# Best light for snake hunting at night



## colubrid (Feb 20, 2006)

I go out west every year to field obsereve specimens in the deserts and mountains in Calif. To find the target species I am looking for I walk at night so I need a light with great spill for 15-20 feet in front of me. Anything further and I won't be able to see the snake anyway. I will be walking among rocks and crevices in rocky hillsides and dry washes at night so I don't need a spot, just a very bright spill.

I have some good lights (Ledbeam 3c, SL pp 4 Lux ect) but I was wondering if a modded 3d of some sort would be best for my purposes.

http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={D23D20A6-A3EF-4A52-9790-29604553DE0C}&exp=f&moddt=38671.0016978125&ssdyn=1


----------



## WhiteHot (Feb 20, 2006)

This is the one I would use if I was looking for snakes. It has pretty good spill.


----------



## Cliffnopus (Feb 20, 2006)

ROFL


----------



## hquan (Feb 20, 2006)

Do the snakes have lots of colors? You may want to first figure out if you want to go with incan. or LED. I know that LEDs can sometimes make things stand out... i.e. we're getting ready to do some digging at our house, so we had the power folks out to mark the power lines. The paint that they used is flourescent - and shows up well under an unmodded G2 (incan) - but it really jumps out when using a slightly blue HDS (LED).


----------



## JoeBob (Feb 20, 2006)

I was thinking something attached to a 12 gauge shotgun, but this would be much more effective.


----------



## nc987 (Feb 20, 2006)

Id recommend a U2. Good flood, and dialed down to about 1/2 halfway is still enough light for looking for snakes and will give you a pretty good runtime.


----------



## greenLED (Feb 20, 2006)

I'd take a headlamp, not a flashlight. My current favorites are the BD IQ hybrids (incan/LED, regulated on both modes).


----------



## Tritium (Feb 20, 2006)

Recent experience 3 weeks ago tells me that a nuwai Q3 on the bill of my ball cap is great in locating Rattle Snakes. Killed 13 from under my house. 26 total for December through January. Led's really light up their eyes. (Spiders too)

Thurmond


----------



## AlanH (Feb 20, 2006)

nc987 said:


> Id recommend a U2. Good flood, and dialed down to about 1/2 halfway is still enough light for looking for snakes and will give you a pretty good runtime.



Run-Away time is high on my list of priorities ! U go looking for them ? When I lived in Albq, they seemed to come looking for me everytime I went out.

Alan


----------



## CLHC (Feb 20, 2006)

As already mentioned, get a headlamp and how about a HID say from AE PowerLight? If in the 3D cell sized form factor, then maybe the Maglite with a DB-3W LED drop-in from LED-Replacement.

Hope you find what you're looking for and Happy Snake Hunting!


----------



## InFlux (Feb 20, 2006)

SureFire L2 is a two level wall of light- plenty of flood. One of the Alephs/McLux would be a great choice too. One of each to be safe.

I definitely wouldn't trust a cheapie. Once you find one rattlesnake they're probably all around you...


----------



## beezaur (Feb 20, 2006)

I would stay away from a modded Mag because they tend to have ringy beams.  I would think you want a very smooth beam to look for something by noticing small features.

I also thing a SureFire L2 is a good choice. You can go all night on a set of batteries on low, and the high beam is there when you need it.

Probably a good thing to think about is how the snakes get recognized. If you are seeing them by eye reflections, then a headlamp would be best.

Tritium,

Good Lord! 13 snakes from UNDER YOUR HOUSE?!?!?! I am clicking the heels of my rubber boots together furiously right now, eyes closed saying, "There's no place like western Washington, there's no place like western Washington. . ."

Scott


----------



## Bob_G (Feb 20, 2006)

I just finished putting together a multi Aleph project for myself, and if you want an LED, there's one combination I think might work really well for you. You'd have to spend some money, but if you think of it as a dedicated snake light, with years of future service, it might be worth it.

Anyhow, one of the things I discovered in my little project was that the lower die LuxV is perfectly focused in a McR-27, an Aleph 1 in other words. By perfectly focused I mean that there's no donut hole as there usually is with LuxVs in a reflector primarily meant for the LuxIII. 

It makes a center focused flood I think you could call it. With a LDF lens you can kill some of the spot and add a little to the spill, but with a clear lens it still has a bright spill and a diffuse enough spot not to be spotty at all.

