Setting up to shoot at night
International
Going to Africa this summer for my second trip. I would like to try for a bush pig, from what I understand, most of them are shot at night. Does anyone have recommendations on a night shooting set up? I have a MBG one pin ascent sight. Do you want a light on the sight and a light on the stabilizer shining forward? Is red or green a better choice for shining on the animal? What are the better brands of bow mount shooting lights?
Thanks
TBM might have some ideas on this
Here's a link that a hunter explains how he practiced for a leopard hunt.
Suggest contacting your PH for advise.
regular lighted pins work fine, put them as low as you can get (too bright and you won't see the target), practice, and you should be fine.
HuntinElk,
I do alot of night bowhunting for predators and varmints.... It's one of my favorite things to do in Africa. I use a stabilizer mounted HawgLite in green and it works incredibly well out to 40 yards....
The combination of lighted pin/sight housing, the Hawglite, and lighted nocks should work very well for your night hunts. There are a couple of other brands on the market now. I'm sure they all work similarly well. I think I paid about $100 bucks for the Hawglite about 6 years ago.
Thanks for the advice so far, well maybe not the TBM part....
Take a look at the Streamlight TLR2 HP Game Spotter. It throws a green light and can be set up with or without a presure pad. DO NOT get the one with the green laser as you could get in big trouble exporting it out of the USA.
Don't forget to practice drawing and shooting from a sitting position. Best of luck. I did it last year, and it was cool. Didn't get one but it was fun.
Elusive Wildlife also makes lights that screw into your stabilizer threads in red, green, blue and white. Been told not to use blue on hogs, but I don't know that. I use both the red and the green. Green shines farther, but that's mainly important only for a rifle hunter. When you draw, point your bow up, then bring your light down on the hog gently. I have had them spook if you point it at them and hit them with it all at once. Good luck ! That bushpig is an evil looking dude !
I've had luck, drawing first, approximately line up on target area, then hit them with the light, better be fast, they don't want to hang around long. Super quiet and quiet rig. Best of luck
Lazer pointer ducked taped to the risor well serve you well in this situation.
Huntinelk,
Check with your outfitter on the specific technique you will be using to pursue the bushpigs. They are not a commonly encountered in many areas...In the areas where they are more numerous, they are usually hunted over bait out of a blind. If that's the case, the stabilizer mounted light may have to be modified. The shooting windows of some blinds may be too high, and your stabilizer mounted light will shine into the wall of the blind....I remedied this situation last August when I was bowhunting from a pop-up blind over bait at night. I simply tie wrapped the Hawglite to the riser above the sight housing. The pressure pad switch has a pliable cord that can be moved in any position....Carry some tie wraps with you just in case...If you are going to be driving around the bush at night spotlighting them, the stabilizer mount will be just fine...
I bought a good but not great 3 pin sight, took 2 pins out leaving only 1 green. Used shrink tubing, electric tape and a sharpie to block 100% of light except for pin. Use an oversize peep but tape up space in string below peep. Use a kisser button as well. Have a bow you are comfortable pulling after long cold sits.
I hunted Bush Pig last August using the riser mounted light from Elusive with the red lens. I use a Pollington red dot scope on my bow, no peep needed. I set it on #2 brightness. I hope that you understand this isn't like feral pigs here, the Bush Pig hunt is more like a Leopard hunt. I went 3 nights around 4 hrs each time & saw one pig. You could hear them move down wind checking for danger so we stayed back & made some stalks into the bait at different times. Walking on dry ground in socks going slow as we could they always busted us!
Your #1 problem would be to get Bushpig on bait and have them STAY on bait for several weeks. The #2 challenge is getting wind,stand and distance from bait right for a shot. Your #3 challenge is to be "quiet" and I mean QUIET, Bushpig quiet, not leopard\feral pig quiet. You will know what I mean once you go for one. Number 4 is getting light on your 'subject' for a shot without spooking them, I have a couple of ways but I am sure your Outfitter has it down. There are some tried and tested methods that will work and some I have read here on post that will not work, I have tried just about everything. One thing bushpig has taught me is that 'logic' does no apply to this hunt.It never goes as planned. What works on something else 9\10 times does not work on bushpig. Good luck and send us pictures.
This is the result of the advice from daretobowhunt...
Follow the advice!
