Hand Held NV Monocular / Scope Attachment

User00022

Well-Known Member
I would be interested to hear your views on the above topic. Have been thinking for a while about a NV monocular and was wondering what models are good / bad etc.

Would be used mainly for foxing but also deer recognisance.

Thanks in advance.

Alex
 
The Archer is probably the best, an excellent piece of kit. Can be used both hand held and attached to occular end of scope very easily. Good for foxes out to 150 yds with ease.
 
Alex, this one is all about budget. Work out what you think is worth investing and get the best you can without having a lot of money tied up in kit you never use. Also think about your use. I cam to the conclusion that it was not wirth me having a dedicated NV rifle set up (although things move on), so I decided not to go down the route of a dedicated sight that I would need to re-zero everytime I went out because I was swapping around.

A monocular add-on has the benefit of being able to use your day scopes mag range (within reason), doesn't affect your zero, can be swapped across rifles easily, BUT will set you further back on your stock and won't be quite as good as a dedicated unit. I felt these were reasonable compromises and I can use the monocular as a separate handheld too, which has come in very useful.

Old Keeper is right that the Archer is a fab bit of kit - but it has a fab pricetag too! I opted for a Cobra Merlin with the extended eyepiece (to cope with recoil better apparently) and find it a really useful piece of equipment in my armoury - when it's not on loan, which it always seems to be :-|

You'll also need an additional IR illuminator of some description to get the most from any NV, so factor this into your budget. I think you can still fetch in a Cobra package for around £500. I'm not getting into the debate about Gen 2 and above being better - they obviously are - but I find this does the job for me very well and at a good price point. If money's no object then the Archer or the PVS-22 (I think) are great options.

E t R
 
Alex they have 1 in my local gun shop at the moment it fits to your scopes back lense and theres a screen that go,s on top fantastic bit of kit as it shows every thing you scope can see including the cross hair and zooms ver the mag on the scope
the £399
Lee
 
Alex they have 1 in my local gun shop at the moment it fits to your scopes back lense and theres a screen that go,s on top fantastic bit of kit as it shows every thing you scope can see including the cross hair and zooms ver the mag on the scope
the £399
Lee

There was some hoo-hah about this kit at the last gamefair as I remember - I think this is the one Lee is on about - http://www.nitesite.co.uk/. Could be good ,but there seems to be a question on effective range for the cheaper unit? I think the mags (Gunmart or whoever) have done a recent review.

Could be quite interesting though.....
 
Night vision, my favourite subject. :D And the one that seems to wind everybody up. It is just like saying "I neck shoot deer me and am proud of it" Then duck your head and await the fallout. :rofl:

As Eric says it is all about budget and what range you want to shoot at.
I have used Gen 1/Digital and now use an Archer. In fact, I think they are the dogs doodahs. Is there better, yes there is, is it more expensive, yes it is. But you can also get better quality archers for more money.


So gen 1 and digital systems you will need to buy additional illumination. N1000 or dipol. Expect to spend £175 new extra on the cost of the unit upwards.
The nitesite is a digital unit which has its own illumination.
The archer also comes with its own illuminator.


The biggest advice is to find someone who has a nv unit about the price you can afford and will let you see what it is like. There is a big difference between each and every one and I have typed my fingers to the bone before on this subject. You really need to try before you buy or you may be dissapointed, you also have to use it to see how well it will focus cos it is a different way of working. You may also need to invest in a scope if you don't have side parrallax. You do not want front parrallax unless you are a librarian at an unseen university.

Also Nitesite are doing demos at various places over the coming months. I do more NV work than anything else. More so than stalking due to the nature of the land I have and the lack of deer. Cept for that muntie i keep seeing. He was about 20 yards from some rabbits I shot the other night and didn't bad an eyelid. That is just rubbing it in.

So pricing about
Gen1 or digital addon £500 new
Nitesite Similiar
Which is better? Both have their good points and both have their bad points
Gen 2 about £1200
Gen 3 about £1600

These prices are starting prices and go up from there. There is cheap Gen 1 which is fiddly and there is good Gen 1 which is very good. Same for most others.
2nd very important piece of advice. If you can't afford Gen 3. Then don't look throught it!!

If you ever come up my neck of the woods I will be more than happy to demonstrate the Archer as that is what i use nowadays. But you are likely to have plenty of people near you who will be able to help and advise. Have a talk to the guys on nightvisionforumuk.com as that was set up for NV users. But the first question will always be "Whats your budget?"
 
Ah Dec - always so much more articulate than me - but then you know more!

Give me a shout and we'll see if we can't get you out (and a look at the HMR if you're still interested)
 
Alex,

If you are after a NV spotter that is easy to live with and not so fussy around external light sources as traditional NV, try a Yukon Ranger Professional digital night vision 5x50 monocular. I use mine out to 300+ yards and I'd say that the image is not as good as some of the newer G3 stuff I have used but certainly as good as the better Gen'2+ tubes I have used. The image is in black and white rather than green. It also has the added advantage of having a video feed, so you can use an external screen or record the images, plus the on-board IR is in a different wavelength to traditional tubed NV and appears to be genuinely passive - I have found that many IR lasers appear to be visible to some animals ( some foxes and particularly boar - deer seem to be aware but it doesn't bother them as much). I think I paid about £600 for mine a couple of years ago - there is also the standard Ranger for about half the cost with less effective IR.

None of the NV I've used is particularly user friendly - it all takes a bit of setting up and a willingness to compromise on image quality vs price, but I have found the Ranger Pro to be very good and it doesn't suffer from spotting or tube deterioration either. On the downside, I do find that prolonged use of any NV gives me a blinding headache the next day and buggers up my night vision while I'm using it.

Adam.
 
we use an archer and we have a big camera lens fitted to it and 1/2 mile is no problem we can scan 4 fields at the same time every one who looks throught it says the same thing (feck me ) best money every spent batterys are a ******* to get hold of tho apart from that for the money theres nothing better
 
Ah Dec - always so much more articulate than me - but then you know more!

Give me a shout and we'll see if we can't get you out (and a look at the HMR if you're still interested)


I got another T-bolt in the end. Well now have 4 magazines and it is soooooooooo light. If they ever get off their arse at Browning an import a LH one I may well buy it. But I am getting used to firing with my left and reloading with my right hand and it is so fast.
 
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