Digital night vision?


Yellowhammer, I haven't tried the digital Bushnell you mentioned, but I have a friend who has the Pulsar digital Recon 550 that he says is very good. Of course, it's a higher priced unit but it's still digital.

My experience with digital has been with the Photon XT rifle scope. It is not crap and actually is pretty good considering "digital." You are right that it's not high end Gen 3, but it doesn't have the price either. I had a Photon XT 4.6x that I tried for a while. It is very light sensitive and was a bit grainy and not as clear as I had hoped for but was very usable. I ended up selling it to DoubleUp who has really put it through it's paces and has taken several coyotes with it, and some fox and maybe a bobcat or two. My home-made outfit continues to rock for the intended purpose and is all I really need for bait site hunting and that's the reason I sold it. The Photon has some pretty good reviews from several Predator Masters members. Not sure how it might compare to the Bushnell monocular.

I have looked at the Equinox previously (ads & photos) and like you, would like to see some reviews from PM members.




 
Originally Posted By: Cooper WoodsI have the bushnell equinox and the field of view is terrible.

^ This. Too tight for scanning IMO, I returned mine and himmed and hawwed until I made the leap of faith and bought a pulsar thermal. If you look, all digitals have a super tight FOV, around 4 degrees. For the money I think your better off with a 1X gen1 like the armasight spark (although I havent looked through that unit) since the FOV is 25-30 degrees and more ideal for scanning.
 
I am still waiting for digital to hit its stride.Its certainly better then first gen,just hasn't offered anything worth buying IMO.
Pulsar is the exception,they are the front runners in the game.The X-Sight got me all excited..then the big let down..
I still have hope..someone will come out with something cost effective and worth buying.Until then I will hold off.
 

I have a Bushnell Equinox 4.5x40 w/built-in DVR. As others have said, the FOV is small which limits it usefulness. For predator hunting, it would work fine if you were hunting wide open terrain or fields and you could spot animals far off and then have ample time to transition to your night targeting sight. For the small fields and openings that I hunt in north central Texas, I much prefer a head-mounted scan light. For hogs though, I think it is quite useful. I can see far distances with it and locate them easily. I much prefer to scan using the equinox vs. turning on my Photon XT and scanning with the rifle. I can think times where I would like to see what's going on at night, but not want to point a rifle in that direction. For the money, it's a descent piece of equipment and I don't regret buying it.
 
Quote:For hogs though, I think it is quite useful. I can see far distances with it and locate them easily. I much prefer to scan using the equinox vs. turning on my Photon XT and scanning with the rifle. I can think times where I would like to see what's going on at night, but not want to point a rifle in that direction.

I am more interested in scanning a large pasture to see if hogs are in it, without having to walk into it and getting close enough to see them with my red light. It would save me some time.

Thermal would be perfect, but way above my budget.
 
Originally Posted By: Yellowhammer Quote:For hogs though, I think it is quite useful. I can see far distances with it and locate them easily. I much prefer to scan using the equinox vs. turning on my Photon XT and scanning with the rifle. I can think times where I would like to see what's going on at night, but not want to point a rifle in that direction.

I am more interested in scanning a large pasture to see if hogs are in it, without having to walk into it and getting close enough to see them with my red light. It would save me some time.

Thermal would be perfect, but way above my budget.

Then I think the Equinox would work well for you at an affordable cost. Also, where I hunt a lot of the hogs spook when hit with a red/green light. I don't think you live anywhere near me...if you were near Wichita Falls I would gladly let you give mine a try.
 
Originally Posted By: Powerstroke99 Then I think the Equinox would work well for you at an affordable cost.


^ I agree, for that application I think it would be good. Digital does provide a great image and the equinox was no exception.
 
Hey guys im seeing the feedback what kind of pricetag does the Bushnell Equinox carry. I am n the same position i have to scan with my photon its a little rough on batteries but doable.......
 

I paid a little over $200 for my 4.5x40 w/built in dvr. The price depends on magnification (3.0, 4.5, 6.0) and whether they have the recording capability. I think Yellowhammer linked to one in his initial post that was priced around $140ish.
 
