UV flashlight for hunting

[HeyGuysWatchThis]

I did a search, but what I came up with was either at least 2 years old or related to scorpion hunting, which I don't know how applicable that is.

I have a reputation as the go-to guy for flashlights, but I just don't know that much about UV lights. A coworker has asked me to find a light for tracking wounded animals at night, since most normal LED flashlights just don't show the blood very well. Anybody got some recommendations for me?

 

[Kestrel]

I did a search, but what I came up with was either at least 2 years old or related to scorpion hunting [...]

I know what you mean, just last week I did a search on this (looking for a high-powered UV config for a friend) but didn't come across anything of much substance later than 2008. Good luck and hopefully other folks will post with some suggestions. :shrug:

 

[UberLumens]

Talk to nailbender for a high wattage UV or IR Drop in,

Blue lights also show blood well, it appears very dark compared to its surroundings.

 

[ninemm]

I believe people have said the K2 Kroma is good for hunting/tracking wounded animals. Apparently the blue leds are applicable in spotting blood (shows up as black?). Also, the K2 has red leds for preserving your night vision.

 

[etc]

Talk to nailbender for a high wattage UV or IR Drop in,

.

That's the best you can get. But it's expensive, above 100 tokens just for the module last time I checked. Still, cheaper than other similar lites elsewhere.

 

[Pacecar]

Best light is a Coleman gas-powered lantern.
Next best is a good incandescant flashlight with lots of flood.
Third best is a warm LED flood flashlight.
Fourth best is one of those hyped-up blood lights that has simultaneous combination color leds.

 

[HeyGuysWatchThis]

Responding to several statements:

"shows up as black" is exactly their complaint. This is very difficult to see on leaves and such.

Does an actual UV LED make the blood black as stated about the blue LEDs or does it make it fluoresce like urine, scorpions, etc?

Interesting, I was told by another coworker that the Coleman lantern was the best, also

 

[HeyGuysWatchThis]

I just came across the Streamlight Twin-Task 3C UV Flashlight. Does anyone have any experience with it, hopefully in the game tracking context?

 

[ti-force]

I was going to direct you to this thread, but then I noticed you posted in that thread already. I think you need red light combined with UV light and it needs to be in the correct spectrum.

I'm not sure how tight the tolerances are on these "blood tracking" lights. Either way, I've heard positive results, and at the same time I've heard negative results. I think it depends on the type of environment you hunt in, and what time of year it is.

Different area's have different types of foliage and in the fall the leaves will be on the ground. I'm pretty sure that a plain UV light isn't going to work. When they use those lights for crime scene investigations, the blood has already dried and I believe they spray a certain chemical to make it fluoresce.

 

[bkumanski]

I know this is a LED light forum, but a flashlight isn't really the best tool for the job of tracking game IMO. Better would be a thermal game scope such as this:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/game-finder-junior-enhanced-cf-jr-e.html

or this:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/game-finder-inc-the-finder-heatseeker-00073.html

The $400 models are better yet for spotting the blood trail, but these work good too (no experience with the game finder jr, but I have seen the Heatseeker in action).

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Blood does not fluoresce under UV. Blood that's been treated with Luminol does. This is the stuff that you see being used (or simulated) in CSI and other detective shows.

A blue LED will show blood as black since blood is red and thus does not reflect any blue light. The surrounding foliage will reflect some of the blue light, creating contrast between the blood and it's surroundings. Compare this to a UV light which makes everything look black (foliage does not fluoresce).

In short there is no wavelength that is especially good for tracking blood because there's nothing in blood that can be easily differentiated from it's surroundings other than by using plain old white light.