Night hunting.. what color light do you prefer?

I was wondering which color you night hunters prefer for your feeder light or rifle mounted light?

RED, GREEN, INFRARED. ?

After using every color light and mount and motion sensor, finally getting a NV rig totally changes your game. You can scope and wait for a good shot and they don't even know your looking.

ATN 4k pro 3.5-14 Entry level scope for sure but is dandy for my needs. Costs as much as a AR but it will change the game in your favor.

I have no background in IF. The experts say green is right on the edge of a hogs ability to see it. Red is impossible for them to see but some say the hogs can still see the shadows it casts. But the story does not end there. If, for example, you put 500 lumens behind a red filter and 500 lumens behind a green filter (same light) the hunter can see a lot better/further with the green light. On the other hand it means you can run a much dimmer light with green than with red.

After 8 years of hunting hogs at night I will suggest that the less light of any kind you use the better. This is where having the best possible light gathering scope makes a significant difference. I have read enough reports and have enough experiences to believe that being down wind is 100 times more important than the color of the light. Personally I will choose the dimmest red light that will allow for precise hits and try to be in a position to not cast any shadows. Last month I hunted in a blind that had red led's that were too dim for a precise shot. But when I was ready for the shot I would turn on the red light for my rifle and pop a hog. It has worked well for 2 years now.

I prefer Green simply because I can see green better than red. However, I now have an IR scope, so, obviously ditched the Green light for IR. If you don't have an IR scope, the IR light will not do anything for you. With all that said, I want to eventually ditch the IR for a thermal, because they are infinitely better.

I use a combination of red and green. I get better depth with both.

Red and green shining together from same light?

These are great responses! Thx. I have a new light I have developed and will be able to tell you about it once I meet the forum rules for advertising. I welcome all input regarding your feeder light wants and needs.

What part of PA are you in Big Sam? Our clan on both my mom and dad's side come from Oil City.

I've immediately spooked hogs using a red light. Green works better, so I have heard

The feeder lights I have sold so far have all been GREEN.

Have you already bought that scope?

White. Shine under or over whatever you’re trying to kill to see it. Use the halo. When everyone is ready, hit them In the eyes. I’m an experienced spotlighter. This works for everything. The halo towards the sky works best. If you are shooting hogs at a feeder it makes no difference what light you use to see them down range.

I'm on the other side of the state near Harrisburg the state capitol. But I go to TX every year to hunt hogs.

I'm asking about feeder lights that are new to that area.... if you were to put up a new light at a hunting spot, what color would you prefer?

Makes no difference to animals that I can see. Red hides some hog colors for me. The light I prefer comes to my eye from my thermal.

yes

Interesting.... have you noticed specific benefits from this?

Better depth perception, better everything really. Sounds like you are making lights so take 2 red and one green and run all three one night and see how you like it. This idea is not mine and high quality lights like this are already being made by Texasboars, in fact he's been making them for years. I've had one for 14 years and it still works great. It's been through all kinds of weather too. I plug them in when I arrive at my place in the country and days later, when it's time to leave, I put them back in the house. All these motion sensor lights are nonsense, just run them all night. Poboy NV

I have to add something from my post above. After a lot of research there simply is no agreement which led light is better. Lots of theory and lots of experience but it really boils down to a Ford vs Chevy when comparing green vs red. Green is a ton easier to see with. Red is theoretically better. No matter what my primary opinion is to use as little light as possible.

Adding to the confusion is what happened to me last month. The red lights in the blind are too dim for a precise 50 yard shot. No matter. When it's shooting time I turn on the red light on my rifle. And I am thinking... "boy do I have this figured out". As soon as I turned on the rifle light, both hogs ran (not walked) away. I am stunned. Not 20 seconds later, both hogs returned to the feeder and I took one. It never happened before or after.

Personally I think red is better but green works just fine. However the longer the shot the more you'll appreciate the extra distance a green light gives you.

That's why I developed the Hogfader feeder light. Check it out HERE
Put it up 200 yds out and wait till it slowly fades brighter, then take your shot. Clear as a bell through your day scope and the hogs aren't spooked.

https://howitsee.com/what-colors-do-pigs-see/

PA guy here also! I grew up in Mercer County (Sharpsville). We used to wrestle oil city at tournaments every year. Also did some hunting and fishing there in Venango county. I prefer red light though. I have spooked more with green than red.

No more SPOOK
hogfader.com

Looks like a nifty product and all, but similar lights were developed and sold for many years already, LOL.



Interesting article. I am not sure I agree with all of it, but it hits some major points. For an animal that supposedly cannot see at night, hogs are very good at running at fully speed and avoiding obstacles, something that humans can't do, despite being equated with comparable night vision to humans. I am not sure pigs are as nearsighted as claimed, either, but that is something not readily observed empirically.

100% with you on both subjects.

Pigs see just fine out to 150 yds or so. I would hardly consider that 'near sighted'.

As for low light/night vision....they can navigate and even run full speed through a pine forest where I live. I sure as hell can't do that.

Pretty sure the pigs have not 'memorized' the location of each tree or developed 'echolocation' like bats. So that really only leaves eyesight....right.

There are a lot of things to consider when discussing a pigs 'eyesight'. IMO.....what is observed of them in the field is often mistaken or misinterpreted.

For instance... if you are slowly walking up on a pig that is feeding in 30" high wheat, you'll probably get up pretty close to it. It ISN'T because the pig has 'poor' vision, it is because his head is never more than 20" high unless he lifts it to see more. You are observing the animal from a perspective of 60" high (or better). You can clearly see the pig, it just can't see you. Doesn't mean it has poor vision.

Hogs tend to spot 'movement' easily. Stationary objects do not seem to be as readily detected BUT hogs are keen to pick up anything NEW in an area they are familiar with.

How they react (or not) in either circumstance can vary with circumstance. So all things must be considered before declaring a pig this or that.

Also... many of these so called 'studies' are conducted under very controlled conditions and might not account for things such as 'alertness'. A calm, un-pressured hog is quite a different animal from one that is on high alert and using any one of its senses to its full ability.

I have a Slo-Glow light on 1 feeder that is red or green and another on separate feeder that is either green or IR. Had them both for awhile and honestly I like them botth for different reasons. The IR light is really awesome and I use it when I'm shooting with my 350 Legend and the Wraith Mini......

[quote=Double Naught Spy]Looks like a nifty product and all, but similar lights were developed and sold for many years already, LOL.they

Yes, I agree that they are 'similar. However, my light is meant to shine down ON the hogs and not AT them. My light also fades up in brightness very slowly and does not SPOOK the pigs. My light can be put up in a new location and hunted that same night because the pigs don't see the feeder area lit up like a football stadium like other lights seem to do where it can take several days or weeks for them to get used to the new light. The only way hogs can see the source of illumination from my light is by looking UP, and hogs don't look up.This unique light and mounting system has been very well thought out. This .pdf will tell you more about it's function... instructions

Here's my IR light:
Hogfader IR feeder light

Red and green will work, but our hogs seem to tolerate green best.

For a feeder light, I use a cheap Chinese made LED light. It puts out a white light and is powered by an attached small solar panel and automatically comes on after dark. I screwed the light’s mount to a PVC “T” and glued the “T” on the end of the longest PVC pole I could find at Home Depot. The pole is just large enough to fit over a T-Post. Drove the T-post into the ground about 6 feet away from the feeder and slipped the pole over the T-post. This rig has been up for 6 years and is still working. When it dies I will replace it with another cheap (less than $30) Chinese LED light. The hogs get used to the white color and both hogs and deer use the feeder at night.