night vision questions

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thomis

thomis

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I'm new to the subject of night vision. I thought night vision scopes were illegal until recently so I'm looking into getting one for my .22 just for fun. My first few searches clued me in that I could never afford one. But now I am seeing them for somewhat reasonable prices...

http://www.opticsplanet.net/atn-aries-mk300-riflescope-nvwsm30010.html

Can someone with experience using one of these "affordable" models account for their performance?

The one in the link above appears to have a dovetail mount. correct? Are these worth the money or a complete waste?

How are they sighted in? During the day or night? Can they be used during the day?
 
I have no experience with night vision rifle scopes, but I know that Gen1 night vision is the equivalent to the night vision mode currently in use in camcorders. I would imagine the range wouldn't be too great on it. Hopefully someone who know much more about these will chime in.
 
I'd use it for...

...mounted on my .22 barn gun, I'd use it to keep varmints out of the barn and the henhouse. Last night I was out there trying to hold the maglite and rifle and shoot at the same time. My longest shot would not be more than 60 yards or so.

I'd just like to be able to use it in daylight as well.
 
Many of those come with a cover cap that has a pinhole to allow you to use it during daylight.

Have you thought about a mounted light with some "throw" as an option for whacking varmints at night?
 
You might want to do a quick search on opticsplanet as well; I've heard very mixed reviews on them. Night vision is illegal in a few states IIRC, so you might want to double check on that as well.
 
the first link I posted was from opticsplanet

what is IIRC? Seen that a few times and don't know the translation...
 
Are these worth the money or a complete waste?
Click to expand...


For your intended purpose, the ATN scope in your link would probably be OK. But be aware that it only works with the IR light on. Without it, you won't be able to see in the dark at all.
 
Nope.
The battery's run the night vision circuitry only.
The one with the IR illuminater is $200 bucks more.
http://www.opticsplanet.net/atnarmkpalni.html

You would be much better served spending $500+ bucks on a good LED TAC light, gun mount, and a lifetime supply of CR123A battery's.

Then you can not only see the vermin, but the cow or tractor further out in the background.

rc
 
CR123A batteries? I thought that was a camera battery..
Click to expand...
I think they started out as a camera battery.

However, after the first Surefire flashlight hit the market years ago, almost all hi power TAC lights use them.
http://www.surefire.com/6P-Original
About the only way there is to get 6 volts with two cells or 9 volts with three cells that will last long enough for a powerful flashlight.

rc
 
I don't know about the rifle scopes, but what I did was to get a gen 1 handheld from wally-world($179.00). It is good for nights with at least 1/2 moon and no clouds with out the light and pitch black with the light on. Now to mount it on my .22. It (.22LR) has a 4x scope so I mounted a cheap laser (wally world $19.95) and zeroed the laser. Then when I want to use it @ night I loop the Night scope side mounted carry handle over the scope turrets and use the laser as the aiming point. Cheap and easy.:)

Oh and it uses 2 AA batteries
 
Gen I has very poor image quality unless you are within a few yards, is fairly useless without an IR light and has a fairly short tube life. You would be better served with a decent gun mounted light system with a red or green lens cover and a pressure switch so you can mount the gun to your shoulder and then turn on the light and surprise your quarry. You might also consider a bright green laser if you want to illuminate targets at long range.

Gen II is much better but still suffers from relatively short tube life.

Gen III is what you are really looking for. Yes it's expensive but the image quality is great and you rarely need any IR light unless you are hunting in a cave on a moonless night. These are waterproof, fairly rugged and the tube life is much longer.

If you are looking at Gen I or II in a store and they "demonstrate" it to you in daylight with the pinhole cover on it don't be fooled! The image will look almost as good as a gen III under those conditions. Ask to try it in a dark room.

Check your local state game laws before using night vision or a gun mounted light to hunt with. Check them carefully because while many states have these prohibitions for general hunting, there are often exceptions for varmints.
 
I think I'm going to go with this model:
http://www.opticsbestbuy.com/YUKON-Hunting-Scope-Titanium-2.5x50-Gen1-26013WL.html

The idea of a light on top is a no-go. I don't want people seeing me out there. Under the radar is my approach. I'll be using it around the barn and apple orchard. If I can get a couple or three years out of it, it will pay for itself in apples.

I used a gen 1 monocular over the weekend. My dad has one he got at harbor freight tools he said 7 years ago. It was $100. If the one in the link above sees half as good as the cheapo one my dad has, it will be plenty to take cat-sized critters from my patio to the orchard, some 40-80 yards away.
 
