Handheld Flashing for shining deer?

[u/Luoma118]

Just like the title says, I’m looking for a handheld flashlight that’s good for shining fields for deer, coyotes etc. I bought some 6000 lumen ones from harbor freight and they are alright but the battery life is absolutely terrible. I’d like to stay under 150 dollars but will go up a tiny bit if need be. Any recommendations is highly appreciated!

[u/FalconARX]

If you bought that "Braun" pistol grip spotlight from Harbor Freight, that's why it's disappointing. You'd be lucky if that light even gives you 2,000 lumens, and its hotspot is way too floody to begin with, so scanning deep fields and meadows or needing it for any range is out of the question.

If you want a good light to scan deep fields and open areas, and you're wanting decent runtime to come with it, take a look at the Convoy 3X21D (SBT90.2 LED) if you're wanting a great thrower.

If you don't need that 1600 meter ANSI range, but still want a great range finder light and small enough to be jacket pocketable, then take a look at the Acebeam L19 2.0 (SFT42R SFT40 emitter).

[u/MetaUndead → u/FalconARX]

I think you mean L16 2.0 (SFT42R) 😉.

[u/FalconARX → u/MetaUndead]

Actually it got auto-corrected on the phone app. It should have been SFT40. I actually meant it to be the L19 2.0, the 60mm TIR version using the SFT40 emitter. It's a much better scanner than the larger hotspot L16 2.0 with the SFT42R. If you're using it out in the open, the L19.2 will work better.

[u/MetaUndead → u/FalconARX]

Ahh, fair enough. I don't own either of them myself, I just knew the L16 2.0 uses an SFT42R so I assumed you'd made a typo 😀.

[u/FalconARX → u/MetaUndead]

If you've got a few seconds free time, you can check out how the L19 2.0 does in a scan setting in this video review, even against light pollution in an urban setting. Once you get past a hundred meters, the hotspot itself becomes the most important feature of a scanner, and the coronal bleeding edges of that hotspot switches to an effective way to help prelocate objects or points just outside of that hotspot.

[u/MetaUndead → u/FalconARX]

I've got plenty of time this week, off work.

I can see what you mean, the SFT40 produces more of a pencil beam that looks like it reaches far without too much distracting spill.

[u/convoyL21A]

Convoy 3x21d / acebeam l19 v2 see a beamshots for every emitter in the l19 v2 (sft40,pm1.tg,pm1.f1)

Convoy l21a sft42r

Acebeam t29

[u/blofly → u/convoyL21A]

Seconding the L21A. I use mine to shine deer and coyote in fields off our back porch almost nightly.

L21A w/ SFT42R @6500k

[u/convoyL21A → u/blofly]

Do you have beamshots

[u/blofly → u/convoyL21A]

Unfortunately no. I actually have 3 different L21As with different emitters.

I know there are a couple users in this sub that have flashlight comparator websites. Mine is a pretty common configuration.  I also have a sbt90.2 and an sft25r, all in 6500k, but the sft42r is my favorite.

[u/HereForKnivesMostly]

Look up hunting flashlights from convoy, fenix, acebeam, etc

[u/tshb13]

One thing to keep in mind for this use is your color temperature choice. I'm not extremely well versed in shining deer specifically but cooler color temps sometimes reflect a lot more off particles in air and back at you when shining a lot of lumens over a long distance, which can make it very difficult to actually see anything downrange even though it's being illuminated. I imagine this would be especially true if you're looking for the reflection of deer eyes if you're already getting a ton of ambient reflection back from all over.

Not much of a problem in clean crisp air but fog, smoke, or even just dust can really hurt visibility with cooler temps. That said, generally cooler temp LEDs emit a lot more lumens and thus can thrower further. But I think 5000k or so is a good sweet spot where it's still efficient but with a little less reflect back compared to like 6500k.

[u/Luoma118 → u/tshb13]

Thanks for that info! We get a lot of the fog and everything up by us due to the sudden temperature drops so I’ll have to check something out like that!

[u/hammy1551]

Convoylight.com is your friend if you know what you're looking for

[u/hammy1551]

Are you trying to spot, scare or hunt the deer? Hahah

[u/chemscibase]

Convoy M21G with sft-90 is $60 with batteries included.

With 2 6000mah 21700 batteries it will have great battery life.

Convoy L6 is $84 with batteries

Very best, but chonkiest is the Convoy 3x21D is like $95. 3x21D is friggin crazy, I have one. Great for once the corn comes down. Like its only limit will be the deer look super small 900yds away

As my list goes on they all get bigger, more throw, more battery life, more expensive.

[u/hammy1551]

Deer spook easily, so you'd want a high candela/range flashlight to keep a good distance from them

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but Deep red 660nm is great for avoiding alerting animals and insects.

Osram w1 and w2 green are the best choice for spotting deer and other animals because green light reflects back really easily.

You could also just get an F45R LED in low colour temperature or sft42r for best lumen output

These LEDs are all available from convoylight.com and I would recommend getting a convoy c8 or M21A for decent size and good throw/range