Lights

[captkb]

Does anyone use the scope mounted lights for varmint hunting? I have one that claims to shine out to 250 yds and have seen some claim to shine out to 350 yds. Do they work very well or not?

[jdickey]

Hey Captkb... The best that I've used has been made by StreamLight. They have a "tactical light" that can be used for hunting, but I've never tried one. Their handheld ProPolymer series are used by most firemen, and are very good. They aren't cheap, but they are good!

[ICMCumin]

I have the Optronics unit that is scope mounted and will go out about 250 or so yards.

I like it, but the way we normally handle things is to use a hand held unit to find the eyes and identify the target; then turn on the scope mounted unit to make the shot.

Otherwise, you've got that rifle at port arms for a long time as you rotate 360 degrees in the pickup bed.

[Bobcat]

captkb,

Yeh, those lights are great for hunting by yourself at night. If you are hunting with a calling partner you can just alternate between light-man and shooter........

I want to add a scope mounted light this season to my rig for night hunting.

Bob


I have one of these Aussie jobs for the truck......

[CoonDawg]

Is that the Nightblaster max or the 350 max?

Wouldn't it be easier to just use a night vision scope?

[Bobcat]

CD,


That is the new GL-500 NightBlaster

GL-500 NightBlaster® Series Xenon Magnum 350-Yard Gunlight Kit -6-volt rechargeable battery with 110-volt charger. XENON 6-volt, 55-watt bulb. Stock mount switch, left- or right-handed. Red flip-up varmint filter included. Snap-on mount fits 1in scopes (30mm adaptor available). Lightweight, rugged ABS plastic. Black. Box.

[captkb]

Where did you get that set up at Bob?? That looks like something I need to add to my toy list. How much do they run?

[Bobcat]

I don't have it yet.........

Bob

Midway, Cheaper Than Dirt, Cabela's, Bass Pro, and GunAccessories.com all carry them.

[CoonDawg]

Since we're on the subject of lights

What type of flashlight,spotlight do you use if tracking at night?

I'm looking for something about 3-4 D cell size that wont kill batteries to fast. Looked at the Surefire seires but man to pay $400.00 for a flashlight

[ICMCumin]

Capt - I ordered mine from Cabelas. Looks like the top photo in Bobcats post.

The price was right and the light has been reliable for me - at least until I dropped it ..... Simple fix though.

[onecoyote]

CoonDawg, you are right, but not everybody can pay for night vision :-/and I'm not sure it works any better then red lights, only because of the amount of animals I've seen taken under red lights. Many moons ago I used to hunt at night by myself. Now I always hunt at night with a partner, one of us holds the light and the other shoots. I have read about and seen some of the lights others use. I know they all work, but some work better then others. As in Texas we can also light from our trucks, guys have been doing it here for more then 50 years or so and have come up with some real good ideas. I have a light we call a flipper light, it goes from red to amber with the flip of a trigger. As we all know animals don't spook to much under a red light, problem is sometimes you can't see that good under red but you can under amber and that don't spook em much either. ;)We use the red unless the shooter says he can't see that good, then we flip to amber. Best lights I've ever used, killed a ton of animals with em. ;D

[elalto]

Back in the “old” days we used a light called a “Grimes” light, they were military surplus used for signaling, I think they were only about 250,000 candles. They came in a box with several colors of lens covers and had a trigger switch; we added a toggle to keep the light on. I don’t remember ever using the red lens, we used the halo of the light until the shooter called “burn” then we dropped the light beam on the animal and the shooter shot.

For going out and picking up the animal we always used a 6-volt lantern, except that in Baja we also took the Grimes, with a motorcycle battery, as we would often get a shot at other varmints while away from the truck. Now days, everything is rechargeable, smaller, lighter, and puts out millions of candlepower.

The very best “new” equipment that I have seen for night varmint hunting are the FRS radios, we used to have to yell instructions to our partner from the truck or stand otherwise we would not find the critter.

I’m all set up now with rechargeable lights, radios, electronic remote caller all things that I wish had been available when I was younger and just started hunting.

Marcos

[slammy]

We use a small scope mounted light from Burnham Bros. It uses two 9 volt batteries. I only turn it on right before I shoot to light their eyes. Partner scans with Q-Beam and red lens initially as they come in. I have three other scope mounted lights I've purchased over the years. The 250 yd range is nice, but too cumbersome with battery packs, dimmers, cords, etc. The method we use seems to work best for us. The main lesson we've learned for best results is not to let the light shine on the truck while scanning and park in front of a tree or bush. Course with Grey Fox hiding doesn't seem to matter. Just get ready.

[onecoyote]

elalto, yes I remember the halo days lol. back in the 60s. The first time I ever used a red light was when I read a story by Murry Burnham about animals not seeing red. I put together a red light and went hunting by myself, called in a bobcat first time I ever tried it. I wish I could show you guys the kinda of lights we use nowadays, nothing like you've ever seen before. It took 50 years of hunting at night to figure them out lol.

[captkb]

Ok now that I have had the chance to use one out in the field, I figured I should post an update as to what I found. I bought one like whats in the picture Bob posted - claimed to shine out to 250 yds. NOT!! I adjusted mine to shine right where my scope was set and at first it seemed to work fine. We used the big Q-Beams until we got ready to shoot and then switched the scope light on. Well mine lasted about 30-45 minutes tops. I was very disappointed in how long it didn't last and my buddies only lasted maybe another 20 minutes or so. Both of these were fully charged and this was the first time either of them had been used out in the field. I now own a $70 gadget that I guess my son can play with in the backyard.