Silly (maybe) Noob question.

rexydg7

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Dec 10, 2008
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Hi all!,

New guy here.
I have a question... first I will give the scenrio.

I hunt Hogs here in FL on private land.. being the tasty pest that they are.

recently I have come across a plot of land that the owner wants them gone. I have placed feeders and game cams, the issue is that they only come in on the darkest nights when the moon is not out, I have in the past used my rifle with the scope on the lowest setting and had good luck as long as i have some moonlight to shoot by.

So.. i was thinking about this deal and I want to know if there is a way to "focus" say a 3 watt LED light that I would mount on my rifle that would "project" the beam with a red filter to say 100 yars and keep it about say 3-4 feet in diameter.. so that I could "light" up one hog at a time.

I dont know that much about this stuff... but I tink there should e something I could build for the end of the light with lenses or fiber optics or something to "align" the photons to keep the side spill at a minimum.

Would there be a way to use a red laser and "open" it up instead?..

Thanks in advance for your replies.
 

D-Dog

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Nov 10, 2006
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I would suggest an LED-modded mag with an aspheric lens. This will produce a very tight beam with good throw and almost no side-spill which is what it sounds like you want. A good one will cost you about $100 which is also much less expensive than an M6 (plus the M6 would produce a floodier beam)

If you look in the Custom Lights forum of Candlepower, you will find lots of links concerning the lights (or just try a search). The Buy/Sell/Trade forum (B/S/T) is a good place to compare models as they are all different (custom builds)

For the red part I would suggest a filter before the lens, however, someone else will have to help you with that part (it is definitely doable and fairly easily too I would think) because I have never built one :)

Good luck
 
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kramer5150

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I would suggest an LED-modded mag with an aspheric lens. This will produce a very tight beam with good throw and almost no side-spill which is what it sounds like you want. A good one will cost you about $100 which is also much less expensive than an M6 (plus the M6 would produce a floodier beam)

If you look in the Custom Lights forum of Candlepower, you will find lots of links concerning the lights (or just try a search). The Buy/Sell/Trade forum (B/S/T) is a good place to compare models as they are all different (custom builds)

For the red part I would suggest a filter before the lens, however, someone else will have to help you with that part (it is definitely doable and fairly easily too I would think) because I have never built one :)

Good luck

x2.... A modded mag, aspheric with adjusted focus for throw and a red lens filter.

Even the tightest throwing reflector'd design will have some side flood and a bigger spot than 3 feet at 50+ yards.
 

RobertM

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Nov 24, 2007
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I'm going to have to disagree with a few of the above posts regarding putting a red filter over an LED.

LED's do not produce much red light and accordingly, your output with a red filter is going to be significantly reduced. If you are going red, you either need a red LED or an incandescent with a red filter. Not a red filter over a white LED.

To be honest, a useful red beam at 100 yrds. with a 3-4 ft. spot is not going to be easy to find. Ideally, a modded Maglite with a CREE XR Red emitter driven to ~700 mA with an aspheric lens would probably be your best bet.

You really need to specify a price range too. This will really help us narrow down possibly choices.

-Robert
 
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rexydg7

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Dec 10, 2008
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Thanks for the replies thusfar.

As far as cost.. I am looking at 100 to 150 range.. I feed my family with this meat so its worth the cost to me.

Aside from that I am looking for something that would be able to be mounted on the rifle.. so triple c maglights are out of the question.

I am interested in this red LED idea.. can anyone add to it?
 

rexydg7

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Dec 10, 2008
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What about night vision?

I have been looking at night vision... kinda pricey for what i am going to need... shots will be in the 100 to 175 yard range. also as I said there are a whole lot of pigs on this land... LOTS of them, but they don't move until it is DARK.. even a little moon and they stay put. so an illuminator would be a must with the NV anyway.

I figured something like this would be the best solution as the rifle is already scoped with quality glass.
 

Gunner12

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Dec 18, 2006
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Either a powerful incan with a heat resistant red filter(how well do HIDs work with a red filter?) or a red LED with a good reflector or lens.

A white LED doesn't produce much red light so a red filter will drastically reduce output.

:welcome:
 

bouncer

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Jan 5, 2005
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It ain't gonna be cheap but I would go with a surefire leopard light and a red filter.
 

Sgt. LED

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6P - Not big or heavy
Deerelight drop-in 5AQ3 smooth reflector - Really good reach and best tint, buy from FlashCrazy on the Marketplace
2 primary cells - Most dependable
1 rifle mount - Anything from a Surefire mount to Duct tape!
Roscolux sample pack for the red filter - it gives you many different strengths to try so you can still get a good red color reguardless of LED.
1 aspheric lens: With the Deerelight smooth reflector you may not really need the lens, I'd try out everything else on the list together first.

If you want to get fancy you can spring for a clicky switch.
 
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SCD

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Sep 18, 2007
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The hogs I have lit up on corn did not seem to care one bit....this was with a variety of led lights including a 3D Malkoff at 20 yards trying to get them to move on.

A focused mag with a Malkoff drop-in will give you one pig at a time spot beam as well as a good all around woods light---I've read most of Gene's 3D drop-ins are toward the warm side and mine is no exception. Just one suggestion, research what throwy light suits you best.

On my pigs, I would forget the red filter idea and set up somewhere around 30-70 yards downwind and burn powder, YMMV.

Side note: some glow paint on the front sight with a H50 clipped to the hat and a E1L in support hand make for a very good up close open sighted solution--well at least for armadillos.
 
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