Introduction:
Night hunting is a very exciting and interesting outdoor activity. It allows us to experience the mystery and charm of nature, as well as test our courage and skills. However, night hunting also has many challenges and risks, such as unclear vision, lost direction, and animal attacks. Therefore, we need some professional equipment and tools to ensure our safety and efficiency.
I have always been interested in night hunting, so I invited my two friends, Bradley Rebecca and Benson Childe, to go hunting with me at the Kunming Dongda Forest Park in China. It is a beautiful and vast national forest park with abundant flora and fauna resources and beautiful natural scenery. We planned to stay there for three days and two nights, experiencing different hunting methods and environments.
For this night hunting trip, I specifically purchased a Wildguarder’s Owler1 night vision binoculars from Shenzhen, China. It is a professional night vision binoculars that allows us to see objects 400 meters away in complete darkness. I wanted to test the performance and user experience of this product through this hunting trip, and also learn about local customs and cuisine.
Day One: Arrival in Kunming and heading to the Forest Park
We took a plane from New York to Kunming Changshui International Airport, and then rented a car to go to the Dongda Forest Park. Along the way, we enjoyed the cityscape of Kunming and the surrounding landscapes, and felt the diversity and charm of Yunnan Province. Kunming is known as the “Spring City” because it has a mild climate and fresh air all year round. We also tasted some local snacks, such as Guoqiao rice noodles, fresh flower cake, and tofu pudding, all of which were delicious.
We arrived at the entrance of the Dongda Forest Park in about an hour, and then drove along the mountain road inside. We booked a wooden house accommodation located inside the park, which was close to the forest and convenient for our night hunting. We arrived at the wooden house around 4 pm, and after putting our luggage away, we began to prepare the equipment needed for night hunting.
I took out my newly purchased Owlery1 night vision binoculars and introduced its features and functions to my friends. This night vision binoculars has several advantages:
It can be used during the day and at night, with various functions such as taking photos, recording videos, and playback.
It has 20x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom, which allows us to see distant targets clearly. It also has excellent night vision, allowing us to see objects 500 meters away in complete darkness.
It has a built-in 2-inch TFT display screen, which allows us to directly view the picture on the screen. It can also be connected to a computer or TV through USB or HDMI interface.
It supports micro SD card storage, which can save a large number of pictures and videos for our convenience to review and share.
It uses 8 AA batteries for power and can work continuously for more than 6 hours. It can also be extended using an external power source.
Its shell is made of high-strength plastic material, which is waterproof, dustproof, and shock-resistant, suitable for various harsh environments.
My friends were all interested in this night vision binoculars and tried it out. They all said that the picture was clear, the operation was simple, and it was not heavy. We decided to use this product during our night hunting to increase our success rate and fun.
In addition to the night vision binoculars, we also prepared some other equipment, such as hunting clothes, hunting knives, flashlights, walkie-talkies, first aid kits, etc. We put on camouflage clothes, put the equipment in our backpacks, and waited for nightfall.
Day Two: First Night Hunting and Enjoying Local Cuisine
After nightfall, we set out with our equipment. We walked along the main road of the forest park for a distance, and then entered a small road to go deep into the forest. We planned to find a suitable location first and then wait for the prey to appear.
After walking for about half an hour, we found an open grassland with some trees and shrubs around it. We thought this was a good place, so we found a hidden location on the edge of the grassland and hid in different directions. We opened our night vision binoculars and began to observe the surroundings.
Through the night vision binoculars, we could see everything on the grassland clearly, just like during the day. We could see some insects and small animals moving on the grassland, and some birds perching on the trees. We could also see the outline of distant mountains and the moon, feeling the beauty and tranquility of the night.
We waited quietly for a while and suddenly heard some movement. We immediately used the night vision binoculars to look in that direction and found a wild boar walking towards the grassland. The wild boar is a common hunting target. They are large in size, delicious in meat, but also fierce and cunning. We immediately contacted each other with walkie-talkies and discussed how to take action and track. Bradley Rebecca was the best shooter among us, with rich hunting experience and accurate marksmanship. He quietly adjusted the angle of the gun and aimed at the wild boar’s head, then gently pulled the trigger.
We heard a gunshot and saw the wild boar fell to the ground with no movement. We cheered happily and quickly ran over to check the situation. We found that the wild boar was already dead, and the bullet had penetrated its eye, causing fatal injuries. We took a few pictures with the night vision binoculars as souvenirs, and then used the hunting knife to cut off some meat from the wild boar to cook later.
We put the wild boar meat in our backpacks and continued to search for other prey. We wandered in the forest for more than two hours and found some other animals such as deer, rabbits, and foxes. We chose some suitable targets for shooting according to the situation, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. But we all enjoyed this excitement and fun, feeling like real hunters.
We used the night vision binoculars to record every hunting process and observe various wonderful scenes in the forest, such as stars in the night sky, fireflies in the woods, and frog calls by the water. We felt that this night vision binoculars was very practical and powerful, making our night hunting trip more exciting and unforgettable.
At around 1am, we ended our first night hunt and returned to our cabin. We organized our equipment and game, and then began to prepare dinner. We used the kitchen utensils and condiments in the cabin to simply process and cook the wild boar meat and other meats we had caught, making delicious dishes such as wild boar and potato stew, rabbit and radish stew, and braised deer meat. We also used the beer and white wine provided in the cabin, along with some snacks we brought ourselves, to celebrate our success.
As we ate and chatted, we shared our night hunting experiences and feelings, and even joked with each other. We all felt that this was a very interesting and rare experience, which allowed us to feel the charm and challenge of nature, and also strengthened our friendship. After we finished eating, we washed up and went to bed, ready to welcome the second night hunt.
