Night Vision

[ssgpiv]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any experience of night vision gear and whether any of it is any good. What I have tried has been rubbish and therefore it is the one area of shooting for which I remain totally toy free.

 

[wadashot]

Yes i have had a bit of experience. Once went out with a mate who had a night vision scope fitted to his .243. This bit of kit was the latest thing that they were using in the gulf war and don`t think that he should have had it strictly speaking. Wow, it was unbelievable, we just sat up a tree and kept looking through it for foxes and when we spotted one, called it in without it having a clue. My mate gave the gun to me and gave me the opportunity. I spotted a fox, called it in and shot it without ever having to put a lamp on. He also had a spotting scope. I think he paid about £3000 for this scope so it aint any old night vision that you are going to get from the local gunshop. Not sure how good the ones are that you can pick up from the shops.

wadashot

 

[stone]

hi ssgpiv
i looked into this quiet a lot this last year as i was going to treat my self
only things i can say is if you buy a monocular with the scope attachment it adds atleast 4 inch on in length at your optical side and so reduced eye relief but means you can use your day scope for night vision but you need atleast gen 3(or equivalent of) for this and the attachments for your existing scope (good quality scope at that)
if you are looking at a night vision scope by its self then you need a minimum of gen 2+ no point p155ing about but you need to look at the glass ,as millitary use grade 1 (and buy up all the grade 1 glass available )so general public are left grade 2 or less which means there could be faults like black spots in the glass, if these black spots do not affect the centre of the glass then they are not to much of a problem but with all night vision they usually need an illuminator of which you can add to this with an extra one of your own
cost of these start at £1200 approx and go up in price lots of people selling these but you need to try before you buy
the people i went to came to me and tested thier products in the situations i wanted to see them in (in half moon light and cloudy sky )
hope this helps
stone

 

[ssgpiv]

hi stone. Thanks for that. Did you buy in the end and if so what is your experience of shooting with this kind of kit. What sort of distance can you accurately identify your target.

 

[stone]

hi ssgpiv
no i did not buy this pacticular scope in the end but the lad who came to view with me did ,as i wanted a monocular but a better quality lense than they had got
my mate fitted his to a 7mm and added an extra illuminator to it but still could see a rabbit at 200 yards approx in the full moon with out the aid of the illuminator and shot a boar at 130 odd yards at 2amish across an open field last march just after the eclipse he paid £1400 cash for it
i had a russian gen1 it made a fox at 30 yards look 100+ yards away but still waiting for a monocular to come my way sorry can't help any more than this but if i can fid the paper work will let you know so you can hav a better look at the specs
stone

 

[ssgpiv]

Thanks for that stone. I tried one of these things that you attach to your normal scope but could remove and use as a monocular. It was rubbish in my view but i am not too patient and maybe I didnt give it a chance

 

[stone]

hi ssgpiv
the monuclars i looked were only gen2 but the difference between them and gen2+ were amazing, the more towards gen3(or 3+) you can get the better.
You hav to watch where the night vision comes from as the quality differs alot from country to country and some adapters don't fit the scope to well and lets in unwanted light that is hard too detect when testing out in the field, so night vision is compromised but keep trying. a complete scope is better than a monuclar but be prapared to hav a set of mounts made special to get the right eye relief and seating on your rifle if this is the case, have them so they are quick release so you can fit a day scope to the same bases with out harming your point of zero by to much
must stop typing on this blooming key board and go look for the paper work
stone

 

[stone]

sorry ssgpiv
been and looked can't find it so now even more time spent tapping on these keys in search of their web site but will find it and let you know i am sure the company was based in or by manchester just can't think of their name maybe a bit more wine might help

 

[ssgpiv]

I would have given up to be honest if it wasnt for the fact that i spoke to a local chap who runs a company controlling vermin and he does the foxing on a friends pheasant shoot. In one night he called in four fox's to a high seat and shot them with a rimfire at close range. all stone dead and all because he had a night sight. I fancied giving that a go as we are heaving with fox's.

 

[stone]

i know of a better method which is worth a try
bait up a couple of areas around some trees then one night take a mate and rifle/shotgun, also a lamp
tie a dead rabbit to a length of nylon cord (about 50 metres) place the rabbit about 30 metres from these trees and tie the other end of the cord to your foot
when your foot starts to shake violently get your mate to shine the lamp in the area the rabbit was put and you shoot the offender
if it turns out to be an SAS soldier on training shoot him again just to make sure , bury quickly and move on just incase his mates come looking for him