Red LED Light for Coyote Hunting - Recommendations Needed

RichS

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
1,509
Location
USA
A friend of mine is looking for a new flashlight to use for coyote hunting.

It needs to be red LED, or at least be LED with a red filter/cap.

Here is the question: if it is an actual red LED light, will it have better output/throw than an white LED light with a filter? The problem is, the manufactures using the actual red LEDs don't provide the specific red LED they are using, so I can compare. Also, I don't know how much lumen loss and loss of throw occurrs when using a red filter cap, such as on a SureFire M3LT.

So for the moment, here are the contenders:
  • EWT XLR 250 (Red LED):
  • SF M3LT (w/ red filter cap):
  • Thrunite Catapult V2 (w/ red filter cap):
What are your thoughts? Should he look for a high-out put light with a red LED, or get a nice white LED based light as the above and use a red filter? Also - can 17500's fit in the M3LT? (I'm assuming yes)

Thanks in advance!


Link removed as per the banner at the top of the page
Why has my link been removed? - Norm
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Z-Tab

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
694
Location
Los Angeles
Red filters over white beams reduce the output substantially and I think you're better off buying something that is putting out red light in the first place. The trouble is that there aren't that many red LED options, I believe that Nailbender builds red drop-ins and there's a red LED pill available for the Eagletac T20C2 (I think that's the model). I would actually recommend a Solarforce L2P host with a Red XR-E drop-in from DealExtreme. Worth trying at under $30 for the whole build.
 

lebox97

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
697
Location
illuminationGear
Hi Rich
a high output colored LED produces 4-5 times the amount of output that a white LED with a colored filter produces...
The purpose of the filter is to filter out everything but the desired output...

see my sig line for RED LED output from three different models to give you some ideas.

Cheers
Tod
 

Morelite

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
2,253
Location
Central PA
You may be able to find a Quark RGB model in the Marketplace. They are discontinued now but they had a Cree MC-E quad die in them that had red, green, blue, and white dies in them.

Link removed as per the banner at the top of the page
Why has my link been removed? - Norm
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Pacecar

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
112
Another contender is the Sniper Hawg Lights Destroyer (red LED).
Some say that the EWT light is the red LED Brinyte UF-900 (BR-900) from a Chinese manufacturer. Unfortunately, the manufacturer no longer sells direct to USA individuals after the USA retailer complained. No specs are stated for the Brinyte UF-900 red LED either.
 

Solscud007

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 16, 2008
Messages
2,067
Location
Brentwood, CA Not LA
Interesting. Does your friend need red light for general illumination or for targeting coyotes? Why red?

I have a few red leds. The Quark RGB is good for general use about 10 feet in front of you. It is all flood and useless for throw.

I have a Surefire L1 that is factory red. It throws pretty well for a low lumen LED. I think it is a Lux III.

Here is a pic someone took a while back comparing it to a Kroma.

SF_L1_low_high.jpg


In terms of throw the M6 or M3 would be your best bet with red filter.

I have a blue filter on my M6 and although brightness is percieved as lower, it throws very far. So I would imagine a red filter would do the same for the M6 head.
 

mhphoto

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Messages
112
Red helps to preserve night vision, yes, but a bright enough light of any wavelength is going to kill night vision. The whole preserving night vision thing is mainly about low levels of light in the right wavelength. Technically speaking, once your cones bow out and your rods kick in as the main light gathering sensors you shouldn't be seeing any color at all, as they only transmit shades of grey to the brain. It's true that rods are most sensitive to cyan light (the particular intensity of that wavelength, they don't pick up the color), so that's why a blast of greenish light will ruin your night vision and you'll have to wait to regain it again. Because rods don't pick up color your brain just thinks that the bright light means you don't need to rods anymore, so your cones pop back into action. But the rods aren't so reactive to red light (I believe they're technically blind to it above 640nm or so), which means if you're out in a field at night and you're using a dim red light, your cones can pick the light up but your rods ignore it, and are therefor unaffected and remain "on". But if the red light is bright enough it'll ruin night vision anyway.

I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure all that is accurate. If it's not feel free to correct me.

So, assuming I am accurate, if he's looking for a red spotlight to light up a field with and is thinking that will somehow preserve his night vision he might as well get a real spotlight with a nice tint.
 

mhphoto

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Messages
112
Oh, I did forget the original reason I was going to reply: to recommend a light! :ohgeez:

I absolutely love my 4Sevens Quark RGB (it's the neutral white version). They are officially discontinued now, but you should be able to still find a few factory-fresh models if you look hard enough.
 

Pacecar

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
112
A long-throw RED light is used for coyote hunting for a couple of reasons. 1) Due to the eye structure of a coyote, any amount of red light really makes their eyes glow fire red, so it is easy for the hunter to spot them. The spill of the light is sufficient to spot eyes from a long distance away. 2) The higher intensity red of the main beam of light doesn't spook the coyote, while the hunter is making positive identification of the animal before shooting.
Has nothing to do with preserving night vision.

A different situation is deer hunting. A deer hunter likes to use a low intensity red to walk to the deer stand in the dark before sunrise. This low intensity red preserves night vision and the light doesn't spook the deer.

Another situation is feral hog hunting. Although their eyes don't glow nearly as much as coyotes, the high intensity red doesn't spook them.

