By: Mike Reeber
Is it just me, or does it feel like we were all sitting in our deer blinds last week, hoping for a bit of good luck before the season closed out? Here we are now, in the middle of the summer, caught in a limbo between seasons. Isn’t it wild how quickly the time has passed? Once spring turkey season ends, I get serious about shooting my bow as much as I can in between getting new blinds and stands set up. And even though the summertime is all about shooting your bow with friends in the backyard, hog hunting is your ticket to the best pre-season practice.
Like many hunters, I enjoy getting out after the hogs once the sun goes down, especially during the summertime. And although you’ll never hear me complain about taking my rifle along on the hunt, I never miss a chance to use my bow. So, if you’re considering taking your bow out after hogs this summer and haven’t quite figured out how to secure a light to your bow, you should check out the Piglet HD light from Elusive Wildlife. This is exactly the tool that you need to turn your bow into a tactical hog crushing machine.
Construction
For what it’s worth, I’m far from being the best when it comes to taking care of my gear and these lights have no issues putting up with my abuse. If you’ve ever used any of Elusive Wildlife’s other lights, then you know what I mean when I say that they’re built like tanks and are extremely powerful. The Piglet HD is definitely no exception. The body of this light is all metal construction, coated to withstand the elements, is a mere 1 inch in diameter and literally weighs a few ounces. Inside, there’s interchangeable LED’s, which allow you to quickly and easily swap light colors if needed.
On the rear of the light, you’ll find a rubberized push button which turns the light on and off, so if you decide that you want to use it on your walk to the blind(which I do frequently), you can easily operate it with gloves on. Up front is a telescopic sleeve that allows you to single handedly make the beam of light more focused for increased distance. This in itself makes the light far superior than others on the market.
Simple Operation
There’s no question that this light was built by serious bow hunters for serious bow hunters. Operating a light while drawing back your bow and focusing on a target can be really challenging. However, the accessories that Elusive Wildlife has available are critical in making this process simple and custom. On my bow, the Piglet HD is mounted to the small picatinny rail mount, which screws right into the threading for your stabilizer. Before I go any further, yes, you can still run a stabilizer and this rail at the same time. Awesome feature, isn’t it?
Functionality is where the rubber meets the road with this light and having it become an integrated part of your setup comes down to the on/off switch. Elusive has a few different options to choose from to customize this setup to exactly what you prefer and I find this really helpful. Personally, I have mine set up with a “Whisper Silent” dimmable wired on/off switch and have it velcroed on the side of my grip. This allows me to easily operate the light and brightness while being at full draw. A standard wired push button switch is also available if you like how that functions more.
The Piglet HD is everything that an archery light should be. It’s compact, lightweight, has great battery life and is simple to operate. Instead of looking like a clumsy run of the mill flashlight strapped to the front of your bow with a zip tie and a prayer, this system is so refined it looks like it came from the bow manufacturer this way. The fact that you can draw back your bow and fully operate a light is honestly a real step forward for bow hunters who enjoy night time hog hunting.
Now, before you go run out the door on a night time hog hunt, also be sure to check out the Pig Oil from Elusive. I’m not even sure what is in this container, but whatever it is, the team over at Elusive Wildlife has cracked the code. This stuff is incredible. Before I go any further, a huge bravo to Elusive Wildlife for putting this into a plastic oil container vs. another vessel which can crack or break. If you accidentally spilled this in your truck, well, it wouldn’t be good and that’s coming from a guy who had a glass bottle of doe estrus break in his pack once. But, that story is for another time.
This hog attractant is thick and is almost syrup-like in consistency. And this allows it to stay put on whatever surface you decide to pour it over vs. running off and disappearing into the dirt. It can be used on the ground, but I find that pouring it over a tree stump or even on the base of a tree works best. The hogs will come in night after night and will use it as a rubbing post. Just another little secret to help tip the odds in your favor this summer.
Whether you plan on hunting hogs this summer or are just letting some arrows fly at the backyard target, practice as much as you can, deer season will be here before y’all know it!
