What sight system do you recommend for night shots at a leopard on bait under white or blue light (rheostat)?

I will be hunting Leopard in September, so I have some time to set this up.

Look into a Spot Hog with the light that screws into the sight. The light is purple and doesn't cast much light outside the sight, it lights up the fiber optic coils for the pins to a couple differant intensities and may be just what you are looking for. I havn't hunted leopard but I use this set up on my Bowtech for low light shooting at dusk and dawn for whitetails. I also use it on over cast days when the fiber optics alone aren't quite bright enough. It doesn't cast a light on me even on the brightest intensity.

What ever you use make sure that it does not shine to bright. That will cause a HALO around the sight that will totally obscure the target.
Remember also that the Leopard will not appear yellow with black spots under a rheostat light. It will be grey only and you shoot at a sillouete and therefore you do not want a bright light. It must just be visible.
Your blind where you sit for Leopard will be darker than dark so you really only need a feint light.

quote:

Originally posted by Fritz Rabe:
What ever you use make sure that it does not shine to bright. That will cause a HALO around the sight that will totally obscure the target.
Remember also that the Leopard will not appear yellow with black spots under a rheostat light. It will be grey only and you shoot at a sillouete and therefore you do not want a bright light. It must just be visible.
Your blind where you sit for Leopard will be darker than dark so you really only need a feint light.

Great advice Fritz.

The best light for my sight I have found was a reostat sight light from Tru Glo.

Not the one with 3 settings.

This one goes from off to very dim to very bright as you need it.

I shoot in poor light regularly and with the sight light just on I dont have a problem with the halo you discribe.

I use a single pin sight fro HHA. I can with sight move the cover over the optic fiber depending on how much light I want to come into the pin.

Once you have you bow set up...

Practice in poor light and at night to ensure you are shooting accurately ...

Goood luck and good hunting

Thanks, guys.
I have a Trophy Ridge Cypher 5 to try out....I will practice in the dark to make sure the lowest level doesn't create a halo effect. Tom Hoffman suggested adding a kisser button to my setup for aligning myself in total darkness...I will try that, as well.
Dave

I hunt a lot at night with my bow and found that by aiming with both eyes open, that it gives you extra perception and clarity.

I have the rheostat control on the sight on my bow, about 5-6 brightness levels. Even on the lowest setting, it is sometimes brighter than I like, especially shooting at a 'coon. A black hog is OK, just that the 'coon blends into the background too well.

Bare bow.

The sight is also visible from the other side, I've seen it spook rabbits...

This doesn't really pertain to your sight question but I'll put it out there in case it helps in some way.

At our 3-D shoots (longbows and recurves) we often do a "coon hunt" where we set up targets with glow sticks where the eyes would be. we wait until after dark and go shooting, I'm constantly amazed at the accuracy that's involves when all other visual inputs are removed.

I guess the best thing once you've decided on sights is to get out and start shooting at night.

quote:

Originally posted by Bernie P.:
Bare bow.

ROTFLMAO!!! You've NEVER hunted dangerous game with a bow, have you????

The best light I have ever used is to take a very small glow stick; you can get the ones that are about 1 1/2'long. Take one and mount it along were your fiber optics are and secure it with black electrical tape. You can adjust the level of light by wrapping part of the glow stick completly around with tape; to lessen the amount that is left to light of the fiber optics. I fibd that if I completly cover about half of one of these sticks and then tape the remaining lighted part to the fiber optics housing works great.

Another advantage of this method is that a lot of places do not allow anything electronic on your bow and this is not electronic.

Sir, Fritz gave you great advice. I have, in the last three years tried 4 different kind of reostat lights and red dot sights.

I purchased the ACUPIN sight from Trijicon as a last desperate measure. Look it up on their site. It is VERY expensive though! It does not work with any battery powered light, but some other fancy technology that Trijicon is famous for. So no HALO problem! The little green traingle at the tip of the point glows very very dull, and does not obscure your V.O.W at all, giving your an in depth perception of your target. Single pin post with big V.O.W. makes it the best night sight for a compound bow commercialy IMHO.

To qualify, I do 90% of bow hunts in the dark for Bushpigs and other critters.

Also, it help to have a small axle to axle bow in the dark. I like the Mathews DXT or HeliM (have both)

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

quote:

Originally posted by Bernie P.:
Bare bow.

ROTFLMAO!!! You've NEVER hunted dangerous game with a bow, have you????

I guess in past history there has never been any big dangerous game killed without all the wheels, bells, and whistles???? Learn something new every day....

quote:

I guess in past history there has never been any big dangerous game killed without all the wheels, bells, and whistles???? Learn something new every day....

Sure, dangerous game can be killed with a bare bow, even at night. But given the equipment available today, to do so would fall into the catagory of a "stunt."

In my estimation, dangerous game is called that for a reason. And to give them any more of an advantage than they already have is simply risking too much. Now if you want to hunt dangerous game, in the dark, with a bare bow, please do and tell me how it went...

Make sure you practice in the same type situation you will be hunting in,, that is practice from a blind,, especially a dark blind. try a sight with good fiber optics that can be assisted with artificial/battery light that is on a rheostat. You will be surprised how little light you will need and you will be surprised how much the lighted sight will illuminate the blind if you turn the switch up to high!!!! It can look like you turned on a neon sign in the blind. We hog hunt a good bit here in Texas at night, certainly not a dangerous game situation so experimenting with different lights is something all my hunting buddies do and the rule always seems to be the same,, no light is better than too much when you are sitting in a dark blind, dark adapted and if the pin is to bright all you can see is the pin and not your target. Listen to Fritz,,he as they say lives there and does it.