13 replies to this topic

[tony parkinson]

does the color of the light matter when hunting at night?

[Chris Miller]

I've been fortunate enough to hunt with some pretty good predator hunters and the red vs white light argument is always humorous. I have watched BOTH work great and if used correctly, I have never seen one not get the job done. One thing I do know, if you burn them with the light, they seem to spook no matter what color it is. Keep it high, and don't blast em with it until you're ready to shoot, if at all. Now I personally prefer white light. I can see better, and further, but I know other guys feel differently.

I have not personally seen that one color works any better than another.

[tjc1230]

Yotes around here tend to be light shy to begin with. White lights sends them packing fast so for me , it's RED.

[wilded]

While the white light can be used effectively you will see more eyes and spook less animals with red, amber or green. If you hunt out of a vehicle it really becomes more critical as white light will show the vehicle from a long ways out where red and green make the vehicle very hard for predators to see. I have only been hunting predators from vehicles for 40 years with spotlights. My first red lights were airplane lights that we colored the lens glass with red magic markers. There have been many studies done on the eyes of predators and vision. Some of the major zoos put red lights in their animals of the night displays long ago as they found that predators would not come out for the zoo visitors to see in daylight or white light, but if they lit up the display with red lights the predators reacted just like it was night time. It was also discovered that if a red light was placed in front of an item it would almost make the item invisiable from some animals as their black and white vision could not penetrate the red glow and see through it like a human eye. I believe without a doubt that science has proven that predators have a harder time seeing a red light and the illumination does not hurt their eyes near as much. Now if you use the latest billion candlepower light with a red plastic lens there is a lot of white light that still shines through that lens. Year in and year out I called alot more successfully with a red lens than a white. I have had many of my buddies become a lot more successful after they switched to a red light. JMHO

[bar-d]

I agree with Wilded. Although I have shot quite a few coyotes by white light, if I go calling, I use a red lens. Granted, the red lens does cut down the distance you can positively identify your target. Because of that you must do a good enough job of calling to bring them in closer. I strive for full body illumination because I do not shoot at eyes. As much as I hate coyotes for all they have cost me over the years, I still want the best chance at humanely killing them. I have seen white light not bother some coyotes at all. My son in law called me last year and asked me to come to the ranch he works for to help with the coyote problem. They were calving heifers and the coyotes were wearing them out. They had already lost several head. He, my grandson and I drove out to a big wheat field where the heifers were calving. It was pitch dark except for the truck headlights. He shined a 1,000,000 cp spotlight out over the field and picked up a coyote at about 200 yds. For whatever reason, the dog just sat down and stared in our direction. Huge mistake. I dropped him with my .243 right where he sat. Coyote behavior can be unpredictable but odds are you will be more successful more often if you use a red lens. Just my $0.02 worth.

[GritGuy]

Old debate that really amounts to how the dogs are called to begin with, bottom line is that both will effectively do the job when properly used.

I'd give the the red the priority for me, as it's much easier on my eyes at night than anything else, I'd rather have the night vision on a constant basis than have to always spend a half hour or so getting my night eyes back.

[tony parkinson]

well thanks for the tips guys. il just have 2 start spotlighting them, & see how they react.

[Chris Miller]

Called in a double tonight with a bright white light, from the bed of my truck. Even after burning them with it, they continued to move right into my downwind.

I do like the distance of that white light, but if I could find a brighter red one, I am sure I would like that too.

[tony parkinson]

good job! we can only use a light a certain time of the year, but when its time im prolly just gonna use a white light because i can see better lol

[cooncrazy]

i use the red. lots of other folks hunting at night wises the critters up real fast around here!

[tony parkinson]

they get use 2 seeing the light on them?

[youngdon]

Red mutes the brightness of the light and more than likely makes things blend together for the coyote as they do not see red. They do not see in the same rainbow of colors that we do. They see dk. blue, lt. blue , gray, lt. yellow, dk. yellow, and dk. gray. A red light would appear to be yellow to dk. yellow to them I believe, there-by being the same as a amber light for the most part. A coyote does see brightness or any lightsource and if he has not been shot at by a spotlighting hunter he probably wonders what it is. If he has been shot at he may remember the lesson, just the same as a called coyote in daylight can become educated. My .02

[tony parkinson]

oh ok thanks. i thought they couldnt see any part of a red lens.

[youngdon]

A red lense is in reality probably more beneficial to hunters in that their eyes adjust back to darkness faster than when they were subjected to white light.