Opinions on Night Hunting Lights

Hey,
We went to Quanah Tx last Spring to try our hand at hog hunting. It was night hunting only from blinds and the rancher tightly controlled where we were, due to worrying about scaring them off. In the end, we only had one sighting thru our thermal camera and were not using thermal scopes but had green and red feeder lights, which the rancher did not allow us to install, due to worry about scent near the feeder.

The question is, are thermal scopes the way to go or can feeders lights work?

Check out "Rentless Pursuite". The Host uses a special Red lite that's leagal , & made in Texas gd luck , but they'd both work I'm thinking ,pig huntings already a cash cow , but small ranches need support to!

I heard that thery are sensitive to green but not red, lights. I'm all up for going back next Spring, but would like more opportunities, including trying some daytime hunting.

Sounds like you were not set up for success. How were you suppose to shoot this hog with out a light or thermal scope?

The ranch rules did not help as we couldn't use the feeder lights I brought. The rancher thought we could light them up with a red flashlight when they were spotted. Isn't this a way to go? Not everyone has $$$ to get a thermal scope.

Check out sniper hog lights.
The have different models but you have the option of red, green and ir.
Red light is what you want and they attached to your rifle easy. You can buy the combo with one for the rifle one for scanning. I got the largest set not to long ago after having good luck with the ones our guide had last year.

Wanna say the whole setup cost around $350 so might be just what you need.

If you wanted to use the feeder lights you should have told him when you booked. He was right not to let you install them the day before the hunt. He should have installed them for you a month before the hunt or set you up with other options. Like snox801's Sniper Hog Light weapons mounted. I use the Wicked set of lights which is top of the line like the Sniper set. Or he could have told you to rent thermals from Ultimate Night Vision $200 to $300 for five days.

Here is what I'm doing.

I go to Walmart and buy the solar "spot" lights. Then I mounted them to the coon guard, I used 1" square mesh. I also used a red permanent marker to color the lens.

It lights up deer great, but the hogs have been too elusive.

Noticed the date and time...I'm sure it just a coincidence but they show up pretty quickly after we leave.

I'm from Texas and have hunted hogs in East, South and far West Texas. I think your host was overly worried about his cash producer. As long as the hogs get used to the light, it doesn't matter what color it is, but the green and red seem to be least alerting. The ones that come on gradually, like the "Kill Light," work really well. I've never seen any indication that hogs care about scent more than food. I've sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, 20 feet from a feeder, shot and killed a hog, they scattered and I went to check the downed one before sitting back down, 15 minutes later they were back on the feeder and didn't care about my scent or their dead pal.

Just look for another place to hunt! Check their references!
Find someone who appreciates your business and wants you to come back.
There are millions of feral hogs in the US no one has a lock on them!

CO_Guy said:

Hey,
We went to Quanah Tx last Spring to try our hand at hog hunting. It was night hunting only from blinds and the rancher tightly controlled where we were, due to worrying about scaring them off. In the end, we only had one sighting thru our thermal camera and were not using thermal scopes but had green and red feeder lights, which the rancher did not allow us to install, due to worry about scent near the feeder.

The question is, are thermal scopes the way to go or can feeders lights work?

Click to expand...

CO_Guy said:

The ranch rules did not help as we couldn't use the feeder lights I brought. The rancher thought we could light them up with a red flashlight when they were spotted. Isn't this a way to go? Not everyone has $$$ to get a thermal scope.

Click to expand...

So the "rancher" was worried about you scaring off the hogs and would not let you use lights because he was afraid your scent would disturb the hogs? Then you could not put them up because of "ranch rules"? Sounds like your rancher was protecting his hogs from you shooters. That y'all should have discussed issues with him beforehand is also correct. Either way, I would not go there again.

Okay, not everyone has money for thermal. That is a common complaint about thermal. However, before you spend $350 on a flashlight setup, consider that you can get refurbished Pulsar Digisight N550 night vision (about 4 year old technology) for $400. If you bought a supplemental IR illuminator and mount from Amazon, $450. You can get a new Photon XT night vision scope for about $600. You can find videos on both via Youtube that will show you their capabilities. The N550 is probably a 100 yard scope by itself, which is more than most night hunters need and if you have a supplemental IR illuminator and open terrain, you could get 150 yards. Renting is also an option, but it comes with the learning curve of receiving the scope, installing it on your gun, learning to operate it, learning to sight it in, and then working with it at night for the first time. Some are easier to use than others for newbies.

I use my sniper hog light as a supplement to my caught also. Or that's the plan anyway. I tried a few Ir lights that just didn't cut it. These lights came with the ir bulbs so it was kinda extra. I got mine mainly for yotes and fox. I agree I'm limited to the one or two times a year I get to go so thermal is tough to swallow. Rental sounds like the way to fly.

I have had good luck running a rifle mounted kill light (I'll get the make/model).

I typically mount the light on the left hand side of an AR near the end of the handguard. This location makes it easy to grip the forend and use your thumb to flip the switch on and off.

I have also found that turning the light on while aiming well above the feeder, then slowly lowering it down while looking through the scope helps keep them from spooking. It's a gradual change in light as opposed to flashing on/off.

I think I paid $250 for it with several mounting options and rechargeable batteries, etc.