Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting After dark armadillo and shooting?

Hello all.

New to the bow this year and am having lots of fun. I'd like to try some after dark armadillo hunting but am not sure how to approach it with lights, seeing through my peep, etc.

I know it's easy enough to put a light on front, but if the light is adequate will I be able to see through my peep? I am shooting a trophy ridge sight so the internal light can be turned on if the pins need to be seen better.

Can anyone help with some suggestions on what has worked for you?

Also, should I use a blunt tip or a judo point? I have Noctournals so seeing the arrow isn't that much of an issue.

Thanks for the help,

Courtney

Yes, you will be able to see through the peep if your light is set up correct for your bow.

I do deer management in my area, we are allowed to hunt 24/7 on pest permits in the summer months.

I have an old Surefire 6P with one of these bulbs in it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cree-R5-1-Mode-380Lm-Green-LED-Bulb-Replacement-For-Surefire-6P-G2-9P-Flashlight-/301807988184?hash=item4645286dd8:g:WrMAAOSwwE5WVVOg

I bought a tape switch for another $5-7 dollars, and mounted the light on the stabilizer of the bow.

I can see my pins, through the peep, and have plenty of light to see the target (deer sized) out to 30 yards from an elevated treestand - which is our night qualification range to hunt.

I'd suggest using the bow sight light, as that helps you see the pin colors for selecting the right one, otherwise they are all black...

Haven't hunted armadillos, but landed a helicopter on one in Arkansas, and have hit a couple in Texas roads. I'd think the Judo point would tear up more than you may want to clean off of the the arrow.

Regardless of what you shoot I would count on losing the arrow.

Once the arrow pops the shell it's rare to get a pass through and those nasty pests will head down a hole and snap your arrow.

I hate armadillos. Mini-hogs on a lawn.

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it.

Does the green light scare the deer?

No, and yes - in my one season of experience...

From what I have seen (limited), and have been told by the longer-term members, the green light by itself does not seem to bother the deer, but these are also urban deer, used to walking in and out of numerous motion-sensitive lights in neighborhoods as they feed/travel.

But, if you are moving the bow light and causing shadows to move as the light swings, that does scare them pretty quickly. Seems the movement of the shadows is a pretty good motivator for a bolt.

I've had a couple deer in the light this year, no major flinching, but more of a mild "WTF" and an occasional snort.

Most deer are spooked much worse by the stinky sweating fat guy swatting mosquitoes in the tree, than by the light he is casting...

A single pin sight made with a light attachment will get you on the right track -use a slightly bigger peep than usual .

Shoot with both eyes open .

With a light mounted or cobbled onto you stabilizer -keep the light pointed up and come down slow using the outer halo of the light until ready to shoot .
Maybe some cheaper arrows might be in order , -I plug nearly any ground dwelling varmint when hunting . Dillers will jump like a kangaroo more often than not -ruining arrows .

Good cheap light '' ultrafire 501b green '' -the two batteries will give you about 12 hours of light .

Good luck !

Use junk arrows... as noted you'll loose almost every one that hits an armadillo... pass throughs just don't happen all that often...

My buddy hunts em with a #5 driver, doesn't want to waste arrows, so sneaks up and whacks the hell out of the head... makes a bit of a mess but dillo is very dead.

Me, I prefer to hit em wiht the suppressed 10-22...buddies other option is a little 9mm loud ass carbine that does a heck of a job...

The description of the lights is exactly the same as mine.

One thing you will learn with the peep is that it's not always easy to see through it. However with disciplined form, and consistent hold, the peep becomes less important on close shots like this. You will know when it is not lined up proper because it will block your sight picture. If your hold is consistent with your practice it should align proper and let you see through it. I do not use anything different then my standard size Peep. If I were to go to the measure of changing it, I would get a different bow for this. Changing peep size for night hunting and re-zeroing the bow day after day would be a massive pain for me.

Lumi nocks or other lighted nocks are priceless for night shooting. Also to find the arrows if they miss and ricochet someplace. The green colored bow mounted light is effective for most predators and hogs. Deer will not always be spooked and run, but will put up a momentary fuss and be on guard looking around or maybe walking slowly away. I have seen them walk the beam on the dark side countless times as if there is an actual line they are walking along. Also seem them step away with only their head in the dark and they are okay too

Bear and hogs have never shown a single care in the world over the green light, not even at full power, shined deliberately in the face from only 10 feet away in a stand. They simply cannot tell it's a light. Raccoons will freak for a moment if it's put on them full power all at once. If it's pointed at the sky and lowered slowly with the dim outer fringes first hitting them before the main beam it's perfect. I strongly suggest this technique for all night hunting with the green light.

Distance Judgement is peculiar in total darkness with a light. Most things seem closer then they actually are under about 20 yards. It actually seems like the forest is closing in on you with the trees and bush throwing odd shadows across the ground from the light. This is a completely different experience then people ever realize, your in another world in the dark.

The pin light is critical to use with a proper dial for brightness too. Too bright and the pin size look way too big and difficult to use. To dim and the spot light will overwhelm the pin so you struggle to see it clearly enough to shoot. The pin lights with a small sight pin and a rheostat adjustable light will be pretty important.

I hunt so much at night that some of this becomes matter of fact. However the comments from clients hunting at night for the first time always remind me of when I first experienced the same things years ago. Road hunting or using a spot light covers a lot of ground but you need a lot of power to see hundreds of yards. Hunting from a blind or over a feeder then using the motion light is critical. I have sat in a stand plenty of nights in total darkness without moon light. It's black dark, then all of a sudden the green motion light comes on very dim, and over 60 seconds it's full on bright allowing you to see the game either approaching or standing right under it.

Talk about a rush of excitement when you have been sitting in the total dark and then the faint fuzzy green haze is visible so you know movement is detected, and something is coming. This is a really exciting way to hunt for some species!

I can see that being exciting