The Night Vision/Thermal Thread

[Moose242]

Let this thread be about all things night and thermal.

So it is impossible to deny that night vision is not badass as fuck. I mean it lets you see shit that you shouldn't be able to see when it is dark as fuck without having a fire or some sort of light, something that mankind has been trying to do since like, forever.

That being said I know we have a few NVD people on here and hopefully they come on in here and answer some questions and take us to school. I guess I have a few initial questions:

1. What is the minimum you would spend on an NVD?
2. Is gen three worth the money for a hunting application?
3. What is the best deal out there for a weapon mountable gen two or three?
4. Where can I find a good IR illuminator for when the moon is being a bitch?
5. Could I use a PVS-7 to hunt? Seems like it would be difficult to aim a gun with a centered monocular.
6. Thermal weapons sights cost $6,000 and up, but is it worth it in lieu of an NVD?

Anyway these are just some basic questions I have. I have a very old NVD from the 80's that is the size of a dustbuster and weighs as much as a gallon of milk so I would really like to upgrade to something smaller and lighter. Thanks!

[Chopped54]

When I picked up my SBR lower from Ident we were playing with their thermal. I was VERY impressed. If I had my own land or a lease close I would no doubt buy some kind of NV, and if it could be justified it would be thermal.

[brandon01rt]

I also would like to know the answers to 3 and 4.

[nightfly2000]

so it is impossible to deny that night vision is not badass as fuck.

this

[chevyhater01]

I make Thermal for a living IMO its worth the extra money compared to night vision I'd rather have an old SpecterIR scope than some NV with IR illuminator's.

[jakesford]

[David]

While I think it's cool, not something I'd ever spend money on. I feel like it would be like owning a computer. Something new and more expensive is out there the next week.

Plus I have zero interest in shooting at night time.

[Moose242]

While I think it's cool, not something I'd ever spend money on. I feel like it would be like owning a computer. Something new and more expensive is out there the next week.

Plus I have zero interest in shooting at night time.

Yeah this would be mostly for a hog hunting situation. I know you are not a big hunter but I have only ever had luck with killing hogs at night.

Sans night vision the only hogs I have ever shot have been by blindly hosing a pack of them down with some .45acp, but I would like to do the same while wearing some NVD so it isn't so blind anymore.

[slow06]

I've got a buddy with some NVG's. I thought they were fun around here, so we took them out hog hunting.

What I found out was you can see, but differentiating animals from ground cover was still tough. Note we were not using an illumination, but to hear him tell it they are high quality equipment.

I have never used thermal to compare, but to me thermal seems like the better deal. It takes the guess work out of it, animals are a different color than grass/trees.

[dee]

I've shot plenty of pigs at night without any nv optics a scope with good glass and half moon and no light is even needed. One thing that I've always wondered is getting night blinded upon firing on the first pig, unless a can is used then it is no worry.

[nightfly2000]

im not sure, but i think the only animals you could hunt at night were hogs....i have never thought about it but since you bring it up....thermal would be the way to go. we have thermal-imagers at work (Fire Department,FLIR technology type ) and we have handheld ones, it wouldn't much take much to rig it in front of a scope.

[BMCSean]

[QUOTE=DOHCTR;1024857]
1. What is the minimum you would spend on an NVD?
2. Is gen three worth the money for a hunting application?
3. What is the best deal out there for a weapon mountable gen two or three?
4. Where can I find a good IR illuminator for when the moon is being a bitch?
5. Could I use a PVS-7 to hunt? Seems like it would be difficult to aim a gun with a centered monocular.
6. Thermal weapons sights cost $6,000 and up, but is it worth it in lieu of an NVD?
[QUOTE]

1. Depends on if you can get a good deal. $4-5K probably.
2. Wait for following answers
3. No idea
4. I want to say I had a surefire that I liked, can't remember for sure though.
5. It will be a pain, more because of the lack of depth perception though. The main thing you will be able to see is the animals eyes, the body will still be hard to distinguish most of the time.
6. I would go with a thermal if it was me.

Depth perception with either will be the hardest thing to overcome. I have used many different NVD's extensively, I have not used thermals for hunting but I have used them for research and security purposes. When it comes down to it, I would rather just use a spotlight if I am hunting a pest or varmit.

[dee]

im not sure, but i think the only animals you could hunt at night were hogs....i have never thought about it but since you bring it up....thermal would be the way to go. we have thermal-imagers at work (Fire Department,FLIR technology type ) and we have handheld ones, it wouldn't much take much to rig it in front of a scope.

Hogs and other non game animals like coyotes, racoons and other varmints are legal to kill at night in Texas other states vary. In Oklahoma you can't hunt anything with an artificial light source or nv equipment but some of their hunting rules are very odd.

[phaux]

1. What is the minimum you would spend on an NVD?
2. Is gen three worth the money for a hunting application?
3. What is the best deal out there for a weapon mountable gen two or three?
4. Where can I find a good IR illuminator for when the moon is being a bitch?
5. Could I use a PVS-7 to hunt? Seems like it would be difficult to aim a gun with a centered monocular.
6. Thermal weapons sights cost $6,000 and up, but is it worth it in lieu of an NVD?

1. It depends on what you are wanting quality wise. A new PVS-14 is gunna run you around $3,600 on average. You can get a used or blem model for around $2k. People that tell you you can find good night vision for a thousand bucks are full of shit. See morons spout that off all the time on forums. If you can find me a source for $1k pvs-14's I'll buy them all day.
2. I think so but once again, depends on your budget. Another thing to keep in mind is there is a world of difference between Russian and American optics. The cheap stuff you get at the hunting stores is Russian junk simply rebranded and sold here in the states. A gen 2 pvs-4 will blow away anything Russian gen 2.
3. You could get decent used one for around $3k. It needs to be weapons grade and the most you'll be able to mount on to without fear of damage over a prolonged period of time is a .308
4. PEQ-2, The IR illimuninator on those is awesome. They also have filters for maglites, surefire, etc that convert them to IR lights, def a cheaper way to go.
5. Yes, helmet mount and IR laser. The only problem with PVS-7 is the depth perception thing. Because it's only one IIT for both eyes the ground is pretty flat and takes a few minutes to get used to. I personally love them. The added benefit of the 14's though is that the brain compensates slightly for depth perception with that other eye even though only one is using the night vision. You also have a night eye as whichever eye the NVG is on is blind as shit when it comes off. After a few hundred yards a weapons mounted NVG isn't really practical. There's a reason the military uses helmet mounted with IR lasers.
6. Cadillac thermal camera. Thermal is great and all but it's bulky and way expensive. Thermal is for finding game, NVG is for killing it.

[FunFordCobra]

I have a hell of a fun time with my little gen 1 night owl NV on my lease. Its good up to about 150 yards and you can see just about everything bigger than a squirrel. Cant go wrong for 130 bucks.