Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Blood Trailing At Night?

Has anyone used any of the flashlights with the blue or green led lights for blood trailing in the dark. I have heard that the blue light will make blood easier to see but haven't personally uesd one yet.
I was just wondering if anyone has had any first hand experiences with these flashlights.
Droptine

We've found the absolute best light to track at night is a
Coleman lantern. It casts a nice wide light & really makes
the spots & drops of blood show up well. We always have regular lights with but the front guy has the propane Coleman
as it seems to do the best job for us. The LED type are better than the Maglight but as far as our crew is concerned the Coleman rules. Good Hunting, Bruce

I use a blue filter at night, it might be a bit better than white light, but not a heck of a lot.

fix yourself up a spray bottle with dilute hydrogen peroxide. lotsa times certain leaves and grasses carry a mold or something that looks like blood. spray the dilute solution on anything that looks questionable. it'll make blood froth, and it really shows up under a coleman-type gas lamp.
the coleman type lantern, i also believe, is the best thing going for night-time blood trailing.

the coleman is the cats ass! the solution fish mentioned i had never heard of before bow season this year. i saw it firsthand and it plain works... the two together are dynamite....
woofer

Another vote for the coleman lantern. It makes that blood glow. If you have a shield for one side of the lantern it won't blind you as often. I used this method for a few years before discovering Ballistic Tips.

The spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide really works..So does the lantern, Coleman or oil.
I prefer to NOT have to run a blood trail at night after many such ventures with other hunters on marginally hit big game..

Spend your time practicing your shooting..be it bow or rifle..and know the country...or get a deer-trailing or elk trailing hound..:)..jim

Ditto on the COleman - that hiss is a very fond memory!

Jim,

Come on now, be real. Everybody that has ever shot a deer has trailed one or two.

Ric

I have and use the Coleman lanterns, I also have a battery powered black light that will make blood almost glow in the dark. I was just thinking if these flashlights worked, you could just put one in your backpack and wouldn't have to go back to camp to get the stuff if you were ever faced with the task of having to trail a deer that was shot right at dark.

I haven't had to trail one for many years and then it wasn't one that I shot but you just never know.

Even with the best of ammo and shot placement, sometimes you get the "Bang Flop Dead" effect and sometimes you don't.

Where we hunt if you don't get to a deer within a few minutes after dark the coyotes will!

Drop

Jim,
Is it really legal to use hounds in the pursuit of big game in Oregon. I was under the impression that it was unlawful to use dogs even for bear in Oregon.

I have never used it myself, but my folks used to talk about using a kerosene lantern for this purpose.
I had not considered the use of a blacklight while hunting before, but I am sure it is an excellent suggestion. We often use a blacklight in food starage warehouses to detect the prescence of rodents. Any rodent in such a facility (or anywhere else for that matter) will always leave a trail of urine as he travels in search of food and shelter. Turn out the overhead lights and a blacklight will cause any urine trails to fluoresce. No shiny trails on the floor.... no rodents in the warehouse.
I am sure that deer blood would react the same way to UV light. Once again, an excellent suggestion.

Idaho Shooter, No dogs even for locating wounded game in Oregon.
I think in parts of the south one can still use dogs tho..jim

propane lantern, with flashlight to focus in on spots.

A lot of the Game Wardens here own tracking dogs. You can use dogs in Texas to track a wounded deer, but you can't use them to hunt deer.
Droptine