A white light can be used for hunting. But it is the objective of the user to spot the animal in the spill of the light (e.g. by shining the main beam above the horizon). When ready to shoot, the main light beam is put on the animal. The startled animal will "freeze" for a split second while the shooter makes the shot. If the shooter takes too long, chances are that the animal will be startled and run. Many hunters using white light have a dial rheostat in the circuit to gradually adjust the intensity per the situation. When the shooter is ready, the rheostat is turned to give maximum lighting (called "burning" the animal).
So red is more forgiving, and doesn't spook the animal. No need for a rheostat on a red led flashlight/spotlight.
 
Last edited:

00Moonshine

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
36
Location
Tx
I tried using a SF M3LT with a red filter on it for nighttime coyote calling, and found that the filter cut down the output/throw too much. I'd go for a red LED.
 

tbenedict

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
217
I think I have seen red Solarforce P60 drop-ins if that is of interest. Should be a good balance of throw and spill for hunting purposes. Then you could pick the host based on his battery preference.
 

Double_A

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
2,042
Red helps to preserve night vision, yes, but a bright enough light of any wavelength is going to kill night vision. The whole preserving night vision thing is mainly about low levels of light in the right wavelength. Technically speaking, once your cones bow out and your rods kick in as the main light gathering sensors you shouldn't be seeing any color at all, as they only transmit shades of grey to the brain. It's true that rods are most sensitive to cyan light (the particular intensity of that wavelength, they don't pick up the color), so that's why a blast of greenish light will ruin your night vision and you'll have to wait to regain it again. Because rods don't pick up color your brain just thinks that the bright light means you don't need to rods anymore, so your cones pop back into action. But the rods aren't so reactive to red light (I believe they're technically blind to it above 640nm or so), which means if you're out in a field at night and you're using a dim red light, your cones can pick the light up but your rods ignore it, and are therefor unaffected and remain "on". But if the red light is bright enough it'll ruin night vision anyway.

I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure all that is accurate. If it's not feel free to correct me.

So, assuming I am accurate, if he's looking for a red spotlight to light up a field with and is thinking that will somehow preserve his night vision he might as well get a real spotlight with a nice tint.

This is my understanding also.
 

Yobresal

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
47
If you want maximum throw and brightness you can always use a high powered red laser unfocussed. It will have incredible throw and be far brighter than almost any red LED flashlight being produced.
If you want good throw and also some spill to capture the illuminated red eyes of the coyotes then go for a custom built PT54 Red LED in an 18650 host. Battery run times will be garbage and you will likely need to use a duty cycle but you can get a good 600 lumens out of it easy.
 

BoarHunter

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 7, 2009
Messages
150
Why not try a green LED instead ? I read that it is even better, in term of night vision and not spooking game.
 

lightforce2

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
220
Location
Vic Australia
I use a Tiablo A9 fitted with a cree xr-c red led over-driven to about 1 amp, it has 3 modes. With the aspheric lens fitted it will locate eyes out to about 300m. The animals perception of greater distance between itself & the light source is increased when using a red light.
I also have an amber (k2) hoya camera lens filter fitted to a Dereelight DBS, this filter removes all UV to blue light which is the most sensitive of the light spectrum to an animals eyes.

One word of caution, with red light you loose colour rendition making it more dificult to distinguisg the target species from the background.

here's a pic of my lights from a couple of years ago, note the red emitter in the tiablo (right)
deeretiablo.jpg


yellowred.jpg
 
Last edited:

Pacecar

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
112
Why not try a green LED instead ? I read that it is even better, in term of night vision and not spooking game.
Green (as well as amber) works well for feral hogs, but not as well as red for coyotes. Human eyes are very sensitive to green, so high intensity green does not maintain human night vision.
 

Yobresal

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
47
Well participating in this thread got me to bring out the tools and I put together this little PT-54 Red LED flashlight. It is running between 6-7A direct drive. This light is brighter than my single P7 at 1A. It should be putting out 600+ lumens but I cannot test this just going off the spec sheet. It runs on a single LifePO4 18650. This thing is just insanely bright. On with the photos.

1000031j.jpg

1000032x.jpg

My room with the lights on
img0538on.jpg

Lights still on....
img0537q.jpg

Lights off
img0536k.jpg

Next to my P7 @ 1A
1000034x.jpg

Backyard
1000033m.jpg

1000045l.jpg

1000042y.jpg

1000040t.jpg

1000039e.jpg

1000038s.jpg

1000037e.jpg

1000036g.jpg

1000035h.jpg
 
Last edited:

SkyPup

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
79
Location
Kazakhstan
I've been using the Elusive Wildlife Technologies KillLight XLR250 RED LED for a hand held scanning light out to 250 yards to light up retinas and the Olight M-20 Crimson RED LED as a weapon mounted kill light.

They are an awesome night hunting combination running for a full two hours.

KillLight%20XLR250%20Olight%20M-20%20Crimson%20Comparo.jpg


KillLight%20250%20Olight%20M20%20BeanShot.jpg
 

EV_007

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
924
Location
Over there -- >
Wow, that last set was insanely bright for a red LED.

I have the Surefire L1. (My images shown earlier in the posts.) Thing is really bright with a tight focused beam. I like the two levels for near and far illumination.
 
Top