I plan on doing some hog hunting at night since the hogs on our lease are pretty much nocturnal right now. Has anyone ever tried a regular varmit light with with a red filter on it? I really don't want to spend the money for a night vision scope right now.

You might try this, a buddy of mine did and it worked.

Put a light under your feeder, red works good, but even white will work ok.

However it must be a 'soft light" ie there is no distinct line between where the light stops and darkness begins, if that makes sense.

The theory is that the pigs will "cross" into the light if the boundary between the light and dark is not a definate "line".

Then as you can see the pigs, you can usge their size and shoot them. An illuminated scopes helps.

I would also put up a game camera that can take pistures in the dark, then you will know what time they are comming in.

Thanks 450. I might try that. I do have a camera setup and they're coming to the feeder about 1 hr after it gets dark. I'm also going to try to hunt when the moon is bright.

as NE said some boars are very sensitive so the best thing is to have a light you can adjust the power on. preferably with a remote control.

hook up a lamp to a car battery and you'll have a good set up.

some people around here use christmas lights....

I guess the security companies have good light too like the one here.

http://www.brinkmann.net/produ...aspx?item=821-7000-0

Don't know if they are still available, but at one time there was a "Green Light" you could buy for fishing. There were people using them as night lights around feeders; they were fluorescent bulbs, and a car battery was enough to get them to work. Strap them to a leg of the feeder, use a photocell to turn them on about the time dusk hits, and the light looks like moonlight to the hogs.

Solar powered garden light with red cellophane over it.
Jeff

I have used these for the past 2 years with great success--took the hogs 2 nights to return to the feeder on their previous schedule.

http://www.harborfreight.com/s...led-lamps-95388.html

I also have one of these which is controlled by a photocell also, and runs off the feeder motor battery. However, after 3 nights, the battery was so low it wouldn't spin the feeder.

http://www.elusivewildlife.com...uctMore&iProduct=307

I'm gonna rework it to come on via a timer for a fixed time, and then shut off, plus have its own dedicated battery and solar panel.

Have had a HOG LITE for 10 yrs,comes on at dusk off at dawn,solar charged,soft white LED's.Made in San Antonio.Guy stands behind them well,fixed mine when the hogs beat up the feeder and shook some stuff loose inside.Paid $200.00 I think.They now have a remote to operate them if you don't want them on all the time.Have to be within about 60 yds of the lite though,or you can't really see them in the scope.Maker said 4 power scope or less would help that.
Patriot

quote:

Originally posted by dustoffer:
I have used these for the past 2 years with great success--took the hogs 2 nights to return to the feeder on their previous schedule.

http://www.harborfreight.com/s...led-lamps-95388.html

This is the second year I put these "Harbor Freight" solar lights out for hogs. I cut the spike off the mount and epoxy them to a thin metal strap that I can bend and hang from the top of the deer feeder. The hogs do not seem to notice the white light when it is mounted above their heads.

I think that hogs can see red lights. I made some red LED lights a couple of years ago and never saw a hog with them - the deer didn't mind them, though.

Hogs' eyesight is a lot like ours and while they can see different colors, they don't care much about it. What they don't like is to be startled by going from dark to light suddenly (as in a varmint light with a pressure switch on the rifle). The first time they will turn and look to see for a moment and you can usually shoot one, after that one time, you better be damn quick on the trigger 'cause they beat feet as fast as the light hits them. I have on occaision seen them tuen and look again if you change the color but there are only three colors so it;s a limited benefit, anyway.

The guys are right about the solar set-ups. What doesn't bother them is a constant light that was there when they arrived, as long as it isn't so light they feel vulnerable. I've also used pen lights set in the blind window shining toward the feeder. From a tower it seems they look like stars or something because they never look up at them. And the tower keeps your scent up high off the ground.

