It's been LONG time since I've posted on here, but figured I would give my input on a new product many have asked about. I purchased and ND3x50 a few weeks ago from midwayusa.com. Total price with shipping was $338 after a coupon for $30 off. The laser was in a very nice hard case with several adaptors to fit different set-ups. The laser itself looks pretty sturdy and well built. There is an o-ring which protects the batteries from moisture. Since I know lights tend to go through CR123 batteries really quickly, getting expensive very quickly, I decided to buy some rechargeables. Four batteries plus the wall/car charger ran $30, good long term investment.
I mounted the laser onto a nikon monarch 5-20x40 using the 1" scope mount with elevation/windage adjustment. Right away I noticed the elevation/windage mount was going to be the weak link of the setup. By no means is this mount rock solid, it holds it's zero fairly well but if you put too much pressure on the light the zero will change.
Now to the range/clarity part. Placing the laser on it's widest setting it was visible maybe 50 yrds out. I moved a target out to 100 yrds, narrowed the laser just a bit and could see the target no problem. Next tried 200yrds, narrowed the beam further target was still very visible with laser filling more than just the reticle on the scope. Last was a tree line 300yrds away, cranked the laser down just a bit more and was able to have target acquisition without any issues. I had no need to reduce the laser to it's smallest settings during testing for these ranges. I ran the scope from 5x all the way up to 20x without any problems in visibility. The cross hairs were easily visible without any internal illumination from an illuminated reticle.
Performance on game. First run out with the laser saw a boar hog, didn't seem to mind the light at all. Second trip out spotted 3 javelins about 50yrds out and decided to try the laser on different settings to judge response. I didn't have any response from the animal until the laser was moved to the narrower settings. At this point the javis would spook, but come right back out. The setting that allowed me to see 200-300yrds had no effect what so ever on the javis (didn't shoot any it's illegal to shoot game animals at night). Last animal was a coon I called in, reached about 10yrds from us before we saw it had the light on the whole time. The light didn't seem to bother the coon what so ever. When the animals had the light on them their eyes glowed an eery green, which also allowed for easy target acquisition.
Biggest downside I see to the laser is it did not work around 40 degrees. I knew this beforehand, so it was no surprise and used the hand warmers as per the instructions. If cold is a problem for you purchase the subzero model plain and simple. Second downside was the windage and elevation mount which as stated before is not rock solid. Other than these two problems the laser is simply amazing. It gives the user the feeling of generation 3 night vision at a fraction of the price.
Hope the review helps those of you on the fence about purchasing the light. I've used red lights in the past on top of my scope and was less than please with their performance. This laser blows the others clean out of the water.
I mounted the laser onto a nikon monarch 5-20x40 using the 1" scope mount with elevation/windage adjustment. Right away I noticed the elevation/windage mount was going to be the weak link of the setup. By no means is this mount rock solid, it holds it's zero fairly well but if you put too much pressure on the light the zero will change.
Now to the range/clarity part. Placing the laser on it's widest setting it was visible maybe 50 yrds out. I moved a target out to 100 yrds, narrowed the laser just a bit and could see the target no problem. Next tried 200yrds, narrowed the beam further target was still very visible with laser filling more than just the reticle on the scope. Last was a tree line 300yrds away, cranked the laser down just a bit more and was able to have target acquisition without any issues. I had no need to reduce the laser to it's smallest settings during testing for these ranges. I ran the scope from 5x all the way up to 20x without any problems in visibility. The cross hairs were easily visible without any internal illumination from an illuminated reticle.
Performance on game. First run out with the laser saw a boar hog, didn't seem to mind the light at all. Second trip out spotted 3 javelins about 50yrds out and decided to try the laser on different settings to judge response. I didn't have any response from the animal until the laser was moved to the narrower settings. At this point the javis would spook, but come right back out. The setting that allowed me to see 200-300yrds had no effect what so ever on the javis (didn't shoot any it's illegal to shoot game animals at night). Last animal was a coon I called in, reached about 10yrds from us before we saw it had the light on the whole time. The light didn't seem to bother the coon what so ever. When the animals had the light on them their eyes glowed an eery green, which also allowed for easy target acquisition.
Biggest downside I see to the laser is it did not work around 40 degrees. I knew this beforehand, so it was no surprise and used the hand warmers as per the instructions. If cold is a problem for you purchase the subzero model plain and simple. Second downside was the windage and elevation mount which as stated before is not rock solid. Other than these two problems the laser is simply amazing. It gives the user the feeling of generation 3 night vision at a fraction of the price.
Hope the review helps those of you on the fence about purchasing the light. I've used red lights in the past on top of my scope and was less than please with their performance. This laser blows the others clean out of the water.
