Night vison scopes

[bronko220002]

Anybody have any experience with them? I'm looking to get one for my AR for occasional coyote/fox hunting.
I'd like to keep it under $400. I'm looking at Sightmark Wraith HD 2-16X right at that amount. Also the ATN.
I know you can go upwards of $5000 and more for one but I don't want to go crazy.

 

[Shorty]

Interested also, be a good thread Clem.

 

[bronko220002]

I dropped the hammer on the Sightmark 2-16 Wraith HD. It should work for the minimal use it will get going for coyotes and can still function as a day scope.
It should be ok, 10000 poachers can't be wrong..LOL

 

[Shorty]

Will look into this one. Ty for posting.

 

[Dwayne]

I have tried all three (Notice I said three).
Infra Scope
Thermo scope.
Infra with camera.

ATN scope runs 1k dollars.
Thermo scope runs 1k+ dollars.

the BIGGEST problem with BOTH of these scopes,
is night blindness. You are looking through a lens,
and your eyeball dilates to compensate for the intensity
of the light coming through the lens.

When you come off the scope, you are totally blind
in that one eye. It is (for me) a real pain in the rear.
Both of these scopes have their advantages. Both
have their disadvantages.

The IR scope works great for all kinds of situations,
but it is only REALLY good out to about 100 to 150
yards. Yes, you can go further with better IR light,
but past 100 to 150 yards is quite a shot for me.

The Thermo Scope is good to about the same
distance for a safe shot. You can actually go out
much further than 150 yards with Thermo, but then
the objects become so small that it is hard to aim.
You can identify objects that far with Thermo.

Thermo also is kinda funny on showing heat. Animals
with lots of fur do not show up as good. you see their
legs, head, and body parts without fur or less fur.
A Armadillo you can see easily for miles it seems like.
Coyote's will not show a full body at times, unless it is
a little closer than 150 yards.

The Third one....
The one I enjoy using.... It is about 1/5 to 1/10th the
price and cheaper, depending upon the night vision scope
you are looking at.

It attaches to your scope on your gun. There is no sighting
in, because it uses your scope on your gun. It is a IR scope
that uses a screen on the gun. The screen does not blind
you by making your eyes dilate. The screen is adjustable in
brightness. This setup is what i use most of all. the only
thing that you have to get use to, is aiming via a screen instead
of a scope or iron sight.

 

[earlwb]

Oops bad post. Sorry about that.

 

[earlwb]

Before the pandemic I went with getting a ATN infrared scope. It uses an infrared flashlight with an infrared sensitive camera and tiny display screen. It works day or night actually too. You don’t need the flashlight during the day of course. The new ones are UltraHD now. Anyway I used it to good effect for pig hunting. No problem seeing the pigs when it is pitch black outside at night. The only gotcha I can think of is your one eye looking in the scope loses its night vision for a while when you look away from the scope. It is kind of a weird almost disorienting kind of thing until you get used to it. Anyway I am quite satisfied with it. I have mine mounted on a AR in 450 Bushmaster caliber.

 

[birdog]

Check out the Night Calling sub forum at predatormasters.com for great info on night vision optics.
Predator Masters

 

[Felonious]

I have a FLIR scope, and it makes traditional night vision look like it was filmed on a potato. They are more expensive, but well worth it. I can see in pitch black, and anything alive will either glow white or orange (or some other colors depending on the settings)

The amount of money you spend on night vision generally directly correlates to the quality of the scope, in my opinion. FLIR is $$$, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Shorty]

Thank you for chiming in and also to the others that have spoken…What model would that be Felonious?

 

[gle3105]

I totally disagree with post #5 on distances.
User must had been using low end NV optics. I don’t know
For my own use i have a Flir thermal monocular and a Flir thermal rifle scope. In addition I tried at a friend’s push I bought an ATN Digital NV. 5-20 Pro 4k.
In open rolling field the monocular easily spotted whitetails at 700 yds plus.
Putting the Flir scope on them I could easily pulled the trigger.
The thermals show the the outline of the object but no detail.
Same time I put the ATN on them at 20x optical , Black + White NV. Wholly molly I could see details.
Using thermal monocular this past whitetail season I was picking up squirrels poking out of tree holes. 100 plus yards. Easily.
The nighttime yotes I’ve knocked off (17) have been from 60 to 240 yds
I use the monocular to scan first , then throw the ATN on em.
The thermal will pick them up where one cannot see even with glass or NV.
Now I’m not a fan of ATN optics but the deal was there and has worked fine for me.
If I had to buy thermals again I’d go with Pulsar.

