Blood trailing flashlights
 

Sorry if you have seen this before but I have to know if those blue and red L.E.D. flashlights really work. 50 dollars seems pretty reasonable to me if this helps pick up the trail again. I'm on the fence right now about this and would like to hear about any experience you may have had with one of these products.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I just bought one of the new Gerber Carnivore lights. $70. Unable to find any volunteers to donate blood, I had to settle for some drippings from a package of ribeyes. It made the blood stand out real well (after dark). I'm thinking this could be a real valuable tool to have in your pack.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

For those of you that have SureFire flashlights, you can buy an after-market cover w/ a blue lens, it works great for picking up the blood trail.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I got an LED head light a couple months ago. Iam also intrested in knowing whether or not it will help me follow a blood trail after dark. It has three different white light settings and then a red light. I assumed the red light would be more for fox and coyote hunting.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I've done a whole lot of trailing (hands and knees with flashlight) and I guess anything that would help, even a little would be appreciated. I've been wondering about those lights (looks like blue and red leds). Don't know whether to believe the advertising.

Roskoe, did you compare it to a regular bright flashlight in the dark?

I've also seen that CSI stuff (Blue Star). It seemed stupid at first, but the more I thought about it the more it might pick up small flecks of blood or blood mixed with water (after or during a rain), turning them bright blue. I saw in Sportman's Guide where you could buy 8 tablets to make 32 ounces for $18 bucks. I guess if it picks up small particles it could be good for finding the beginning of a trial and the direction. I might try it.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

it would prolly be cheaper and better to go to radioshack abnd get a few high intensity blue and red LED's and hook them up in an old flashlight with a few 9v batteries.....that would probably be brighter than the ones they sell....

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I did compare them. The Carnivore has a bright white light as well as the blood tracker LED. The blood tracker light is no where near as bright, but make the blood really stand out - even at a distance. You could, however, get lost in the woods without the regular light.

The spray sounds intriguing - but it looks like that for blood that is even reasonably fresh, the blood tracker light is going to make it very visible. Actually better than trying to follow a blood trail in daylight.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

Never used them, never had to, but if it came down to it i definately wouldnt be opposed to trying it out!

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

Ok bowhunters come on now. Get a regular 9volt big flashlight and trail the deer. If you make a good hit its easy. If need be get a coleman lantern and track the deer. No need for these 50 to 100 dollar lights. I just cant see paying the money for all these expensive lights that wont do any better than a flashlight or a lantern.If your crawling around on the ground searching for blood, then your hit was poor. I mean I track every deer Ive shot and only one has given me trouble finding it, but I still found it with a regular flashlight. I dont know why hunters waste their money on stuff like this. Its foolish. Thats my opinion and Ive tracked many many deer with a regular flashlight. Sorry I guess Im old school...

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

i like a propane coleman lantern. i like it because it sends out a large circle of light, not just a beam, also can be set on the ground or hung from a branch to use while taking care of the animal.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I can tell you why I would "waste" money on this. Because when I take a shot at a deer I also take on the responsibility of exhausting every possible method to make sure that deer is recovered. That is the least all of us as hunters owe our quarry. If that means that I should spend 70 bucks to ensure a successful track then so be it. As far as not needing one I wish I didn't...and in most cases I don't. However, there have been times when I double lunged a nice buck and had him run hundreds of yards with but a single drop of blood every 30 yards or so. Why this happened I have no clue and it doesn't make any sense but stranger things have happened. If I would have had one of these lights maybe it would have been easier. I know after reading everyone else's reviews I'm definitely going to check them out.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

That right there is reason enough to try one! Well put!

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I used a Gerber last year on a deer that I didn't shoot but we did find it with the help of the light works very well in areas that have aloot of red leaves makes the blood glow well worth the 50 bucks.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I'm also in favor of a lantern if needed.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I'm with bearklr,

Due to rain I lost a doe 2 years ago with a rifle shot and the buzzards found her, which chapped me. In some places where I hunt it is so da#$ thick, you can barely get through certain spots, it's not like those purty woods where its a high canopy and the bottom is all bare leaves. If it rains and they headed into thick stuff it can be a very tough track.

Also, whose to say that with all the practice in the world the deer doesn't jump the string or the arrow hit a branch or my nerves cause a not perfectly placed shot. Tracking a wounded deer is not a cinch. Also remember that other people may not take the best shots. I go on any tracking party when a deer is wounded. It's my bad experiences that make me want to try all this goofy stuff.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I also think that a Coleman lantern is the next best thing to the sun itself. However, you cannot exactly carry a coleman lantern in your back pocket. It gets hot, its glass globe is delicate, and it needs to be kept in the vehical until needed. Not a big deal in most of the places that I hunt, but some of y'all who hunt way off the beaten path might not want to trek a mile back just to get a lantern.

I also carry a surefire G2 and plenty of batts for it, they work great, but I did get sucked into buying a carnivore, and it does work nicely. However, if you live around an area with lots of pine needles, jap maples or certain types of beech and ash trees that drop red leaves in the fall (like red oaks), then that complicates things. Water drops on pine needles reflect as red quite often, not quite as bright as blood, but this is not a cure all solution. You still need to take your time, use good tracking common sense, and know when to slow down and back track or back out.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

IF you are hunting from the ground (making horizontal shots), the blood trail can be VERY sporadic or even non-existant until the deer's body cavity fills up to the arrow hole(s). It may expire before the blood gets up that high, so that means that there really isn't a trail. I helped a friend track a deer last season through some of the thickest woods I have ever been in. At most thre was a drop of blood every 30-50 yards. Somehow we managed to get the deer, but I think one of those lights may have helped.
I am very interested in hearing more reviews on them.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I exhaust every possible means to retrive the deer. I myself just think its a waste of money. But its your money spend as you see fit. Like I said I have killed quite a few deer with my bow and only had trouble finding one.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

i just like to use on of them therr clothes pins with a match stick stuck in it and lited up...!!!!!!

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

hmmmm....come again? :eek:

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I think it can't hurt, but that seems awefully pricey. I am a big fan of the coleman lantern and I do hunt far off the beaten path. I usually mark impact and first blood if possible with my head lamp, then I'll pack out all my gear and come back dressed lighter w/ my lantern and deer cart.

RE: Blood trailing flashlights
 

I have been using the Surefire G2 with a blue lens cover the last two years. You need to have extra batteries because they only last an hour and when they go out, they are out. It is great for making blood stand out after dark. The red is useless to me and is my understanding to be used to save your night vision. Lanterns work, but who has a lantern when on stand?