I got a new LED flashlight the other day and it came with Red and Blue snap on Lenses.

The directions claim the Red Lens would allow you to move through the woods without disturbing the Game as much. I figure I do pretty well with a regular Mag-Lite, but am willing to give this a try.

BUT..., the directions also claim the Blue Lens allows you to be able to "Track" Blood in the dark better than with a regular light.

Anybody got any first-hand experience they can share on the Blue Lens for Tracking???

Blue light makes blood look like wet oil on the ground. It makes it a bit easier to track.

John

Yep, Big Bore has the blue light aspect covered... The red light is closer to the infrared spectrum and therefore game will almost not see it... It also won't kill your night vision... I use one all the time when I'm doing astronomy work so I don't lose my dark vision...

Ken....

I'm not trying to go against the others but, I bought one of those Blueish LED falshlights. The thing is worthless for trailing game. The blood just blends right in unless you get a good reflection.

The best trailing lights are the brightest white light you can get. Xenon bulbs work great, Stream Lights, UKs etc work great for tracking. Lanterns work great too but, can be a pain.

I love having my trusty UK light when tracking is needed.

Good Luck

Reloader

Have to agree with you on the LED flashlights Reolader... Not a big fan... The blue lens of quality lights (yes, they can be LEDs) is tinted such that it will "show off" red better.. Don't know what the exact wavelength is but it does improve the contrast of red...

Ken....

I am pretty much with Reloader on this one, but I do see a difference with the blue light, the blood shows a little better, but you need BRIGHT light, and these things just aren't very bright, I think he said 'you need a good reflection' which is the main thing, but the blue does show a little better contrast.

The red light is definitely good for helping you retain your night eyesight, I suppose it is less detectable to game....

For tracking, it's hard to beat a coleman lantern tweaked up to full brightness, most of the time I just use a Q-beam for tracking.

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
... you need BRIGHT light, and these things just aren't very bright, ...

Hey Don, I know what you are talking about.

The first LED light I got, about a year ago, was a 2-AA from Harbor Freight. Brought it home, put batteries in it and when I turned it on, it was so weak that I thought the batteries were bad.

R&Red the batteries with fresh brand new ones - no difference. Checked them with the Volt/Ohm Meter and the batteries were perfect.

Took it back to Harbor Freight and told him the Chinese guy must have used the wrong Diode.
-----

Time passes and I try to keep an ear open for stories about LED flashlights. Not a lot of info being shared. There were some comments on here about folks buying the Streamlight flashlights with the Krypton and Xenon bulbs that use either rechargeable batteries or the CR123 Lithium batteries. But not a lot of info.

I was keeping an eye on a $12.47 Garrity 3-AAA LED at Wal-Mart and they sold out. When they refilled the rack, the price had gone to $12.77 and I got one(that I mentioned in the first post of the thread}. It also has a Belt Holster for the Light with a separate Velcro-closing pocket for the Lenses. (I feel sure I can probably lean against them in a tree and totally smash the Lenses. )

It is EXTREMELY BRIGHT and has a very faint blue cast to the light output. Much closer to pure White than the slightly Yellow tinge of my old Mag-Lites. Never even thought about the Mag-Lites being a bit Yellow until I saw how BRIGHT and WHITE this Garrity LED is.

While looking at it, I noticed it said, "220 hours of battery life." on the Garrity package. I had to stop and think about that for a moment. Now I was more concerned it would be "low output", but that was totally wrong. Did I mention it is VERY EXTREMELY BRIGHT!!!".

I also checked out some kind of $25 light that had the Krypton or Xenon bulb and it used 2-CR123 Lithium batteries. It said right on the package that battery life was (get ready) - 2 hours! I can spend that much time checking Deer Tracks.

And I figured if I didn't like the Garrity that I could always take it back to Wal-Mart. Well, it is about like accidentally looking at a Electric Welder being used - SUPER-DUPER VERY EXTREMELY BRIGHT - and they claim it is good for 220 hours of use. Sometimes I've felt like I searched for a Deer that long in the dark.
-----

Anyway, this Garrity gets the Hot Core "Seal of Approval" and I will personally guarantee that if you don't think it is Bright that you don't have it in the " ON " position!

Good info Hot Core... I've seen a couple of fairly bright LEDs but haven't really paid that much attention (and that was a little while ago).. I might just have to check out one of these Garrity lights... I didn't notice in your post just how BRIGHT you think they are Thanks for heads up...

Ken....

Let us know how that LED works HC when you get to track something.

I too got one of the LED lights rescently. It's the short one with 3 AAAs in a little holster. I can't remeber how many LEDs are in it but their must be atleast 8-9. I used it the first time while camping a couple weeks back. It is very bright, but it doesn't iluminate the colors of the ground like my little UK. It lights up the ground but things look "Black and White" if you know what I mean. I think it's the slight blueish tint of the light that causes this.

I'll try the little LED light out when bow season arives.

My Uk is the small 4-AA unit that has the Xenon bulb and it lights up the ground very well and brings out the colors of every leaf, blade of grass, stick, etc...

The bright Xenon bulbs really bring out blood when tracking similar to a lantern but, they do consume energy. The best Xenon lights are the rechargable ones like the stream light. Regular batteries only last for about an hour in a small light with a Xenon bulb. I only use my UK for short periods so it usually last me a while and I always keep extra batteries in my pack.

Although not great for tracking, It's hard to beat the good ole 2-AA Mini Mag for walking to a from the deer blind. We get the little 2-AAA Mini Mags at work and they work well too for traveling around the woods in darkness and are easy to keep in your pockets.

Have a good one,

Reloader

Hey Heat, I sent an email flick of the Garrity to a buddy, Phillip, in Raleigh. He has been checking with the guys in his Hunt Club to see what everyone uses.

One guy had tried a Blue Lens on one of his Mag-Lites and didn't seem to think it helped him too much. Kind of like Reloader's initial post. But, I'm also interested in the impression that BBBH had, "looks like wet oil".

1Aug was Phillip's Wedding Aniversary so they go out to a fine meal. On the way home his wife wanted to look through some cloth material at Wal-Mart so they stopped. While she was doing that he eased into the Sporting Goods section and got a Garrity like the one I have.

Now Heat, you will appreciate this. He called to tell me that he got one. Would you care to guess what he said????? Goooooood gosh, sure is BRIGHT!!!

Hey Reloader, I've been giving a bit of thought to Testing the blood tracking. I've always got Blood running out of "something". It is so darn HOT here right now that it would be like the Carolina Season Opener(15Aug), so it would be a good time to find out.

I don't need a lot of light going in and coming out of the woods either. The 2-AA Mag-Lite does just fine for me too. But if this LED helps with Tracking, you all will absolutely hear about it.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

The blue light only works on wet blood, once it dries, it doesn't work at all. It is one of those better than nothing but not by much things.

And even though though the blood looks like wet oil, wet oil is hard to see in small droplets in the leaves and twigs....

John

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
I am pretty much with Reloader on this one, but I do see a difference with the blue light, the blood shows a little better, but you need BRIGHT light, and these things just aren't very bright, I think he said 'you need a good reflection' which is the main thing, but the blue does show a little better contrast.

The red light is definitely good for helping you retain your night eyesight, I suppose it is less detectable to game....

For tracking, it's hard to beat a coleman lantern tweaked up to full brightness, most of the time I just use a Q-beam for tracking.

+1

Don