# Hunting hogs at night with a LIGHT



## idsman75 (Apr 27, 2014)

I talked with a game warden awhile back who told me he didn't care how I killed hogs on the private lease as long as I wasn't hunting from a vehicle and wasn't using a light that was mounted to a vehicle.

"Feral hogs may be hunted at night with a light (no voltage restriction), which is carried on the person, affixed to a helmet or hat, or part of a belt system worn by a hunter. "

Does this rule out feeder lights?  How about lights attached to a rifle by picatiny rail mount?


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## Hogwild80 (May 15, 2014)

Good question I've hunted with rifle mounted lights don't know why it would matter if its battery was on person or self contained


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## jbriley (May 16, 2014)

I do the same as Hogwild80.
light is mounted on my rifle and there is a pressure switch mounted on stock with velcro.


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## idsman75 (Jun 2, 2014)

Hogwild80 said:


> Good question I've hunted with rifle mounted lights don't know why it would matter if its battery was on person or self contained



The regulation doesn't refer to the placement of the battery.  It's referring to the placement of the light.  

If we're to take it literally, firearm-mounted lights are illegal.  What about feeder lights?


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## Krm944 (Jun 3, 2014)

This rule mimics a lot of the rules out west for predators as well.

For the longest time, coon hunters had helmets with lights attached, and the battery attached to the belt- so the lawmakers simply copied the "coon clause" and pasted it into hog clause

The jist of the rule is to not power the light from the vehicle, or drive and spot with the light out the window.

As I read/understand-
Feeder lights are ok
Gun lights are ok
20million candlepower lights ok- if you have your own battery, not the battery from the car/atv.


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## weekender (Jun 3, 2014)

There is a reason they don't want the lights mounted on the gun. You are out in the woods and you hear a noise approaching. You aim your light (which is mounted on the gun) to see what it is. It's the game warden coming to check you. Now you have pointed a loaded weapon at the game warden. NOT TOO GOOD for him for sure.


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## lbzdually (Jun 4, 2014)

weekender said:


> There is a reason they don't want the lights mounted on the gun. You are out in the woods and you hear a noise approaching. You aim your light (which is mounted on the gun) to see what it is. It's the game warden coming to check you. Now you have pointed a loaded weapon at the game warden. NOT TOO GOOD for him for sure.



I would hope a GW would have enough sense to not walk up on a couple of guys hog hunting without announcing his presence first.


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## NCHillbilly (Jun 5, 2014)

lbzdually said:


> I would hope a GW would have enough sense to not walk up on a couple of guys hog hunting without announcing his presence first.



There was a ranger killed a year or two ago by a guy (illegally) coyote hunting at night, he didn't announce his presence, was concealed watching them hunting from about a hundred yards out with NV goggles, if I remember correctly.


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## lbzdually (Jun 6, 2014)

NCHillbilly said:


> There was a ranger killed a year or two ago by a guy (illegally) coyote hunting at night, he didn't announce his presence, was concealed watching them hunting from about a hundred yards out with NV goggles, if I remember correctly.



That was a bad situation.  2 guys illegally hunting public land and not verifying their target.  GW was just doing his job, but no game violation is worth losing your life.


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## idsman75 (Jun 12, 2014)

Sorry but that's stupid.  I have a night vision monocular and wouldn't turn on a flashlight until it was time to pop a hog.  Sounds like the morons who are too cheap to buy binoculars so they use their rifle-mounted scopes instead.  It seems like idiocy to someone who has trained extensively with weapon-mounted lights.


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