Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Red, Green, or White light

for a head lamp when hunting? Didn't want to hi-jack the head lamp thread. Any advantage to the Red/Green other than adjustment to night vision/spooking game?

White. I can’t see schitt with the red or green ones. Especially the red ones.

You can get one with both. Bright white for heading down the trail, red if you're in the tent or just sitting there and want to see what's at arms length without destroying your night vision.

Thank for the input chlinstructor and smokepole.

Critters like deer see white, but not red... so if you are walking in in dark dark conditions - red is your huckleberry to getting in undetected.

Works on earthworms too if you are out at night and getting bait

The Navy went from Red to Blue/Green for night lighting many years ago. I have an older Petzl headlamp with a blue/green filter that seems to work well not destroying your or your buddy's night vision. Not sure if the critters can see it well or not.

I did not know they had changed. I have to check on that...must be better. Is “blue/green” a blend or is it either/both colors are better than red?

Just my opinion and preference but personally, if I'm walking through the deer woods in the dark I want to be visible and for me, bright white is the huckleberry. You never know who else is out there. I just try to keep the headlamp adjusted so it's pointed at the ground in front of me, not shining through the woods like a beacon.. And when I'm moving in the dark it's pretty much getting from point A to Point B before first light, I'm not trying to get within range before shooting light, not much point in that.

Plus, I have a hard enough time sneaking up on deer in broad daylight when I can see what's underfoot, the chances of doing it by headlamp are slim and none for me anyway.

Same here.




Diff eyes, diff quality. Not all of us have the same vision or color conception.


Jerry

You need white in case you drop something, or really need to see...

Red is also a requirement IMHO because you can use it to see when you know something is could see you - like when you are in your tree stand in the dark

I use a headlamp with white red and blue lights. I use the red to walk into the stand and get settled early morning. Have walked right up on bedded deer before.

After dark I’m usually just walking in the dark. I’m on very private land though

Supposedly the blue light is for blood tracking in the dark. I struggle to see blood in broad daylight right in front of me. Have never tried the blue light nor have I had need to so can’t say if it works or helps seeing blood in the dark

White light doesn’t get used much but is real bright if I need it for something

I'm fairly convinced, as long as your light isn't on full turbo, critters really don't understand the light from a headlamp/flashlight. I seriously doubt the color matters all that much...

My experience is that unless you are shining a white light directly into the eyes of deer they do not seem to bother at all about the light. Keep it on them where you get the reflection of their eyes and especially with an LED with some power and they leave. I think it hurts their eyes just like it does with ours. Keep it out of their eyes and they do not seem to associate it with people or danger.

LEDs with some power can for sure ruin your night vision for a period though. I only use mine full power when blood trailing deer.

Correct. It's all intensity, not color...

Walking in with a white Mini Mag a deer close to my stand location blew and I figure that it shut down any early movement around me. That was the last time I used that light for hunting. My new Petzl head lamp has white, strobe, red, green and blue LED settings, but honestly my best walking in the dark light is a double A 4 LED green flashlight that I can hold at waist level. What I like about it is that it turns on and off with a twist of the of the head like a Mini Mag, so that I don't need it to have it on all the time. Never had a deer blow since I've gone to green.

It's my understanding that most mammals, except man, have traded color vsion for enhanced night vision. They see in shades of gray, white and black. So they should be able to see any moving bright light no matter what color it is.

The best hunting time is the first half hour after sunrise and the first half hour before sunset, which is worth all the rest combined. So if you want to be in the field at those times, you need to do most of your hiking in the dark.

It's rarely pitch black at night; starlight, moonight and light pollution from nearby cities all contribute to light in the night sky. When there is snow on the ground things seem pretty bright. But when it's over cast and there's no moon, it can be pretty dark.

When I hike in the dark, the first thing that I do is sit down and wait several minutes for my eyes to become acustomed to the dim light. It's fun to listen to the night sounds; so many that I don't hear in the daytime. I carry a headlamp and a hand flashlight, but I try not to use them except in an emergency. I try to hike a route in the daytime so that I know what to expect at night. I also try to use some kind of guide like a trail, old road, sand wash, or fence line, to help keep myself on the right track.

Good points one and all, thanks.

I have walked right past a blind using white light as any night vision I'd had was gone. Have used red filters when predator hunting and it did not spoke the critters. Use green lights for night hunting hogs and I am not sure what is going on but sometimes they completely ignore it and others they spook as soon as the lights come on. I assume the lights make some type of noise I am not hearing. If the walking is difficult or temperatures are warm enough for snakes I like a red or green head lamp backed with a hand held white flash light that I just use briefly to check terrain and for snakes.

Yes, and some people still think deer, elk, etc are color blind.

The U of Colorado did a study some years back and they can discern colors.


Jerry

Nobody knows what Deer see, except God.