Feeder lights for hog hunting
Tired of flimsy feeder lights that only light a hog’s back? If you’ve ever hunted with a feeder mounted light, you will know exactly what I’m talking about. What is the point of having a feeder light if you constantly have to shine a light down range to see if there are hogs? The truth about feeder mounted lights is that they simply do not work! Powered by a couple of AA batteries, the downdraft $90 jobs are just a waste of money: not only do they only output about 50 lumens, they lack the basics principle of good lighting which is to reflect an image TOWARDS the hunter!
Here is a video of one of our outings, this was shot at Chris’s ranch in Lytle TX and was shot the same day we installed the feeder light.
Keep in mind that:
A). This camera is not meant for shooting in total darkness at 100 Yards so I had to slow the frame rate down to 10 frames/sec (hence why it is so choppy and takes a while to refocus after every movement) to be able to shoot in color in the dark (this is the actual color emitting from the feeder light, not a “night Shot” setting).
B). This was shot at 5:10AM and my “videographer” Andrew was sound asleep in his truck a few hundred yards away, hence why the video is not very stable and why I had to put the camera down to finally take my shot.
Down facing feeder lights
If you are sitting 100 yards away in a blind and using a down facing feeder light, the tiny set of LEDs will shine down on a hog, straight down. The problem with that is that it is so dimm that most likely, unless you are looking through your scope at all times, you will never see the hogscoming. Now even if you looked through your scope, If the hog is anywhere further front than the center of the feeder, you will see nothing at all or will be lucky to see a dark shadow. But forget identifying your target as it will be lit up from behind. I don’t know about you but I just don’t take a shot at anything I can’t identify unless it is charging towards me at a high rate of speed! If the hog does happen to be under the feeder, you will surely see the crown of his head and the top of his backbone but that will be it and you will never see a hog unless they are sitting right behind the blind!
Motion activated feeder lights
Motion lights are actually a good idea if they were used correctly. If I were ever to use a motion detection light, I would point it towards my blind, not the animals, just to let me know something is there. That way, I would know there are hogs there and could turn on my green LED and shoot them. Unfortunately, motion activated lights are pointed in the direction of the hogs and if it no longer spooks them anymore after a while, the next time a shot is taken when the light comes on may be your last as the hogs will associate the lights with the gunshot and will take a long time not to spook again. The fact is that Hogs, while they do not see well, distinguish shapes and contrasts very well. So for a light to suddenly come on straight at them represents a sharp contrast between dark and light that is so drastic and unnatural that it will spook the hogs every time. A light that is seen by them as a more subtle shade of grey (a green light) and that is always on, will become accepted as a part of their environment and ignored after a couple of days.
What is the purpose of a feeder light ?
The purpose of a feeder light is to light up whatever animal coming to the feeder so that it may be shot, observed, photographed or counted. Mostly shot but I had to add the others to sound politically correct… A feeder light mounted on the first night is 100% useless, so it is not a good tool for a one time hunt. A good feeder light is set to turn on night after night as to allow the animals to eventually get used to it and accept it as part of their environment. Typically, by the second or third day, animals will come to feed and will no longer have any concern for the light, enabling you, the hunter, to sit back, relax and wait for the animal of your choice.
The Stalk Tech feeder light
Weighting at almost 20lbs, the Stalk Tech Feeder light is not a gadget, its all metal, IP65 weather resistant frame comes with a high quality double 20 Watt solar panel, a 9000Mah rechargeable battery built in, angle brackets, screws and anchors. Because our light is set away from the feeder, shining towards it, you get a perfect picture as you take your shot and never fear spooking a hog by suddenly shinning a light on them that was not there a microsecond before.
How it works
Easy to set-up, the light will come on automatically at dusk and will turn off at dawn to conserve energy. Equipped with double 20 watt solar panel and a deep cycle 9000Mah rechargeable battery, the light will easily run for a full night, night after night without any loss of brightness. Our feeder light is Built with an array of 108 high output green LED lights rated at 50,000 hours of runtime and the battery has a two year cycle rating. Replacements for he 12v 9Ah battery can easily be found on line for roughly $35 an are carried by stores like tractor supply, batteries plus as well as about 100 online sites such as Amazon or eBay. Just do a search for “12v 9Ah” and you will see there are many choices available to you. The entire system carries a full 1 year warranty against manufacturing defects from the date of purchase.
Mounting
Note that while the feeder light could easily be screwed onto any wooden 4×4 or tree, the pictured mounts are designed to fit on a standard galvanized 2-3/8 fencing post.
While these can be easily sourced from any hardware store, they are not included in the package.
However, a pre-drilled mounting kit of this exact set up can be purchased separately in the “accessories” section of our site for an additional $49.00.