A hunting light/s

[bleeber]

I posted this question in another poster's topic of camping but thought I would start a new topic as the situation is somewhat different. I am new to lights and only own a $5.99 wal-mart light and a Maglite (2D, I think) for around the house.

I thought I would make my first post here. My primary use is for hunting. I need a light for walking to my stand in darkness. A typical walk may be 20 minutes along a (possibly small) trail. Then when nearing the stand, shining the light into the trees to find a marker or the actual stand itself.

So what I've learned from reading here tonight is that I would probably need a tight beam that shines a good distance? I realize that I may need a separate light once I am actually in my stand for finding things in my pack, etc.

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[ironhorse]

I mainly use the aa mini mag led. It will survive a drop on rocks. I also have the pelican versabright which I can clip to my hat while I am climbing into my tree stand or gutting a deer after dark ect.

 

[aussiebob]

Surefire A2 http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/900/sesent/00

It will do the job of two lights.

Low mode, for finding your way, looking in your pack etc.

High incan mode for long range illumination.

It has a clip so you could secure it on your hat or something.

It comes in different led colours, blue is supposed to be good for tracking blood trails when hunting and the red doesnt spook animals.

 

[cernobila]

Or, you could also get a Wolf-Eyes Sniper with the original WE 3.7V lamp, a 168 cell (and charger) and a LED tailcap. This outfit is rechargeable, runs for about 55 minutes on main lamp or maybe for ever on the LED. The new lamp's beam is slightly tighter and gives very good performance, all this for the size of a SF 6P and very good value for the money.....oh and did I say reliable?.....

 

[Flying Turtle]

Welcome to CPF, bleeber. There's lots of lights that will meet your needs. Give us an idea of how much you want to spend and what size light you'd prefer. Fenix makes a variety of nice lights in the $15-$70 range.

Geoff

 

[bobli17]

Hello Bleeber,

Can you be more specific with what you want in a light?

What is your price range?
What type of batteries? AA, C, D, lithiums?
Do you want multiple modes?
How soon do you want the flashlight/s?

I'm a hunter myself so here is my set up.

Primary Light - Rominsen RC-N3 Q5
Backup Light - MX Power single aaa P4
Headlamp - 3aaa Dorcy Modded with SSC
Cap Light - 5 led Mastercap
Tracking Light - QuadCree 2D Maglite (6 AA)

I carry all these lights with me into the woods. I bring along other backup lights too, but leave them in the truck or at camp. All my lights use (mostly) AA or (few) AAA Eneloops and cr2032(the cap light). I have nothing "too" expensive (except the Quad which is just a luxury), cuz I rather spend the money on hunting equipment.

I use the cap light for looking in my bag and the headlamp for climbing in the dark, this leaves both my hands free. The RC-N3 is forward clicky and single mode which is exactly what I wanted. When I want bright light, it gives it to me. No need to move through modes. (not that I don't like muliple modes w/ memory :twothumbs ) The MX power is just backup in case things go wrong. It's small, bright (enough) and is a reliable twisty. The Quad for tracking is over kill.

SINCE hunting season starts in 3 days (for me anyways), if I were you I would go to Wally's world and grab a combination of these lights...

Primary - Colemax Max 2AA $25
Secondary - Rayovac 1W / 3W 2AA $9 / $13 (clearance)
Rayovac headlamp 1AA $9 (clearance)
MasterVision Cap Light $9
Brinkman Halogen/LED Spotlight $20

*if you need batteries
2 Duracell Mobile Chargers $25 each
1 four pack Duracell Pre-charge (w/ white top) $12 each

TOTAL PRICE... ~$138 + tax
HAVING ENOUGH FLASHLIGHTS FOR YOUR HUNTING TRIP... PRICELESS :twothumbs

Good Luck. :welcome:

-Bob

 

[metlarules]

If I were to make a purchase for hunting it would be a headlamp first.Seeing as that you are carrying a rifle and other stuff already its useful to have your hands free. I would suggest a princeton tec eos with the red flip up red lens.

 

[bleeber]

Thanks all for the replies...that was quick!

I obviously have more learning to do. Right now I think of a light to have an on/off switch and make dark, light. That's it. I really don't have a preference at to the battery only because I don't know the difference. I am assuming size and run time. My first thought is that AA or AAA is what I would look for only because they are readily available. However, I would consider any battery type...except for maybe D's.

Secondly, price. I could convince myself to spend up to $100 for a light. But from what I've learned here so far, one light probably won't do the trick...something I didn't realize, or think of. So, I might also be able to convince myself to spend a little more than $100 for multiple lights. I look back to past hunting seasons where I had one light in the truck and carried one with me to get to my stand. Thinking back, those 20 minute walks probably would have taken 10 minutes with the right light...:thinking:

Thanks again!!

 

[bleeber]

After reading some posts here and my interest grows, I am beginning to think I may soon have a flashlight collection that rivals my gun and knife collection.

