please use a light in the dark. safer for your mobility, and to tell other not-so-ethical 'hunters' you are human.
That said, I'm not sure about white lights even being an issue.
Here is an example. First deer I ever shot at, I went over the spine on. A good friend came and helped me track it at like 7PM or so in November when he got home from work (MDFW photographer, cool job! Regrettably passed this spring, leaves a hole every time I have hunted since)... We are walking along on the trail with lights a glow. Standing there talking quietly... hear loud walking coming, stop talking, put lights in the direction and there is a gorgeous 8pt. He just walks a circle around us and continues on.
Many times walking in (or out) I've walked into deer with a light on and they dont really care. light passes and they just go about their business - unless they get my wind.
We used to put headlights in fields to see what deer were around. You shine them in, count the deer that all just stand there, then drive off... they just go back to eating and dont care.
It feels like, if it's dark, they have no idea what a light is from or is, and since they have overwhelmingly not been harmed by lights, I think there is very little fear from it.
I admit to using red at times, I've tried blue. But in the end I'm growing less and less sure it matters and just using the beam that makes it easiest for me to get to my tree as simply as possible. I shut it off when I step onto the platform of my climber (after having clipped into my safety tether, or for a fixed stand, after clipping into the life line prior to stepping onto the climbing sticks.
Here goes. I had hunted this spot the day before and had seen some does and rattled in a real nice 7 pt.. He had snuck in on me on a 4 wheeler dirt track that is right next to my stand. The spot that I was hunting is a very small piece of woods/swamp that I thought nobody would dare shoot a rifle, so that is why I thought it would be a good spot to bowhunt during gun season. I left my stand early to go check another spot for a stand. I had found a great spot and picked a tree for a stand. I had just started to snip some shooting lanes when I heard and felt an explosion. For some reason my first reaction was that I had stepped on something that blew-up. I grabbed my leg, saw that it was still there and by then I realized I had been shot. I started to scream that someone had shot me. Within seconds I heard someone answer me. He said that he didn't do it. I said, well someone did and I need help. I saw two guys coming down the hill and told them to send someone for help. One guy went for help and one guy came down to me. All I could think of was that I had to stay as calm as possible. The guy kept saying that it was an accident. At that point I was just thinking of my family and if I would ever see them again. The first thing I told the guy was to check the bleeding, because I knew if my femoral was hit I wouldn't have much time and he would have to get help real fast. He said the bleeding was "not that bad". So I started to check my leg, I could wiggle my toes in my boot, I could move my ankle, and although very painful I could bend my knee. So I just kept telling the guy to keep talking to me to keep from passing out, although I came close a couple of times. During our talk he told me it was his son that had shot me, he was the one who had gone for help. I have no idea how long it was but someone else showed up with a cell phone in his ear that was talking to 911. He took off his sweatshirt and applied pressure to the wounds. I started hearing sirens in the distance and just hoped they were for me. Before I knew it people were showing up left and right. Volunteer Ambulance, Volunteer Firemen, EMS, State Troupers, Local Police. There was one guy there that I wish I could remember his name. I do remember him saying that he was an off-duty NYC police officer. Like I said, I wish I could remember his name to thank him, because he held my hand and said all the right things to really help me through this. They cut through my scent-lok liner and my insulated camo pants, checked my injuries, gave me O2, and loaded me on a backboard. They then loaded me into the bed of a 4WD pickup that had backed most of the way into the woods where I was. From there I was loaded directly into an EMS helicopter and flown to Westchester Medical Center. They have a world class trama unit there that deals with this sort of thing.
So after getting to the hospital one of the medics from the helicopter called my wife for me and she didn't believe him. He called her back and put me on the phone and I told her it was true. I told her I was going to be OK and to get a hold of my parents and come down with them. Needless to say she was quite shocked and almost didn't believe me. Shortly after I got to the Medical Center a DEC officer showed up to take my statement. He was glad that I remembered so many details of exactly what happened.
Medically there wasn't much they could do for me as I didn't need any surgery or stitches. Their biggest concern was infection and clots. By the way, the bullet entered the right side of my right thigh passing just under the femor and blowing out my hamstring. I was very lucky, no bone damage, no major vascular damage, and no major nerve damage. The entrance hole is about the size of a dime and the exit is about 2" by 1 1/4" with a good amount of muscle missing inside. I have a nurse coming to the house everyday to change my dressing and check the wounds. They tell me that there should be no major voids in my leg and the muscle should rebuild and fill itself in. It's pretty strange to look at your own body with that amount of damage, it's quite a hole!
Some things I've found out since the day of the accident-----The bullet was a 170 gr. remington core lokt, shot from a 30-30. The distance was only about 70 ft.. The kid said he saw the tail of a deer, centered on it and shot. Can you believe that!! All this in a place that is not really safe to even shoot a rifle and they did not have permission to be there. There is also going to be charges filed against the guy who shot me. As far as the orange, it is the only thing I wish I would have done different. Like I said, it was such a "small" spot with buildings close by, that I never thought anyone would dare shoot a rifle in there. I guess sometimes we underestimate other peoples lack of good judgement.
Proline- what quiver. That's a really cool feature.
I liked Hicks idea on another thread, and have been thinking of using a running "blinkie" light on my hat walking out, or in. Maybe just add it to the top of the headlamp strap so that it's not shining where I'm going (leave that to the lamp) but it's blinking to add a little more safety.
A couple of yrs ago I was hunting a newly opened bow only area on water company land. After an all day sit , bored as hell and a couple of hrs left I decided to do some spot n spook.
While creeping along on one side of the pipeline I heard "Meeha,meeha" coming from the ridge on the opposite side. Slowly I picked my way up through the pines. Everything was nice and soft and quiet. The bleats were getting louder. I make my way up to a big pine blow down and peak thru the roots and listen. Mother f#@ker!!! There's a guy sitting on a log a couple of feet off the stone wall holding a shot gun!!! (The wall is the boundary line).
I froze then crapped myself thinking of what could happen. I tried coughing loud to get his attention, nothing,I yelled " yo dude" nothing. Standing there in a leafy suit and no flashlight. I stayed there a good 2 hrs after dark cause I didn't hear him leave and didn't want to take a chance of getting shot.
A couple of days later I told the warden what happened. He said they know about him but as long as he's on his side they can't do anything. From that day I always use a red flashlight and wrap a reflective vest on my backpack. When I get in my tree ill wrap it around the tree just in case. Although it does attrack jack asses that come over and ask if I caught anything..lol
Last year, I shot a 4pt late in the day, and recovered him right after dark. While walking out, my light and noise didn't spoil another deer until I was 10yrds away from one and I hear a loud snort. Startled me. I think my sent spooked him, not the light or the noise of dragging his brother/son. He sounded big too. Might have been my 10pt weeks before I shot him. Same location.
