blood trail vs. flashlight after dark?

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fjlee

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Trying to think ahead here.......

I know that hand-held flashlights use a variety of bulb types, such as "standard" incandescent, krypton, and xenon. Also LED bulbs of various "colors".

I am wondering which of the bulb types produces the kind of light that would make a blood trail look like a visible blood trail, when used after dark?

I've read that of the LED bulbs, that blue LED bulbs will make a blood trail quite visible, tho it makes the blood appear a vivid black. Even tiny blood spatters evidentally show up quite vividly. I don't think handheld flashlites with blue LEDS are common.

My only experience with trailing a wounded animal after dark was a long time ago, using a white-gas "pump-up" Colemn lantern for illumination. It ultimately worked out fine, but it's unhandy to have a Coleman lantern readily available.

I'd like to hear experiences and ideas from you folks........what's a good portable light-source that might be called upon to follow a blood trail after sundown?

Thank you......

FjLee in Denver CO
 
I tried out a blue lenser LED that I got on sale, but even in snow there's just a lot of shadow. It would be tough to tell a blood spec from any other of the hundreds of little specs. Maybe there's a trick to it.
 
I could see blood better with a 2-cell penlight (AA) than with one of those 'bluelight' bulbs. I think the best is what you used a long time ago, a Coleman lantern with a reflector to keep the light out of your eyes. Hydrogen Peroxide helps too (2% H2O2).
 
Regular LED flashlights are TERRIBLE for following blood in the dark...they wash out the color.

The LED flashlights the OP is thinking of are called "blood lights"...the use 2 different color bulbs to highlight the blood and they do work, but they are not the same as a regular LED light.

Here is only one example...there are several...you can usually find them at WalMart....they aren't very good for a general "walking around" light though.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...i?pdesc=Game-Tracker-LED-Blood-Light&i=414695
 
I'd like to hear experiences and ideas from you folks.
Click to expand...

I lost a deer to spoilage a couple of years ago. I shot it just at dark, it was a solid hit from all indications. by the time I got down to where it entered the brush it was dark. I was using a blue lens LED on a Sure fire Kroma. I looked for hours with no luck.

The next day went out and found blood immediately in fact a four star blood trail that ended with a dead and now rotten deer about 200 yards into the brush. me thinks the blue lens LED is a bunch of BS. My foot prints crossed that blood trail about a dozen times and I never saw a thing with my blue light.

I think a muted white light shows red blood better than anything, a super high intensity light washes out the color and a blue LED doesn't show anything.
 
Wow, I'm very surprised that no one had mentioned UV Flashlights. They are inexpensive and work extremely well in identifying bodily fluids. I just got this one. . .

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RJQR3M/ref=wms_ohs_product

It makes blood & other bodily fluids glow white. I have several of these and the one in the above link is the best of the inexpensive ones. I also have a couple of more expensive ones, but believe it or not - the one in the link casts a stronger UV light.

They are also great for charging glow in the dark sights.
 
I am colorblind so even on a sunny day in some terrains, I cannot distinguish the red from some browns and greens. I depend almost entirely on the shine of the drops and direction of splatter to determine the path of a wounded animal. For this the blood must be fresh and I have to hope it wont rain. I like shooting stuff in the snow.
 
It makes blood & other bodily fluids glow white. I have several of these and the one in the above link is the best of the inexpensive ones. I also have a couple of more expensive ones, but believe it or not - the one in the link casts a stronger UV light.
Click to expand...

No, UV does not work that way with blood without chemicals such as Luminol.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/luminol.htm

If simple UV lights worked as claimed, then all the worthless "blood lights" being sold at sporting good stores would be simple UV lights, but they are all sorts of colors and they don't work worth a darn!

From http://www.crimescope.com/march 15/applications.htm
Although blood does not glow in the visible range, it has a unique color band (wavelength) under which the blood stain will darken to enhance its contrast by approximately 4 times.
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Bloods reaction to UV is to look darker. It does not glow white. So on a forest floor at night, UV light actually helps the blood to hide in the shadows because it looks like the shadows. So a UV light is NOT a good idea for looking for typical blood trails by hunters.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5045775_kind-stains-black-lights-detect.html
 
Yep mine was a 20lb terrier mix. Set on the blood,he'd illuminate the trail directly to the downed/arrowed animal. Worked for a bit of jerky he did.

He sat with me in the blind for 15 seasons. Quiet as a mousebest psychoanalyst around.LOL

His name was Farley, I miss him...

ST~
 
We tried using the blue led bulb this year and it didn't work worth a crap. Everything looked black. Took out the 150Lumen Wolf eyes and found the trail immediately. Not as good as a dog but a very bright white flashlight is the best IMO.
 
I probably shouldn't type this, as there may be some budget concerns when we're talking about flashlights, but... FLIR PS-24. If you can't find (even semi-) fresh blood, much less wounded game with one, you can have yourself declared legally blind. :)

LED torch with color temperature of 3000-4500K is a start. Many of the newer ones are 6000K or even higher, which makes it very difficult to distinguish red from green.
 
Even the best shot is no guarantee that the animal won't be able to stay upright and moving for long enough to disappear from view and require tracking. Terminal ballistics in flesh and bone are simply not that cut and dried.
 
Seriously "low-speed" but here's the kit which has served me well - bunny to buck. I love the little mag Solitaires and have 'em stashed all over the place. Spare bulb in the butt, single AAA, great adjustable beam and I usually have a bit of shrink tube over the body to hold it in my teeth.

It's so light that holding it head high, out front and dead vertical makes it a great tool for trail checks then a couple times in the mouth to help in meat matters after dusk.
 

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I have found a plain old incandescent 6 volt lantern with as large of a refelctor as you can find to be the best.

Obviously, you are not likely to carry it with you. But, I keep one in the truck and have had to go back and get it a few times over the years.

It is worlds better than any pocket or head lamp for putting out a lot of light and the color rendering index is better than any LED.
 
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