Will light spook deer.
 

Hello everyone Its getting that time of year again. My question is. Will I spook off deer walking to my stand in the morning with a flashlight? if so what do you guys use to see in the dark.

I use a little ear light from Harbor Freight... only like a dollar or two. It is green in color and usually it doesnt spook them as much as a white light.

Use a red or green light instead of a white light.

I clip a Streamlight Stylus onto the bill of my hat....it has the green light and seems to work well.

Stylus, I believe that's the brand, makes a pen (green) light that works great. I use a green light, that is when I use a light at all. A white light will spook deer.

+1

agreed i use green personally but have used red. never white

i use GPS and green light

use a green or red head light. i have the cheap one that clips on the bill of a hat.

I never use a light when there's snow on the ground, and rarely other times; only on the darkest of darks. When I do use light, it's red.

my headlamp has white/green, also have a flashlight with green, red, blue lights.

colored lights such as red or green certainly have less affect on deer than white, red would probably be the least noticeable.

be careful though as red/green, lil branches are less noticeable and can poke you in the eyes.

Go green or red if you must, otherwise no light if you can get by.

I wait till the sun comes up and then walk in usually.....

I use The Force...

Seriously, I hardly ever use light going in, I just go slow and use ambient light. If I HAVE to have light I sparingly use a mini maglight and shield as much light as I can with my hand so it only gives off a dim glow.

i use green

I don't even need to see to get around my timber, I know it to well.

Per Indiana Rulebook, shining any artificial light while in possesion of a firearm, bow or crossbow is illegal.

I know that they did not mean to say a guy can't use a flashlight to get in an out of the woods, but the rule is the rule "No Artificial Light While in Possesion of a Firearm, Bow or Crossbow". They used the wrong language but language is law. Laws can't be grey and interpreted if they want to be considered effective.

By the way the legislatures that make errors of hunting laws by wording them wrong are gonna be the same ones making errors in any pending helath care laws.

I use the mini-mag lights when I have to. I mostly use no light, but in areas that are thick, uneven terrain or I'm not comfortable with, I use it. I don't put anything over the lens, so it's a white light.

I don't broadcast the light in front of me though. I hold my arm and hand low, then only point it almost straight down. The side-casting light is just enough to get me through the tough spots and is much harder to see from a distance, so I'm thinking I must be doing something right as I don't ever recall a deer blowing or running off as I use the light. But that isn't saying too much, I know, because many deer when alarmed just jog off unnoticed.

iSnipe

no lights just let your eyes adjust to the dark and u can see just fine in mins

Well, I'm going to be odd man out...I use a LED headlight, no red or green and use it when going into and out of the woods...

You never really know who else may be on your property...Look at all the cameras, feeders and stands that get stolen...I don't feel safe walking around in the dark with no light...If it spooks a few deer I just don't worry about it...

Now, I went hunting yesterday afternoon, while walking out I walked up on three different deer with this light on...I could see their eyes shining from 60-70 yards away and got within about 30 yards before they slipped away...None snorted and two stopped for another look before moving into the woods...

As I walked down the farm path to the truck I almost stepped on a copperhead about 2 feet long...I saw him quick enough that I was able to jump over him...Suppose I didn't have my light on??

Then the world would have been with one less copperhead.

iSnipe

The world is without one less...I found a good stick...

I use red,I like other's to see me in the dark.

is there a cheaper version of that stylus? Ones I saw at BassPro pretty high end

I use a regular mag light, but i just point it at the ground in front of me.

Story related to the topic-

Last year I was walking to my stand during bow season. It was in a oak hammock and I had almost made it to my ladder stand. I turned off my flashlight and was almost to climb my stand, when I heard an animal breathing very close behind me. I grabbed the flashlight quickly and shined towards the animal- an 8 pt buck less than 15 yds away. When I shined him in the eyes, he had turned and went to walking away slowly. I scampered up the stand quickly and waited; he made a circle and turned right back around to the spot I shined him. He was eating acorns for an agonizing 20 minutes before daylight while I sat in the darkness and listened. As soon as I had enough daylight to see through my hind sight and see my pins, he went to browsing for acorns to my left side. I decided it was now or never, and I came to full draw on him. I shot and he ran 30 yds before expiring.

Moral of the story- Not all deer are spooked by a flashlight!

Way too many ridges and fall-offs in the hills here in WV not to use a light. I'd probably break a leg or fall off a cliff without one. That being said i use red if i am fairly familiar with the territory. White if i don't know much about it

On my way up to my stand last yr had a doe cross over in fornt of me 30 yards away,all she did was keep walking like I wasnt even there,and that was with a headlamp that has a good spot light on it,I dont use the leds unless I am close to my stand.

green light works great

i've been using a white light for years with no deer being spooked. a couple weeks ago i walked up on 2 deer while walking to my stand about 45 minutes before daylight. the 2 deer stood there looking at me for about 15 minutes trying to figure out what i was. i'm assuming they did not smell me because they did not associate me with danger until i started walking towards them. i walked up to about 15 yards from them before they finally turned and trotted off. after only being in my stand for 20 or so minutes, the same 2 deer walked under my stand unspooked. i don't think light has anything to do with spooking deer, i think it is a combination of the deer smelling and hearing you. the different color lights are just another gimmick to seperate hunters from their money.

on another note, growing up here in Florida it is legal to shine deer with a spot light. my parents use to take us out to the woods to shine deer as family outtings. out of the hundreds of times we did this and the tens of thousands of deer we seen....not one spooked after being lit up with a 1 million candle watt power spot light. it's your scen and movement that spooks deer, not light.

using my green light reminds me of the blair witch project. scares the hell outta me. so i went back to white. ;)

i also add that light doesnt hurt. good lord if it did our trucks would scare them away. you people get too hyped up on what a deer gets spooked up on.

Try not using a white light flashlight. Try using a red light.

This is somewhat related, I was sitting in my stand and have a cuddeback pointed at a scrape about 18 yards from my stand, A little 6 pointer was digging at it and my cudde took a flash photo. That deer didn't even flinch. I really don't think that light spooks them at all. He didn't even notice and It was pretty cool to see the cam take a pic while sitting in the tree stand above it.

My headlamp is white/green. From personal experience, I know that green light does not spook animals as much

If they can see your light then they can hear you well before that......................



If I can't get in quitely to set-up in the AM, I wait till first light and still hunt my way in.

I normally use a regular flashlight with handheld, or headlight type. once I climb my tree and I turn it off and use a green light, I found the green light deer will not spook

same way, no light unless absolutely needed...when i do, red filter works well on my browning headlamp