GBhunter

which do you think is better to use to get to a stand that you are not that familiar with the trail to get to it. i was thinking that a flashlight wuold spook any deer that are bedded down or feeding nearby. what do you think.
PS the wisconsin T zone hunt starts this thursday... I cant wait

LeeinVa1

choice is up to you, but bring a flashlight in any case. flashlight will allow you to see trail markers, will last a lot longer, expecially if you have to track a deer and it gets dark. i carry both, but use the flashlight for entering and leaving the woods, safety thing with me.

JeramyK

I carry both. Pen lights are good for following well known trails. There are times when you' ll want more power though. Plus it helps to have a backup.

uncle matt

Never know who might be in the woods, private or public! You need plenty of light to see where you are walking so that you can make it to your spot. Little lights are for your wife' s purse. If you sprain or break a leg part, trip and bust up your weapon, walk into a branch ang gouge you eye, making to you spot will be entirely irrelevant. OR HEAVEN FORBID! (But every year we read the stories) You could get tagged by some irresponsible " hunter" who has a permit to shoot NOISES. Then you might go on " The Big Hunt In The Sky" with Heavenly Outfitters run by a couple of good old boys you might have heard of, namely J. Christ and his Father, O.M. God. (LOL).

Basically, you want to clearly see where you are going and others to be able to see that it is YOU going.

Both me and my son use lightweight Eveready elastic headband lights (2 AAA batteries) with 2 white and 1 red LED' s & a highly polished lense and reflector.
We put the superpowerful photo batteries in them from WOW! to SUPER WOW!
Only the white or red LED' s can be used at a time, you can see amazingly well in darkness with the red, and the white is unbelievably bright! Picked them up at Menards Store for 10 or 15 bucks. Really worth it! The white LED' s work great for finding blood after dark. And nothing beats having a light strapped to YOUR head, aiming where YOU' RE looking when it' s pitch black and you are gutting a deer.

The other lights we use into and out of woods at dusk and dark is our little carabeener type single LED lights, everyone on our properties have different colors so we know who is who, you can see these literally hundreds of yards away across open fields. The ones we got can be turned on bright, medium or low, fast blink (bright only) or slow blink (bright only).

Between these two lights the total weight is only a couple ounces.

I also keep a Lumalight rechargeable in my pack. It kinda looks like a (3) D-cell Maglight, but is rubberized and uses a 12V/120 volt charger system and a single battery pack that looks like (3) D-cells shrink wrapped together. It will temporarily blind you! (I didn' t tell my wife is cost two bills at Grainger when I bought it-I saw it and had to have it). This thing will spotlight fields no problem. I know my son keeps another light in his pack too, (3) C-cell maglight I think.

Uncle Matt (in IL)

Ballistictip

I bought one of the green LED Streamlights last year and love it however I always carry a 3 D cell Maglite and a mini Maglite with me. And if things get really bad I keep a 6 D cell Maglite in the truck (which also comes in real handy along with the Ruger .40 semi auto when confronting a trespasser). The streamlights take a little getting used to because it makes everything look like you' re using night vision goggles.

thundermug

Well, where I hunt it is a swamp and there are gators there...one of ' em is 8 foot. Let me tell ya...an 8 foot gator can tear a man in half in 2 seconds flat! I will be using my rechargable MAGLIGHT that is as bright as a cars headlight, when I am walking in and out. when climbing the tree or hooking my stand to it, I will use a softer LED light.

SchuylkillOutdoorsman

I use a mini mag works great for me.

teamster284

i just bought one of those stylus pen lights green. that little thing is as bright or brighter than my mini mag. i will carry both just to have a back-up light for safty sake.

Nomercy

I don' t usually use anything at all, just find my way in by certain trees or other landmarks, by moonlight or starlight (I see pretty well in the dark though).

I' ll sometimes take either a cheap key chain light or a LED penlight, it' s not very bright, but they' ll get you where you need to go, usually I have one of these with me anyway, so it' s not added weight, it goes with me everywhere.

I always take a headlamp with me though, wear it until I get into the stand, that way if I need it, it' s ready. Either an LED model or simple halogens work equally well. I take a few pieces of blue or red cellophane layered together or translucent tape (if they don' t have a blue or red LED already) and cover the lens so it' s a much softer light and much less detectable to surrounding animals, but the cellophane or tape can come off quickly and easily if need be.

My ruck also has an extra flashlight of somesort always, and usually extra batteries and an extra bulb for the headlamp.

When you' re talking about either a flashlight or a penlight, take both, the penlight weight isn' t going to add up to anything, and the flashlight might save your life if you' d need it. Try keeping things in a pack or rucksack, that way you can strip it all off when you don' t need it directly on you, I started carrying a pack on ALL hunts (even short " couple hour" hunts) two or three years ago, and I don' t know how I ever hunted without it!!!