D-740 & D-760 NV Rifle Scope Review from some Ranchers with Kill Pics!

Victor_TNVC

New member
Over at another forum we get a tremendous amount of feedback about our gear from some high end hunters with great kill shots. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=2&f=209&t=150589 Some ask how and if the gear will last a long time. Gen 3 tubes average 10,000hrs and Gen 2 SHP 5000hrs. Below, you can see some of our most popular night vision scopes.

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Recently, I received an email and post on a progress report from a rancher who pruchased a D-740 4x NV scope. Here is his feedback.

A couple of years ago (Jan 2006) I purchased a D-740 Gen III (along with a few other items) from Victor with the intent of using it to help control things like hogs, dogs, coyotes, and other night dwelling undesirables. After more than 2 years of using the scope in the field I can attest to its durability and effectiveness.

I have mounted the scope on my AR for night varmints…on my M1A for the larger night critters…on my bolt action mdl 700 for when accuracy was tops…and it’s worked fantastic on all 3 platforms.

I’ve used it for hunting sometime during every month of the year. It’s been in the rain, the heat of summer, the wet cold of a Texas winter, and twice in snow storms. It’s not exactly coddled either…it’s come in contact with trees while I moved around in the woods, it’s traveled on the tractor across bumpy fields, in a pickup truck, and often by horseback (and not always at a walk). All of those bring with them a different type of shock, and the scope has never skipped a beat…never been in for service and never lost zero. I think a couple times it’s been in its pelican case, but the rest of the time it’s either been on a weapon or in my hand being used as a spotting scope.

The clarity at night is excellent, so good I rarely use “Da Torch” for anything more than spotting eye shine in the field or as a pointer.

I would recommend this scope to any other ranchers out there. The initial cost may seem steep, but in my case the scope paid for itself by the end of the 2nd year. I’ve had less loss of calves at night (wild dogs use to be a real problem for me, by far accounting for more loss than coyotes and second only to hogs). At $400 / calf and a year to replace losses, any reduction in loss puts dollars back in my pocket fast!

And the amount of damage to my hay fields from hogs has dropped dramatically…and at $100 / acre to get it re-sprigged, $20 / Acre in prep work, and lost forage for the cattle it adds up fast!

Now that all the dollar justification is taken care of, let’s not overlook the fun factor of being able to see better at night than just about any critter out there. Just being able to watch things like a raccoon family out for a stroll, the meanderings of an armadillo out looking for a snack, or the passage of deer through the fields while you wait for your intended targets to arrive is time well spent and very entertaining.

Now, if it would only get HBO and fetch me a beer…[;)]
 
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Here's another shoot report with a high varmint extermination! Thanks Mike!

Quote:

Victor,

Put the new D-760 through a few paces down in south Texas this weekend. Ended up around 12 coons and 2 hogs, passed on a fox but it was great to watch him about 25 yards out completely unaware he was in my crosshairs. Unit worked very well and the variable torch saved the night, as there was no moon to help. Ended up with a less than perfect zero but I was in a hurry to start hunting, or the tally would have been higher.

 
Here is a follow up from Jarret with an awesome shooting
Quote:
Originally Posted By M40A5:
I finally got a chance to test the D-760 at my hunting lease in South Texas last weekend. I was able to hunt part of Thursday night and about 4 hours on Friday night before the rain started and never stopped. The entire trip was in near black out conditions with low clouds and drizzle. The Torch was invaluable in these conditions since it was extremely dark and most of the hunting is down narrow senderos in thick brush and trees. As I said in the previous post, I bought this system to tip the balance on hogs and coyote hunting at night. Instead of tipping the balance I think the scale fell off the table. This system is far more effective than I anticipated at dispatching hogs and coyotes. Before anyone gets upset at the carnage, please realize this area of South Texas is infested with wild hogs and the ranch owner would prefer we kill every last one. In the last two years three of us have taken 211 hogs with rifles and they are thicker this year than the first. It is a never ending battle, however night vision will definitely help. It is perfectly legal to hunt hogs at night with suppressors and bait(corn) in Texas. Deer hunting at night or with a suppressor is illegal in Texas.

I started hunting at one of our deer blinds on Thursday about 1 hour before dark. Around dark several bucks came in and started eating corn. Below are a couple of pictures of a young 10pt and 8pt. About 30 minutes after dark a group of small hogs came running in and chased the deer way. I tried to take a few pictures, but they immediately winded me and ran into the brush. I quickly put the camera down and started scanning the brush with the Torch. The Torch immediately revealed their eyes 130 yards away down a sendero behind the feeder. A couple of seconds later a 60lb sow(great eating) was lying on the ground with a large portion of her head missing. I went back to camp to clean the hog and decided to quickly coyote hunt from the bed of my truck overlooking a 100 acre pasture next to our camp house. Storms were brewing in the north and a front was about to hit so time was very limited. Honestly I did not think I had a chance in [beeep] of doing any good with the lightening and erratic weather. Within 10 minutes of firing up the electronic caller(squealing piglet call), I saw a pair of eyes about 300 yards away running across the pasture toward my pickup. I stopped the caller and watched the yote with the Torch until she cleared the high grass for an easy shot at 80 yards. One shot to the neck and it was over. 15 minutes later the wind shifted and it started to rain.

