Comparison

RutLock vs First Light

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RutLock

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RutLock — Know the Right Move. RutLock is a hunting intelligence and property management app built to help hunters make informed decisions before, during, and after the hunt. HUNTING INTELLIGENCE RutLock brings together your stand setup, property features, wind, weather, forecast conditions, and hunting information to help identify opportunities and hunting windows. PROPERTY & STAND MAPPING Build your hunting property on an interactive map. Add stands, parking locations, entry routes, bedding areas, trails, food sources, cameras, and other important hunting features. WIND, WEATHER & SCENT See changing conditions in the context of your property and stand setup. Evaluate wind direction, scent risk, temperature, precipitation, and hourly conditions before heading to the woods. TRAIL CAMERA INTELLIGENCE Organize cameras and photos, identify known bucks, review activity, and turn confirmed trail-camera observations into useful hunting information. RECOVER MY DEER After the shot, record shot details and field evidence and use RutLock's guided recovery assessment to help determine a cautious waiting window before tracking. TROPHY SCORING Record harvest information and score your trophy in the field with detailed measurement tools and official-style 1/8-inch measurements. GROUP HUNTING Coordinate with family and hunting partners and stay aware of hunting activity across your property. FAITH IN THE FIELD Start your hunt with Before the Hunt devotionals, Verse of the Day, prayer, and an offline Bible library built directly into RutLock. RutLock was built around the realities of hunting—not simply generic weather data. Your property, your stands, your routes, your observations, and changing conditions come together in one place. Disappear. Stay Ready. Hunt Closer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

First Light

Features
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First Light scores a buck from one head-on photo, or from a tape. Trace each beam and tine and it measures every line against a scale in the picture, or type a Boone & Crockett sheet by tape, to the eighth, with no photo at all. Every total reads in eighths, like 21 4/8. Legal shooting light, a last-light alert and solunar times stay free. SCORE A BUCK, HEAD-ON Head-on photos score closest (about 12.5 percent) because both antlers sit square to the camera. Side views are rough. The guide shows what to shoot: 1. Take or choose a head-on photo of the rack. 2. Trace each beam and tine with the magnifier. Every line stays on the photo to check. A line that looks off gets flagged, and so does an antler running off the photo. 3. Read gross and net, each with its own range. Circumference reads are steadier, so the same photo scores closer each try. Tape one inside spread and the ranges tighten. The score card crops to the rack with a big number, ready to share. Whitetail, mule deer and elk use the standard North American rules, typical and non-typical. A photo score is an estimate, good for comparing bucks. It is not an official score; a real tape on the rack is what counts. You can choose to send a scored photo to help tune accuracy; nothing is sent unless you do. Try the demo rack first. Your first score of your own photo is free. SCORE A SHEET BY TAPE Type each tape measurement to the eighth, such as 5 3/8, and watch the sheet add up. Gross is free for everyone. First Light Pro adds typical or non-typical net, plus a badge when the buck reaches the Pope & Young or Boone & Crockett minimum. Fields and Save stay above the keyboard. FOLLOW HIM, AND SEE WHEN HE MOVES Name each buck, add dated trail-camera photos and watch his score grow season to season, with its range. Then open "When he moves": each buck's photo times set against first light, last light and the solunar periods, like "4 of 5 photos within 40 min of last light." It all stays on your phone. The Sunday trail-cam reminder is off until you turn it on. HUNTING TIMES, FREE First Light works out legal shooting hours from your GPS, on your device and with no signal needed. Tap "Use my location" (or type coordinates to scout ahead) for today's window with a live countdown, or open the 7-day week. Times use the spot's own time zone, even far from home. Each day gets an activity rating, solunar times and the moon phase, and the app picks the best day with the reasons why. With a signal it adds the MET Norway forecast: barometer, wind and temperature. The rating is lore, not a promise; legal hours never lean on it. The optional last-light alert speaks up 15 minutes before shooting light ends. The default offset is 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset, and you can change it because legal offsets vary by state and species. Please verify with your local wildlife agency. Shooting-hour offsets and season dates vary by state and species and change every year. First Light has no per-state regulation data or season dates and does not replace your state's official regulations. There is nothing to sign into, and it works offline. Your coordinates stay on your phone. With a signal, a copy rounded to about a kilometre goes to MET Norway for the forecast. What costs nothing: hunting times, the 7-day week, solunar times, the last-light alert, the demo rack, gross on the tape sheet and your first score. First Light Pro adds unlimited scoring of your own photos, net and minimum badges on the tape sheet, the hit list with its growth chart, and "When he moves", on a yearly or monthly subscription, each beginning with a 1-week free trial. Subscriptions renew on their own; switch renewal off under Subscriptions in your Apple ID before the period ends. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://app-factory-privacy-policy.vercel.app/#firstlight

Screenshots

RutLock4 screens
First Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

RutLock and First Light are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RutLock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $34.99 per year and First Light sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RutLock ships an update every 3 days, First Light every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
RutLock versus First Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRutLockFirst Light
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrock MannsMichael Glazebrook

In-app purchases

2 purchases

RutLock

Subscriptions2
  • RutLock Pro$34.991 Year
  • RutLock Ultimate$99.991 Year
2 purchases

First Light

Subscriptions2
  • First Light Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • First Light Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is RutLock free?
RutLock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Light free?
First Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RutLock or First Light have ads?
Neither RutLock nor First Light shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RutLock or First Light?
RutLock ships an update every 3 days, and First Light every 5 days. Most recently, RutLock was updated on November 7, 2026 and First Light on November 8, 2026.

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