PhotonFanatic has some WWOS for sale that I believe are the lower die.

One nice thing is that with the resistored low, you could experiment and get just the right light for your needs - low = snake beam and high is high. With something like a DB500 on two or three 123s, you'd have decent runtime and an easily pocketable light. 

The McR-19 is another option, but it's almost a pure flood. The problem with pure floods is that they spread the light so evenly, it appears to the eye that they're putting out less light than they really are. It makes a beautiful beam though, very smooth, almost creamy, with a LuxV.

Hey, I even have a few 3 and 4 cell tubes I'd sell you for a good price


----------



## Planterz (Feb 20, 2006)

You might also want to think about carrying a UV light to find scorpions (or to avoid them).


----------



## CLHC (Feb 20, 2006)

beezaur said:


> I would stay away from a modded Mag because they tend to have ringy beams.


Interesting. . .What rings? I don't see rings on mine. Smoothie beam all the way from my vantage point!

Enjoy!


----------



## Leef (Feb 20, 2006)

Easy on them snattlerakes, guys. We need 'em and most of them aren't hurting a thing, just consuming rodents and otherwise taking up just the right amount of space in the web of life.

Besides, some of my best friends are snakes.:twothumbs


----------



## beezaur (Feb 21, 2006)

CHC said:


> Interesting. . .What rings? I don't see rings on mine. Smoothie beam all the way from my vantage point!



Well, maybe most are ok. I only have two. One is a lot better than a stock Mag, but it does have the stock reflector, and is not as smooth as any of my lights that have bumpy reflectors. The beam is ok, just not great -- a little ringy but not bad. The other is just as bad as the stock bulb. Its beam is so-so. Both are Lux III LEDs.

My impression, which may well be completely wrong, is that modded mags just don't do floody beams well.

A lot of the multi-LED headlamps put out a nice flood. Anything that will take a SureFire Beamshaper will do a nice flood too.

Has anyone tried frosting a glass lens? That might be a good way to get a good flood on a modded mag.

Scott


----------



## offroadcmpr (Feb 21, 2006)

How much of a flood are you talking about?
lux 5 like a sf L4?
Mag with a LDF lens?
or the best flood would be to get a mag modded to a lux3 or lux5 and take the head off, so that way you have the complete 120(?) degree flood of light directly from the emiter.


----------



## Tritium (Feb 21, 2006)

"Good Lord! 13 snakes from UNDER YOUR HOUSE?!?!?! I am clicking the heels of my rubber boots together furiously right now, eyes closed saying, "There's no place like western Washington, there's no place like western Washington. . ."

Scott"
___

My wife had the same thoughts as we lived in Puyallup and Marysville for several years. I do miss water from the sky and trees.

Thurmond



Leef stated:

Easy on them snattlerakes, guys. We need 'em and most of them aren't hurting a thing, just consuming rodents and otherwise taking up just the right amount of space in the web of life.

Besides, some of my best friends are snakes."



I have 2400 acres and the snakes and rodents are welcomed to any of it but the 2 acres I live on (they are actually good for Ranch Tourism). Trespass on my 2 acre home site is a death for them if caught. My Bobcats (wild) enjoyed the free feed as they love a good snake.

Thurmond


----------



## tron3 (Feb 21, 2006)

Something with a red lens. Will preserve your night vision and probably not scare off the snake.


----------



## trivergata (Feb 21, 2006)

Hey Colubrid - I would have never guessed you were a fellow herper by your name...... 

Anyhow, my Aleph wih my headlight conversion is what I use here in Texas for hunting - the two stage set-up allows me the right light in any situation and the headlamp conversion keeps me from fumbling with a light while dealing with any hot critters - pretty handy.

Snake hunting is a big part of what turned me to flashahol, along with the Fire Department and EMS stuff.

I'm too dang busy......................:rock: 
Josh


----------



## Flame (Feb 21, 2006)

I have a ranch in south Texas very near where they hold the Rattlesnake Roundup every year. There are some real monsters down there. I was on my way to my deer stand this past season using a Sam's Club Element. I saw some movement about 10 feet in front of me on the sendero and sure enough there was by far the biggest Coral snake I have ever seen. He had to be very close to 30 inches long. I have seen many but never this long. And YES it was "red touch yellow, kill a fellow". I had snake boots on so I wasn't too concerned. It was kind of hard to distinguish the colors using the element LED so I blasted him with a Surefire G2. That really lit him up well. You could definately see the colors on him with the G2. I let the poor fellow slither away as I did not want to make any unnecessary noise so close to my deer stand.

