Night vision scopes ? what to look for

[vizlauk 1,568]

Hi im looking for some advice on night vision scopes, as im thinking about using night vision as apose my scopes & gun light, to be honest I have not got a clue about night vision scopes, having only once seen them on a mate's good while out shooting one night, first inpressions were , excellent no need for a lamp, less chance on spooking the rabbits - the question is what are the options - costs involved , im not looking to spend a fortune, but would like to know the pro's & cons, any advice welcome, thanks Viz

[sako 23]

First you need to say what your budget is, how far you are wanting to shoot and what rifle it's going on, there's way to many options to list otherwise.

[markha 99]

This topic gets a lot of coverage, use the search bar at the top right of the page and just type 'night vision' as its good research just to read a few of them and get a good cross section of peoples thoughts.

[vizlauk 1,568]

First you need to say what your budget is, how far you are wanting to shoot and what rifle it's going on, there's way to many options to list otherwise.

 

Hi, im thinking £500 max, distance for shooting im only looking at 30 - 50 yards on my air arms s410, thanks

[sako 23]

Sounds like add on is the way to go to me. It's a Nv device which attaches to the rear of your day scope by means of a dsa (day scope adaptor) enabling you to use the gun with the same scope day or night, though some find them uncomfortable but personally I have no problem.

For your budget you'll pick up a pulsar challenger and dsa but you'll also need an additional IR laser like a N1000 which is also within your budget.

As said do a search there's loads on it you might find you really want a dedicated scope. I haven't got the challenger myself but they are good out to 100yrds with the right scope.

[markha 99]

Scope choice is key and paralax adjustable are easier to focus. TBH if you cant get within reasonable stalking range in daytime then your not going to do it at nightime even with NV kit as it just means the rabbits are easily spooked because they are lamp shy (with so many people poaching up etc up your neck of the woods) or your field craft is shit.

 

For a long long time many a boy with a spring rifle and an Ever-Ready cycle lamp has taken many rabbits for the pot, all because of good field craft

[vizlauk 1,568]

Hi lads, this topic has just died right off, not much input from the lads whom use night vision, come on, lets have some advice, thanks

[HUnter_zero 58]

Hi lads, this topic has just died right off, not much input from the lads whom use night vision, come on, lets have some advice, thanks

 

Well I use a D-141 what do you want to know?

 

John

[dogvixen01 34]

i have a pulsar challenger add on gs 1 x 20 and day scope adaptor .the combination retail at about £ 300.an ir laser n100 ap retails at about £150.this will increase your distance to in excess of 100 metres aeasily .for shorter ranges up to 30 metres if conditions are right you can use just onboard in built ir .be careful some scopes advertise figures as detection range and recognition range .important to understand difference.a side parallax scope is advised for these add ons to aid focusing.pm me if you require more info.atb.

[sako 23]

There you go vizlauk the two chaps above one with an add on and the other with dedicated, around your price range so fire those questions at them!

Edited September 6, 2011 by sako

[vizlauk 1,568]

There you go vizlauk the two chaps above one with an add on and the other with dedicated, around your price range so fire those questions at them!

 

Thanks for pointing that out, I can read !lol

[vizlauk 1,568]

I have been looking at this set up on the bay item number 280734700297, the seller has indicated that as it is, it's good for distance up 30yrds, but with an extra infared filter lamp it would be good over more distance !

The whole idea of going onto night vision for me is to do away with a lamp, or have I picked up this info wrong !

[moxy 617]

As i belive an infra red filter for a lamp isnt cheap, yes you could buy the filter acetate alone but you then have the ballache of fitting it without the use of tape. I have recently aquired a gen1 nv unit but the illuninator was crap and it cost a further £150 for a cobra illuninator.

Works well and improves the nv image but im only using the setup for rats at the moment on a precharged air rifle at around 25-30 yds.

I will be making a mount to sit the whole unit attatched to my scope when i get the time. I need to move the whole mount forward including scope because im not really happy trying to look through my scope and nv unit from level with the butt pad, if you get my meaning??

Im not sure as to the outcome but will let you know the results as and when ive got the parts made up and tried it.

To put clarity on costings, im fortunate enough to have access to facilitys and materials to make a mountable rail to extend the one on the rifle, estimated costs say around £50?(but not essential just my preference)

Nv unit anything from £100 + depending on the gen and then an illuminator again £150 +

Im sure you will pick something right up within your budget but as to what i dont have much of a clue as im just starting out and still playing with what i have at the moment.

I will try and keep you informed as to the results.

Best of luck

[dogvixen01 34]

the yukon nv scope you mention above says suitable for ratting/rabbiting.ask seller for model number and try on you tube for review.i have tried similar gen 1 scopes but problem is only 2.5 mag.also have to be careful you do not expose to bright light /daylight or you will burn tube out.if you require nv for short range the inbuilt ir will be ok but has limited distance and mag.you may detect eyes etc at 40 metres plus but recognition distance will be a lot less on smaller quarry.the pulsar challenger uses your day scope mag and depends on which scope you use you can get up to x 6 mag or more = greater range and recognition.if you want to shoot further than 40 metres imho you need to try digital with a pulsar add on and additional ir light source.one problem with add ons is eye relief.problem with dedicated nv scope it can tie up your rifle for only one purpose.

[HUnter_zero 58]

You might do away with your lamp, but you will not do away with your day scope! The biggest draw back with my D-141 is that I have to swap scopes all the time. I have two IR illuminators, one built in and the second an add on and yes you will increase the range but the magnification is so low that 100 yard shots are hard. Range finding using NV kit is near a waste of time, I can not get it right. I am sure there are some ex-secret service guys on here that have it down to a fine art but for me, 100 yards could be yards or 120 yards or even 150 yards. As said, RF with NV scopes isn't easy. I also have several IR lamps, a couple which I have mounted on tri-pods. I'll run these out and illuminate a whole warren if needed. My set-up is only ever used if I have a chance at a high number of rabbits due to having to remove my 'day' scope, zero my NV scope and afterwards do it in reverse.

 

John