 

[Kostoglotov]

All My $0.02

Battery standardization is probably only a requirement if you are doing a week long pack hunt. That being said its probably a good idea to try and limit yourself to 2 battery types.

Start with a good headlamp for finding your way in the morning and out in the evening – Petzl, http://en.petzl.com/petzl/LampesProduits?Produit=463 and Black Diamond http://www.bdel.com/gear/gizmo.php make nice headlights.

As for flashlights, the primary use will be for tracking game. A Surefire G2 is hard to beat imo. If you are using flagging tape, blue light really makes the tape jump out. This light with the Blue LED is a good option: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20158&hasJS=true

Both use cr123.

The Petzl's have a blue filter as well.

 

[fishx65]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=177597&highlight=hunting+deer

Good hunting light thread!

 

[superflytnt]

Hello and welcome!

I do alot of camping/hiking and (other than the need to follow a blood trail) the uses are fairly similar between that and hunting.

I would definitely go with a multi-level light. Most of the time you just don't want/need full output. My two favorite multi's right now are the Surefire E1B and the Nitecore D10. SF has just had a price increase so the E1B is out of the question but the D10 sells for $59 https://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=93&products_id=502

It is a great little light and can use many different batteries. I'd recommend a set of good NiMH rechargeables for the best performance vs. cost vs. ease of use ratio.

This light will go from really dim (and well over 100 hours of runtime) to very bright and anywhere in-between. The beam has bright spill to light up a large area in front of you and still has pretty good throw.

The D10 also uses a tail switch to control the brightness level and is really easy to use. Just press to turn it on and press again to turn it off. To change the output level just press and hold the button while the light is on to ramp up and if you go too far just release and then press/hold again to go the other way. There are some extra features like shortcuts to max or min output but it's still really simple to use.

All in all I think that this light would do everything you need it to do but I'm sure that you'll get many different recommendations so happy reading and good luck out there!

BTW, back when I did hunt I had much better luck following blood trails with a white LED (or even an incandescent) than I did with pure blue light. I know that blue light is supposed to make blood look black but it makes many other things look black as well. I found that regular old white light is far easier to my eye.........

 

[cernobila]

For outdoor use I have found favour with a warm beam, either an incan or a warm tinted LED. I suggest you try before you buy.....borrow a cool tinted LED, a warm tinted LED and an incan of similar size....then start hunting so to speak

 

[bleeber]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the feedback.

 

[Gunner12]

I think one of the Fenix, Olight, Nitecores, Jetbeam, or similar might be a good place to start. They have AA powered lights and have good output and the ability to have at least high output and low output mode.

How far do you need the light to throw?

:welcome:

 

[oronocova]

Hi,
For hunting I have been using a DexLight X.V Of course, you can't find that anymore but I like it because it has a pretty low setting and also will provide a lot of light if needed. It will provide plenty of light to shine a set of eyes across a couple hundred yards of field. Saying that, this year I am going to use my Zebralight H50 headlamp. It should be a lot better as I won't have to use one hand for a light. It will still use AAs so I can take my other light along as a backup or for more throw. If you like to get in the woods way before daylight like I do then I recommend a multi-mode light with a low low and a high if needed. Really I like the idea of the headlamp though because it frees up your hands, which is especially good if you are climbing a tree in the dark.
HTH
-Jon

 

[Rat6P]

I used to do a heap of hunting, until I moved to the big city:mecry:.
Alot of night hunts and early morning stuff...like a few hours before sunrise and beyond sort of thing.
One light I wish I had back then is my Novatac 85P.
This thing is very versitile.
Though its not a spot, the beam is still beautiful for searching and well this wouldnt have stopped me using it.
More than bright enough on max is the 85P, or the 120 series if you wish for more lumens, especially out in the bush/country at night.
Low low setting that wont bug your nightvision if you so wish
Set it up how you want it and it will do the job of several lights..........

 

[thermal guy]

As a fellow hunter/camper i would say to get the new fenix TK20.It's tint is more like an incandescent then an led. It has a low of 45LM and a high of 150LM and all the throw you will need! Took mine for a walk in the woods the first day i got it and was very impressed.Runs on two AA as well.

 

[ZMZ67]

For outdoor use I have found favour with a warm beam, either an incan or a warm tinted LED. I suggest you try before you buy.....borrow a cool tinted LED, a warm tinted LED and an incan of similar size....then start hunting so to speak

+1,good advice cernobila.I also like warm beams for outdoor use but cool tinted lights will probably offer more lumens.

 

[cernobila]

+1,good advice cernobila.I also like warm beams for outdoor use but cool tinted lights will probablly offer more lumens.

The more we use our lights and the more outdoor trips my wife and I make, the less we need......"more lumens, more lumens". We both find that it is more important to have a smaller/lighter light with a good quality beam coming out of it, both in shape and color. Considering the amount of time we spend outside at night, most of the lights that are left behind are the ones that have "more lumens, more lumens"......but that's just us.