I suppose at close range (sub 50 yds) it should work. If the image quality is poor you can try supplementing the amount of IR light by adding an IR flashlight mounted on the rifle. This will not be visible to the naked eye and will keep it from disturbing the neighbors.

Please note: based on your concerns that a flashlight might be noticed, you might want to check your local town / village etc. ordinances before discharging a firearm of any kind. If people are close enough to notice the light. they may be to close to legally or safely shoot.
 
thomis
I own a Yukon Gen 1 NV monocular....what they are saying about the Gen 1s is false and Yukon has a 3-year warranty on the intensifier tube and a lifetime warranty on the rest of the unit...probably the best warranty all around. I had my unit (NVMT3 4x50 with optional 100mw IR illuminator)) out Tuesday night in a field and could easily spot jackrabbits at 50 yards. The IR makes their eyes shine in the darkness like spotlights! I could see them w/o the IR by moonlight but much more clearly with the IR illuminator. By naked eye I couldn't see them at all...they were in the shadows of orange trees!
The built-in IR illuminator could spot them easily too but I like the light of the additional one. I could clearly make out details of houses 300 yards away in the moonlight with no problem and in deep shadow areas out to 100 yards with the IR you could definitly see if there was anyone lurking there if you were useing it for security purposes. I would recommend you NOT useing it during the day even with the lens cap on...that is only there just to test the unit briefly. Sharpness and clarity of the Yukon is excellent although with just about all Gen 1 units you will have image softness around the edges. The Gen 1 units today are far superior to the ones we used in Vietnam. Also...if you check out the NVMT units you will find they are normally used as hand held monoculars but do convert to riflescopes with laser aiming and also have a camera conversion to photograph or video nightime scenes and have the ability to change the front lens. All of that is optional of course.
The lowest I've seen the NVMT3 is $219, the riflescope conversion for $199 and the lens for that is about $39 (3X lens)
Check it out and see what you think...you can always return it if you don't like it.
No...I don't work for Yukon!!!!!
p.s. they use a CR123A battery which is expensive if you buy it locally...$8-$11 or so...I get mine at batterystation.com for $1.60 each!!!!!! :neener:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/yukon-4x50-nvmt.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/yukn-ac-nvmt-rifle-convkit.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/yukon-nvmt-lenses.html
 
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The ND3 looks interesting...a lot of money for just a laser though...with no stealth...no versatality. Wouldn't be my first choice but what the hey...your needs are different than mine just as we are all different. Keep us informed on how it works.
 
You could always get a high quality taclight aside from surefires absurdly overpriced flashlights.
I have mulitple flashlights with LEDs that surefire hasnt even gotten their out of date company to consider yet.
When updating the LEDs I spend $10 and get the entire reflector, circuit board, LED, assembly and it fits a surfire design.
I also have some insanely powerful taclights, each are roughly equivalent to 4-7 of surefires best lights combined together, the best part is that all use 18650 rechargeable batteries (1 pair for $10), a charger for $6. My newest flashlight was around $70, its also 1250 lumens, rediculously powerful, something that aside from HID lights you cannot get without that pariticular LED.
 
SHvar
Perhaps you were not paying attention...the OP isn't looking for a white light source which is pretty much what Taclight offers except in their tactical weapons light. The weapons-mounted tri-light which has an IR light is huge and not very practical for his purposes. He's going with a green laser ,night light source, which although expensive, he feels fits his needs. Taclight doesn't offer anything close to that from what I see on their web page.
 
Well, fellas I am seriously impressed. My ND3 green laser arrived earlier this week and I first mounted it on my CO2 powered pellet rifle which has a 3 - 9 x 33 riflescope. I mounted the ND3 to the scope using the provided mount, which has windage and elevation one-click adjustments. I have hanging targets all over the yard so I went out around 10 pm Monday night and had a blast trying out this new set-up. With the pollen falling really heavy right now, it illuminated the beam allowing one to see it. Otherwise I think one would just see the spotlight, which you can adjust.
Anyways, I was able to shoot accurately in the dark with no problem using my Bushnell airgun scope. I plan on sitting in the corner of the barn this weekend with a 6 pack and watch over the orchard/ garden and henhouse with it attached to my .22 rifle.
I think its a keeper. Only downside is in cold weather you have to use a handwarmer over the tube. For my needs though, I think I'll mainly be watching over my orchard during the growing season/ warmer weather. And use a handwarmer in cold weather if somethings bothering the hens.

Cheers
 
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