Day 3: Second night hunt and return to Kunming
The next morning, we went to a lake in the forest park. There was a small pier there where we could rent boats and fishing gear. We decided to fish on the lake for our lunch. We rented a small boat and three sets of fishing gear, and rowed to the center of the lake.
The water in the lake was very clear, and we could see some fish and water plants at the bottom. There were some water birds flying or resting on the surface, and some tourists walking or taking pictures on the shore. We found a suitable location, put down our fishing rods, and waited for the fish to bite.
Soon, I felt some movement on my fishing rod. I immediately pulled it up and found that I had caught a grass carp about half a meter long. I happily lifted it up and put it in the bucket on the boat.
We caught some fish, including grass carp, carp, and crucian carp. We were all very happy and felt that this was a very relaxing and pleasant form of entertainment.
We fished on the lake for about two hours, and then packed up our gear and returned to the shore. We handed our catch to the staff at the pier to help us process and deliver it to our cabin. Then we went to a small restaurant in the forest park and ate some local specialties, such as Yunnan rice noodles, Yunnan bacon, and Yunnan sour and spicy fish. These dishes were all delicious and we enjoyed them very much. We also tasted some Yunnan specialties, such as pu-erh tea, Yunnan ham, and Yunnan peanuts. We felt that Yunnan’s food was very unique, with both spicy and sour flavors, and both light and rich flavors, which suited our tastes.
After we finished eating, we returned to our cabin and rested for a while. We planned to leave at around 4pm for our second night hunt. We wanted to go to a valley in the forest park, where a small stream flowed through and there were some rocks and caves around. We thought there might be some different animals there, such as badgers, wolves, and bears. We wanted to challenge ourselves and see if we could catch some bigger and more ferocious game.
We left at around 4pm. We first drove to a parking lot near the valley, and then walked into the valley along the stream. We walked a distance along the stream, and then found a suitable location to wait for the game to appear.
We opened our night vision binoculars and began to observe the surroundings. Through the binoculars, we could see everything in the valley, just like during the day. We could see water grass and fish in the creek, shimmering in the moonlight. We could also see bats and mice in the rocks and caves, moving around in the darkness. We could even see the distant mountains and forests, feeling the calm and mystery of the night.
After waiting quietly for a while, we suddenly heard a low growling sound. We immediately looked in that direction with our binoculars, sharp ears and teeth. It was a black bear!
Black bears are very dangerous and robust animals that can attack and kill humans and other animals. They usually live in forests or mountainous areas, feeding on plants, insects, fish and small animals. They have a keen sense of smell and hearing, but poor eyesight. They usually do not attack humans unless provoked or threatened.
We quickly contacted each other on the walkie-talkie to discuss how to proceed. We felt that this was a rare opportunity and a huge challenge. We decided to try to hunt the black bear, but also to be careful and avoid attracting its attention and anger. We each found a favorable position, equipped with our firearms and knives, waiting for the best moment.
The black bear walked to a spot about 50 meters away from us and stopped. It seemed to be looking for something or smelling something. It occasionally raised its head, opened its mouth and made some low sounds. We nervously watched it, waiting for it to reveal a fatal weakness.
Just then, Benson Childe suddenly saw a perfect opportunity. He saw the black bear turn around, exposing its back and neck. He knew this was a part where a single hit could be fatal, so he quickly aimed at the bear’s cervical vertebrae, fired a shot, and saw the bear suddenly tremble and then fall to the ground without any further movement. We watched in amazement and then cheered excitedly. We quickly ran over to check the situation. We found that the black bear was dead, the bullet had penetrated its cervical vertebrae, causing fatal injuries. We took a few pictures with our night vision binoculars as a souvenir and then used our hunting knives to cut off some of the bear’s meat to cook later.
We put the black bear meat in our backpack and quickly left the area. We were worried that there might be other black bears here or other animals attracted by the sound of the gunshot. We walked back to the parking lot along the creek and drove back to our cabin. We put away our equipment and game and started preparing dinner. We used the kitchen utensils and condiments in the cabin to process and cook the black bear meat and other meats we had obtained, making some delicious dishes such as black bear meat soup, stir-fried vegetables with black bear meat, and black bear meat pies. We also used the beer and white wine provided in the cabin, along with some snacks we brought ourselves, to celebrate our success.
As we ate and chatted, we shared our night hunting experience and feelings, and even joked with each other. We all felt that this was a very interesting and rare experience.
Day Four: Leaving the Forest Park and Returning to New York
On the third morning, we got up and packed our luggage, ready to leave the forest park. We cleaned up our cabin and returned it to the owner, thanking them for their help and advice, which made our night hunting trip smoother and more enjoyable. They also expressed their appreciation and blessings to us, saying that we were a group of brave and interesting hunters.
We drove to the park exit and returned the car to the parking lot attendant, thanking them for their convenience and safety. They also expressed their respect and blessings to us, saying that we were a group of lucky and successful hunters.
We took a plane from Kunming Changshui International Airport back to New York, ending our night hunting trip. On the plane, we reviewed our experiences and gains over the past few days and felt very satisfied and happy. We all felt that this was a very unforgettable and meaningful trip, which allowed us to experience a different way of life and culture, and also trained our body, mind and skills. We all expressed our desire to come to China for night hunting again, or to explore more unknown and wonderful places in other countries.
Conclusion
Night hunting is a very exciting and interesting outdoor activity that allows us to feel the mystery and charm of nature and also tests our courage and skills. However, night hunting also has many challenges and risks, requiring some professional equipment and tools to ensure our safety and efficiency.
