Should you use a red or green light for hog hunting?

We haven't tested these units; scores come from published specs and the rubric on our How We Choose page. This page makes no promise about how a hog will react to any color, because nobody has published the study that would let us. What we can do is lay out the one peer-reviewed measurement of pig color vision we found, the makers' own per-color figures, and the practical trade-offs that follow from them.

What the eye research says, and what it doesn't

The study everyone is really arguing about is a short 1989 paper by Neitz and Jacobs in Visual Neuroscience. They measured the eyes of domestic pigs, the same species as feral hogs (Sus scrofa), using electroretinogram (ERG) flicker photometry, a measurement of the retina's response. They found "two classes of cones in the pig's eye having average maximum sensitivity (lambda max) at 439 nm and 556 nm, respectively," and concluded the pig "has the requisite retinal basis for dichromatic color vision" (Neitz & Jacobs, 1989). In plain terms: pigs have two types of color cones, peaking in the blue and green-yellow range.

To see where hunting-light colors fall against those peaks, you need the scale. NASA puts the range the human eye typically detects at 380 to 700 nanometers, with violet the shortest at around 380 nm and red the longest at around 700 nm (NASA, Visible Light). For green, NIST's definition of the candela uses light at a frequency of 540 × 10¹² hertz, which NIST calls "a hue of green" (NIST, the candela). Divide the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second, per NIST) by that frequency and you get about 555 nm.

Put those numbers side by side:

• The pig's longer-wavelength cone peaks at 556 nm, almost exactly where NIST's reference green sits (about 555 nm).
• Red sits toward the long end of the visible range, around 700 nm, well past both of the pig's cone peaks.

That's the case for red, in numbers: it's the color farthest from where the pig's cones are most sensitive. It's also why we won't tell you green is invisible to hogs. At least one hue of green lands on the peak of a pig cone.

Now the limits, which matter just as much:

• Peaks aren't the whole curve. The study reports where each cone is most sensitive. It doesn't tell you where sensitivity drops off, so it can't tell you how dim a red light looks to a pig.
• Domestic pigs, not a feeder at night. The measurements were made on domestic pigs with a retinal measurement. They say what the retina responds to, not what a feeding sounder does when a beam hits it.
• Hunting lights don't publish their wavelengths. None of the lights on this page lists the wavelength of its red or green LED, so you can't place a specific light on that scale.
• No field study. We searched for university, extension and peer-reviewed studies testing wild hog behavior under red vs green hunting lights and didn't find one. The confident claims we did find were on retailer and blog pages, which we don't treat as evidence.

So the honest answer is the one in the box at the top: 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.

Red vs green at a glance

What the makers' specs say

Here's where the red vs green question has real numbers behind it. Six of the lights we rank publish a throw claim for red and for green on the same light. Every one of them claims more for green:

These are claims, and no maker says how it measured throw. But each row compares one maker's red and green on the same light, so whatever method the maker used, it used it for both. That makes the direction of the gap more trustworthy than any single number. The size of the gap varies a lot, from about 1.2 times on the Odepro to about 1.8 times on the Hyperion 50, so don't expect a fixed rule.

Runtime is less consistent. VASTFIRE claims 5 hours in red against 2.5 hours in green for its Predator Light, so red runs twice as long on that light. Sniper Hog Lights publishes the same 2.5 hours at full power for all its visible colors. So red only buys you runtime on some lights; check the spec on the one you're buying.

The top red and top green from each side, next to the light that does both:

Why green posts bigger lumen numbers

On the Hyperions, Sniper Hog Lights claims 1,150 lumens for green against 400 for red, nearly three times as much. Part of that gap is built into what a lumen is. NIST explains that light measurement weights colors by how strongly the human eye registers them: "the method grants more influence to those colors the eye registers more strongly," and our eyes, "in the daytime at least," are "most sensitive to greenish-yellow light" (NIST, the candela).

So a lumen is a human-eye unit, tuned to daytime vision. A big green lumen figure tells you the light is bright by that human standard. It doesn't tell you how bright the light looks to a hog, and it isn't a precise measure of how bright it looks to you at night either. Use lumens to compare colors within one maker's line, and use throw claims (with the same caution) to compare reach.

When red makes sense

• Your shots are close. Over a feeder you can see from the blind, reach isn't the limit, so red's shorter throw costs you little.
• You want the slowest, dimmest start. The Wicked A55iC's rheostat turns on at any intensity, and the Odepro KL52 MAX Red's remote pressure switch dims from 20 to 100%.
• You buy the cone-peak logic. If you want the color farthest from where the pig's cones peak, that's red. Just remember it's a theory about the retina, not a tested result at a feeder.
• Your light runs longer on red. On the VASTFIRE Predator Light, the maker claims twice the runtime in red.

