Hunting with NV is a huge step ahead of spotting. Coyote eyes reflect heavily into NV equipment and are very visible if using better gear. We don't sell Gen1 kit because it is next to useless for hunters and professionals due to its poor light-gathering, limited range and distorted images. That said, Gen2 is a huge step forward. The thing to remember is that the more light your tube can gather and process, the better your image at distance. This is especially true with magnified optics. There are three types of NV optics:
Hands Free
- These units are designed to be head-mounted on a harness or helmet and have no magnification unless a separate magnifier is added. They come in the form of monoculars, binoculars, or goggles. Monoculars are the lightest and cover one eye. The aided eye sees a 40º FOV of night vision while the un-aided eye has about 100º FOV. This combined 140º FOV provides much better situational awareness. The current standard issue personal night vision device in the US Military is a monocular, the
AN/PVS-14 This Gen3 PINNACLE device is as good as it gets. Binoculars, obviously, cover both eyes and use two separate tubes. These are more expensive, but offer a serious advancement in depth perception because both eyes are seeing their own tube and the image combines like normal vision. These units are very useful for land navigation and driving vehicles. Goggles cover both eyes and use a single tube. They are heavier than monoculars and not as popular these days.
Scopes
Not much to describe here. Dedicated NV scopes will give you the best image under magnification because the light is passing through a limited number of lenses. But, you have to make sure you are using a good system. This past year, we have seen a huge jump in NV sales to hunters because of the growing popularity and the infestation of feral hogs tearing up land. We have also seen a ton of guys make the mistake of buying something cheap, finding out it is crap, and then coming to us to buy something good. NV scopes are not cheap. Unfortunately, you have to "pay to play." But, I guarantee you will not be disappointed buying a quality system. It will last you a long time and provide years of successful hunts. Some of our more popular sellers in this category are the D-740 and D-760 series. Check them out
here.
Clip-On Weapon Sights
Clip on sights are some of the best options available. But, they are also some of the most expensive. Clip-Ons are designed to attach to Picatinny rail in front of your day scope, instantly providing a NV image. This technology is very complicated to do right. It deals heavily with optical alignment. We sell Milspec units from OSTI. The AN/PVS-22 and AN/PVS-27 are very popular with warfigters for their versatility and durability. Add in the fact that you get less than 1/2 MOA repeatable deviation and you have a winner. The great thing about these units is that they allow you to keep your day scope setup; no need for a separate night rifle. You have to be careful with clip-ons, though. There are come shady manufacturers that make clip-ons, claiming they are as good as the US Milspec units, but in fact, they are shoddy, Russian manufacture units whose tubes shoot loose from recoil and send your POA/POI all over the place.
Thermal is also very popular with the hunting crowd. But it is expensive if you want to do it right. Thermal units' image quality depends on the type of detector/sensor being used. The more sensitive the detector, the better your image will be (for all intents and purposes). This also affects the range. A lot of coyote hunts take place between 100-200 yards. At these ranges, you want something at least as powerful as the
Renegade 320. It has a 320x240 resolution. Anything lower than that will not give you the detail you want at distance.
Overall, NV provides a huge advantage in coyote hunting. We all know that coyotes spook quickly and easily. NV greatly aids in your stealth.
