Reading the stands before daylight threads I got to wondering what color light you use to enter or leave a stand in darkness on dark moon phase or cloudy conditions. Of course moon near full and clear sky I need no lights. Snakes are a problem here until they go under so a light is helpful.
I have talked to those that swear on red and those that swear on green, so what do you use and why?
I always preferred red due to the less loss of night vision but have been using green this year. Red I have had deer blow but not yet with green.
Red has always been my favorite for low light conditions. Little loss of night vision, does not reflect very far, and I have never used the green yet....
I have used the green for the last 12 years, I have never used the red. I can't tell you which one is better, but I'll stick with green.
I stumble in and out in the dark without a light.
If it is too dark to walk in and I can't make out the ground to walk in I use a green lite. Usually just walk real slow so that I can make my way without a light. Plus all the hogs here run from red and white light, blue or green is needed to get a shot.
I use regular lights and would probably brake a leg or ankly walking over a mile up and down rocky ridges in the dark without one..no roads or trails.
I personally don't think lights bother deer that much..walked right up on too many of them using them.
Wouldn't think of walking around in the dark during gun season.
QuoteOriginally posted by Stumpkiller:
I stumble in and out in the dark without a light.
too dangerous here with the poachers which will leave you =if they shot you I'm sure... going in and going out I use this
http://www.streamlight.com/en-us/product/product.html?pid=52
going you leave the cap on which has a hole in the end so that's all that's seen is a green circle on ground,,,,,, going out you remove the cap which exposes (1) LED which can be seen for 2 miles so gun hunters don't shoot you and also lights up the ground..... I like green but also have them in soft white. I wrap them in hockey tape (like everything else) which eliminates any clang sounds and I can also hold it in my teeth and walk with my hands full. think I paid 15.00 at bass pro in the camping section.
I lost the red lense for my mini maglite and am stuck with a yellow lense disc. Anyone tried those. I rarely turn anything on until I climb unless it's a new moon.
The reason for the colored lens, typically red, is so as not to spook deer who can't see that range of colors. (red, orange, etc.) They can see blues and greens very well though.
Went from red to green a few years ago and like it. I keep it low, pointed straight down when I walk in or if I wait too long to walk out at night.
I am gonna guess that the deer are blowing at you and not at your light. No matter what color your light is, your presence is not unnoticed.
ChuckC
QuoteOriginally posted by ChuckC:
I am gonna guess that the deer are blowing at you and not at your light. No matter what color your light is, your presence is not unnoticed.
ChuckC
Yup!
I know one thing..I could never get as close to deer in the dark as I do if I didn't have a light on am I'm not shinging them or blinding them with the beam in there eyes.
When I do get right on top of them ..less than 10yds..it's not the light they run from, they hear me walking or smell me.
I personally think the light distracts from a human presence and they don't spook as bad. Like kinda confused.
I've also walked right under gobblers with a light on and set up within 20yds of the tree and they start gobbling as if nothing happened.
I got to my tree the other morning before daylight using a headlamp and hand flashlight and noticed about 5 deer already there and feeding on acorns about 30yds from me. They just kept on feeding for a while as I got my gear ready to climb up to the loc on and eventually they just eased on off.
Sounds like a great study. Not sure exactly how to conduct it, but... does an artificial light at night help, hinder, or do nothing with respect to alarming game.
ChuckC
I know my way around my property well enough to get by without a light most of the time. But if I really need a light I use a white headlamp. Twice in the past couple of weeks I have walked right up on deer with the light. They really don't seem to spook from the light coming at them, but get nervous and move off when I stop. I was less than 20 yards from them and really don't think a colored light would have let me get closer or not be noticed. I personally don't think the color of the light has much to do with it.
It's pretty much accepted that the flash from trail cams have little or no affect on game. I have several night photos of the same critter in a short span of time...and the white flash did not draw any attention.
I suspect it's smell or noise that alerts them and not a light (of any color).
I've using green for a while now and I doubt the deer spook at it because I've had them in a field in the dark as I was coming out and they didn't spook,, I think they are mesmerized with any dancing light in the field sometimes .. .
when I know there are deer around I just walk at a steady pace in a direct line to my truck and don't stop for nothing and I know for a fact deer have stood there a different distances away and let me just walk by,,,,,, I'm sure a lot of you other hunters have been in your stand and you actually watched another hunter walk past a deer that he didn't even know was there but you did.
this might be because its urban deer that see all kinds of people all year long so I believe in heavily used area some deer can read body language and they can identify someone as a threat by how they are acting in the woods,, while stumping shooting 2 yrs ago with a white T shirt and shorts a decent sized doe let me stalk up to about 20yds and she had to know I was there.
back to lights,,,, try the one I linked above for less than 20 bucks it cannot be beat for what we do..
I have red, green and white on my headlamp. I use the white 90% of the time. I use the red if I need something out of my pack after I setup.
I prefer green myself! I don't know about the deer, but doesn't seem to affect my eyes as bad as the white light.
Tajue17, the light you referenced is the one I use and also cup it in my hand to further decrease light intensity. I also use a green head lamp when riding old logging roads and skids on my bike, some stands are way back in the woods.
The woods I hunt have deer that are very wise to the game. The property has been bow hunt only since 1967. Yes some could have spooked from sight/smell of me but not all and I am very wind conscious.
"Deer are essentially red-green color blind like some humans" from http://www.qdma.com/corporate/what-do-deer-see
So that is why I posed the question to see if in the field findings bear it out. Keep the responses coming.
I use a regular white light, but I try to get to the stand about an hour before daylight. Generally, unless the deer is already close by, there is no problem. If he is close, red or green won't make much difference because of the noise made while getting in the stand.