Hunting coyotes, foxes and other predators at night can be an absolute blast. However, you need to make sure that you bring along the proper gear in order to give yourself the best possible chance at success. Along with predator calls and other attractants, a high quality predator hunting light is an essential piece of predator hunting gear. In fact, it's probably the single most important item, along with your rifle of course. Without a light you'll have no way to illuminate the animal so you can get a clear shot.
While you could try to use any old flashlight, headlamp or even the headlights on your vehicle, the fact of the matter is that using a light designed specifically for the purpose will make things a whole lot easier for you. With the best predator hunting lights, you'll be able to keep both hands free to fire your rifle while bathing the coyote or other animal in a soft, gentle glow that allows you time to get off a clean shot without spooking away your target.
Ranking the Best Predator Hunting Lights
Before covering the factors you'll need to consider, here's some basic info about the top rated products currently on the market. After reading these predator hunting lights reviews, you should have a better idea in terms of the overall quality and price that you're looking for.
Wicked Lights W403IC Deluxe Night Hunting Kit
Wicked Lights is without a doubt one of the top manufacturers of coyote hunting lights and other night lights. However, this type of quality comes at an increased cost, as the Wicked Lights W4031IC Deluxe Night Hunting Kit also happens to be the most expensive product on our list. Still, you'll be getting an incredibly powerful, ultra versatile kit that can be easily mounted directly onto a range of firearms.
With this kit, you get green, red and white LED lights—each of which allows you to fully adjust the brightness to the desired level. The light is made from aircraft grade aluminum with a hard-anodized coating for rugged strength and durability. Although the light is powered by two Li-ion batteries, it also comes with a two position battery charger that allows you to ensure your light is always ready to go whenever you need it.
It may be more expensive than most, but the overall quality, durability and versatility of this night hunting kit make it one of the top choices currently on the market.
Predator Tactics Coyote Reaper Hunting Light Kit
Similar to the Wicked Lights kit, the Predator Tactics Coyote Reaper Hunting Light Kit is a powerful, versatile light. It can easily be attached to either your firearm's rail or scope using the two included mounts.
This kit includes two rechargeable batteries, plus a car and wall charger for added convenience. It also comes in a special hard carrying case to prevent damage. Still, probably the biggest benefit of this particular product is that it gives you the ability to adjust the focus and flood of the light beam—allowing you to create a wide flood light or a tight pinpoint beam.
Like some of the other lights on our list, you'll need to choose between either a red or green light. This makes the Wicked Lights kit a great option if you don't want to be limited to only one color.
Orion M30C 700-Lumen Long Range Predator Hunting Light
The Orion M30C is available in your choice of red or green. Both colors feature a 700-lumen LED light capable of shining up to 377 yards. There's actually very little to separate this light from the Predator Tactics kit, as both include two rechargeable batteries, a car/wall charger and mounting kits for installing the light on your coyote scope, barrel or rail.
Overall, the Predator Tactics kit is probably a slightly better option. This is mostly due to its slightly sturdier construction and hard carrying case than anything about the quality of the light itself.
Fenix Flashlights TK32 1000-Lumen Tri-Color LED Flashlight Tactical Set
Fenix Flashlights has been growing in popularity amongst hunters over the past few years. The company's products have gained a reputation for incredible ruggedness, strength and durability.
Unfortunately, the majority of Fenix lights are basic flashlights, meaning you'll need to hold them in your hand. However, this incredible 1000-lumen LED flashlight tactical set gives you all the same outstanding features, plus the added benefit of a side-mount bracket so you can attach it directly to your firearm. With this light, you also get the benefit of red, green and white lights, each with its own adjustable brightness levels.
In terms of the overall quality of the light, this is probably the best product on our list. Although it doesn't come with a battery charger or as many mounting options as some of the others, these are really the only negative things you can say about this otherwise excellent product.
Orion Predator H30 Rechargeable Night Hunting Light
Another fantastic option from Orion, is the Predator H30. It provides all of the same outstanding functions of the M30C in a slightly less powerful package.
Although this light only produces a maximum of 300 lumens, it is still capable of illuminating objects out to a distance of 273 yards. Like the M30C, you'll need to choose between either a red or green light. However, this product has one major advantage over its more powerful counterpart. It features an adjustable brightness function that allows you to dim the light beam for additional power savings.
Important Factors to Consider When Buying Night Hunting Lights
Finding the best night hunting lights isn't all that difficult, as there is a huge range of different products that will undoubtedly meet your needs. That being said, it is still a good idea to pay attention to all of the following factors in order to ensure that you get the best possible lights for your needs.
Light Color
The color of the light is one of the most important factors. While standard white lights may be good for illuminating your surrounding area when hiking or performing other tasks in the dark, these bright white lights are generally never recommended for night hunting. This is because the light in this white spectrum is much more visible to animals than green or red light, which means that your standard white lights have a good chance of scaring any animals away before you can ever get off a shot.
Many night hunting lights include white, red and green colored lights for versatility. However, if you are forced to choose, then a red light is generally your best choice for predator hunting, with green being the next best choice. In fact, the majority of coyote hunting lights are red, whereas most hog hunting lights are green.
Portability and Ease of Use
Although some old-school sportsmen still prefer using a traditional hunting spotlight, the majority of modern hunting lights come with mounting brackets that allow you to install it directly on your firearm.
In truth, the best spotlight for hunting is not necessarily the same thing as the best overall light. This is because the scope mounted predator hunting lights are generally considered to be far and away superior to standard spotlights, as they allow you to keep both hands free.
Still, in addition to the mounting options, you'll also want to consider the overall weight, size and design of the lights if you're looking for something that's lightweight, compact and easy to use.
Construction and Durability
Any good hunting light needs to be rugged enough to withstand shocks and drops without damage, otherwise you could easily end up in the dark should it fail. Therefore, it's important that you pay special attention to the overall strength and durability of the design to ensure that you get a light that will keep working for years.
Brightness/Lumens
In addition to the color of the light, you'll also want to pay attention to how bright it is as measured in terms of lumens. Basically, the brighter the light is (higher number of lumens), the further the distance it can illuminate. Therefore, if you're looking for something that gives you the freedom to take out targets at several hundred yards or more, you'll need to purchase a brighter, more powerful light.
Battery Life
Battery life is obviously an important factor, as there's nothing worse than your light suddenly dying just as you spot a coyote in the distance. If you're looking for something with an exceptionally long battery life, your best bet is an LED light. Still, battery life isn't nearly as important as the other factors—as long as you always remember to carry along a spare battery or two in your pack.
The Final Word on Predator Hunting Lights
As you can see, there is a wide range of outstanding predator hunting lights available to you. Still, the fact that there are so many different models means that there is little that separates any of the top products from each other. Nonetheless, if you are in the market for the best predator hunting lights and don't mind paying a bit extra for quality, all of the products listed above will give you that added advantage that could mean the difference between a successful hunt and going home empty handed.
