Thermal/Night Vision Optics

[HB of CJ]

We still have and use the older YUKON Monocular NVMT 3x nite vision rifle scope. At least 8 years old. Still works. Good enough for garden pests inside 25 yards. Grainy. Much cheaper than the spendy thermal units.

Right now it rests on the Ruger 10-22 folder suppressed short barrel rifle. Green Mountain 8" SS HB 1x9 Bentz chamber. EliteIron Echo 6" can. The usual inside stuff. All Oregon State, US Code Laws And NFA Rules Apply.

Edit Note: If is fun and impossible to get the paragraph lengths to match up exactly even. Also our browser running slow today.

 

[slimmer13]

I just squint.

 

[TapRackNGo]

Is there enough differentiation between gen 2 and 3 NV to justify cost? I Def. think that there is for 1 to 2 but hesitant jumping one more. (Never used a gen 3)
I really like this idea.

Gen 2 has a tube life of roughly 2500 hrs. Gen 3 has a tube life of roughly 10,000 hrs. Plus, gen 3 has better clarity. So yes, Gen 3 is worth the price. Gen 3 hasn't really changed in price the past 10 years or so. It's not becoming cheaper, but it's definitely a good thing to train with. You can mount a monocular to a rifle, behind a NV compatible red dot, in a pinch behind an ACOG. Really, I think it's best used with a helmet, weapon mounted IR laser. You can use a NV scope but then you can't really walk around with it freely.

Thermal is great for scanning, but you can't use it in conjunction with a laser. Unless you mount it directly to the weapon, in a scope configuration, its a device to scan heat signatures with. And thermal does a great job of finding heat sources. NV has it's disadvantages to, if you are on a treeline wearing blue, green, tan and don't move you might be hard to spot. You can use an IR light or laser to help with this, but at times it can still be difficult to spot targets that aren't moving.

If you ever train with NV in a class or with friends, Gen 3 NV means you may not need IR illumination on a moonless night, while someone else might using Gen 2 or older. You can see that IR light from a really long ways away.

 

[Bushman]

Thermal isn't the beast people think it is. FLIR has a handheld unit or 10, most if not all of which only pick up a heat signature in the open. Even a person in some light brush 5 yards from you is invisible to FLIR. Night vision is the way to go. But what's better, helmet mounted or rifle mounted? One would think you need to be able to shoot at what you are threatened by, so rifle mounted. Plus if you are following the three eye principle, your weapon should be oriented to where you are looking anyways, so why not a rifle mounted?

Yeah, you don't look bad arse like Delta's, but practicality is more important IMO. Plus I'm not tax payer funded. Although I can afford top tier NV, it's just not practical. Just a bestguarder monocular with a helmet mount and rifle mount does double duty. At least in theory, if I can find the mounts and helmet for it...

 

[P7M13]

Leupold thermal tracker. Saw it at Sportsmans for $699. Can find for less.
LTO-Tracker Thermal | Leupold

Use this as a helmet mounted alternate with zeroed, weapon mounted IR laser to paint the target.

 

[parallax]

Be careful running night vision in conjunction with a laser. You might end up putting a blemish on you auto gate grid inside your night vision reticle due to the intensity of the laser light dot
Don't ask me how I know this

 

[The Heretic]

There are two things I want that I cannot bring myself to spend the $$$ on - yet - even though I can afford them; suppressors and NVD/thermal.

When I do get something in the NVD/thermal arena, it will probably be a FLIR thermal weapon sight. I am going to wait as long as possible because unless we go totally SHTF tomorrow, I really don't need it. When I retire, if I am still able, I want to go hog hunting and then I would probably get something. But waiting means they will only get better and less expensive - so I wait.