What’s your spookiest hunting experience?

[C-130 Dude]

Well there is some truth in that theory. If you only use ambient light at night you will see everything in shades of black and white. There are two instances where this will not work. A dark, cloudy moonless night where there essentially is no ambient light, especially if you are in the woods where tree cover blocks what little light there may be. It can get like being deep in a cave without any light. You can't see your hand in front of your face, much less anything else. The second incident is where you have acclimated to minimum lighting and are able to make your way along without any artificial light. Then someone hears you coming and turns a flashlight in your direction. Not only does it ruin your night vision, but it momentarily blinds you. The same thing happens when out in the woods, or anywhere else for that matter while wearing night vision goggles. All someone has to do to temporarily blind you is shine a flashlight in your direction. I will however freely admit that I am not all that familiar with the latest and greatest night vision goggles and i have heard that they handle light flares much quicker, but there is still that fraction of a second where you might not be able to see clearly. Anyone out there with experience with modern night vision equipment care to comment. No before you ask, we are not talking about night vision rifle scopes.

It takes almost 30 minutes for the human eye to completely adjust to maximum night vision. To achieve your best night vision, you must be in a completely black room with no ambient light at all. Select the lights you intend to use beforehand and use either red or green light. I prefer green lights on a very dim setting. Never look at the light directly.

You smokers out there will never achieve max night vision no matter what you do. C02 affects your eyes badly and any excess beyond ambient C02 levels is detrimental.

Theres another aspect of night navigation that folks need to consider. If you are finding your way using a paper map and compass like some of us old far*s, be careful using any red lights. It may help preserve your night vision but red light will wash out any red markings on a map. As me how I know this.....

Also, modern night vision gear uses mostly green and gray shades amplifying ambient light. Some sort of natural or artificial light must be present. Technology will not create light out of no light. Some of the modern gear are very effective. I've used gear that will light up a blacked out whole large room with nothing but the dim glow from a watch. As long as starlight is visible, you can use them even on a moonless night. If it's moonless and overcast, you can still use them but you have to be extremely careful. Folks have been known to litterly walk off cliffs and revines when they push their gear to its limits.