Question about Infrared illuminators with riflescopes

Valv

New member
Just a curiosity, does an IR illuminator (flashlight) work with a standard rifle scope ?
If anybody has one and wants to try and post results, I will be thankful.

You can also try with a IR camera, or fishing camera, turn IR on then look with your scope.

I am trying to get a "cheap" setup for night hunting.
 
To answer your question, the IR illuminator will only work with night vision. It is the same type of light that your TV remote control uses to signal the TV, except way more concentrated. If you have a night vision device, then you will see what the illuminator reflects. Having a standard rifle scope will not work because you are still not able to see in the IR spectrum. Take you TV remote outside and point it at you tail lights on your car. They will not shine, but with a NVG it will reflect the light. Now if you have a cheaper night vision set up, like a Gen I or II, you will still see the eyes reflect the IR light, but won't have the detail of the animal that you would have in a Gen III device and that in my opinion is crucial to shooting an animal at night. You want to be sure of what you are hitting. You can see the IR light through a video camera that has the night shot, like the sony cameras, but the result is less than satisfactory. You'd be better served with a red light. It would be very combersome trying to scan an area with an IR illuminator and a sony camcorder, find the eyes of an animal, cause that is pretty much all you might see; then in the dark pick up a rifle and try to find the animal again which is more than likely running, and you will eventually have to turn on a spotlight to see to shoot him; all in an incounter that usually last 3 or 4 seconds.
 
That's what I thought from the begin, but I wanted to be sure.

What I had in mind is to use a NV handheld scope and a laser beam sight on gun (would be better a IR laser but too expensive), you spot the animal with the scope then aim laser to it while still looking with scope.
Range will be 100yds max.
 
2 things - 1st human eyes do not see IR light therefore you need an electronic viewer that does. 2nd several animals do see IR light so when you turn on you IR illuminator its just like turning on a regular light. I'm afraid there is no cheap way for night vision. You can tape a monocular NV scope in front of you rifle scope and use it that way, but i'm not sure what the recoil will do to the scope.
 
Quote:
2 things - 1st human eyes do not see IR light therefore you need an electronic viewer that does. 2nd several animals do see IR light so when you turn on you IR illuminator its just like turning on a regular light. I'm afraid there is no cheap way for night vision. You can tape a monocular NV scope in front of you rifle scope and use it that way, but i'm not sure what the recoil will do to the scope.



Humans can see certain wavelengths of IR light.......sometimes that's the problem we have with IR surveillance cameras, some of the cheaper IR lighting is within the red wavelength of the human eye. The better ones are at a higher wavelength and can't be seen......I have an IR laser that can be seen from the source, and another on our night vision scope that can't be seen but will illuminate a license plate 1 mile away......
 
I have only had one incident that I thought a fox may have seen my IR laser. I talked with several of the guys at ar15.com about animals seeing IR light or lasers and none have ever had any animal respond to the IR. In fact, one of the guys had some info from a study by a university, I think in either Utah or Idaho,concerning animals seeing IR light. Now they do see on the Ultraviolet end of the spectrum, very well. That is the reason you are suppose to try and use detergents that contain UV brightners. But IR is on the other end of the spectrum. The IR illuminator that I use is around 835nm and the laser may be a little higher than that. I know that I have used my NVG and IR illuminator and walked right up on deer, rabbits, skunks, and other critters. It is unreal how differently animals act in the night. As long as they can't wind you, they are no where near as jumpy. In my experence, other than the one occasion where a red fox seemed to look over at my IR laser, I have never had an animal pay the IR any attention. I have taken it out with a red laser and tried to play chase with several domestic cats and dogs; every single time it's the same thing. They chase the red laser and pay the IR laser no attention. I will try to find the info on the University study concerning this and post a link.
 
Back
Top