Lighting for my vehicle while hunting on the has long been an issue.
There's a rock road into my primary hunting property with smaller dirt branches, and access to the hunting sites can be pretty close to the road. Even in a full moon, overhanging branches and tight spaces require some kind of lighting.
And then there's...the cattle.
They were only fifteen when I first started hunting the property about eight years ago.
There's about seventy now, with calves aplenty. And with 700 acres to roam, their favorite place to bed down is, of, course, in the middle of the damn road.
And hitting a cow would be bad, but high centering your vehicle over one...you can probably imagine the audio.
Any action taken to move the cattle created a lotta noise, burned hunting time and created risk.
Now, with the red light rig, when I hit the ranch gate I go into stealth mode:
*Strap on my headlight for the red beam.
*Pull the fuse for the interior lights and door dinging (a small strip of duct tape makes for easy grabbing).
*Throw the rocker switches on my red hog lamps.
I had purchased two units about three years ago in a BOGO Christmas promotion, but installed only one on my previous truck; it worked pretty well but lacked versatility.
Most of the time I did not need to see more than twenty five yards ahead, so the longer reach was overkill, potentially spooking game as I drove in. But when hunting unfamiliar terrain I would need that longer throw, so I would manually adjust it. And again when I wanted to limit the beam.
About six months ago, I decided to unbox and install the second lamp, and immediately wished I had gone with dual lights from the beginning.
Each of the units has six strong LED units, each about equal to a scope light. These lights are not hard to find, but I recommend you ensure they come with their own wiring harness to make installation easier. (Message me if you care where I purchased mine).
The lights themselves were tedious to install as I did not remove the front grill; drilling the holes and bolting the brackets took some wrangling and extensions on the Dewalt. (I paid an audio installer to run the wiring and install the rocker switches from Amazon).
Each has a vertical adjustment and is set at a different angle - downward for a limited beam, and level to ground for longer illumination. Running both of them lights up the runway very nicely without affecting my night vision or announcing my presence to the Wild Kingdom (tip o’ the hat to Marlin and Jim. Especially Jim).
During install, I did not think ahead, and set them too far back to be adjusted by hand through the grill. I keep a ruler under the floor mat for such a purpose. (Also very handy at stoplights when the scammers collecting for a “charity” want to hand me stuff through the window). The braces withstand road jolts well without bouncing loose.
Each has a dedicated rocker switch which glows when on; they are wired always hot so I don’t need a key in the ignition. They draw so little current that I’m not worried about the drain on the battery.
The upgrade to rocker switch from toggle is more than function and aesthetics. My previous rig had a simple toggle zip tied under the dash; upon hitting the ranch gate I would reach underneath and fire it up.
After changing from work clothes into casual gear in the front seat one afternoon, I apparently hit it with my knee. I didn’t get more than a mile before I was pulled over by a small municipality police officer (the adjective accurately describes both). He was very unhappy that anyone outside the law enforcement or EMS ranks should dare have any kind of red light on their vehicle.
My explanation of the light’s purpose and its accidental operation fell on deaf ears, and he was intent on writing a $180 ticket for illegal lighting. I narrowly escaped with a warning, but learned my lesson. (I am of the opinion that a sheriff’s department or highway patrol would have given it the treatment it actually deserved).
Unlike headlights or even yellow running lights, the cattle don’t seem to be spooked by the red lights. I can drive within a few feet of them without causing alarm or causing them to follow me in the hopes of scoring some late night snacks.
About twenty five yards from cattle...
Short beam:
Long beam:
Both:
Moving through herd - clicking noise is from keys hitting dash:
(Working on this link - click “continue to website” to view)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sd0ib8vf3lseboa/Video%20Jul%2029%2C%207%2004%2041%20PM.mov?dl=0
They’re also handy for shooting photos; I rest the device on the bumper and use the timer delay. The lights help with the focus, and provide sufficient lighting without a flash (you can tweak the lighting scheme in the photo editor).
(NOT very useful for butchering; if you’ve ever tried with a red headlamp, you know why).
If you’re one of those fancy blokes who use NV for driving, they would provide some additional illumination without blowing you out. I guess they might also be handy for a natural sight driver whose partner is spotting with NV or thermal.
Total cost for lights, switches and install was under $200, cheaper if you do your own wiring and dashboard sculpting.
