Spotlights for Hunting at Night

If you are going for a spotlight, then you should look out for these things:

Illumination

What is the reason for using a spotlight? The primary reason is to assist your vision during your night hunting. Hence, a spotlight with poor illumination defeats the purpose of use. If you can’t get a proper view of the hunting field, how do you intend to locate your prey?  Therefore, the very first thing to consider in choosing a spotlight is the illumination power, such that you have an enhanced view even in darkness; the brighter the illumination, the better. The value of the luminous flux will give you a hint of how bright the spotlight is; while some have a luminous flux of 550 lumens, some have 6 000 lumens. Note that the luminous flux does not only tell you how bright the spotlight is, but how far the light can travel into the darkness for your eyes to see.

The Battery or A Cord

Usually, rechargeable batteries are preferably used in hunting prey because you can recharge them. Their rechargeable feature gives a hunter a serious advantage and helps the hunter reach his goal even if he has to spend considerable periods in the woods. The cord or wire is connected to a 12v source that gives the spotlight power and the darkness light as long as the spotlight is connected to the power source. They would effectively work. This kind of light is often best for boats or vehicles.

Handhelds

Handheld spotlights are probably the most preferred spotlight to consider because not only are you able to move around freely when you use them, but even during rain, it could help in finding the closest shelter for you. Such a spotlight could help in walking long distances. Apart from this, a handheld spotlight could help you in running faster as it is lightweight and it also helps to reduce hand fatigue during hunting. Unlike other spotlights that you would need to keep pressing down on a button so that the light would stay on, when this is switched on, it doesn’t go off until you switch it off.

Temporary or Permanently Mounted

A permanently mounted spotlight is your best bet if you are using a 12V power, or do most of your hunting with a boat or car. Permanently mounted spotlights are fixed into maybe your car or your boat making it permanently outside the vehicle you are using.   Temporary spotlights are usually permanent but have a hand holding alternative i.e even though they are to be placed on a side of the vehicle they could also be removed. This allows you not to only use it when you are in the car, it allows you to use it when you are outside the car.

Quality

Hunting is a rugged sport often carried out in rugged environments. Hence, it becomes vital to purchase a spotlight that has a rugged build and won’t either encounter a dent or just damage when it hits something. More so, it must be able to withstand ill temperatures or weather.; otherwise, you may be looking at changing your spotlight often, increasing the cost of investment into the sport, not to mention the danger that accompanies a sudden plunge into darkness in the middle of nowhere.

The other subset of quality is the runtime. A spotlight with shorter runtime implies that users would have to change the batteries or run the risk of being left in the dark. Having to purchase batteries can also increase your cost of investment into the sport; hence, check to ensure your choice of the spotlight has an excellent runtime for hunters.

Spotlight Bulb Color

Once you are done considering all the above you also have to consider the kind of spotlight you will need when you are hunting because certain bulb colors help more effectively in catching prey. Colors like blue, red, green, blue, and white are good examples of bulb light that could be used.

Red

You can use the color red for wolves, foxes, or coyotes. Red hues are generally more subtle colors than their counterparts; so it is not likely to scare your prey nor would you have to worry about shadows. Red light is not necessarily bad for human sight at night; this confers so much help as you do not have to adjust your vision to the red light. The red color can also help to keep your activities in check and at a certain level, manage your safety. However, the human eye does not easily see red beans; so, the distance the rays travel appears short; thereby, making red color the more appropriate choice for short-distance hunting.

Green

Green lights are the most used lights while hunting night critters because they are usually brighter than the red bulb. They also help you see long distances, making it very convenient when hunting from a long distance. More so, if the light is not pointed directly to the animal, it will not consider it anything dangerous or something from which it should shield its life. The most prominent problem you might likely have with a green light is the fact that the green light could most certainly frighten animals and make them see the danger (most times, if pointed directly at them), it also could have a bad effect on your night vision if you are not careful. One may question the essence of hunting if one can’t see a thing.

White

White beams are not commonly used by most hunters because they are usually too bright for predatory hunting but you could use them when you want to hunt for halo animals. There are ways hunters use white light for successful hunting – the “halo” method, for instance. However, the starkness of white beams and the negative effect on humans’ visions, generally, make them the least choice of color.

Infrared

This is a kind of light technology that you can use at night to pick up nocturnal animals. This is an excellent option to consider when choosing a light color. Infrared lights are invisible to the naked eye, for humans and for animals, which gives higher chances of not scaring the animal or alerting it at all with light. The infrared light could give you a higher level of security and could help greatly when you are catching the animal because, you know, with this equipment, you are less likely to alert anything, making you stealthy and very fast.   Because light color no longer interferes when hunting, this makes your hunting easier, faster, and quicker. Infrared is unarguably the best choice for nocturnal hunting.

Blue

Blue light is usually not meant for actual hunting because this light cannot be used to hunt night critters. However, it works as the perfect device once the hunt is over. Blue light picks up blood trails, making it easier to find your prey even when it escapes into the woods after a hit. Blue lights are known to also pick up ink; hence, you can use them to read maps or other writings at night. It is noteworthy that while some spotlights attract animals, some chase them away, and this chase can come in handy in keeping dangerous animals away.

The hunter can use the spotlight to keep himself safe from certain animals, like the Coyotes, for instance. Spotlights are an important piece of equipment for night hunters and your choice can either assist or wreck your hunt. To enable you to have the best and easiest night hunt every time you go hunting, you have to purchase the right equipment and make the right choice of a spotlight. Here are some of the best spotlight you could use when night hunting;