Night hunting is challenging yet fun for a lot of people. Some say that you cannot consider yourself a hunter if you have not tried shooting at night. The wide variety of animals that you can see there will be overwhelming and exhilarating.
First-time night hunters make the mistake of just shooting blindly the moment that they see their prey. This is not recommended especially if you are not checking your scope properly. You might hit something else or someone else. Plus, you are wasting good ammunition on air.
How to Improve Nighttime Shooting?
First things first – make sure that you understand how dark it is going to be. It seems that some people become shocked when they see just how dark it can get especially when the lights are turned off. This is why you have to rely on your thermal clip-on scopes. It will be hard to see anything.
The darkness will make you lose your usual depth perception. One tip that can help you out is to go out of the backyard at night. You can try to shine your light in some areas and try to guess how far the object that you are seeing is. You will be surprised by how near or far it is. Doing this often will help you develop the skill of sensing depth perception in the dark.
Consider How Can Make Things Different
The sights that you are going to place on your firearms will work well during the daytime. Try looking through them at night and you will see the difference. Some sights can also be used at night but they would cost more than the usual sights.
Some sights glow in the dark so if you want to check them out, make sure that you will do enough research about them. You do not want to get sights that cannot be used when doing the nighttime shooting.
Do you know that some of the scopes that you will use at night can be useless? They have worked well during the daytime because you can see the crosshairs well and all that. At night, you can barely see anything. Red dot scopes may help but some have said that they made mistakes because the red dot scopes are too bright – almost blinding.
Can You Use Illuminated Reticles?
Some people swear by using illuminated reticles when they go hunting. Some brands are going to work better in the dark so you just need to check out some reviews before making a purchase. There is just one problem: it is not allowed in all areas. You need to double-check the local laws of the place where you are going to hunt. You do not want to violate any law when all you want to do is to unwind and have fun.
What About Laser Sights?
Laser sights can work well in the dark but you are going to have some issues with the distance of the objects that you are trying to target. You also need to know the hunting rules and regulations. The laser sights are going to be a bit different when you use them at night as compared to when you use them during the daytime. You will become aware of the differences the more that you use them.
Will Lights Be Useful?
Lights are going to be useful. There are just some things that you need to remember:
- You need to choose between green and red lights. Your choice may depend on what you are used to and what animals can see better.
- You need to pack extra batteries with you. The brighter the lights that you will use, the faster that the batteries will drain. Some bring more than two extra batteries just to be sure.
- Do not be swayed by the lumens stated by the lights you purchased. This will signify the peak of the light’s performance. The performance can quickly go down depending on your battery life.
- The shadows can make a lot of difference in how you perceive your prey. You may think that something is so much farther than expected. The distortions can sometimes be annoying. Some have said that they have gotten dizzy because of the distortions the first time that they have tried night hunting.
Conclusion
One thing that you will know once you try night shooting is that it is hard to beat the darkness. Some even say that night hunting isn’t for them. Yet, it can also be fun. The more that you try it out, the more that you will get used to it. The time may come when you cannot even hunt unless you are doing it at night. Remember the tips that are mentioned above for added help for your night hunting escapade.
