What Colour Hunting Light Do I Need?

“Why do I need to use a coloured light for hunting?”
“What’s wrong with using my regular torch?”
“Which colour should I choose anyway?”

The colour of light that you use can greatly increase or decrease your chances of getting a clean shot. With so many different options out there it can be quite confusing. If you haven't made the switch to coloured beams because you are worried about range, coloured LEDs can now push light out huge distances compared to older filter systems. To try and make it easier to choose, we have detailed below the advantages of using different coloured beams and their best applications.

WHITE LIGHT -
Most people are used to using white lights because they best approximate the natural colours we see in the sunlight during the day and will throw a beam long distances. This is great for most purposes such as camping and outdoor activities.
White light is detectable to all animals; it is intense and it will cast shadows. Remember, it is not always the light but the shadows that will spook your target. This is why most spotlighters will scan above the horizon to pick up eye-shine and then drop the light down to (hopefully) stun the animal and take a shot. Scanning above the horizon with a white beam can still cast strong shadows and, even if this doesn’t spook your target, you may not have much time to make a shot before the animal bolts.
White light will also make it hard for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. When you switch off your flashlight or look away, it will take some time before your natural night sight returns. Full dark adaptation after exposure to white light can take up to 20 minutes and stumbling around in the dark is not something you want to be doing with a rifle in your hands.

USES – hiking, general lighting, camping, long distance beams

RED LIGHT -
As a predator light, nothing really beats a red light. Most animals we hunt have dichromatic vision. Their eyes have two cones and see in two colours (predominantly blue and yellowish/pale green). Light towards the red end of the spectrum is naturally far less visible to them. This allows you to search with your red light beam with minimal risk of detection. If the animal doesn’t know you are there, you have more time to line up a shot.
Many people in the past have been put off using red light because it involved putting a filter over a white beam, resulting in greatly reduced beam distances but with the latest in red light LED technology, filters are no longer needed and beam distance has improved significantly. Flashlights that use red LEDs are now capable of throwing light well over 300 metres and, unless you’re a trained sniper, I don’t see any need to be taking a shot over greater distances than that.
Another feature of red LEDs is that they emit less heat than white LEDs and because of this are much more efficient. This will boost your runtime by two to three times and potentially add hours to your stalking time.
A third advantage of red light is that it does not have as great an effect on your eyes’ dark adaptation. Remember the old war films where the submarine or tank operators are sitting in red light? It’s for this very same reason. They can’t afford to wait for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

USES – hunting foxes, wild dogs, dingoes, kangaroos, rabbits, feral goats

GREEN LIGHT -
In my view green is a little riskier than red light because you are getting closer to the range of visible light that is detectable by most species that we hunt in Australia. As an option, it is still much better than pure white light and, in some circumstances, it has benefits that really come to the fore. Green light is the best colour for cutting through foggy conditions and is hard to detect from side on. It is also more intense than red light, the beam will cover more distance and images will appear sharper.
Many pig hunters swear by green light. Pigs are attracted to areas of bright light and green provides a great level of brightness without the unsettling effects of white light. It will unfortunately elevate the chance of casting shadows that may spook other animals.

USES – hunting pigs, foggy conditions

INFRARED LIGHT -
In this age of night vision riflescopes and spotting scopes, infrared has started to become more and more popular. Buying a purpose built infrared illuminator will extend your visual range significantly while using night vision equipment and allow you to scan for prey whilst casting no detectable visible spectrum light. No visible light means no shadows and no spooking your target. You can see why hunters are so keen to get into night vision these days. More and more people are coming up to us at hunting expos and field days enquiring about night vision and infrared. To get good quality night vision scopes you still have to spend a small fortune but, as with any new technology, prices will come down over time.

USES – night vision

Suggested models - Hi-Power Hydra H4.2, Hi-Power Hydra H5.0