Our top red: the Wicked Lights A55iC Red, a purpose-built red with rheostat dimming, spot-to-flood beam control, a quick-detach mount for 1 in. and 30 mm tubes and Wicked's published warranty (lifetime on the housing, 3 years on the LED). Its limits: one 18650 battery in the kit, so buy a spare, and no published throw, lumen or runtime figure. The budget alternative is the Odepro KL52 MAX Red, with a 464-yard claim and stepless dimming, but no scope mount in the red-only kit.

When green makes sense

• You need reach. Every per-color spec we have favors green, and the gap reaches about 1.8 times on the Hyperion 50.
• You're identifying at distance. Green posts the bigger lumen and throw numbers, so it's the color that puts more light on something far out, by the makers' own figures.
• You want the most choice. Every multi-color light on our lists includes green, and the Hyperions are the only lights that publish green output, throw and runtime together.

The honest trade-off: green is closer to the pig's 556 nm cone peak than red is. If the cone-peak logic is your main reason for choosing a color, it points to red, not green.

Our top green: the Sniper Hog Lights Hyperion 50 Gun Hunters Kit with the green module (1,150 lumens and 1,340 yards claimed, a dial dimmer, lockable focus and an adjustable Predator Pro mount at about 17 ounces). The kit ships with one color module, so order green. For the full ranking, including lighter and cheaper options, see our best green light for hog hunting picks.

Where white and IR fit

White is the identification color. A single-color light shows everything in shades of that one color; white gives you the full-color picture, which matters when you need to be sure what's in the beam before you shoot. Every multi-color hunting light we rank includes white alongside red and green.

Infrared is a different tool. It's past the 700 nm edge of what human eyes typically detect, so it's only useful behind a night-vision scope or monocular. If you already own one, an IR illuminator answers the color question differently: see our IR illuminator picks and, if you're weighing optics, our thermal vs night vision comparison.

Dimming matters as much as color

Whatever color you choose, a light that snaps on at full power and one that comes up slowly are different tools. Here's which lights on our lists publish a way to dim:

• Rheostat or dial dimmer: every Wicked Lights gun light (A55iC, A67iC, A75iC, W403iC) and every Hyperion.
• Dimming pressure switch: the Odepro KL52 MAX Red (stepless, 20 to 100%) and the LUMENSHOOTER D8A.
• No published dimming: the Odepro KL52Plus base kit, the LUMENSHOOTER A8Plus and both VASTFIRE lights.

Whether a slow start changes how a hog reacts is no better studied than color is. But dimming is a control you can use either way, and it's the one feature we'd put ahead of color if you can only have one. It's also a scored part of our rubric: colors and intensity control carry 25% of every hunting light's score.

One light, both colors

If the science can't settle the question, the practical move is a light that lets you try both. There are two ways lights do it:

• Center-axis rotation. Wicked's A67iC (red, green, white) and A75iC (adds 850 nm IR) rotate the LEDs inside one head. Wicked says the zero holds when you change colors, so you can switch mid-sit.
• Module swaps. The Hyperions, the Wicked W403iC, the Odepro KL52Plus, the LUMENSHOOTER D8A and A8Plus, and the VASTFIRE Predator Light change color by swapping the LED module. That works, but the beam may not sit in exactly the same place afterward, so check it against your reticle after every swap.

That's why the A67iC is our third contender. It isn't the brightest or the longest-reaching light here, but it lets you run red one night and green the next without a second light or a trip to the bench. Our full best hog hunting lights ranking covers the rest of the multi-color field.

The same question at the feeder

Feeder lights face the same color question with less choice. Six of the seven motion-activated feeder lights we rank are green only. The exception, the Elusive Wildlife 3 Color Motion Activated Feeder Light, offers red, green and amber, with three brightness settings that the maker says ramp up slowly. If you want to try red and green at the same feeder, it's the one light that lets you. See our best hog feeder lights for the full ranking.

How to settle it on your own place

Since no study settles red vs green, your own feeder is the best evidence you'll get. It won't be science, but it will be about your hogs. A simple way to run it:

1. Put a trail camera on the feeder so you can see when the sounder arrives and how long it stays.
2. Run one color for a stretch of nights, keeping the feed schedule, your approach and your blind the same.
3. Note what the camera shows when the light comes on: does the sounder keep feeding, drift off, or leave?
4. Switch colors and repeat, then compare. Note the wind and moon each night, since those change too.

A cellular camera saves the walk in; our best cellular trail cameras covers the options. And remember the goal: whole-sounder removal, not one hog at a time. The light is one tool in a plan that should include trapping, since corral traps can capture entire sounders at once (Texas A&M AgriLife); our guide to getting rid of feral hogs lays out the whole system, and the hunting lights hub maps every light we cover.

Texas rules for hunting hogs with a light

For the full night-hunting picture, including thermal, night vision and vehicles, read can you hunt hogs at night in Texas. This isn't legal advice; confirm with your local game warden.