Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

Red/Green light flashlight with Elk

ArcherAndy

ArcherAndy

New member
Joined
Mar 24, 2017
Messages
7
Location
Arizona
Last year I drew an antlerless elk tag here in AZ and was successful in the hunt. We knew where the elk were going to be, the problem was we had to walk into a dried up lake bed where they fed every night. The ground was very rocky and difficult to navigate without tripping in the pitch black dark with a herd of elk sometimes less than 100 yards away. We managed and got it done. However, this year, I am fairly certain that my wife has drawn that same tag. I don't think she will be very comfortable walking in the dark without some sort of light. So, I've searched the web and found articles about deer and them not being able to see red and green lights at night. Does the same hold true for elk?

Thanks,
Andy
 
Get a low level green headlight, cap light. The wind will be the key. If they smell you they'll spook even at night.
We use green cap lights to climb up the mountains in the dark to be in hunting position at first light. Have walked right in on elk before we realized they were there.
 
I use a green filter on my Tikka if I am trying to do something similar. If I was trying to climb a mtn at night to glass in AM I would use my bright white Cabellas Outfitter headlamp. I've watched guys with white,green& red climb in or out of places in the dark.
White is obvious to any thing. Red can be seen almost as easy by me & green is hard to follow. Tests that I have seen say ungulates can see the blue/green spectrums of color. The rest are shades of gray & brightness.Brightness is as bad as full color out of place.
As stated it all depends on the wind. If I knew the elk had been bedding there in the area I would wait as late as possible to move there.And only to get to were I think they will go to bed. I've walked right into the herd and spooked them in the dark. And I've seen the herd watch me as I got there from mile away cause they got a wiff an hour earlier.
 
The whole point of using a red light is that your night vision in not affected by red. So the hunter can still see with his night vision with or without the red light. It may not affect the the elk/deer's night vision either. The brightness is the main thing. GJ
 
Military and tactical types have moved to green light as it does not affect your ability to differentiate between colors, however red tends to not affect night vision as much. Keep the light as dim as possible. I've used both and seen game animals react to both, brightness of the light seems to be a bigger factor than red or green color.
 
Just make sure you are pointing it directly at the ground right in front of you. You can cup your hand around the light to make sure the light only goes toward the ground.
 
Thanks for all the info folks. Found out today that the wife did draw the tag so will be looking for some green low intensity flashlight filters or head gear.
 
One thing I noticed when using the red on my headlamp is that it throws off my depth perception a bit. When walking over uneven terrain it's hard to tell just how high or low the next step is.
 
Gr8bawana said:
One thing I noticed when using the red on my headlamp is that it throws off my depth perception a bit. When walking over uneven terrain it's hard to tell just how high or low the next step is.
Click to expand...
This!
Knowing military night tactics & personal experience has proven it to me. Like I said I will use the bright to see at times if I don't care about game spooking. But if I use it I loose all night vision for a while. I can walk around here at night with no light most of the time. Til it comes to rocks & depth perception.Then its a green light pointed down on minimal or covered. The green allows me to see how far that rock or branch is easy.Red is great for just night vision on flat deck.IMHO I have rolled ankles with the red light and these NM balls we call rocks.
I also use MiniMag lights with my hand over lense a lot. All are AAAorAA rechargable,same as the rest of my electronics.
 
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I have a friend who has been cycling for a long time, and one night due to lack of light, he was hit by a car and was seriously injured. After this incident, I decided it was better to spend more money, but instead I have security, and so I took some Green light flashlight with ELK for the bike, and I am very happy with these flashes. Now i have a strong illumination spotlight for the bike, and I feel safer now. I have several flashlights and flashlights, because if one is faulty, I will switch quickly so as not to go without the light.
 
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I use the red setting on my headlamp and often hold it in my hand, pointed at the ground, if I think animals could possibly see me.
 
I have a few camo hats that I got at Walmart or something like that with small green lights in the brim of it. Off and on button on the underside of brim also. Works good enough for a quick haul up the MTN in the early morning. Most of the time I don't even use a light. Just let my eyes adjust and let er rip.
 
You Rang?
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