Use of Flashlights
 

Am I the only person left who can find a deer stand in total darkness? I mean, is it really so hard if you put the stand up or were shown it's location to walk to it tomorrow or next week or next year without a light? I guess I have no problem with the light itself really, if it makes your hunt easier by getting to your stand faster or more safely but it just seems weird to me that the morning woods as I drive to my spot are full of flashlights of people who should know where they are going.
I go to my stand quietly and unseen in the dark for a reason, and wonder, if you're gonna need a light to get there, why not wait for the sun?
Don't be offended please, just help me understand. It's just one of those things that bugs me like the orange flags and the glowing thumbtacks to mark your trail. And yes I have seen people using these, still get lost and not find their stand until noon or later. So maybe it's not the light so much as the handicap of being so directionally challenged and unable to remember landmarks that I don't get... No, it's the light too.
I once showed a guy a stand and we talked about every detail as we walked. You park at the gate with 4 tacks in the fence post (I do use em for that). No problem he says. You walk through the open gate and follow the gravelled path over the hill and down to the open field. No problem! You take a left along the field edge to the 5th large tree and there is your stand. You are 300 yds from your truck.This is easy to find says he. This will be no problem at all. So we walk out and go to bed. The next day after failing to find that stand, a stand that he walked to just 12 hours ago, he called me. Very embarrassed and a bit panicked and admitted that he was lost! Don't worry says I, it happens. But where are you from your morning stand? I never found it! What? It's 2pm. Thought you were gonna use your light? I did. Oh!
The guy had walked a mile too far across three fields, crossed a fence which put him on another property, crossed a road and was sitting by a windmill near a fallen barn on yet another property. Now thats way lost. But I knew right where he was and drove to him. This guy obviously needed a seeing eye dog, prefferably a bloodhound, and a GPS covered by onstar.
I guess to me it seems like turning on a light is the last thing I would want to do on my way to my morning stand.
So my question is do you use a light and why? And does it have any effect on you seeing deer close enough to kill? Do you always use a light? Does the fact that you can be seen for miles bother you? Maybe it's for safety from idiots who may shoot at sounds in the dark? Or maybe your family tree includes Mr. Magoo?

I don't need a light to find my stands. If someone shows me a new stand and I am going to hunt it, I walk it once in the daylight and can find it again in the dark.

I carry a light anyways. If there is no moon, I will use a light if I have to. Sometimes it is just too dark to safely make it to a stand and no reason to not use a light in my opinion.

I apologize for all hunters out there that aren't as awesome as you.

Am I the only person who wonders why you care?:confused0024::s2:

you must not have any stands in a big block of woods. You wouldn't be able to find my stands without a light or some kind of marker.

Nope you are not!! but anyway i use a red headlamp even tho i can find my stands in the dark-i find the light keeps my entry a little quieter and if youve ever caught a stick in the eye and then tried to look thru your peep sight that should be a good enuff answer.

Must be nice having open fields that you can just walk along the edge of for all of 300 yards to get to your stand. If that's all you need to do I can see why you would question the use of a light.

Most of my hunts are on public land. Yes, i can do some scouting but i have to trailer the boat and take it a few miles into the lake and then begin scouting. I can only get so familiar with the land. There is no field. Its heavily wooded, dense Mountains/hills. climbing over downed trees because the hillside is too narrow to go around. One wrong step and they are carting you out of there (if they find you over the hillside)

After 1-2 miles of hiking (trying to get as far away from the other hunters as possible) the trees, dense brush and rocks all look the same in the dark. I can't say "the 5th large tree and their's your stand" as you do.
So yes, i use a light, and trail markers.

Quite frankly, i've gotten turned around while scouting during the day in this area.

We have owned the same farms since the 60s...I have no problem finding my way in the dark...

We have also run off hunters from our land since the 60s...Some try to tell US we are trespassing...

Not only do I use a light but sometimes I drop off hunters by driving to the stand in my pickup...I'm not taking chances on some of these folks we have on our property...

Since we kill 40-50 deer a year, I know it sure doesn't bother them too much...

Only a fool would walk around on public hunting land in the darkness with no light...

I use for two reasons:

1. Safety. I may not be the first person in the woods or the last one out and I don't want to be accidentally shot by someone shooting at noises in the dark. No one is going to mistake a flashlight beam for a deer.The other is that I have a couple of hunting stands next to steep drop-offs and I don't want to fall.

2. Stealth. Granted a light isn't ideal, but I'd rather have a light shining on the ground than be breaking branches or snapping twigs cause I can't see as I walk. If I can keep the light off entirely, I do. Sometimes, it's just not possible, so I flip it on and keep the beam straight down.

I think it depends on the area you are hunting. If you're hunting fields or open timber that may be different from dense woods.

I use a light all the time. ESPECIALLY when hunting public land. I can't count how many times I've been sitting on my stand and had someone try and walk up on me. A quick shine of the flashlight at them and they move on. Otherwise when daylight hits you've got 4 people within sight of you...

