Using a flashlight

[Turkeybutt]

I never use a flashlight unless needed like finding the wire fence or if I dropped something and when I do it is a green light cupped in my hand.
A little bit of common sense goes a long way but never jeopardize your safety.
I could never find a flashlight with a green lens that I liked and I got tired of looking for one, so I make my own. I'll buy a couple of green plastic file folders (they come in various colors) and I cut them to fit my lens.
I like to be as silent and as stealthy as I can. With that said I like to be standing on the edge of the woods where I am going to enter about an hour or so before daylight listening and allowing the woods to calm down. If I put one to roast the night before I'll be in the woods before daylight ready to go about 100 yds away from him.

[Haymarket]

I carry a flashlight, but rarely ever use it. It just grates on me from my years in the Corps...light integrity is important there, and I can't shake that. Turning on a light in the woods when walking in is like nails on the chalkboard. I let my eyes adjust, and walk slow and deliberate, and spook less birds than I would otherwise.

[Sir-diealot]

I use a green light, go in very early (2hrs) and try not to make much noise, which I am not good at being a walking accident and all. At one point in time the science said that turkey do not see green light, that has changed but I still use green as I think that is less obtrusive than a white light and we know they see red for sure so save those for deer season.

[dublelung]

When you get right down to it, this is a common-sense issue.  The considerations are such things as the light conditions you are walking under (full moon, no moon), the terrain type (flat, obstruction-free as compared to challenging topography with obstructions), and distance from the turkeys (and sight line to turkeys).

I can state for a fact that the folks that say they never use a flashlight going to turkeys on the roost are not hunting the same kind of country that I am hunting.  Doing that here would be a great way to end up with a broken body part or a poked-out eye.  On the other hand, though, is the understanding that once you get to a certain point in your approach, using a flashlight requires some level of discretion based on that "common sense" premise. 
If you are planning on walking right up to the tree the gobbler is in while shining your flashlight up at him, you might as well beat a drum and whistle dixie as you are doing it.  The results will be the same....   

I agree with all that! If I've got a turkey roosted in woods I'll use my light to get in there but I keep it as dim as possible and keep it pointed toward the ground. I've often walked right under or past gobblers without even knowing they were there until they gobble. I've also spooked some of them. If they're on a field edge I can usually see well enough to not use a light. There's no guarantee in anything pertaining to turkeys.

[RED NECK]

I carry a small one but I very rarely use it on walk in unless I drop something or I need it for a second, however If I hunted where there was poisinous snakes,I probably would use it often, when I do use it I keep my fingers over the lens to allow just a tiny bit of light out.

[Brillo]

If I hunted Where there are poisonous snakes I'd use a SEARCHLIGHT.   

[Happy]

I typically have a headlamp. Usually don't use it much because once my eyes adjust I can see good enough to navigate in the dark, on most nights anyways. However two years or so ago I was climbing up a steep mountain and had a large log to cross over. As I was straddling it I noticed a large lump that didn't look right on the same log. It was uphill from me so it skylighted nicely. I flipped my light on to red mode and it turned out to be a black bear sitting there looking at me and it seemed amused. I spoke to him quietly and kindly asked him if he would move so I could go through and he just stood up and walked off slowly. So I do think its nice to have a light handy even if it isn't used much.

[Marc]

I use a light as little as possible...

Rugged terrain and a long walk, I might use one with discretion... 

Generally for my morning setups, I attempt to hunt an area that I know...  Maybe use a logging road, or maybe a well-used deer or cattle trail to get to my spot.

No doubt that turkeys see that light...  Red, green, blue...  All these colors are in their spectrum of visibility (as are other wavelengths that are not in ours)...  But they can also hear pretty good too.  If you are stumbling and tromping around in the dark raising a ruckus, that will probably put them down as bad, if not worse than using minimal lighting to see where you are going.

[quavers59]

   I use a Flashlight. When it starts to break in the East-- I Turn it off. You step into a pothole on a access road in the pitch dark and tear up your Knee Tendons and Ligaments- you are in for Surgery and no Turkey hunting till next Spring.
   More so with a Bike. Take a Flashlight.  One Dude got in just ahead of me from the parking area on his Mountain  Bike years back. He forgot about the Metal Locked Gate. BOOM!!! I walked my Bike up to that Gate to see this guy on the Ground and totally Stunned.
   I take a Flashlight- period..

[falltoms]

I have used a flashlight for many years, keep it pointed towards the ground, and besides, you can walk quieter in the dark with a light, then stumbling around with none.

[Tail Feathers]

Around my home woods I rarely need one.  Traveling to new places, yeh I use one.  I have a one cell AAA Maglite.   I lost it in Fl this year and used a green light headlamp to get me close.  Better than breaking a leg or getting a limb in the eye. 

[Chief Razor]

I use a red headlamp in total darkness. I also have a small LED handheld that I can hold in one hand and muffle the beam. I have unfortunately bumped birds off the roost with and without the use of light. Personally I think the benefits far out weigh the risk.