So my advice is that if you do use a LED for snake hunting, get one with a very white or warm white tint. In my opinion you can make out the colors better with this tint of beam.


----------



## zespectre (Feb 21, 2006)

Tritium said:


> Recent experience 3 weeks ago tells me that a nuwai Q3 on the bill of my ball cap is great in locating Rattle Snakes. Killed 13 from under my house. 26 total for December through January. Led's really light up their eyes. (Spiders too)
> 
> Thurmond


 
Jeeeezzzz, you need a mongoose or two!


----------



## nc987 (Feb 21, 2006)

hey beezaur. whereabouts in western washington are you?


----------



## colubrid (Feb 21, 2006)

:wow: 

Thanks for all the replies and humor :huh: .

I decided not to do a mod. To complicated for me and I don't even own a sodering iron. So I am looking to purchase a good flood light (modded or not) unless there are some simple mods I will have to look for a manufactured light with a wide flood but without the rings. The color reccomendations were really helpful as well. Thanks!

I have been collecting my target species in the field for 40 years so I am pretty experienced. I avoid hots (venemous) but I do occasionally run into them. I have a RR lantern and headlamp and wanted a really wide beam while I walk around talus slides and in the rock outcroppings where most of the species I am looking for excist.

Here is a pic a of Rosy boa found in the Santa Rosa mtns. It was on a dirt road and the snake was not moved or touched (insitu) when the pic was taken:






thanks again for all the replies!


----------



## Flakey (Feb 21, 2006)

wait wait wait WAIT! modded mags dont do floody well?







all you need is a stippled reflector and you got flood! 

http://www.light-edge.com/products.asp?section=Mag Reflectors&cat=42

PS any light that uses a reflector with a smooth finish will have an ugly beam that throws far. the more texture you add to the reflector, the smoother the beam will become but you will get less throw and more flood.

by the way the magmod used in that picture is a Mag35 
this is the same picture lit by my C3 centurian with 100 lumens


----------



## colubrid (Feb 27, 2006)

*"all you need is a stippled reflector and you got flood"*

Wow! Thats a pretty impressive flood. Especially after seeing what the C3 Centurian did. So if I see a modded 85 or 35 for sale all I have to do is buy the stippled reflector?

I am a bit unknowledgable about the mods here because i don't do any that are to involved. Mostly because I don't have the time. 

So what is a good mod to look out for ? The ROP?


----------



## Sigman (Feb 27, 2006)

colubrid said:


> Here is a pic a of Rosy boa...


Now that's a cool looking snake, never saw one of those before - looks like "rainbow trout" markings!

We used to hunt diamondbacks & sidewinders at night when I lived in Arizona...exciting for sure!


----------



## Vee3 (Feb 28, 2006)

My son and I came across this Mojave Green last year outside of Llano, CA...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v381/Victor3/DSCF0615.jpg

My Dad and I killed and ate one once when I was a kid, just for the experience (No, they don't taste like chicken).


----------



## xochi (Feb 28, 2006)

From the sound of it 13 snakes had one human living _over _their house. 

I would have caught them and moved them somewhere else.


----------



## colubrid (Mar 1, 2006)

Those Mojave greens are  N A S T Y . Their temperament is the most aggressive of all the rattlesnakes and their venom is both hemo and neuro toxic (attacks the tissue and the nervous system) makes it the most deadliest North american serpent IMO.






Vee3 said:


> My son and I came across this Mojave Green last year outside of Llano, CA...
> 
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v381/Victor3/DSCF0615.jpg
> 
> My Dad and I killed and ate one once when I was a kid, just for the experience (No, they don't taste like chicken).


----------



## JohnK (Mar 1, 2006)

I've REALLY been thinking about the 13 snakes under your house.

There are only two possibilities:

(1) you have the world's largest population of mice/rats/etc. under your house. That presents another different eradication problem.

(2) The snakes are DENNING there for the winter.. If so, you may be able to get the whole bunch.

If they are there in warm weather, I'd look at (1).

We (west Tennessee) for some reason, have a very large Copperhead population on our 100 acres. When I first moved here, I had several dogs bitten, and near misses on myself, and wife. It took me ten years, but I have hopefully brought the population to a manageable level.


----------

