Night Vision

[wv109323]

I am thinking of buying a night vision scope and know nothing about them. What is a good rifle mounted scope?
I don't need nothing fancy just basic.

[cwtebay]

Are you looking for night vision or thermal?
I have a couple, and would have to say that the most affordable one (ATN Thor) has served me well enough for the past several years that I have had it. It has both night vision and thermal and regular optic capabilities. The bullet drop compensator in it is sort of sketchy, but it's used at such short range (<30 yards typically) at night that it's not important.
It's currently mounted on a 22 Nosler AR platform.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Lloyd Smale]

Are you looking for night vision or thermal?
I have a couple, and would have to say that the most affordable one (ATN Thor) has served me well enough for the past several years that I have had it. It has both night vision and thermal and regular optic capabilities. The bullet drop compensator in it is sort of sketchy, but it's used at such short range (<30 yards typically) at night that it's not important.
It's currently mounted on a 22 Nosler AR platform.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

lots of guys agree with you. Seems to be the best of the affordable units.

[farmbif]

ive been eyeing the ATN x sight II to help me get the coyotes that ate my neighbors chickens and harass my dog in the middle of the night. they are not cheap but they are about the lowest cost night vision scope. there are some reviews that say they are outstanding and some reviews that say there are glitches that need fixing.
I'm kind of waiting on a version III with all the bug and glitches fixed before trying to gather up the money to get one. Now if I were to win the lottery or if some other windfall comes my way I won't hesitate to get one of ATN's night scopes.

[kerplode]

What do you plan to do with it? Just night hunting, or are you thinking more from a preparedness angle?

For hunting, the ATN stuff above is probably a decent bet.

For general preparedness, a good head-mounted monocular (PVS-14) pared with an IR laser/illuminator on the rifle is a much more versatile setup. You can walk around hands free without muzzling everything in your path and the performance is significantly better that the cheap CMOS NV stuff. A PVS14 and laser setup is much more expensive than the budget thermal hunting scopes, though.

[Three44s]

For me Thermal is the ticket. It does cost more money generally but the ease of detecting heat signatures under decent atmospheric conditions is outstanding.

The difference is very stark when you factor any kind of cover because the subject is like a glow stick on “white hot” and dark on a light tinted background with “black hot”. You turn to a NV unit and other than glowing eyes if you are supplementing the natural light with an infrared illuminator you will have a hard time recognizing most animals until they move.

Three44s

[memtb]

For myself, after much research......thermal! memtb

[rbuck351]

I got one of the ATN IR type about 5 years ago and like it fairly well. The IR light that came with it was junk and good for 30 or 40 yds. I replaced it with a better one and it woks fair to about 150yds. The light and the scope both use up batteries fairly fast. I set up a bait station with a string pulled bell just outside my bedroom window for shooting skunks at 40yds. Lights them up like day time. When I bought it the scope was about $600 and the light was another $40 or so.
Before retiring from corrections, we had a thermal imaging device mounted on the guard tower that worked really well to 400yds+ but I was told it was $50,000. A thermal scope would be really neat but way above my allowance.

[MrWolf]

Think one of our members deals with thermal scopes and such and if not mistaken it was Smoke. I am sorry if am wrong but doing it from memory.

[memtb]

Certainly not inexpensive, I think you can get a good (several hundred yard capabilities) rifle mount thermal scope for under $3K. The scope represented below will give a thermal image on an adult deer sized target out to 1000 yards! This particular scope was ranked #1 in a 2020 survey! $3K isn’t bad for what the capabilities are! memtb


5 Pulsar Core RXQ30V Thermal Riflescope
This is another top thermal scope you could use right now. It is all about having the best technology to help with detecting heat signatures. Comparing it to other models, you will find that acquiring your target just got easier. You will be in a position to track even the moving objects faster than ever.

The model uses the highly tinted green sapphire to help with identifying the targets. You should be in a position to identify the various objects in the harsh environments. It could be day or night and you will still be in a position to use the model. Sometimes you might be in a place where the use of night vision is not possible. Using the thermal scope is often the best way to go.

The model is known for having the super-fast video freeze function. This type of function allows for you to save certain parameters of zero for three rifles. This means that you do not have to keep resetting the scope whenever you switch from one scope to another.

The heat signature images you get with the model are of great quality. You can be sure that you will always enjoy having a great time using the scope. The good thing is that you can have quality images even from a distance of 980 yards. This is something that motivates more people to think about getting it.

Regardless of the conditions, the users always end up with a high resolution of the image. This is thanks to the AMOLED display. You can be sure the images remain clear all the time.

Pulsar Core RXQ30V Thermal Riflescope

Our Rating: (5 / 5)

[John Wayne]

Sightmark Wraith. I hope the link works!
http://sightmark.com/products/2409/sightmark-wraith-hd-4-32x50-digital-riflescope/

[Outpost75]

Before spending serious money, assess your need for night vision and evaluate what you can do with old school techniques.