My stands aren't too hard to find in the dark, but come on down and walk through the woods and walk right up on top of a bear cub with momma somewhere learking in the bushes. No thank you. I always use a light just for safety. Doesn't bother the deer either. I have walked to my stand and have deer eating the corn get startled and run off. You know what though, 15 minutes later they are right back at the corn pile. Safety is my main reason for one though.

I don't have the convenience of walking through an open field. Where I hunt I have to walk 200 yards through a cypress swamp with 3 feet of water that is filled with Water Moccasins.
So yea I use a flashlight every time I go hunting.

Exactly what I was thinking- he hasn't walked up on a big rattler, moccasin, or boar hog...

i agree i use a light for safty i know where my stand is but like some other people said i'd sooner use a light then get shot because of some other jacka$$ .... you must be the type that hunts without orange too huh :hit:

I'm a PA WMU 3D public land hunter, and I use my light for safety. Not for stickes in the eye or tripping, but getting lost is easy and getting shot at is even easier.

Something I might add is that approaching your stand from downwind limits the damage--those deer you spook would probably detect you from your stand no matter what. My experience is that as long as you stay quiet and keep that beam from panning through the woods, spooking seems to be minimized to the deer you'd spook anyway. At least I personally don't notice any difference in the behavior of the deer.

I can find my stand without a light just fine. I always use one though because every year someone in my area gets killed by another hunter because they "thought" they were a deer and the other guy wasn't using a flashlight. I also wave the light above my head every 100 yards or so as well as shine it down any trail junctions someone else may be in.

I agree with most comments here and I also believe it's a matter of common sense. I hunt the big woods in northern New England and have a 30-40 min walk (in the daylight) to most of my stands. The woods can be thick, nasty and wet. If I did not use my flashlight, I would certainly have to rely on daylight to get to where I'm going, and that's just not in my plans.

Safety is also a high priority. Having small saplings and branches smack your face and eyes can be dangerous, as well as turning an ankle. Using a flashlight solves these potential concerns. Plus having other hunters aware I'm in the same woods that early cannot be taken lightly. So yes, I use a flashlight, not becasue I'm afraid of getting lost but because it makes the trip, in sometimes total darkness, that much more safer.

:party0005:

Yep - safety. Plain and simple.

On out place if someone doesn't have a working light they aren't walking into the woods before sunrise or after dark - period.

We mostly use headlamps.

Everyone except for Uncle Matt, that is. He sees quite well in the dark.

LOL!

LOL!

iSnipe

Its safety matters. Not the fact that we cant find our stands. Its just we like to be safe.

As said before...I hope one day I can be rebel like you and not use a light.

Safety excess noise and safety.

Light on my place is a must
 

I carry a light with me at all times on my place. I hunt 6000 acres of river bottom and we have no telling how many hogs. Last year I killed 67 myself and my son killed 17. Sometimes you can't get in the gate without seeing a pack. I was in a bowstand yesterday that is getting over-run with hogs at night. My plan was to bowhunt until dark then wait on my hogs to show up for some fun. I brought my AR-15 with 30round clip and Surefire pressure switch light with me and hung it in the tree next to me. (This may be illegal but I assure you I have no interest in shooting a deer out of season at 15yards with my AR). I got in my stand around 2:30PM and unfortunately my back couldn't take any more of the sitting so I climbed down about 10 mins before dark. As I started to walk out I watched a 250-300lb boar hog was coming across a creek towards me. As he went down in the creek I lost him and kneeled down to wait for him but was pretty sure he was headin to my feeder. Sure enough he wasted no time in the creek and was heading straight towards me. By the time he got within 20yds of me it was too dark to shoot my bow so he got nailed with the AR. So yeah I carry a light always. Sorry I didn't have a camera with me to take pictures of the hog I shot on the way out and did not feel like driving back to get some.

finding a new stand you've never been in.... or first time each season can be tricky, but once you been there once or seen it, ya don't need a light.

Personally I'd rather use a green or red light though, and get in quietly, step over small branches etc... than to just walk in during the dark stepping on everything and having twigs poke me in the eyes.

I use one every time. Sorry that I like to hunt in the thick stuff and have downed trees, 2 foot deep puddles and frozen uneven ground. I guess its not manly since I don't want to break my ankle walking in. I apologize for though of us who like to work for our deer and not walk in 100 yards off the road to a fields edge and hang a stand there. I actually have to drag deer out instead of pulling your pickup truck 3 feet from the deer and having someone else load it for you. Congratulations though, you may have started the worst post so far this deer season!! I think the next post I am going to start is "How many of you still walk to your stand rather than get dropped off by helicopter" Walking to your deer stand in this day and age is so ancient, I can't believe anyone would do it!