There's a rock road into my primary hunting property with smaller dirt branches, and access to the hunting sites can be pretty close to the road. Even in a full moon, overhanging branches and tight spaces require some kind of lighting.
And then there's...the cattle.
They were only fifteen when I first started hunting the property about eight years ago.
There's about seventy now, with calves aplenty. And with 700 acres to roam, their favorite place to bed down is, of, course, in the middle of the damn road.
And hitting a cow would be bad, but high centering your vehicle over one...you can probably imagine the audio.
Any action taken to move the cattle created a lotta noise, burned hunting time and created risk.
Now, with the red light rig, when I hit the ranch gate I go into stealth mode:
*Strap on my headlight for the red beam.
*Pull the fuse for the interior lights and door dinging (a small strip of duct tape makes for easy grabbing).
*Throw the rocker switches on my red hog lamps.
I had purchased two units about three years ago in a BOGO Christmas promotion, but installed only one on my previous truck; it worked pretty well but lacked versatility.
Most of the time I did not need to see more than twenty five yards ahead, so the longer reach was overkill, potentially spooking game as I drove in. But when hunting unfamiliar terrain I would need that longer throw, so I would manually adjust it. And again when I wanted to limit the beam.
About six months ago, I decided to unbox and install the second lamp, and immediately wished I had gone with dual lights from the beginning.
Each of the units has six strong LED units, each about equal to a scope light. These lights are not hard to find, but I recommend you ensure they come with their own wiring harness to make installation easier. (Message me if you care where I purchased mine).
The lights themselves were tedious to install as I did not remove the front grill; drilling the holes and bolting the brackets took some wrangling and extensions on the Dewalt. (I paid an audio installer to run the wiring and install the rocker switches from Amazon).
Each has a vertical adjustment and is set at a different angle - downward for a limited beam, and level to ground for longer illumination. Running both of them lights up the runway very nicely without affecting my night vision or announcing my presence to the Wild Kingdom (tip o’ the hat to Marlin and Jim. Especially Jim).
During install, I did not think ahead, and set them too far back to be adjusted by hand through the grill. I keep a ruler under the floor mat for such a purpose. (Also very handy at stoplights when the scammers collecting for a “charity” want to hand me stuff through the window). The braces withstand road jolts well without bouncing loose.
Each has a dedicated rocker switch which glows when on; they are wired always hot so I don’t need a key in the ignition. They draw so little current that I’m not worried about the drain on the battery.
The upgrade to rocker switch from toggle is more than function and aesthetics. My previous rig had a simple toggle zip tied under the dash; upon hitting the ranch gate I would reach underneath and fire it up.
After changing from work clothes into casual gear in the front seat one afternoon, I apparently hit it with my knee. I didn’t get more than a mile before I was pulled over by a small municipality police officer (the adjective accurately describes both). He was very unhappy that anyone outside the law enforcement or EMS ranks should dare have any kind of red light on their vehicle.
My explanation of the light’s purpose and its accidental operation fell on deaf ears, and he was intent on writing a $180 ticket for illegal lighting. I narrowly escaped with a warning, but learned my lesson. (I am of the opinion that a sheriff’s department or highway patrol would have given it the treatment it actually deserved).
Unlike headlights or even yellow running lights, the cattle don’t seem to be spooked by the red lights. I can drive within a few feet of them without causing alarm or causing them to follow me in the hopes of scoring some late night snacks.
About twenty five yards from cattle...
Short beam:
Long beam:
Both:
Moving through herd - clicking noise is from keys hitting dash:
(Working on this link - click “continue to website” to view)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sd0ib8vf3lseboa/Video%20Jul%2029%2C%207%2004%2041%20PM.mov?dl=0
They’re also handy for shooting photos; I rest the device on the bumper and use the timer delay. The lights help with the focus, and provide sufficient lighting without a flash (you can tweak the lighting scheme in the photo editor).
(NOT very useful for butchering; if you’ve ever tried with a red headlamp, you know why).
If you’re one of those fancy blokes who use NV for driving, they would provide some additional illumination without blowing you out. I guess they might also be handy for a natural sight driver whose partner is spotting with NV or thermal.
Total cost for lights, switches and install was under $200, cheaper if you do your own wiring and dashboard sculpting.
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