Night Vision for scopes

[ace4059]

I was looking at different night vision products. I would like to have one to hunt hogs and coyotes. I dont know much about them, and I have been doing a little research on the web.

At first I was looking at getting a scope, but I see some companies make night vision setups that either mount in front of, or behind the scope. Which would be better? what are the pros and cons of each?
I thought I would get a front mount to mate up with a 4x ACOG. But I could get rear mount to go in front of my aimpoint. It looks like most aimpoints have the rear mount NV setup and most ACOGS have a in front NV setup.

I was looking on spending 2000 to 2500. I do not want to spend over 3000. I want at least a gen2+. The scopes are more expensive than the NV that mounts in front of a regular scope, but I figured for the price of a new ACOG plus NV setup, I could get a NV scope, but taking it on and off would not be the greatest setup, and I do not want to dedicate a rifle for only NV. So that's why I was leaning towards the NV front or rear setup. That way I could leave on my aimpoint, or acog for day use, and just mount the NV when I need it. I would not have to worry about re zeroing a scope that way.

[Iraq Ninja]

My favorite and most versatile setup is mounting a PVS 14 behind my CompM4 Aimpoint.

I like the option of going to the head mount and either using my laser or mounting it on the gun when static. I used it behind a Micro Aimpoint for a while, but like the bigger M4 now.

The dedicated NVG scopes are nice if you need magnification.

Your price limits will make this difficult. I would find a way to get the money if possible.


Here is half of my recent ambush and six hog killing spree.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d127/Iraqninja/johnpig4.jpg

[JohnnyC]

A PVS behind a day scope isn't the greatest. You run into eye relief and cheek weld issues, but the Europeans do a lot of this.

A dedicated scope like the D740 is a fantastic option and will have an excellent image. They're 4x or you can get the D760 if you want a 6x. I think this really is the best option although you'll typically dedicate a gun to this. You can get QD mounts for it and your standard optic and swap them but then you'll have to deal with re-zeroing. You always rezero your gun no matter what the manufacturer says right?

The third choice is a clip-on night sight like an AN/PVS-24 or KAC PVS-30. These are very expensive. At first you'd think that you could simply throw a PVS-14 in front of a day scope, but it doesn't work out like that and you'll have POA/POA issues potentially bordering on the obscene. A dedicated clip-on uses technology to present an exact representation of the image to the scope using prisms, etc. This virtually negates POI-shift that you'd normally get simply putting a PVS in front of a scope. This is the reason they are not inexpensive.

Of these options I think the dedicated scope like a D740 is the best, both in terms of performance and price. The PVS/Aimpoint combo is by far the most versatile as you can head mount the PVS for navigation, then put it on the gun to shoot, or use an IR laser for targeting. However, the image quality is not as good as a dedicated scope, and you have to have an NV capable Aimpoint or EoTech as well. The clip-on is just silly for most people who won't be taking 400-800 yard shots under NV, and the cost is prohibitive for the most part.

Hope this helps. Vic from TNVC and IPSC_GUY will probably be along to expand and fix any mistakes I have made. Both are good guys and knowledgable.

[mkmckinley]

The Clip on style NV units are stupid heavy as well as being expensive. I've used the KAC one and it will still have some POI shift. Based on my limited experience I think JohnnyC's advice to get a dedicated NV scope is pretty sound. I would recommend against trying to use an IR laser for hunitng, they tend to be pretty imprecise and might be a little irresponsible for hunting.