Are Whitetails Colorblind?

[whitfang]

If you're going to put a small light on your bow for those dawn/dusk shots, does the color matter?

Princeton Tec makes a small LED light that can be velcroed to your bow's riser and used to illuminate the pins.  They come in colors (red, green, blue) and white.

Would a blue light be less noticed by deer than a white light, or does any illumination spook them?

[New Hampshire]

Ive read some interesting scientific studies that show deer can see color to some extent.  However, for some reason deer seem not to associate any danger to color, rather wether that color is big and moving.  As far as putting the light on your pin sight, I have a friend who bought a Stylus LED pen light with a green LED.  Stylus makes a big point to say that the green light does not spook game.  Cant really say for sure if its true or marketing ploys at its best.  But I dont think you could go wrong with the freen or red.  Both will not ruin your night vision when you turn them on, but Im not sure if they would wash out your sight picture or not.  Either way I think you will not scare the deer.
Brian M.

[cam69conv]

Howdy again der NewHampshire... Whitefang
Deer do have color rods in thier eyes Just not as many as we do. The green and red low output  led lights  wont spook them easily but as NewHampshire suggested be VERY careful as to the amount of light and angle of presentation as to not wash out your sight picture...There are many lighted sights out there with a small button batterie to light your fiber optics that wont give you this problem or you could go the expensive route and invest in a couple of the tritium pins..They are expencive ( from 20 to 29 bux a piece) but they will glow ALOT better in those dusk shots than a regular fiber pin..I have my 20 and 35 pins in them and they really stand out from my 50 yrd pin which is a reg fiber..I dont shoot past 35 normally so I dont have the 50 in it...TruGlow has some excellent lighted sights for around 50 bux and the batteries last a nice long time in them..Unless ya fergit after ya nail that nice bruiser to turn it off  :-D Dems about all the idears I can give ya so good luck n may that monster be within 20 for ya..Oh and one other thing about the lil light pens n such...Sometimes the game commissions can be a lil bit of a pain in tha rump about mounting them on your bow..They may try nailing you sayin you are "casting light on the deer" which is a BIG no no in most if not all states..Im talking about the LED's that you mentiond attaching to your riser...Some of the officers can be real pains in the butt about that so just be carefull and review the laws in your state and I would suggest talking it over with a game commission officer and get his input about them before you do it...The lighted sights are compleatly legal in all states so you have no worries there

[New Hampshire]

Just another thought too, and I dont know what cam69 thinks of this one, but Trophy Ride sites use a flourescing pin (much like the glow sticks you used as a kid or the same ones the miltary uses...you know you snap the center and they glow like a Lightning bugs bottom  :grin: .)  The pin inserts right into a slot in the site that the pins pass through.  Ive been looking at these sites as you can get them for about the same as any other pin site.  But they have a lot of wrapped pin surface for light gathering at the darker times of the day.
Brian M.
P.S. If it matters any the catalog states that the site/light pins ARE approved by Pope and Young.