OT: Blood Lights for tracking shot deer - TEST

[86er]

The other night we followed a blood trail for around 200 yds and finally found the deer. At the time we used a regular white light flashlight and it was hands-and-knees searching for the blood. Last night I used deer blood to make an artificial blood trail. I created a few spots here and there and other areas of heavy saturation. In the pitch black I used the following light:

Primos Bloodhunter - Red-Orange and Green bulbs simultaneously $69

Maglite 3 cell - white bulb $39

Energizer LED - white bulb $24

No Brand Wal-Mart LED with Red, Blue and White LED's that function independently $14

Winchester Branded LED Deer Blood Tracker - Red and Blue LED simultaneously $15 (at Wal-Mart)

I was surprised to see that the least expensive lights did the best job on highlighting the blood.
For finding sporadic blood and "drops" the Winchester LED Deer Blood Tracker was the best by far! For a steady trail of blood that was at least a few drops in close proximity and a splatter here and there the same light and the Wal Mart LED were equally as good and better than the others. The Wal Mart LED on the BLUE setting was good at highlighting the decent sized splotches of blood but I found the blue light kind of annoying on my eyes after a while. The white light from the bulb Mag Lite didn't highlight the blood much at all. The Primos Bloodhunter light only picked up and highlighted the blood when you panned it back and forth and caught the blood right at the intersection of red and green light. I would rate it the worst of this bunch - save your money. I recommend a strong white LED light, or one with a BLUE LED setting and a WHITE LED setting for versatility. If you can locate the Winchester LED Deer Blood Tracker it is a bargain at $15 and makes a decent regular light for navigating the woods while also highlighting blood on the ground very well.

[cnjarvis]

Cool!

Thanks Joe!

[KirkD]

Does UV light work?

[Mac in Mo]

Thanks for the info and taking the time to do this. I have wondered about these lights since they came out but never knew anyone who owned one. The fact that the "Winchester" brand worked best was a big suprise to me. Most of the products that carry that name seem to be junk, especially the knives. I am referring to the stuff put out recently of course not the old stuff.

[RIHMFIRE]

GOOD TO KNOW....
HOPE TO USE THIS INFO TOMORROW

[86er]

In response to Kirk D's question "How about a UV light"? I just did a quick experiment. I happen to have an Atsko UV Flashlight that I use for testing my hunting clothes to make sure there is no UV glow. I also have some diabetic testing supplies. I made a quick blood trail in the garage with human blood on artificial duck blind grass. The UV light shows the blood as a very dark spot, almost black. I pulled some grass from the lawn and sprinkled it over the matt grass to add colors. The Winchester light with the blue/red LED made the blood a bright red and shiny. The UV light still picked out the red but it made all reds look dark and the blood was a very dark red to black color. So, the UV light does not win.

[Ben_Rumson]

I know there are all kinds of products available to hunters... I don't follow all the stuff that has come out..Some of it looks gimmicky.. But a product that picks up a blood trail is a really beautiful thing... Essential I'd say... Thanks for posting your results...

[KirkD]

Thanks for that test, 86er. I figured it would either make the blood look black, since the red is at the opposite end of the spectrum as UV, or it would fluoresce, which is what I was hoping it would do. Very helpful info. Thanks again.

It makes sense that a light that emits in a narrow bandwith of the same frequency as color of blood, should really highlight blood. It should be a simple matter of taking a spectrum of blood, then matching it with the appropriate light frequency. I imagine the better blood light companies have done that.

[Pisgah]

My old standby for this task was for years a propane-fueled Coleman lantern. Even during bright daylight hours, it will pick up blood specks and spots, even the tiniest. A couple of years ago, a dear friend gifted me with a Surefire E2D Defender flashlight. I've only gotten to use it twice since I got it, to find deer my neighbor ha shot, and it worked great. I also have a Rayovac LED light that I believe would do well. It's a bit less powerful than the Surefire, but still darned briight and considerably less expensive (like 1/10 the cost!).

[Blaine]

The TV show CSI lied to us????

[nemhed]

As I discovered during the early youth deer season here, a cheap Energizer LED head lamp from Walmart works great for trailing blood using the white LEDs. I've completely changed over to LED flashlights with the exception of my spotlight I use for night time varmint hunting.

[JReed]

Have you tried a green light? A friend of mine swears by using a GI angle light with the green lens in it. Haven't tried it my self.

[Bis]

Is there any light that high lights blood in the midddle of the day?? Just spent 3 hours trying to track a wounded deer in some nasty timber/brush with no luck