mostly InfiRay Outdoor optics at the moment.  He has also tested out many different firearm and cartridge combinations and today primarily uses suppressed 6.5 Grendels in AR platforms.  Duane is also very experienced with drones and holds an FAA Part 107 UAS Pilot Certificate.  He currently owns and flies a DJI Mavic 3T thermal drone. 

Outside of hunting Duane is a part-time Pastor and works in drone operations for local law enforcement agencies as well as Emergency Services Search and Rescue.  He is always happy to answer any questions you may have regarding night hunting, thermal optics, calling techniques, or drones.