I need advice please. Asked the same question on another forum, no real solutions.
Two weeks from now I shall be hunting bushpig at night (with compound).
They destroy the avocado trees , so I am fortunate to help the farmer solve that problem. Of course he would rather I use my rifle, but I would dearly try the bow first. I got him now to rake some spoilt avos together near a semi-permanent electric light, in order to get them used to foraging under the light. But that still leaves my 2 bow sights in the dark.
I am playing with some primitive ideas, but would like to hear how you guys do it in the States at night.
Listening.
Lochi.

I don't know if you can get it in time but check out the tritium pin from Trueglo

http://www.truglosights.com/products/archery/tfpin.htm

See what you think. If you have an ambiant light source then fiber optics in green or yello might also work

Thanx Greg.
I checked it out, will phone the bow shops tomorrow (it is already 18:20 in this part of the woods).
Alternatively, I was contemplating an LED (light emitting diode) at the BACK of the 20 yards pin, shielding it not to blind me, but merely to "pump" light down to the end of the standard fibre pin.
As I said in my mail to you, bush pigs are very difficult to hunt, since they are nocturnal and cunning and dangerous. So doing one with the bow will be great stuff indeed.

What about the back site?

Lochi,
I don't use anything on my string so that isn't an issue to me.
The LED pins also work I just don't like them because of the battery but for the pig hunt it should be OK to go that route also. a little black tape around the light source to block it out and only allow it towards you could also work.

In the past for night time bowhunting I have used those 3 "C" cell battery Pelican Sabre lights that have a belt clip on them. I'd clip the belt clip on my quiver and let the light rest on the arrow shaft holder part of the quiver and the beam shined perfect for useing my sights. One or two wraps of duck tape and it would stay put till the cows came home.
A little positioning will probably be required to get the beam to shine for perfect sight allignment with different quivers.
These lights have a very small, very bright beam. On small targets I would use my pins, but on pig or boar it was like useing a laser sight out to 30 yds.
Hope this helps.
Good luck on the pig shoot.

Just get a mini mag light and one of their flexible fiber optic lens caps. Tape it to the side of the bow or to the quiver. Run the fiber optic tube to where it shines best on your pins and tape it down. It won't illuminate the animal but will let you pick your pins out in the darkness.

Learn to shoot instinctive. Practice under similar lighting conditions. IME, the sights will never be good enough in those lighting conditions.

I'm wondering why you want lighted pins as this would draw my attention from the target and you already mentioned that your bait pile is in a lighted area.

I think that it is just as critical that you be concealed and elevated. They are likely to move more and more to the fringe and to learn to jump the string.

All in all it is challenging. I'd like to hear how you do.

However, to actually solve the problem I'd have a couple of riflemen in an elevated blind and whack as many as possible the first time out. In either case doing all you can so that they DON'T associate humans with their "friends'" demise will make it easier to establish other baits, etc.

I agree with Hobie-
Get rid of your pins and learn how to shoot instictive. I don't use my compounds to bowhunt.
I have two recurves that I shoot.
10-40yds I can nail it to the wall with the sight picture through my bow's riser.
practice, practice, practice...
I leave the pins and my compounds for target shooting.
If the pigs are under the light and you have a good picture of them in your riser's window- they're DEAD!

I appreciate the advice of the traditionalists, but to me that is a project for another year. In fact the bush pig hunt of coming weekend was suddenly brought forward to past weekend, leaving me with no time to prepare.
Although near a light, it turned out to be still far too dark, especially for the back site. So I utilised the weekend to obtain more contacts with bush pig problems amongst the farmers in that area. I also appointed a guy who lives nearby as my "forage collector". He will be collecting scrap fruit and hotel foods from nearby and building up some consistent feeding spots for me for another try in say 2 weeks.

Now, how about this idea : The laser fittings used in conference rooms to point at the screen, or the stuff they bolt onto combat pistols. If you fit that to the bow in such a way that it is adjustable. Then set it to place the red dot on the target at 20 yards (during day time, using normal sights). This would mean you could simply draw, ignore both sights and place the red dot on the pig. Limited to 20 yards, with hold over/under on 15 or 25 yards. This way you can stalk them in almost pitch dark forests. Why won't it work?
OK, I know they are dangerous when wounded, but that's another worry for later ... side arm maybe ...

I hadn't thought of the laser pointer but I don't see why it couldn't be used as a bowsight. It is in combat handguns. Make sure your mount is secure as the pointer moving(or more importantly lack there of) would be my main concern.

I think a laser site is what you need many of the gun rags have them for sale buy one get a mount for your bow. As long as you have enough lite to see what you are pointing it at it should work great.

hha makes a sight you can mount a rail from gun to it so can mount red dot on it. i got one from a bud of mine it has a busnell holo on it. [URL=http://www.hhasports.com/Sights/OLPLUS.htm.] good luck Doug p.s i would love to help stick pigs

[ 09-20-2002, 07:51: Message edited by: *Freedom Arms* ]

A South African house cat is bigger and better than an American mountain lion.

Aha, someone other than me who also likes to eat cats!!

Anyway, getting back to night time shooting if your bow has a threaded hole for a stabilizer you can use some threaded rod and glue a flashlight to it. Primitive but it is cheap and works well. I used hot glue but epoxy would work too. I used a flashlight that had a bit of "spot" to the beam, and glued it then held the bow to check the alignment of the beam with the sight. The nice thing about hot glue is that you can move stuff around a bit while the glue is cooling down to get it aligned how you want it. otherwise just glue it and then look through the sight and see where the pin is in relation to the flashlight beam, in the center or to a side, etc.. and just use that as your aiming point.

I have seen attachments for mini-mag lights that also screw into the stabilizer holes but I wouldn't use one, as you need 2 hands to turn the light on and then it takes a minute to focus it, my light (a 2 D cell model) has a slide switch but a button would work just as good. I have it (the switch) set on the right side so I use my right hand to turn it on, I use a release but I can still reach the switch.

OK guys, thanx again for all the advice, here is some before-final feedback.
I made a special fitting angled in such a way that the dot is more or less on target with the laser's elevation and windage settings both set on mid range. I then waited for the period after sunset but before darkness, to be able to see both sights. Setting this lot is not simple, I assure you. The elevation is fairly sturdy, but windage changes by itself for weird reasons (like leaving the bow untouched for 15 minutes!). How hard you pull it against the back stop (we are talking compound here) makes the dot shift from 3" right to 3" left of the sights (on 20 yards). The twist of the bow seems to affect it too. Believe me it is sensitive!
Eventually I got it to deliver about 4 out of 5 arrows on a 6" paper plate.
The advantages of the setup is numerous. You don't need a butt to set it. Just draw and see if it lines up with the normal sights, for which a flash light onto any 20 yards object at night will do. Also, you can use it in day time on an overcast day. It shoots real quick, both eyes open ......

But the proof of this pudding lies in the eating of a bush pig. (while I have been fuffing around, my buddy drove to the bush pig place and shot 2 with his rifle .)
Untill later.
Lochi.

Try this set up from Cabelas. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/vertical-item.jhtml?id=0004618414961a&navAction=push&navCount=2&indexId=cat20071&podId=0004618&catalogCode=QN&parentId=cat20071& parentType=index&rid=

Laser set ups like these are often used in Texas to hunt pigs at night. They are very affective on nights with a full moon. No other light is needed. Set the sight for 20 yards and you should be able to shoot out to at least 25 with no problem. Just keep the blinds at 20 yards.

Very Interesting wsumner!
I will keep that in mind!