Hog hunting & feeder lights

Gun-mounted light or feeder light?

Hog lights come in two families that do different jobs. A gun-mounted light sits on your scope or rail and puts a beam wherever the rifle points; it's the light you shoot by. A feeder light mounts on the feeder, a T-post or a tree, stays dark until its motion sensor or photocell switches it on, and lights one patch of ground so you can see what came in. A night setup over a feeder can use both: the feeder light to see the sounder arrive, and the rifle light or an optic for the shot and for anything hanging back at the brush line.

We rank them separately because they're scored on different things. Gun lights are judged on colors and dimming, throw and beam control, and a mount that holds zero; see our best hog hunting lights. Feeder lights are judged on activation, power and mounting; see the best hog feeder lights. For scanning a pasture, a handheld light or headlamp is the safer tool, so you're not sweeping a rifle across everything you look at.

Red, green, white or IR

Color is the question everyone asks first, and the evidence is thinner than the marketing. Pigs have two types of color cones, peaking in the blue and green-yellow range (Neitz & Jacobs, 1989). Hunters use red and green lights on the theory that hogs see those colors poorly; how hogs actually respond varies, and we haven't found a field study that settles it.

What the spec sheets do show: in every light we rank that publishes figures for both, green claims more reach than red (1,770 vs 1,150 yards on the Sniper Hog Lights Hyperion 66, by the maker's claim). White is for identifying what you're looking at. Infrared is invisible to the naked eye and only useful behind a night-vision scope. Our red or green light comparison goes through the science and the specs, the best green light for hog hunting ranks green-capable lights, and the best IR illuminator for night vision explains 850 vs 940 nm.

Lumens vs throw

Lumens measure how much light comes out, weighted to the human eye: NIST notes our eyes, in daytime at least, are "most sensitive to greenish-yellow light" (NIST), which is one reason green modules post bigger lumen numbers. Throw is how far the maker says the beam carries, and that depends on the head as much as the LED. Sniper Hog Lights claims the same lumens for its Hyperion 40 and 66, yet 1,130 vs 1,770 yards of green throw; the bigger head is the difference.

Every throw and lumen figure on this site is labeled the maker's claim, because no maker we cover publishes how it measured them. Compare claims within one brand, not across brands, and buy for the distance you actually shoot. Our How We Choose page explains how we score claims we can't verify.

When a light beats a thermal on budget

Every gun light, feeder light and IR illuminator we rank sits in the under-$500 budget tier. The least expensive thermal riflescopes we rank start in the $500 to $1,000 tier. If your hogs come to a feeder you can light and your shots are at that distance, a feeder light plus a gun light on the scope you already own covers the job for far less. A thermal earns its price when you need to find hogs the light hasn't reached, because it shows heat instead of reflected light. Our guide to hunting hogs at night without thermal builds a light-only plan, the night hog hunting setup guide puts optic, light, rest and feeder light together, and the thermal and night vision hub covers the optics side.

The Texas spotlight rule

TPWD answers "Yes" to spotlighting feral hogs in deer country, and recommends a courtesy call to the local Texas game warden before you do (TPWD FAQ). The limit is protected game: Texas bars hunting a protected game animal or bird with the aid of an artificial light (Parks & Wildlife Code §62.005) and hunting protected game at night (§62.004). So never shine or shoot a deer, whatever color your light is. Hunting from a vehicle is legal within private property (TPWD) but not from a public road (§62.0031). The details are in can you hunt hogs at night in Texas. This isn't legal advice; confirm with your game warden.

Where to start

• Buying a rifle light: best hog hunting lights, then Wicked Lights vs Sniper Hog Lights if you're down to those two brands.
• Lighting a feeder: best hog feeder lights.
• Choosing a color: red or green light, then the best green lights.
• Running night vision: best IR illuminators.
• No thermal yet: how to hunt hogs at night without thermal and the full night setup.
• Predators too: night hunting coyotes.

We haven't tested the lights we rank; every pick is scored from published specs, and every figure links to its source. And a light is one tool, not the plan. If hogs are tearing up your place, start with how to get rid of feral hogs, which puts lights, traps, cameras and fencing in order.