Night vision and rifle help

R

rickdavis81

New member
I'm new to night vision. Never held or looked thru any. Read a lot of reviews and watched a lot of videos though lol. It'll be mainly used for if there are any critters around the farm that shouldn't be or night time navigation just playing around. I just don't want to skimp and be disappointed. But I also don't want to drop 6k on something that I don't necessarily need. Looking at HTRN's packages. Will I notice a big difference between the Armasight Vampire vs the Nemesis? If Nemesis would you go 4x or 6x?
I've read a lot on the Spark. I like that I can walk with it on a head seat. And possibly use an ir laser on a pistol or mount it with a weapon mount. I've got a few suppressed .22's and 223's with eotechs and sparcs that would be nice to mount it to. But the Pulsar xd19 looks really nice. Not sure if I need both. The Spark seems handier. Which would you get? Both?
And the last question. I have a lot of rifles and ar's but would like to build a dedicated AR to mount the scope to. I'm stuck between 223 or 300 blackout. I've got several 223's and a 8" suppressed blackout. Either way it will be suppressed. Which would you choose for an all around rifle. I can't hunt with it. But say if the shtf would you prefer a 300 or 223 for a dedicated nv suppressed rifle for everything from critters to bigger things?
Well I've probably asked enough to stir the pot for today.
Thanks
 
I can't give much of an opinion in comparing the gen 1 vs gen 2 scopes but can tell you from experience that in calling coyotes the nemesis and hd or xd 19 are a good combo that get the job done. As far as power in the nemesis it's more based on how far you can shoot. If most of your shots will be under 150 yds or so there'd be nothing wrong with 4x and you'd have more field of view to find your target faster. If you want to be able to shoot farther or have a bigger target then 6x is the way to go. The xd19 vs spark I'd go with the xd19 or hd19 as there not much of a difference. Thermal is better in my oppinoin as its great at detection and easier to find anything breathing with than nightvision. Only downside is at a distance it's hard to tell what kind of animal it is for sure. That's what the nightvision scope is for because it's much better at identifying as it amplifies light while the thermal shows a heat signature. You'll want a ir light for the scope. As far as opinion on the gun I'd base it on how far your planning on shooting and how big the animal is. We use 6.8 and like them. Just my opinion so take it for what it's worth.
 
I had a Night Optics D760 and had to see for myself and bought a (thermal)Trijicon IR defense MK2 . Was so blown away with the MK2 I sold the D760 so I could by a pulsar thermal. Just my 2 cents but $5000 on a thermal is better than gen 3 NV for the same price. My experience with light gathering night vision is limited to just the D760 and it is now a 3 year old unit so there is probably a lot I don't know about this years night vision.
 
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i dont think you'd have any problem walking with one. Driving a four wheeler slow would probably be fine but a vehicle would be tough as it won't read thru glass
 
Originally Posted By: rickdavis81Can you navigate at night with the xd19 in a helmet mount?

Yes you can, but it's close to being blindfolded. I've stepped in a lot of holes that I couldn't see through thermal and that sucks. I continue to do it but am very careful. Mainly walking in fields or down lanes. Wouldn't attempt it in the woods. You have very limited depth perception with thermal.

Good luck and welcome to PM.
Steve.
 
NV excels at navigation and positive ID. Thermal excels at detection and quick target acquisition. I'll stick with my FLIR LS64 for detection, gen 3 Pinnacle PVS14 and gen 3 D740 auto gated manual gain until the thermal market matures.
 
Originally Posted By: SledgeOriginally Posted By: rickdavis81Can you navigate at night with the xd19 in a helmet mount?

Yes you can, but it's close to being blindfolded. I've stepped in a lot of holes that I couldn't see through thermal and that sucks. I continue to do it but am very careful. Mainly walking in fields or down lanes. Wouldn't attempt it in the woods. You have very limited depth perception with thermal.

Good luck and welcome to PM.
Steve.

I agree with Sledge on the depth perception but haven't had any issues, just have to be careful crossing culverts, ditches or navigating steep hills. 30 years at Kodak working in large dark rooms, in fact some buildings were completely dark I've learned to feel my way as I walk so to speak.
 
Personally I've been having good results with a 6x45 in the AR platform. It is just a 223 necked up to 243 and is an easy process to neck it up in one step. I'm shooting Nosler 55 ballistic tips at just under 3,300 fps. Here is a video of a running shot I made at a little over 250 yds. with it on Father's Day.




You can look at my YouTube channel-Dirty Dogs Done Dirt Cheap, and see several kills with the 6x45 and a Pulsar Apex XD50A mounted on it.

As to navigating with thermal, we use a golf cart and make out pretty well with the Pulsar HD19A. I wouldn't want to do much walking trying to look right under my feet with it as has already been stated, depth perception isn't too good, but looking out in front of us a few feet or yards and it works okay. We still wear our red led headlamps in case we really need them in a tight situation.
 
Have you thought about a Gen II plus or Gen III PVS-14 Monocular mounted on a helmet? Then all you would need to do is add an IR illuminator and a IR laser to the gun and you'll be set. This would be great for navigation and great for shooting critters around the farm. You could even see through a windshield with this set-up and cruise around the farm in total blackout. That's what I do. It's a riot!
 
Ended up ordering thru htrn. Went with the Pulsar xd19, armasight nemesis qs 6x 2+, armasight spark with goggle and weapon mount and a lasermax uni max ir laser. I should be all set I think. Thought about a pvs14 instead of the scope and spark but it seems like accuracy shooting with the laser and no magnification wouldn't be as good. Thanks for the help
 
Originally Posted By: NGI_TOMHave you thought about a Gen II plus or Gen III PVS-14 Monocular mounted on a helmet? Then all you would need to do is add an IR illuminator and a IR laser to the gun and you'll be set. This would be great for navigation and great for shooting critters around the farm. You could even see through a windshield with this set-up and cruise around the farm in total blackout. That's what I do. It's a riot!

I would have to agree^^^^^^^^^^^
 
Originally Posted By: rickdavis81Thought about a pvs14 instead of the scope and spark but it seems like accuracy shooting with the laser and no magnification wouldn't be as good. Thanks for the help

The PVS14 with a 3x magnifier worked pretty well for me before I went all thermal. It's a very versatile unit.

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I use thermal scopes and handhelds with my ar's. The thermals are great to find game but lack in the being able to see the terrain very well.

The Armasight Q14 thermal would be a great option. It is a handheld that can be mounted on a rifle. The Q14 can also be mounted on a helmet with a quick detach mount, to make it easy to transfer it to a rifle while hunting. The Q14 is actually smaller than a PVS14.
Either way, it is best to go with a 640 unit (will be a lot more clear than the 320). I have a 60 hz unit and a 30 hz unit and find that the 30 hz unit is lacking on running game like hogs.

I have rifles in 223, 6.8 spc and 300 Blackout (all are suppressed). Haven't had much success with the 223 on hogs (most run off when hit, except for spine shot). The 6.8 spc is my favorite hog cartridge, with the 90gr Gold Dot bullets it is devastating on hogs. The 300 black with 220 gr MK subsonic loads are great out to 75 yards, really quiet. I haven't tried the 125 gr yet because the 6.8 spc does so well.
 
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