Back in the day, before the invention of super bright flashlights the hunter who wanted to take the easy way of killing a deer used what they called “Fire Hunting”. Now, you have got to remember, back in the day the laws of night hunting or spotlighting were different, or not in excitance.
So, what is fire hunting ? On dark nights, when there wasn’t a moon the deer hunter would take a buddy who carried over his shoulder an iron pan that they had attached to a long wooden handle or pole. Also, they would have a hatchet and small pieces of wood strapped to his back.
The hunter would take some of the small wood blocks and start a fire in the pan. The fire would throw a bright light into the woods. As most of us know that deer like to feed at night. the deer’s eyes have a peculiar shine when hit by light during the night. When a deer is feeding at night and the glare of light hits their eyes then the hunter shoots. The old advice was, when you see their eyes, then you aim 2 -3 inches below according of the distance that the hunter judges the deer to be.