I don't use a light for walking in or out of the woods, never have dont think I ever will. I hunt public land and often have a very long walk in and out.
Using a light blinds you to everything outside of the lights reach, hampering your vision more than anything, but it does make people feel a bit safer.
Now having said that I do carry a headlamp with me....it just doesn't get used unless I am quartering up an animal.

i use a flashlight for safety reasons. I hunt on private land but you never know what yah hoo is gonna be wondering around out there.

Ok, so there are good reasons to use lights and apparently they don't spook deer as much as I would have guessed. I too carry a light for emergencies, maybe signalling to rescuers after I've fallen in the dark and called for help. I don't have to worry about other hunters or bears, and my land isn't so big that I can go more than a mile without hitting a fence. Also someone mentioned going far enough to avoid other hunters, so I guess they haven't got a stand sight picked out, just looking for one.
I appreciate the serious answers. I had not thought of many of the problems encountered in different places and situations. I live in an area with small farms and it is unusual to cross a mile section with out encountering one or more fences a creek or field edge to follow. Now I know why all the people I take hunting from other states use lights, which seems silly to all the locals here.

green light won't spook them as much and gives enough light to find your stand

I had one those "I don't need a light" A$$ Holes, set up on the ground 50 yards from me last year.

I hunt public land, and it's simple common courtesy, If your walking in on someone who has been in their tree since 4:00 AM and they see your light coming, they can flash you off.

In my case I was in my climber, 30' up at 4:30, had deer moving around under me the next 2 hours, about 20 min before day light I heard one coming through the laurel towards me then stop, when day light came, it was a big fat "I dont need a flash light A$$ Hole".

Slack

You sound bitter!:s2: I almost (when I do it's red) never use a light going in or coming out. If a deer hears a twig snap he doesn't really know what caused it. If a deer sees a moving light in the woods he KNOWS EXACTLY what causes that!!:s4:

Yeah, I could understand it on public land for safety from other hunters. And for the places where bears, bores, and snakes could mess up your morning walk. We have bears and mountain lions, and bobcats around but hogs are not a problem in this part of Missouri, and it's way too cold to worry about snakes during deer season. I built a new wood platform in a tree one time and had a guy walk in with a light opening morning and try to climb into the stand that I had built. He left when he saw me, but it was no trouble. If he had got there first there would have been plenty, as he would be climbing down or be dragged down! That's another thing that I don't have to worry about on my property, like a person would on public property. On private land, you better have permission to be there or be ready to be arrested and fined.
There do seem to be many good reasons for using a light, but I will not be doing so.

Always a light walking in and out. Even if its not pitch black dark when im leaving at night. Every year you hear a story about some guy taking a shot into some brush because he heard noise he thought was a deer. Even if its dusk or dawn, i have my headlamp on. Also, you've obviously never trip on a surprise stump or down tree/branches etc i guess. Why chance getting turned around and screwing up the hunt? Hell, I stubbed my dang toe in my dark house the other night :)

I hunt primarily private land. Some of the ground I hunt the farmer will allow anyone to hunt it. About two years ago, me and two of my buddies were hunting this ground one afternoon. When it was time to get down from the tree, I was looking out thru the woods before I got down and had seen a light going thru the woods in a direction that I knew my buddies were not at. If he had not had a light on, I would have never known he was there. I am not one of those idiots that will shoot into a moving bush without seeing what is causing to move, but I am glad that he did have a light on so that we knew of his presence. Also, one of my buddies got turned around in the woods that same hunt, but luckly he was using his light and I was able to find him and get him aimed in the right direction. He had never hunted in that woods before. So, I say to all, even if you do not use a flashlight to get in or out of the woods to hunt, You at least need to have one on you so that someone else can find you when you get yourself turned around and lost!

Always have a light with me, use it if it is necessary, don't if it's not...

Amen to that. That's exactly what I do. If I can avoid a couple limbs in the eye or smacking my bow on one or cracking some sticks I didn't see on the ground it's worth the little bit of light the red light gives off. Plus it makes eyes that you may not have seen in the dark really light up and stick out.

for some people its just a comfort feeling, i know that if im hunting a piece of property that may have other people on it, i dont want to be walking through the woods sounding like a deer and u have a idiot who doesnt know what hes doing lobbing shots thinking im a deer. its just a good safety precaution to have

Yeah i like to see if any body can walk through 3/4 of a mile through the thickest palmettos and and pines without any flashlights or a gps trying to find a stand. Even with gps i got turned around b/c everthing looked very different even though my stand was 15' behind me w/o a flashlight nope would have got veryyyyyyy frustrated. Pygme rattlesnakes and eastern diamondbacks dont like when you almost step on them when they are sleepin. So heck ya i will use a light any morning.

I use a green light to keep from spooking game and yes I use the tabs to help keep me on my path. I don't see where it matters. I've been out in the morning with a heavy fog and sat down frustrated because I couldn't find my stand. When the fog lifted I was 10 yards from my stand. After that I started using tabs to make sure I stay on path. Why not? There is really not a reason for not using a light that I can see especially the green or red lights that wont spook game. It's kept me from twisting an ankle or two also.