Which night vision best to use with Vortex SPARC

[freewheeling]

I just built an AR15 and bought a Vortex SPARC red dot sight for it. Have been thinking about night vision and wondered what would be best paired with the SPARC since it appears to be compatible with night vision devices. Am I supposed to get something that threads directly into the sight itself, or am I supposed to get just a generic monocular secured using some kind of head mount? Anyone have any recommendations?

 

[tnxdshooter]

I thought the sparc had a might vision mode already? I was thinking though you put it in night vision mode and use out with night vision goggles. I could be wrong though.

 

[kwguy]

To use with an optic such as the sparcs nvg mode, you'll need a monocle type nvg device along with a weapon mount. You then mount the monocle behind the sparc, and use the nvg mode on the sparc to produce a dot that can be seen through the nvg monocle, through the sparc, and out to the target.

The prices for the monocle vary greatly, from a few hundred dollars for a low end generation 1 unit, up to a few thousand dollars for a generation 3 nvg monocle.

 

[freewheeling]

Thanks kwguy. That's pretty much what I was looking for. I was under the impression that a lot of the NV scopes had their own reticle and I would have thought that mounting the SPARC in front would sort of defeat the purpose of getting a quick sight picture. Yeah, the prices for the scopes are all over the place. I was thinking that the ATN digital might be a good stopgap, but experience with them seems pretty mixed. I would think that in the long run some digital device would be the way to amplify low light without using expensive analog methods, but they're probably not ready for prime time yet. I guess I could always just practice with a blindfold. There's a cheap "night vision" technology.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The head mount (PVS14 and the like) makes it possible for you to scan around easily while hunting.

With the monocular on the rifle, scanning means swinging the gun around and that gets to be a pain in the butt really quick.

Give Tyler at www.ultimatenightvision.com a call and he can probably help you with a decision - nice guy that I have worked with before.

 

[aubie515]

OP, I find it hard to swallow that you are going to buy good NV and go cheap on a SPARC.

Doesn't make much sense to spend $3k+ on NV and spend $200 on red dot.

Might want to rethink your equipment.

 

[freewheeling]

OP, I find it hard to swallow that you are going to buy good NV and go cheap on a SPARC.

Doesn't make much sense to spend $3k+ on NV and spend $200 on red dot.

Might want to rethink your equipment.

Yeah, I'm probably not going to go that route. Just looking into the options. Might build another gun. The head mount thing looks like the way to go, though.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

OP, I find it hard to swallow that you are going to buy good NV and go cheap on a SPARC.

Doesn't make much sense to spend $3k+ on NV and spend $200 on red dot.

Might want to rethink your equipment.

Actually, it isn't a bad combination, but not ideal. The SPARC will do a lot of jobs just fine for very little cost. There is no reason to overspend if you don't have to do so and no reason that everything you put on your rifle has to be in the same price range.

So instead of spending $200 on a SPARC, he could spend $400 on an Aimpoint, $530 on an Eotech, or more than a grand if he shops around high end optics.

With that said, he could go with a Sightmark Photon XT for less than $600 and get an all in one day/night scope that is digital, or wait for the several months overdue (but supposedly coming out in October) ATN X-Sight miracle digital scope (I have one on order and am bitter about the delays), or Pulsar N550a or N750 digital scopes for $1300 and 1700 (I think) and be good to go as well. I do own an N750 now and had a N550 previously.

The Photon and Pulsars are a bit bulky and the X-sight purportedly has the weight of a boat anchor, but all either are or appear quite promising and you can be set up for day/night use with just one platform. The downside is that you still need something for scanning (or it sure makes it a lots easier).

 

[freewheeling]

ATN X-Sight miracle digital scope

Actually, I was thinking about the ATN digital scope. I think the 6x was selling for about $250, but the reviews were pretty mixed. Looks like people either love it or don't have a thing good to say about it. The X-Sight sort of looks like where I expected this technology to go, but I can't think why I'd need WiFi or recording capability? Of course if I have it, then I'll probably find a use for it.

Ooooo... the choices!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I would not buy ATN's older digital night vision. The new stuff is going to be considerably better whether it is in the X-Sight or the new non-weapon optic (binos?) that are using the same technology.

The X-Sight was delayed because ATN could not get the sight to do what was advertised. Supposedly, it all works now and they are in production. The nice thing about the Wifi is that you will be able to update the firmware when they have updates come out and supposed do some stuff with a cellphone app such as to make a viewer out of your phone (which could be neat for group hunters). I am not sure about the whole GPS and compass system, but like the fact that you can record. The one video out so far (by Scott Country over in England) shows some good, short range imagery and zoom capability. If you aren't in a hurry, this might be a scope to wait on and see how it turns out. I will post a brief review when I get mine.