Friday morning at dawn I hunted at a deer blind that is frequented by hogs. Shortly after the feeder went off two large boars came strolling in for a free meal. It took a while to get both lined up, but they finally crossed. A 180gr Barnes TSX handload fired from a Long Shot Rifles M40A1 300WinMag took care of business. The TSX went through the head of one boar and the chest of the 2nd without stopping. Penetration is not a problem with this bullet.

Friday night is where it got very interesting. About 2 hours before sunset I started hunting a 15’ elevated box blind overlooking a power line right of way with a lot of visibility. I hunted until dark with little activity. At dusk a few deer started to move around and I was able to take pictures of one small 8pt at about 200 yards. About 15 minutes after civil twilight the electronic caller started working its magic. A single coyote ran across the power line right of way and never stopped. A couple of minutes later a pack of 5 fawn munchers came running straight to the caller. I was able to kill the largest male, however the remaining four bolted before a follow-up shot. It took another hour and I finally called in a small yote which ate lead instead of pork. After shooting 2 yotes I decided to walk around in the brush hunting hogs. I had “road corned” several senderos earlier that day in this area. As animals cross the senderos they hit the corn and start eating. It works really well in holding animals in the open road. I planned a route down the senderos with the wind at my face for most of the walk. Within 5 minutes of walking I encountered 2 bucks eating corn. I was able to sneak up within 20 yards of them eating with a PVS-14. At that distance I started to get nervous that if they spooked they might run directly into me. I stomped my foot once to let them know where I was at and they ran. A couple of minutes later the unmistakable sound of hogs fighting and corn being crunched was easily heard. I found a large pack of hogs eating corn in a small clearing. I took a prone position and watched for a couple of minutes finding the largest boar in the group. Once he cleared I took an ear shot and it was over. I could have easily taken several follow-up shots on other running hogs, but did not want to track aggravated wounded hogs at night in the brush. The boar I dropped ended up weighing 252 lbs and was a beast. After taking a few pictures I walked another sendero and saw a lone boar feeding at 340 yards. I started a stalk and closed the gap to just over 120 yards before taking a shot and dropping him. I walked around for another hour and watched a lot of raccoons, skunks, and several more packs of small hogs. All of the remaining hogs were “eater hogs” and I did not want clean hogs that night. We normally clean boars under 80lbs or until they develop the stink. All sows are great to eat at any size. I packed the two boars into the jeep and made it back to the house shortly after midnight. The rest of the weekend was rained out. In three hunts the total was 5 hogs weighing 832 lbs and 3 yotes.

Several things I learned.

I will be calling Vic to buy another Torch. The Torch works extremely well at finding critter eyes. I’ll be mounting the 2nd Torch to my PVS-14 and use it for scanning. It is also a necessity in near black out conditions that I had this weekend.

After walking around while holding up the PVS-14 or D-760 I think I am going build a helmet mounted PVS-14 setup and a Torch mounted as pseudo headlamp. This would really help free up your hands and take the load off your shoulders from having to constantly raise the rifle up and down while scanning with the Torch.

You can use a laser range finder at night by following the laser in the D-760. It is sometimes challenging to find the dim dot, however it will provide an accurate range. If you are going to hunt an area before night, I recommend ranging objects and remembering the range while looking through the D-760. It is difficult to determine range with a NV scope due to the lack of depth perception.

Always wear your snake boots while walking around in South Texas at night. I was lucky and did not step on Mr. No-shoulders, however it is bound to happen when walking down corned roads with rodents everywhere.

Always verify your target and what is behind it before taking a shot at night. There are a lot of cattle and deer on this ranch and either one is a huge mistake to shoot at night.

Anyone with a suppressor knows it does not make shots “movie quiet” unless you use sub sonic ammo. 55gr sub sonic 223 is not a good idea for hunting 200+ lb boars for several reasons. A hypersonic 223 fired through a suppressor sounds like a 22LR crack. The crack follows the bullet as it goes down range. Sometimes this confuses the animals and they run toward you. Other times they scatter or just stand still. If you are lying prone on the ground be prepared for animals to come running at you. I almost made a self defense shot on a sow in the first pack as she came running toward me after knocking down the big boar. She veered about 15 yards out as I stood up.

Next time I go NV hunting I’ll try to get NV pictures of yotes and hogs. Yotes are very challenging due to their constant movement and my urge to pull the trigger. Hogs will be easy if I can find a group while sitting in a blind with a favorable wind direction. Trying to take pictures while stalking is nearly impossible due to the camera alignment and scope steadiness needed to get good pictures.

I had read several articles about NV effectiveness on predators at night. I was not completely convinced, however decided to jump in. I can personally vouch that NV gear is by far the most deadly weapon I have seen for taking coyotes. Both hogs and coyotes are primarily nocturnal and you can get away with a lot more movement at night as long as the wind is in your favor. I saw more coyotes using NV gear this trip than five times as many hours of day calling in the same areas. I am now going to get serious about predator calling at night. I’ll post updates as the pasture poodles get thinned out this winter.


Gig’Em
Jarret

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Sweeeet! Didn't know that it was legal to use a suppressor to hunt with. Most states don't allow it. I love Texas.
One day I may have to move back there.
 
That is one nice shooting set up. I want a Gen 3 vision, and I have just about enough saved for my supressor. What kind is that one, and are you happy with it? I have head that YHM makes some really good ones.
 
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