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I think I may go with a night vision scope after all since eveybody says a red light will spook them. I talked about this some on the rimfire forum. We are literally covered up with hogs on our deer lease. We killed about 40 during deer season (rifle and bow). Most were killed with bows because sometimes they'd come right back after you shot one and you could shoot another. The rancher has a couple of guys that hunt hogs year round with dogs, traps and rifles. They aren't making any headway. The hogs run around in groups of up to 25 of all sizes and colors. What I want to try is to hunt at night with a supressed 22lr rifle (shoot them in the ear). I plan to sit in a tripod about 50 yds downwind, when they come to a feeder I'll try to pick off the ones on the outer edges of the group. Our feeders sling corn in about a 25 yard circle plus I will also broadcast corn everywhere I can see from the tripod. I'm hoping I can pick off a bunch before they eat all the corn and leave. They make a lot of racket fighting each other and crunching corn so I'm hopeing they won't even notice the sound of a suppressed 22lr. I've shot hogs with a .270 before (in they daytime). They'd run off but sometimes they would come back after a few minutes and I'd shoot another one. They didn't pay any attention to the ones laying on the ground, more corn for them. I'm in the process of putting together a real accurate 10/22 Ruger but I don't have the supressor or supressor permit yet. I'll let ya'll know how this works out.

I've tried about everything. This ti the absolute best!!! http://www.texasboars.com/ capt david

Academy has LED hog lights on the shelves still. Never tried 'em but the look like they'd work...I think you hook them up to the feeder battery.

I've also heard about the LED yard lights working...never tried them either, though I might try to sneek one out of the yard for the next trip out

Keep in mind that a 22lr is a sonic cartridge. To silence one you must use sub-sonic (MUCH less effective) ammunition - which also may not function your 10/22. If you are going to pay the big bucks for a silencer, why not go for something that will do the job. My personal favorite would be a TC Contender rifle (Don't remember what they call it.) in 45ACP with a supressor. Now you are using sub-sonic ammunition that hits like a freight truck rather than just stings like a bee. There was a reason the Brits built the DeLisle carbine (only true completely silenced firearm ever made) around the US 45ACP rather than their own 9mm. It was THE weapon for taking out sentries during WWII.

Just a thought.

Tom

In my new thread -- Friday Night's Hog -- I used a red light from Elusive Wildlife that I strapped to my red dot on my rifle. I have to say that it worked really well, and it didn't spook the hog. I ordered one yesterday and will be testing more. I will post up a picture later on of the setup.

Okay, here it is:



I just turned my red dot on, turned the light on, and got ready to rumble. It works well.

I didn't comment in my earlier post about a varmint red-light I tried to use o my rifle, but didn't have great success with it. First time I had the crosshairs on the hog when I turned the light on--they were gone in a flash. Next time, I had the rifle pointed above them when I turned it on and just moved it down on them--gone again. Third time, I pointed it up in the air and moved it down very, very slowly down onto the hogs--gone again. Haven't tried it again as the landsacpe lights do just fine.

Having said all of that, I used the red light on a former S. Tx lease with great success, many nights walking the roads/senderos, stalking the hogs to within kicking range at times before putting the red light on 'em and bang-flop. Might be that my current place isn't a big ranch but a bunch of heavily hunted spots and the hogs are persecuted nightly. Perhaps they've learned that a red light is a prescription for a lead pill?

Tom-Thanks for the 45ACP suggestion. I think you're probably exactly right. I knew that a suppressed 22lr isn't going to be completely silent. I was hoping that with all the racket a bunch of hogs make when they're around a feeder and with me being 50yds away it might not spook them. I'd hate to spend a lot of money on a suppressed 22lr and then find out the first shot spooks the hogs.

We sometimes use a 308 with a suppressor and a subsonic load. The 30 caliber bullet has enough punch even loaded down to punch a hole in a pig. It sounds about like a loud pellet gun going off. You have to have a permit for the suppressor and it better be in your pocket if the game warden stops you. Effective shooting distance is much shorter as well. We use a night vision 3rd generation scope and we corn the road, we walk to withing 50-60 yards and take the shot.... It is like,, kachunk,,,,splat.. then the pig if head shot falls over,, the others look at it,, then Kachunk...splat,, but generally after the second one is on the ground they are gone! And they learn that sound as well. You can not chamber the other rounds silently so you get busted due to the sound. The main difference is you don't run off all the pigs in the area with a loud bang so you just make the rounds and look for more. We use a "bad boy" buggy,, electric atv so it is pretty queit as well. It is a lot of fun but we do it just to "try" and control the population. Saturday night the pigs came through my yard and my yard is destroyed! I will spend yours and a lot of money fixing the damage they made.
as far as our experience with lights for them,,, the least amount you can get away with the better and if it is a "constant" light source even better,, not just a light them up with a spotlight because they learn that trick really quick, you just got a second to shoot.