I have owned the Photon. My buddy just bought the X sight. We are pretty good with lights to begin with but as always, can't leave well enough alone. I sold the photon and he's about done with the x sight. We called in his first one last weekend and he missed at 50yds trotting. He doesn't like the lag time in the image. For a fixed target above ground level it would really shine. There's alot of adjustments and we really don't have Tim to adjust most of the times. Most shots happen within 1-2 minutes from spotting. Both scopes have alot of potential, but honestly, for my type of calling,(200 and under) its very hard to beat the simplicity and effectiveness of a light. Fyi, we both have/ had the 5x and wish we had bought the lower 3x. May have been a big difference in image quality.
 
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I did the normal progression.....lights....digital....Gen3 .....thermal.

The cheapest piece of NV equipment I bought that was usable was a pair of Luna Optics binoculars with a built in emitter and a slot on top to mount one of their long range emitters. These sell for approx $500.

http://www.lunaoptics.com/pb5m.html
 
Originally Posted By: Gman757
I did the normal progression.....lights....digital....Gen3 .....thermal.

The cheapest piece of NV equipment I bought that was usable was a pair of Luna Optics binoculars with a built in emitter and a slot on top to mount one of their long range emitters. These sell for approx $500.

http://www.lunaoptics.com/pb5m.html



Did you ever happen to use these in wooded areas ?
 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOGOriginally Posted By: Gman757
I did the normal progression.....lights....digital....Gen3 .....thermal.

The cheapest piece of NV equipment I bought that was usable was a pair of Luna Optics binoculars with a built in emitter and a slot on top to mount one of their long range emitters. These sell for approx $500.

http://www.lunaoptics.com/pb5m.html



Did you ever happen to use these in wooded areas ?

I used them on some hog plots that were small opened up clearings in woods. The issue with NV in wooded areas is IR Feedback. How much foliage you are in and how close it is to your emitter will determine how much affect it has. The emitter on these binoculars is focusable which helps you narrow the beam down and not pick up so much peripheral ir light back into the unit.

There is a slot on top of the binoculars that is used to mount one of their long range emitters and they offer several choices. They actually have an impressive range when used with one of these.

http://www.lunaoptics.com/eir123.html

http://www.lunaoptics.com/elir12.html


 
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Gman757,

Thanks for the response. I hunt in a lot of wooded areas and pipelines, the problem you described is why I have been hesitant about NV of any kind.

I sometimes (calm night) call in the dark (no light under a full moon) and NV may or may not be to my advantage.
 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOGGman757,

Thanks for the response. I hunt in a lot of wooded areas and pipelines, the problem you described is why I have been hesitant about NV of any kind.

I sometimes (calm night) call in the dark (no light under a full moon) and NV may or may not be to my advantage.

I can tell you that what you don't see you don't know is there.....You just think you can see it because of the bright moonlight. I have been setup right before sundown and at that time when the sun is below the horizon you might be sitting on a field with high grass or with bordering trees and you think you can see what's there. You can't a lot of times......I fire up my thermal scanner and get a surprise more often than not. It's almost impossible to see dark hogs in the late afternoon shadows of a woodline or even deer in a field with small trees and bushes in low light.

Thermal is by far the best technology for scanning. If you can swing $2k for a Pulsar HD19 you will be blown away.


 
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I took a chance and bought one. It arrived yesterday and I got batteries for it today. I took it out a few minutes ago to the check the pasture for hogs. About as bright a moon tonight as you will ever get.

Unless I am doing something wrong, I am pretty disappointed in it. I can do just about as good with regular old binoculars.
 
Originally Posted By: YellowhammerI took a chance and bought one. It arrived yesterday and I got batteries for it today. I took it out a few minutes ago to the check the pasture for hogs. About as bright a moon tonight as you will ever get.

Unless I am doing something wrong, I am pretty disappointed in it. I can do just about as good with regular old binoculars.

Are you sure the IR is on? Did you focus the lense on the front? I used mine the last 2 nights with this full moon and it worked great.
 
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