What NV/IR/Thermal unit is movable from one weapon to another?

**ABNAK** · 12-19-23, 17:47

Not needing to be zeroed, just a unit that you can use a red dot or magnified scope with (like mount in front of or behind) and move it from gun to gun. Is there such a unicorn? Prefer IR or thermal > NV.

**Defaultmp3** · 12-20-23, 07:48

Anything that goes in front of the optic is generally referred to as a clip-on, there are a large number of such devices out there, though some of them will require some level of collimation and/or adjustment between rifles. There are some limited options for putting night vision behind an RDS/HWS; thermals do not work, due to the fact that they do not work through glass, nor would you be able to see the reticle.

The bigger question is, what are you even trying to do? There's a lot of subtleties and nuances involved.

**ABNAK** · 12-20-23, 08:48

Originally Posted by Defaultmp3

Anything that goes in front of the optic is generally referred to as a clip-on, there are a large number of such devices out there, though some of them will require some level of collimation and/or adjustment between rifles. There are some limited options for putting night vision behind an RDS/HWS; thermals do not work, due to the fact that they do not work through glass (forgot about that aspect), nor would you be able to see the reticle.

The bigger question is, what are you even trying to do? There's a lot of subtleties and nuances involved.

Don't have any "see in the dark" devices. Want one that mounts on a weapon, not a hand-held monocular or such. Am willing to spend a *medium* amount (like NOT the $9-10K ones, maybe a third of that at most). Want to be able to mount it on whatever long gun I wish, so sounds like the "clip-on" version would be optimal.

**Defaultmp3** · 12-20-23, 09:37

Originally Posted by ABNAK

Don't have any "see in the dark" devices. Want one that mounts on a weapon, not a hand-held monocular or such. Am willing to spend a *medium* amount (like NOT the $9-10K ones, maybe a third of that at most). Want to be able to mount it on whatever long gun I wish, so sounds like the "clip-on" version would be optimal.

Okay, but... what are you trying to do? Like, what use cases are you seeing? Why are you wanting to switch between weapons? Why do you want it on the weapon specifically? Etc.

You're not gonna find any worthwhile clip-ons at 3k USD, short of some lucky blowout sale (e.g., the Steiner C35s). The problem with clip-ons is that now collimation and/or adjustment profiles are needed in order to use them across different rifles; especially for thermals, at the lower end of the budget the general consensus is that you're much better off just using a thermal scope.

Originally Posted by MegademiC

The rh25 would be good.

The RH25 would be well out of the stated budget, and would suck to switch between weapons, it would work well as a clip-on only if you're dedicating it to a single rifle, as it is my understanding that in clip-on mode, it does not have multiple profiles you can save.

**Failure2Stop** · 12-20-23, 16:07

Originally Posted by ABNAK

Don't have any "see in the dark" devices. Want one that mounts on a weapon, not a hand-held monocular or such. Am willing to spend a *medium* amount (like NOT the $9-10K ones, maybe a third of that at most). Want to be able to mount it on whatever long gun I wish, so sounds like the "clip-on" version would be optimal.

Not for that price range.
Best thing you could do even close to that would be a dedicated thermal scope, like a Pulsar or something similar.

**ABNAK** · 12-21-23, 09:11

What about the SIG Echo-3? It is a stand-alone (from what I've read) thermal reflex sight. I wonder if you can turn off the thermal portion and just use it as a reflex sight during the day?

**mack7.62** · 12-21-23, 09:41

You can use thermal during the day. Keep in mind that thermal you are looking at a screen not looking through a lens, generally cheaper thermal will have lower resolution and slower refresh rates.

You really need to define what your use is going to be, there are some pretty decent hunting scopes in your price range but just like any scope they have to be zeroed to the rifle. A decent clip on is going to be 2x + and swapping between rifles you have to deal with mount height and collimation.

Lots of youtube hunting vids like the one below, you can just do a search for thermal scopes.

**ABNAK** · 12-25-23, 08:45

So my buddy's son is home on leave for Christmas. He is a Marine Sergeant and his job specialty is working on optics, so he is well-versed in all things thermal/IR/NV. I specifically had him look up the SIG Echo-3 on his phone and he was able to explain, in layman's terms, why it might not be a good choice. The "refresh rate" it has wouldn't work in, for example, trying to clear a room in the dark. He said if you swung it from one side of the room to the other rather quickly (like any normal person would do in such a situation) that the screen would have a "delay".....if swinging right to left you might be to the 12 o'clock of the room but what you would be seeing is the 2 o'clock on the screen. He said that was an oversimplified explanation but I got the point.

For my uses he suggested a good NV optic with an IR "painter" light for those total-blackout situations, like a pitch-black room or thick summertime woods without a moon.

**Hank6046** · 12-20-23, 08:47

Originally Posted by ABNAK

Not needing to be zeroed, just a unit that you can use a red dot or magnified scope with (like mount in front of or behind) and move it from gun to gun. Is there such a unicorn? Prefer IR or thermal > NV.

I'm 90% sure you're looking for something like this.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...m=e_f83mkz_ull