Printable View
A friend brought out his PVS30 to do a night shoot with us last night and it was big fun. Obviously we could hear the 500 yard smacks, but since we had Hit Indicators, the 900 and 1,000 yard hits were really cool to see. We started with his 16' inch gasser but then placed it on my Colt CM 6.5cm for more long range success. We did some close range stuff but only for a short while.
Any other ideas or practices to incorporate on our next shoot with night vision?
PB
Try lasers and illuminators if anyone has some.
Go shoot coyotes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pappabear
Been using a pvs27 for about ten years now. I’ll throw some random stuff out for you to think about.
Moon phases and cloud cover make a big difference in ability to see targets. So does color and quality of paint. I suggest taking a large steel target and spraying several types of paint on it. The cheap blacks and whites and a more expensive one and maybe a chalk based. Spray in stripes or sections then just try to view it at long distance and see how visible each type is in different lighting conditions. Then see which ones show impacts best. My guess is you’ll notice a difference between the $1 and $3 cans of paint. And you’ll need contrast with your backstop. For me in the day a white target on dirt background is easy to see but at night it’s almost impossible to see, while black on dirt is very easy to distinguish.
Shooting steel almost always throws a spark on impact that even a dude wearing pvs14s can see at long range. Won’t be able to tell where on the target you hit without magnification but will still see impact.
Sort out a long range illuminator. Although time consuming with one person and not appropriate for multiple target arrays quickly. I find it most effective to put the illuminator on a tripod instead of the rifle. Most illuminators leak a lot of light that splashes on your barrel and the ground. If your illuminatoris on the rifle turn it on and look at the rifle with your nods from a few yards away. If that light is splashing into your 30 it prob isn’t good.
Also figure out a laser range finder. The silencerco radius is my fav at night. You don’t need to align it to the scope reticle because you can see the laser through the Nv and just put it on the target and read the lcd.
If you do prs type stuff try some barricade work. The 27 is large and heavy enough that it really changes everything. Even the tension needed on the bipod and placement on bags due to balance. The 30 May be easier to run.
The effect of mirage from a hot barrel and suppressor is interesting. If you get on it a lot you may want to invest in a deflector.
Imho kyl racks are best Nv practice.
Try playing with glow sticks and IR glowsticks. Put one on or around the target. Try taping them in front or behind the plate and see how it casts light and shadows to see the target. If you hit one the glowy liquid goes everywhere lol. Put two behind the a zone head of IPSC cardboard and when you shoot them it will spray glowing stuff out the back like zombie brains in movies. They may be a little too bright so wrap them in masking tape or something if needed.
Taliv, good feedback on the paint, we use the better paint, still good to experiment. Yes, I thought it was cool to see the sparks off the steel. Especially up close on our pistol / AR range.Quote:
Originally Posted by taliv
When you talk about a "deflector", are you talking about a mirage cover? I run the HAD covers from Rifles Only. But we ran the shit out of an AR without a cover, what does a mirage look like with night vision?
Will give the glow sticks a whirl.
PB
not a suppressor cover, no. do a google image search for something like "benchrest mirage shield". take a piece of velcro and put it under your scope objective lens, and another on your suppressor cover. now find some 1970s era blinds (the kind you put on windows, preferably metal, but not mini blinds) and attach it via the velcro, concave side up, so that it runs above the barrel without touching it, from scope to end of suppressor.
mirage looks kinda like it does during the day, but green and a little funky. i don't think you can normally see it at night because it is caused by the sun heating the layer of air just above the ground, which obviously doesn't happen at night. but one night, i saw it and was like, holy crap, i can read the wind now! but a few min later i realized i'd just been shooting a lot and was seeing heat off my barrel (I always run suppressor covers too). as it got worse, it made it difficult for me to see the target at all, and obviously wasn't helping me actually read wind.
with an AR, you prob run a quad rail with a picatinny at 12 oclock which prob does a pretty good job of shielding your line of sight from the heat rising from the barrel
i like running the $5 chalk ground marking paint, because when a bullet hits it, it knocks off a huge area instead of a pinprick so it's easier to see in the daytime. but at night, it makes the targets almost impossible to see.