Night Vision hunting Thread

[35remington]

I thought the quality was pretty dang good, Mike. What resolution does the Angel Eyes record at?

[miket]

I thought the quality was pretty dang good, Mike. What resolution does the Angel Eyes record at?

Thats a dang good question. I will look tonight when I get home.

[gingib]

Is that white light a SHL 66l in white? It looks bright like a spotlight, I am surprised the hog did not see it and run off.

My hogs are gone with a white beam

[gingib]

I would save just a few more pennies and get this: http://www.nightgoggles.com/shop/nig...gen-2-comspec/

Another option is a Pulsar N750. Since you are still learning, I'd recommend reading this whole thread. We've had lots of good discussions here and you can soak it all up.




Wtg Mike! Better work quickly in this heat!

How do those minoculars work....in other words do you use a normal scope and just wear the goggles and look thru your normal scope?

[miket]

Is that white light a SHL 66l in white? It looks bright like a spotlight, I am surprised the hog did not see it and run off.

My hogs are gone with a white beam

No, this is the digital NV that I made, the illuminator is IR ( infrared ). It is invisible to the naked eye. The camera sensor sees it but the pig cannot. In the video you can see a flash from my game camera. That flash is invisible too, it is an IR flash camera. When you are not looking at the screen you see nothing but black. Thats the beauty of it. They have no idea you are there.

[gingib]

No, this is the digital NV that I made, the illuminator is IR ( infrared ). It is invisible to the naked eye. The camera sensor sees it but the pig cannot. In the video you can see a flash from my game camera. That flash is invisible too, it is an IR flash camera. When you are not looking at the screen you see nothing but black. Thats the beauty of it. They have no idea you are there.

HMMMM interesting. That is very weird as you cannot see IR camera pics but with this you can. Cool

[35remington]

How do those m[o]noculars work....in other words do you use a normal scope and just wear the goggles and look thru your normal scope?

I have never tried it using a scope. It could work, I just haven't tried. Two options I'm aware of are (1) using a NV-compatible red dot sight (meaning it dims enough to use with NV), or (2) mounting an IR laser on the front of your gun. It will be invisible to the animal, but like daylight to you. IR lasers can be pricey though.

[miket]

For anyone interested, I am going to book a NV hunt in September. Its west/ northwest of DFW. They hunt cut grain fields and wheat. They are booked for the weekends but do have weekday openings. From what I understand its pretty much an all night deal. I am thinking I will schedule for a Thursday night so I can take vacation Friday and chill/sleep. Its $200/ night and they tear em up. If anyone is interested let me know.

[gingib]

I have never tried it using a scope. It could work, I just haven't tried. Two options I'm aware of are (1) using a NV-compatible red dot sight (meaning it dims enough to use with NV), or (2) mounting an IR laser on the front of your gun. It will be invisible to the animal, but like daylight to you. IR lasers can be pricey though.

I have read the entire thread and learned some things. So what would be the point in buying monoculars if you have to buy another NV piece? I may sound dumb but wouldn't it be ideal to just buy a scope with NV if you plan on hunting a small field and most feeders in a stand?

[35remington]

I have read the entire thread and learned some things. So what would be the point in buying monoculars if you have to buy another NV piece? I may sound dumb but wouldn't it be ideal to just buy a scope with NV if you plan on hunting a small field and most feeders in a stand?

Yes, sorry. If you said before that you wanted to hunt one small field and a couple feeders, I missed it.

To me it sounds like the Sightmark Photon XT 4.6 would be perfect for you. It's way cheaper than these other options. I have one and love it for stand hunting.

[ShoootLow]

Ok, new on this thread. I Have a chance to buy a
pvs 14, gen 3 autogated. Coming from a good friend that I trust. I know there are lots of versions, but want to know what a fair price is for this unit. Will get a pic tomorrow. Plan is to couple to a 3x9 on AR and hopefully a crossbow also.

[gingib]

Yes, sorry. If you said before that you wanted to hunt one small field and a couple feeders, I missed it.

To me it sounds like the Sightmark Photon XT 4.6 would be perfect for you. It's way cheaper than these other options. I have one and love it for stand hunting.

No you didn't miss it, I just said that.

WHat is the effective range on it?

Ideally I would like to be able to shoot 200 yards max. With most/all of my shots being 125-150

Any other recommendations from the NV experts?

[Wylde E]

Yeah I have the older sightmark 3x and with a good IR light you can get 200 yards pretty easy. I have shot a couple coyotes at 150yrds with mine. I can see out to 700+ yards using my IR flashlight

[Mousehunter]

So what would be the point in buying monoculars if you have to buy another NV piece? I may sound dumb but wouldn't it be ideal to just buy a scope with NV if you plan on hunting a small field and most feeders in a stand?

Standard firearm safety is rule - "never point a gun at something you do not intend to shoot". It is far less safe to identify your targets with a scope than with binoculars.

Safety aside - much easier to scan with binoculars than a rifle as well. Same is true for NV. Easier to scan with a monocular than a rifle mounted system (barrel swinging all over the place gets in the way, plus it's heavy). The traditional "entry level" system is a Gen III PVS-14 monocular (helmet mounted), and a IR laser on your weapon. Plus you can navigate (walk) pretty well with that system if you take your time.

Personally I am still playing around with IR laser versus NV red dot. NV red dot is a 24hr solution. It requires your head to be in the right place though (probably nearly impossible with a helmet mounted monocular). Switching from helmet to weapon takes a few seconds - plus then the weapon needs to be within the PVS-14 recoil rating (223ish or less (but also dependent on tube).

[35remington]

Ok, new on this thread. I Have a chance to buy a
pvs 14, gen 3 autogated. Coming from a good friend that I trust. I know there are lots of versions, but want to know what a fair price is for this unit. Will get a pic tomorrow. Plan is to couple to a 3x9 on AR and hopefully a crossbow also.

Well Step 1 would be let your friend tell you a price. You said you trust him, and he knows what he paid for it, how good it is, and how many hours he put on it.

Failing that, having a spec sheet will make it go up in value. Having high hours will make it go down. You need to look through it and check for artifacts, noise, pepper flakes, etc. If you want a random, ball-park number, I'd say $2500. But I haven't seen it.

WHat is the effective range on it?

Ideally I would like to be able to shoot 200 yards max. With most/all of my shots being 125-150

Was waiting for someone else to chime in but guess they'll come along eventually. The Photon XT 4.6 is capable of 200 yards. In pitch black, you will use the onboard illuminator. On nights with a good moon, you won't even need IR. 125–150 will be no problem at all.

The traditional "entry level" system is a Gen III PVS-14 monocular

PVS-14 is entry level? Ha! Don't we all wish! Maybe for you, but you're the guy who bought a Photon, Gen III, and thermal, all in one post. NV doesn't get much better than PVS-14 helmet mounted. Would love to hunt with you.

I'd say entry level NV is more like a $500 digital NV scope, then a Gen II scope, then Gen II monocular, then PVS-7, and thennnnn your PVS-14. Just my opinion.

It's amazing how much NV is out there in hunters' hands as compared to 2-3 years ago.

You sir are an ENABLER!