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LED night hunting light... Red or Green?

50K views 85 replies 29 participants last post by  shrxfn 
#1 ·
I am gonna get a LED flashlight like the Destroyer or EWT XLR250. The green is brighter but some guys say it spooks hogs worse than the red. Whats your opinion?
 
#2 ·
is this going to be turned on before you shoot? I would think red would be better for that... blue is an option as well.
 
#4 ·
I've got the destroyer in Green. I will tell you from firsthand experience, turning it on prior to lowering the weapon helps in not spooking the deer... which, the deer spook and pigs in the area will be alerted to this.... not that I hunt deer at night, but pigs I do... and many times have had deer alert on me and spook the pigs away for a good little while. May not be the case up in Iowa, but possible.

Coyotes and pigs however, do not spook easily when you just turn on the green light. I like the green over the red because of the added distance it gives over the red through a good scope. I can shoot 150-200 yards if needed out of a green light in moderate humidity, clear nights I haven't been able to try yet because I've been caught up doing other things unfortunately.

Just another man's opinion. Take it what it's worth. But I'm definitely a fan of the green LED destroyer.
 
#6 ·
Turning on the light prior to lowering down on the animal helps in both cases, since regardless of the animal's vision (color or monochrome) they'll perceive a light shining at them.

I can't say which would spook animal X less, but from the hunter's perspective red preserves night vision better while green and blue are great for following a blood trail.

Good luck!
 
#7 ·
I have the 9W TexasBoars.com night light that has two red and one green LED, good to around 100 yards. the generic light is a almost an orange but seems to work well. I hope to get out this coming weekend to check it out for some pig testing at night (30 July-1 Aug. 2010). It seems to work well in testing, limited, in my neighborhood.
 
#12 ·
I actually got a deal on a a pair of tactical lights at Sam's club for about $20. They are ~120 Lumen with the Cree LEDs. It is a great flashlight for the money. It also has three modes low power, high power and strobe. It was such a great deal I have been looking for them again and now I cannot find them.
 
#17 ·
By way of disclaimer - I'm not an expert on these things. I've spent a bit of time reading, and I'm happy to share what I've found. But don't assume I'm an expert...

It depends on what you're wanting it for. If you're going to be using them daily, or in life & death situations, then I'd suggest you look around on candlepowerforums. There's a guy who sells some that are supposed to be the best, and IIRC they're around $14 each.

On unprotected cells - If you're going to treat it like a regular rechargeable battery, then an unprotected cell is not safe. You'll over discharge it, then start a fire when you recharge it. If you run the light until it visibly dims, the cell may be over discharged. Check the voltage before you put it in a charger.

All I have is unprotected cells. I just wanted a bright light for hog hunting. It will get used rarely, and for short periods of time. If I over discharge a cell, or the recoil starts to dent it, I'll just toss it. At this point I've got around 30 cells, and if I ask around at work, I could have a pile of old laptop batteries.

Before I knew I could them from laptops I got 10 Ultra Fire cells on Ebay (ironic name, huh?). They seem fine, but I've since read about the Ultra Fire labels being for sale, so they may be fakes.

BTW, I hope OP doesn't mind the threadjack :a11:
 
#20 ·
I received my light from kaidomain yesterday, pretty quick considering it comes from Hong Kong. Looks like a good unit. Forgot to order a cell and recharger. I ordered a charger and a protected cell from Amazon last night. Can't wait to get the thing going.
 
#21 ·
And, THIS little piggy went drop-flop-plop ALL the way down. :a01:
 
#23 ·
That's good to hear !!! May there be blood splatters everywhere in the avacado orchards now !!!
 
#24 ·
I got the the battery and charger yesterday... thing works great!!! Thanks ksJoe for the heads up on the kaidomain... I'm going to take it out tonight, if it ever stops raining... At 12 bucks and change I might just have to pick me up a couple more jic...
 
#25 ·
I have shot a few thousand varmint at night using a light "not kidding".
Here is what I can tell you.
Green WILL get you more distance and be brighter. As others have said you are best off if you turn the light on above them and then move the light down so it doesn't just flash on then when you turn it on.
With Red light you can turn it on right on them without problems about 98% of the time. With red you will give up distance and brightness.
If you are using a lighted recticle scope it will aid you in night hunting. It makes picking up the cross hairs and keeping them on the varmint much easier if the animal is black or very dark.
There is great satisfaction with night hunting. For me it is much more fun and exciting.
 
#26 ·
Glad you like it redyak3 :a21:

That was my third light purchased from Hong Kong. The first was a $27 white light LED, with low power UV for blood trails, and a remote pressure switch The second was $9.90 green LED with less light output, and not much throw. The third was this, and by far my favorite.
 
#28 ·
Zestay !!! Nice pig Al !! Congrats to yaz.
 
#29 ·
OK. I give. I'll try a 1 of these Hong Kong lights for that price. Not sure how well I'll like the night hunting thing and this is a cheap way to find out. If I like it, I may splurge for a nice one like Mr. Wilson sells. I 'tried' this for the first time last weekend. Hung some lights on the feeder and sat out there after dark for an hr (after deer hunting most of the day). I didn't realize how boring it would be sitting there in the dark. All you can see is the lights on the feeder. Nothing to look at. I figure with these lights on the AR I can be a little more mobile and stalk them vs waiting on them....that's the plan anywho.
 
#31 ·
LOL I like reading " Alaska Bear Tales" and the sequals to it when I'm tent camping... ANY bear books for that matter. :a01:
 
#34 ·
In addition to the red/green light setup from Texasboars I have, I have one of Wilson Combat's tac light
it will easily light up to a hundred yards

Did some testing today with an ACOG TA11G (3.5x, green donut)
getting 1" groups at 100 at the range today and hitting steel at 250, rediciously easy...

Tonight I checked in the field behind my house, good light up the trees at 100 yards behind my fence...
I wouldn't have any problem whatsoever taking a hog at 100 yards with that light and the ACOG
 
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