Thread: Night vision for dummies

Originally Posted by ebf

Can someone pls provide some real basic info on night vision equipment.

I am interested in it from a "hunting" perspective. So guys using it for pest control etc.

With all these gen-1/2/3 goggles etc, what sights do you use on the rifle ? Are you basically using open sights ?

With the goggles you can walk around and see your surroundings ?

Or alternatively you put a NV scope on a rifle, but then you can't really move around like normal ?

Ok Im going to get shot down here!!! So I will be careful how I answer that question.

Speaking from personal experiance only: Way back in the 1990`s I hunted with Gen1 + Gen2 Russian riflescopes as the Russian stuff was prtty much all we could get. Gen1 Goggles were avaliable but crap... they still are.

Hunting with just a NV riflescope isn`t easy as you need to see to get around. Your Natural night vision kicks in and is at full operation after about 40 minutes without light. As soon as you look through a NV riflescope you have wiped the Night Vision out of one eye. Walking around with one eye only working properly is a bugger. With the Gen1 & Gen2 you need quite alot of artificial Infrared Light. Be it a spotlight or infrared torch in any conditions under about half moon. Gen2 is rated for about qualter moon - full moon. Gen1 realy only works in full moon. Digital Im not going to comment!!!!
Later I got Gen3 goggles and was abel to move around freely in conditions as low as no moon and some cloud cover without any added Infrared Light. The use of a IR torch for hunting is recomended as will show say deers eyes up out to around 500-600mts with a low intensity IR light. I don`t tend to hunt in moonlight at all but when I have can spot deer and pigs out over 800mts. We use Night Vision for Night not moonlight.
Remember the Deer or whatever don`t all turn and look at you as with a spotlight. They just carry on with their own business, head down bum up or whatever so pays to move slow.
My kit and it has been for years is a set of Goggles and a suppressed rifle with night scope. Not many have the that sort of outlay on kit I have been lucky and NV has paid of my setup.
Many of the guys I have supplied and myself on occasion use the Goggles and a dimmed laser either IR or red attached to a rifle. Find them with the goggles and hit them with the laser/rifle while viewing with the goggles. Thats the way the military usually do it.

Other way is a set of goggles. Rifle with a light say led lenser p7 mounted on riflescope. Find the deer with goggles get to where you want to shoot from. Flick up goggles switch on light and Boom.
When guys ask me I always advise if you can only afford one set then get goggles or head mounted monocular. Some will dissagree but they need to be gen2 or above. You spend alot more time looking for a deer and moving than you do shooting the thing.

Hope that helps answer the question.