 

[LHR]

I have a thermal monocular but need a riflescope to complete my setup. I'm interested in how that Wraith works for you , I have been considering that one as well.
This was a few weeks ago just out testing the monocular. Coyote starts at about 75 yards and in to about 35 or so at the end of clip.

View attachment wind farm dog.MP4

 

[gle3105]

LHR, My nightime yote setup is to scan with the thermal monocular. Less movement than swing a rifle mounted NV type optic.
Then if detected I prefer the IR NV over the thermal.
I’ve been pleased with ATN 4kPro. I’d suggest if buying an NV IR type rifle scope to purchase the highest optical power. Because when switching to digital zoom less pixelation on higher power. The 5-20 I have goes to 50x digital zoom. Which clarity maxes out about 32X.
Another thought; off of your question, is the thermal monocular is a game changer during daylight.

 

[ElDiablo]

My system as well - scan with thermal monocular and shoot with NV scope/IR illuminator on the rifle.

 

[Decay]

I put an ATN Thor 4 , 2 x 8, on my Remington R-25 in. 243 Winchester. I scan with a Thor OTS-XLT monocular. Great combination so far on a 150 lb sow pig. DRT at 100 yds. Two guys, one with monocular, scanning, and the other with the rifle at ready may be an effective setup.

A friend bought the Thor 4 , 4 x 14, and it costs more, but might be better.

Another buddy has a FLIR, but that's outta sight moneywise for me.

 

[Shorty]

Sounds like you gentlemen know your stuff. I do not know squat about anything night vision. Can anyone explain the basics about what you guys are seeing and explain it in more detail for us old novices? Ty

 

[earlwb]

Sounds like you gentlemen know your stuff. I do not know squat about anything night vision. Can anyone explain the basics about what you guys are seeing and explain it in more detail for us old novices? Ty

It is to be able to see the animals at night so you can shoot them. It can be pitch black out there. You cannot see you hand in front of you. But when you look through the night vision scope it is like almost clear as day.

The scopes use a camera like sensor. You are not looking directly at the view through the scope. Instead you are looking at a video screen like a tiny TV. You have crosshairs to aim with as well as adjustments just like on a regular optical scope. You can increase or decrease magnification as needed. There is an option for daylight versus night with them too. Plus you can have an option to record what you see through them too. Some come with a local WiFi option for your smartphone too.

There are two basic types of night vision scopes infrared with a IR flashlight or spot light and then the thermal imaging scopes. The Infrared system uses a IR light to illuminate the area and the IR light is reflected back to the camera in the scope just like you see with a flashlight at night. The thermal imaging system looks at the heat given off by objects and converts that heat data into an image based on how hot the thing is as compared to the ambient background. The thermal systems don’t show the ambient background very well though. Plus it msy be a problem to figure out what the animal actually is in some cases with a thermal imaging system. Which is why some guys use a thermal system to spot something hot out there and then they switch to a IR scope to see what they are thinking about shooting. But it depends on the scope system you use too.

The best thing if possible is to try them both out to see which one you like. The Ir system uses a IR flashlight versus the thermal system that detects heat differences. From a military point of view the thermal system doesn’t have a IR light that can be seen at night as a dull red weak glow thus giving away the position of the enemy. Of course for us civilian hunters that is not important.

 

[Shorty]

Thank you Earlwb for the excellent description of both night vision optics and how each work. That is what i needed and hopefully others learned if needed also.

 

[Decay]

There are dozens of you tube videos that show everything you want to know or see about the scopes and hunting with them. The manufacturers websites, at least ATN's website, is good. There are night vision forums too.

 

[Felonious]

Thank you for chiming in and also to the others that have spoken…What model would that be Felonious?

I have the Flir TKx. It's not a rifle scope because I'm not balling like that, but it's pretty useful nonetheless.