New To Night Vision
I am thinking of putting my lamp to one side and giving night vision a try. Whats the best starting point? I have seen all sorts of setups from scopes with built in NV to units that bolt on your day scope to units that you just use a laser to aim with. Also costs go from a few hundreds to many thousands. So a little lost really. All i am after doing is getting bunnies and rats that are running about all over.
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Thanks for the help guys. After much digging and pestering of the local shops I have decided to go for a dedicated Gen 1 Rifle scope. At the moment I am thinking Yukon or ATN. The spec sheet of the spec sheet of the ATN looks to be ye winner until you read reviews and soon see there spec list is optimistic at best and build may not be as good as perhaps it should be. Both are around £500 and have tried them both.
The other option is the NSXD Pro Gen 1. Its only £395 so cheaper then the ATN or Yukon and they spec looks good on the face of it. Though upon a closer look it only has a F1.5 lens so slower at sucking in light but only buy a bit. Also the NSXD only has a 30mw IR illuminator so i would likely have to buy a second IR unit. There is also looks to be no flip up lens cover on the NSXD unlike the Yukon and ATN. The focus on the NSXD is only from 8m unlike that Yukom 5m and ATN 4m. Also these are mail order only so i would not get to try one before i buy.
What one would you go for?
Hey Zilog,
Here is a low budget setup, it won’t really work in the field, but if you are hunting from your house/summer home (it needs AC power), this would offer another option.
http://talonairgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19787
Another member “Hotrod” has adapted this method and he has been successful.
I have the TalonSS and I use the gen 1 Yukon that has the IR light built in. It works good, I spent $599 on it at Amazon. I had the Paladin first, but it was not mounted right on the mount it came with. (sent back).
My wife feeds the bunnies but I shoot the rats at night. The rats are easy to see at night, their eyes glow and u can not miss them.
Let me add a bit more….
A Gen 1+ scope can be “OK” or downright “Bad”, and you never know until you look through one. The first generation NV scopes tend to have some “fisheye” that gives you a clear center image, but distorted around the edges. It absolutely must have a good NV light attached to be usable on a dark night. You will never get a sharp, clear, bright image. In my experience they usually were grainy, moderate to poorly defined detail, or washed out with too much light. All the Gen 1 scopes will disappoint you if you look at their advertising pictures and believe that is what you will see.
Gen II costs more, but is a step forward in technology and clarity. Those generally are in the 1K to 2K USD price range. I’m not sure they are all that much better for the money, than the Gen 1+.
Gen III is the best, and is what most people think they will get, but expect to pay the most for them. Usually $3K to $4K USD.
My advice for casual, occasional shooting, is get a Gen 1+ with the largest objective lens available. More light gathering capability. Around $600 USD will get one with 90mm to 110mm lens. You can do short to medium range critter hunting, depending on your NV light’s power.
The important thing to remember is you will not be able to sell it for what you paid for it. So be absolutely sure you know what you are getting for your money. The only way I know to do that is find one, and look through it in the dark. Beg, borrow, or steal it, but be sure to look through the one you want to buy before you buy!
Regards,
Hoot 😯
You have a few more options from being in the UK.
I’d start with checking the Night Vision forum at airgunbbs, get a feel for whats out there and then check out their classifieds.
for 400 squid I’d be looking into a Digital or Gen 1 “add-on” in the new price range that would attach behind my scope. Used you MAY be able to find a Gen 2 for a bit more (make sure you try them out before you buy used).
http://www.nvscopes.com/night%20vision%20products.html
Check the Merlin and the Pulsar. The Merlin is more $, but I know they are pretty good. Not really heard of the Pulsar.
Thanks Hoot. Thats the thing I don’t really know how much to spend. I would like to start off cheap but don’t wish to buy useless tat i will never used. I was looking around £400 UK Pounds but if spending more will give me much better value for money I would be happy to spend two or three times that. Thanks 🙂
There’s really only one factor, and one factor alone, in deciding what to purchase in night vision.
1) How much are you willing to spend, L pounds sterling/$ USD???
Give us that and information will flow upon you from the fonts of wisdom on this forum.
Rgards,
Kindly ‘Ol Uncle Hoot 😯
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The 410 has the largest objective lens on the GEN 1+ market.
A large objective = more light gathering ability and that’s a good thing. If you choose from your list, find the one with the largest objective lens.
Also, find the one with the highest resolution number number. That number equates to definition of the target. The makers don’t always show this figure, and for good reason. It should appear as “Resolution lines/mm” and uses a two digit number to show it capability. It may also be indicated simply as “lm = XX”.
If you can get into the resolution numbers of 50-55, that’s about as good as you can find. Most good one have an “40-45”. A LOT of the cheap ones have resolution rates of as low as 30-35…try to avoid these, you won’t be happy with the results.
Good luck and let us know how this turns out. NV is kind of a tricky matter if you don’t know what you are getting, or what numbers to look for.
Regard,
Hoot