The forest at night, silent. Only occasionally came the animal cries, breaking the silence. I and my two friends Lionel Barney and Amanda Lytton, hiding in a hidden place, holding a shotgun, eyes staring at the infrared binoculars. We are waiting for our target to appear, a fat wild boar.
This is the scene when we went hunting in Terni, central Italy last month. Terni is a historic city with many beautiful attractions and delicious food. But we came here not for sightseeing or tasting, but for a different travel experience – night hunting.
Night hunting is a fun and challenging activity that requires proper equipment and skills, as well as respect for nature and animals. In this article, I will share with you our night hunting trip, as well as the role and advantages of the infrared binoculars we used. I will also introduce some other attractions and food in Terni, so that you can feel the charm and style of this city.
To hunt at night, you need to have a suitable set of equipment. In addition to basic tools such as shotguns, bullets, knives, flashlights, etc., the most important thing is a pair of infrared binoculars. Infrared binoculars are instruments that use infrared rays to observe night targets, allowing us to see more clearly, farther and safer in the dark.
The principle of infrared binoculars is this: it has two lenses, one is a transmitter lens and one is a receiver lens. The transmitter lens emits a beam of invisible infrared light to illuminate the target. The receiver lens receives the infrared light reflected back by the target and converts it into visible light, which is displayed on the screen in front of the eyes. This way, we can see the outline and details of the target without being disturbed by the surrounding environment.
Infrared binoculars have many advantages, such as:
It allows us to see more animals at night, including some small or hidden animals that are hard to detect, increasing the fun and success rate of hunting. It allows us to keep a low profile at night, not exposing our position and movement, avoiding the risk of being discovered or attacked by animals. It allows us to observe the behavior and habits of animals at night, learning more about animal knowledge and skills. It allows us to enjoy the stars and moon at night, feeling the beauty and mystery of nature. Of course, to use infrared binoculars, you also need to pay attention to some things, such as:
Choose the right model and specifications, according to your needs and budget, choose the suitable magnification, field of view, resolution, weight and other parameters. Install and adjust correctly, according to your vision and comfort, adjust the distance between the binoculars, focus wheel, eye mask and other parts. Maintain and maintain properly, regularly clean the lens and screen, avoid moisture and dust entering the inside, replace the battery or charge in time. On this trip to Terni, we chose a very cost-effective Chinese brand wildguarder infrared binoculars. This binocular has the following features:
It uses a high-performance CMOS sensor and an all-optical system to provide high-definition and high-brightness images. It has a 4x digital zoom function that allows us to zoom in or out on the target and observe more details. It has a variety of working modes that can be switched according to different environments and needs, such as day mode, black and white mode or color mode.
After preparing the equipment, we started our night hunting trip. We chose a bright moonlit night with clear weather and drove to a forest park on the outskirts of Terni. There are many wild animals here, such as wild boars, deer, foxes, rabbits, etc., which is an ideal hunting place.
We parked our car at the entrance of the park, took out our infrared binoculars and started looking for a suitable place. We had to avoid crowds and lights and find a hidden and safe place where we could observe the range of animal activity. We walked along a path for about half an hour and found a meadow by a small lake. There were some trees and bushes here that could be used as cover. We saw some waterfowl playing by the lake and some rabbits eating grass on the meadow. We decided to camp here and wait for bigger prey to appear.
We spread some mats and blankets on the meadow, put our shotguns and ammunition next to us, then picked up our infrared binoculars and started observing the surroundings. We set the binoculars to black and white mode so that we could see the outline and movement of animals more clearly. We found some interesting scenes, such as a fox sneaking up on a rabbit, a deer drinking water by the lake, a group of bats flying in the air. We used the digital zoom function of the binoculars to zoom in or out on the target and observe more details. We also used the video function of the binoculars to record some wonderful pictures as souvenirs.
We waited for about an hour and finally saw our desired target – a fat wild boar. It came out of the woods and charged at the rabbits on the meadow. We immediately held our breaths and aimed our shotguns at its head. We used infrared binoculars to assist in aiming, which allowed us to lock on to the target more accurately. We waited for the best moment and then pulled the trigger at the same time.
We heard a loud noise and then saw the wild boar fall to the ground, motionless. We happily patted each other on the shoulder and then picked up the binoculars to confirm that the wild boar was dead. We walked over and checked its wound and found that we had hit the vital point. We cut its throat with a knife and bled it. Then we tied it up with a rope and hung it on a tree. We planned to take it back the next day and make it into delicious game.
This was our night hunting process, although it was a bit nervous and dangerous, but also very exciting and interesting. We thank the infrared binoculars for bringing us help and convenience, allowing us to see more clearly, farther and safer in the dark. Without it, we might not have been able to complete this hunting trip.
In addition to night hunting, we also visited some other attractions and food in Terni, which gave us a deeper understanding and love of this city. Terni is a city with a long history and rich culture, and is also the hometown of Saint Valentine, known as the “city of love”.
We first went to Saint Valentine’s Church, which is a 17th-century Baroque-style church that houses the remains of Saint Valentine. Saint Valentine was a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century. He secretly held weddings for lovers, so he was regarded as the patron saint of love and marriage. Every year on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, there are some celebrations here that attract couples and tourists from all over the world. We prayed in the church, hoping that our love would also be blessed by Saint Valentine.
Then we went to Marmore Falls, which is an artificial waterfall located on the Velino River. It is the highest artificial waterfall in Europe, with a height of 165 meters, very spectacular. It was originally built to provide hydroelectric power for a nearby steel mill, but later became a famous tourist attraction. We enjoyed the waterfall scenery from the viewing platform below the waterfall, feeling the splash of water and thunderous sound. We also took a small train along the river bank to enjoy the natural scenery around.
Finally we went to the Roman Ruins Park, which is a park that preserves many ancient Roman buildings and sculptures. We saw a huge circular theater that can accommodate 15,000 spectators, which was used for gladiator and drama performances. We also saw an arched gate with the name and portrait of Roman Emperor Augustus engraved on it. We walked in the park, imagining the life and culture of ancient Romans.
In addition to attractions, we also tasted some food in Terni, such as:
Pasta: Terni has many kinds of pasta, such as strangozzi (a long strip of noodles), ciriola (a thin noodle), pizzoccheri (a noodle containing bran and potatoes). These pasta are usually served with different sauces, such as black truffle sauce, wild boar meat sauce, cream sauce, etc.
Meat: Terni has many kinds of meat, such as porchetta (a roasted pork marinated with herbs and spices), cacciatore (a dish made with chicken, mushrooms and tomatoes), agnello (a dish made with lamb, onion and white wine). These meats are usually served with bread, salad or vegetables, delicious and juicy.
Dessert: Terni has many kinds of dessert, such as ciambella (a round cake with jam or chocolate inside), panpepato (a hard biscuit with nuts, dried fruits and chocolate), rocciata (a rolled fruit pie). These desserts are usually served with coffee, tea or sweet wine, sweet but not greasy.
This is our night hunting trip in Terni, as well as the introduction of the infrared binoculars we used. We really enjoyed this trip, not only experienced a different activity, but also appreciated the history and culture of Terni, tasted the food of Terni. We thank the infrared binoculars for bringing us help and convenience, allowing us to see more clearly, farther and safer in the dark. If you also want to try night hunting, or just want to observe animals and nature at night, we strongly recommend you to use infrared binoculars, it will make your trip more exciting and memorable.