EDC Lights and A Night Vision Primer

If you've ever had to find your way out of a large building after the power goes out you can appreciate the value of having at least a small light with you as Every Day Carry (EDC). A tiny LED on your zipper pull or keyring sure beats nothing. The point is to always have SOMETHING.

I used to have Fenix EO1 single-AAA cell LED lights on the zipper pulls of all outer garments, and carry one on my key ring all the time. These were inexpensive enough that you could buy multiples and stash them everywhere, your keyring, in personal first aid or survival kits, etc. The Fenix E01 has been discontinued but the Streamlight MicroStream LED is an affordable substutute.

In my Get Home Bag I keep a Petzl Tactikka Plus Headlamp and spare batteries. I prefer LED lights because they are more rugged, and have longer run time on a set of batteries, to last all night if working a 12-hour shift. In heavy use of Xenon lamps on searches you must carry both spare lamps and batteries. My needs these days are mostly in finding things in my pack, in the car or cockpit at night, and for walking trail illumination. You must wear protective safety glasses with side guards whenever moving around at night.

The Petzl headlamp with red filter is recommended for night flying in general aviation, used at its lowest setting. Red is the only color that does not bleach out your rhodopsin and degrade night vision. Green light at very low levels has much less effect than white light. In the days before military pilots flew while wearing night vision, night training involved wearing red goggles for an hour before flying, to protect from exposure to bright lights, exclusively using red lights in flight planning rooms, keeping lights off on the flight line and avoiding flying anywhere near intense light sources.

Back in my day night training flights were always planned for the darkest times when the moon was not full or before it rose or after it set below the horizon. If you want the best night vision avoid bright light religiously, get plenty of rest, do not smoke, stay at low altitudes and use supplemental oxygen when at cruising altitude. Military aviators in the 1970s were issued a simple 2-AA cell pen light with white bulb and sliding red filter for night cockpit use. This was used mostly for writing ADC clearances on the kneeboard on night ops, but in Indian Country would be very cautiously used as an evasion light also. In the 1970s an evasion light was no light at all, or as little light as possible exposed for no longer than absolutely necessary. Safe, stealthy movement depends on staying still until your eyes are fully dark adapted, then moving slowly, quietly and cautiously, traveling at night to avoid detection and hiding in dense vegetation during the day.

Movement attracts the eye, and so does any light. A moving light at night especially draws attention and gets investigated. Even a tiny LED is highly visible for a mile or more with the naked eye and several times that with FLIR or NVG. If a downed aircrewman in a hostile area incautiously leaves a light unprotected for more than a few seconds and moves around. it mayl be seen and increases risk of detection or capture. Side shields are absolutely necessary for any evasion light.

The human eye performs poorly at night. Fatigue has great influence at night. The retina is the first and fastest part of the body to react to reduction of blood oxygen. Cigarette smokers start out with an immediate night vision problem. Complete night adaptation of the eye to darkness takes over 30 minutes and be destroyed in seconds. The cones used for color vision are centered in the eye but are slow to adapt and then only by a factor of x 100. Rods make it so we can see at night but not in color and are spread to the sides in the back of the eye. They are more sensitive at night by a factor of x 100,000. Rods take 30 minutes to recover from a bright light shock.

The oval shaped region retinal blind spot cannot see light, but binocular vision compensates for this in daytime. At night we often are unable to see objects if we look directly at them.

To see at night do not look directly at what you want to see because your central vision is inoperative at night.. Looking off center at night uses your peripheral vision which is 100,000 times more sensitive than central vision at night. Your eyes can be adapted to night vision by wearing red glasses, patching one eye and using dimmed lighting.

No matter how well you do this one muzzle flash in your face destroys it all!

Your visual adaptability to light/darkness is reduced 50% every eleven years of your life. Experience and frequency of night flight is the best compensation for this loss. Any bright light effectively reduces night vision. You might try protecting one eye from light until airborne. Try wearing sunglasses at dusk.

Vitamin A is a vital element for night vision and adaptation. Vitamin A deficiency will make a significant difference in night vision. However excessive intake of Vitamin A will not give an apparent improvement.

Ample oxygen is necessary for adequate night vision more so than day vision. Above 4000 feet supplemental oxygen improves night vision. The most dangerous aspect of this is that the pilot has no way of knowing that he is not seeing as well.

Wearing of sunglasses during the day is one way to improve your night vision. Neutral gray glasses with UV resistant coating are best . At night, red lenses will absorb blue light and aid dark adaptation. Restrict any use of bright white light at night since even a momentary flash will destroy night vision. Use blue, green or red LEDs.

Should blur interfere with the things you see at night, it may be indicative of night myopia. Squinting will help some or the use of glasses. If the eye is unable to focus on anything at a distance at night it may be having space myopia. Keeping the eyes moving can help limit these effects that are made worse by staring.

Objects are harder to see at night just because they are less well defined around the edges. This makes things appear farther away than they actually are. The requirement for corrective lenses (if you wear them) at night is much greater than during daylight.