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spotlighting hogs without spooking them
#6438647
09/05/16 03:49 AM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119
Mad Max
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119 |
I'm using a green LED scope light for hog hunting at night, and even though it's a wavelength that they (allegedly) don't see well, the hogs scatter the moment the light goes on, usually without enough time for me to get the crosshairs on a good target. In contrast, when I turn the same light on a herd of deer (just to see how they react to the light, obviously), they just stand and stare. Even coyotes and foxes stand and stare for a moment, while hogs scatter.
Would I be better off with a different color light, or is this just a matter of hogs being more sensitive and responsive to a quick moving shadow (unavoidable) than other animals? Is there some trick to spotlighting hogs, other than the obvious one of getting on your target almost instantaneously?
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6438687
09/05/16 05:00 AM
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 18,671
Roll-Tide
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jun 2015
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I have heard that you need to lower the light on them. That they can't see the light, but can tell when something shines directly on them at once.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6438703
09/05/16 05:52 AM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 326
HuskerB
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 326 |
As said, slowly lower the light on them. That being said if there is hunter pressure in the area from others using lights, they will likely scatter. I've had hogs scatter no matter how careful I was with the light, and I've had them not be bothered at all by light.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: HuskerB]
#6438978
09/05/16 04:47 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119
Mad Max
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Woodsman
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Woodsman
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Posts: 119 |
As said, slowly lower the light on them. That being said if there is hunter pressure in the area from others using lights, they will likely scatter. I've had hogs scatter no matter how careful I was with the light, and I've had them not be bothered at all by light. I'll try with a dimmer light. Surprisingly, the pigs have no problem at all with the green LED feeder light, but that doesn't generate quite enough light for my crosshairs. I'm guessing that they're not so much reacting to the light itself as to moving shadows from the scope light.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6439160
09/05/16 08:18 PM
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Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 62
James Biggs
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 62 |
As said, slowly lower the light on them. That being said if there is hunter pressure in the area from others using lights, they will likely scatter. I've had hogs scatter no matter how careful I was with the light, and I've had them not be bothered at all by light. I'll try with a dimmer light. Surprisingly, the pigs have no problem at all with the green LED feeder light, but that doesn't generate quite enough light for my crosshairs. I'm guessing that they're not so much reacting to the light itself as to moving shadows from the scope light. +1
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: HuskerB]
#6439161
09/05/16 08:18 PM
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 569
nyalubwe
Tracker
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Tracker
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Posts: 569 |
I've had hogs scatter no matter how careful I was with the light, and I've had them not be bothered at all by light. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This, but best hedge to your bets is what others have mentioned, go to a lower setting and lower the light on them more gradually.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6439280
09/05/16 09:41 PM
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,495
der Teufel
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
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Surprisingly, the pigs have no problem at all with the green LED feeder light, but that doesn't generate quite enough light for my crosshairs. I'm guessing that they're not so much reacting to the light itself as to moving shadows from the scope light. Heck, at your feeder you could run a white, motion sensor light. It'll come on when the hogs are there, be plenty bright, and they'll get used to it pretty fast if you leave it there.
I have two unwritten rules: 1. 2.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6439563
09/06/16 01:07 AM
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,934
bigjoe8565
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,934 |
Put cheap solar pathway/sidewalk lights on your feeder.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6439755
09/06/16 02:38 AM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,902
Simple Searcher
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Yup, color of the light doesn't matter if they are accustomed to it. They come up to the house and to feeders with white solar lights regularly. I have scared them off with red and green lights before, as stated they can see moving shadows and illumination just fine. But I have tried lowering a light on them with some success. Recently I have become lazy and sick of staying out late hunting pigs. So I let my traps hunt for me all night long. They are much more patient and I get more sleep
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6440482
09/06/16 05:19 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,072
cabosandinh
Veteran Tracker
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don't let anybody fool you about hogs not being able to see green or red light
they can
some will put up with the light some won't
they can see the red glow of my IR 150 yds away
use constant light source is your best option
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: cabosandinh]
#6442439
09/07/16 08:39 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119
Mad Max
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119 |
don't let anybody fool you about hogs not being able to see green or red light
they can
some will put up with the light some won't
they can see the red glow of my IR 150 yds away
use constant light source is your best option They certainly had no problem seeing the green LED beam from my flashlight. I think I'll follow the advice here and switch to a regular motion-sensor white light on the feeder. It will spook the hogs for the first few days or weeks, but then they'll be used to it as animals get used to anything else.
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6443205
09/08/16 05:45 AM
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,157
flintknapper
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 5,157 |
don't let anybody fool you about hogs not being able to see green or red light
they can
some will put up with the light some won't
they can see the red glow of my IR 150 yds away
use constant light source is your best option They certainly had no problem seeing the green LED beam from my flashlight. I think I'll follow the advice here and switch to a regular motion-sensor white light on the feeder. It will spook the hogs for the first few days or weeks, but then they'll be used to it as animals get used to anything else. Over time they will get used to a feeder light, but often a group won't stick around that long. I've tried it all different ways over the 30 years I've been hunting hogs and have found that if you choose to use feeder lights...your best results will be if you put the lights on a photocell, not a motion detector. Each group is different, but in my experience...hogs are more apt to walk under a light that is already ON...than to stay there if suddenly illuminated. I've watched them many, many times...approach my feeders, hesitate (having seen the light), but decide it poses no threat after a few minutes. Conversely, when suddenly illuminated, they almost always spook. Let the hogs 'choose' to go under a light that they can already see...and you'll do better than 'lighting them up'. I also place my feeder lights as high up as I can get them, so the 'source' is not as easily seen. This also reduces the 'shadows' created when hogs walk into the light, which is something that causes them to spook.
Last edited by flintknapper; 09/08/16 05:57 AM.
Spartans ask not...how many, but where!
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Re: spotlighting hogs without spooking them
[Re: Mad Max]
#6443392
09/08/16 01:51 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119
Mad Max
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 119 |
Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Sounds like I'll have to experiment on a couple of my feeders until I find a strategy that works for the hogs on my lease.
The upside of it in my case is that I think that I have the same hogs coming by at night repeatedly. For example, the same group of 4 medium and 1 large pig always comes up in the trail camera, albeit at random times of the night. That means that they can probably be habituated over time to different lighting setups.
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