Night Vision??

S

soup

Active member
Fellows,
I know thermal seems to be the way to go, it has lots of advantages over night vision.
But I'd like to know if anyone uses night vision and are you successful?
I've got a Pulsar nv on my .243 and I'm going to use it this year-before I see if I should spend 5000 or more on a thermal. If I don't get any shots it seems thermal wouldn't make much difference, would it?
I'd appreciate any feedback-yes, I'm new to this game and trying to learn at 75 years old.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Semper Fidelis
Soup

"Down South 68-69"
 
I use night vision and there are only a few instances that I can say without a doubt that if I had a thermal I could have made a kill that I couldn't make with my NV.

I do use a thermal scanner and that would be my biggest suggestion to you. It doesn't take a $3,000 scanner to be successful. You just need a scanner to show you that "something" is out there. You can then find it in your NV to see what's going on. If you want to spend the money go ahead and buy a 640 or 384 scanner. If not, a 256 is fine to let you know that something is coming in.


**Edit***

I will say that if you do a lot of woods hunting then a thermal will be far superior. If open areas, you aren't handicapped with a good NV and thermal scanner.
 
Hey Bill, Yes. You can absolutely use NV and be successful. The suggestion of a thermal scanner for initial detection is a huge advantage. Once you know something is out there you get in your NV and try to find it and kill it!

A couple times I have still run my NV when I took someone out that used my thermal setup. I let them use the thermal just because it’s a bit simpler in my opinion. No focusing IR beams or intensity levels etc. I’m familiar with using it so it isn’t a big deal. When a new guy is under the pressure of a figuring it out when a coyote shows up it can get a little nuts.
 
NV is essentially like your cellphone camera, many more sensor pixels so better resolution day or nite. After trying a green hog lite for armadillos, I went to IR vs NV. Decent IR for 2K$. I don't hunt during day so NV doesn't add anything for me. Yea I got several yrs on you and limited hunting area, maybe one decent shot a nite. Personally, really good commercial NV should be in the 800$ range. Too many bells and whistles increase (selling) cost. As normal, housing is half the cost. From previous comments by actual users, what is real ID/Kill range would be the deciding factor for me.
 
I don’t have night vision and I might be off in my comparison, but down here with all our brush I can look with my naked eye during daylight and not see anything, yet take the thermal and pick out deer. I can then take my optics around my neck and scan and find them. I’m guessing night vision would be about the same. We’ve spotted coyotes about 300+ yards out at night with thermals coming in. That’s not saying we could get a shot and kept them in view the entire time, but we knew they were coming and was ready for them when they got in whatever clearing we’d set up in.
I’d guess with no brush and open areas NV would work, but after running a thermal I don’t think I could ever go to it unless laws passed and that was the only thing allowed.
 
Open terrain is probably the most important factor that I have found. Any obstruction between you and target can make it useless. This includes snow, rain and fog. The IR reflects back into the optic rendering it useless.

I’ve had coyotes at 50 yards in plain view of my thermal scanner but couldn’t see anything through my NV optic because it was snowing.

When you can see your target, identification is easier with NV as opposed to thermal. A coyote of any color phase looks the same through a thermal optic. With NV, if say you have an all black coyote in a pair, you’re gonna shoot the black one!
 
soup said:
Fellows,
I know thermal seems to be the way to go, it has lots of advantages over night vision.
But I'd like to know if anyone uses night vision and are you successful?
I've got a Pulsar nv on my .243 and I'm going to use it this year-before I see if I should spend 5000 or more on a thermal. If I don't get any shots it seems thermal wouldn't make much difference, would it?
I'd appreciate any feedback-yes, I'm new to this game and trying to learn at 75 years old.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Semper Fidelis
Soup

"Down South 68-69"
Click to expand...
I started off with a pulsar NV I was very successful with it. I really enjoyed the shinning eyes.
 
Bill, Just take it out and look at the very abundant whitetail in different atmospheric conditions and compare side by side with your Phenom. I have only looked through 1 NV and it was in the open and was neat BUT many on here say that as Bob stated about snow, rain, fog, etc. they are also affected by the IR reflection off of vegetation, tree trunks, etc. if in the woods.
Said test run might answer your question. Mike
 
The issues I have with NV in the winter are snow/blowing snow in the air will obscure the view of the animal and shooting in cold weather will cause obscured view making fast follow up shots difficult. My nv experience is with Sightmark wraith units. And if you aren't getting within shooting distance of coyotes, neither unit will help you kill coyote. I have sat in a few haylofts looking/calling groves of trees, nv is difficult to see into/thru brush and branches/tall grass because of the reflection of the ir emitter reflecting off everything between the target and the scope. On very cold nights fence wire can be almost "invisible" with thermal.
 
I hunted with a atn xsight 4k pro 5-20 and a pulsar thermal scanner for my first few years of coyote hunting at night and killed a pile of dogs each year but a good IR light is a absolute must (sniper hog light coyote cannon) how ever there was certain instances like fog, falling/blowing snow, brush, tall weeds, tree branches and any terrain with hills that all will still block/soak up your IR beam and all you can do is watch through your thermal scanner... I bought a thermal scope after 3 yrs of night vision an after the initial thoughts of spending thousands on a thermal scope I now wouldn't go back to night vision for nothing, i look at it's like fishing you don't need garmin live scope but it sure does make it alot nicer to see or find fish
 
NV is more than capable of killing coyotes at night. What put me over the edge is when I was scanning with thermal and shooting with NV. I had a hunt in poor conditions where I could see a coyote coming to the call with my thermal scanner, but when I'd switch over to the NV scope on the rifle, I couldn't see anything. I'm not hunting what I'd consider a target rich environment where I call in a coyote every night I go, so not getting an opportunity to shoot that one was it for me.

I'd rather hunt with NV then not hunt at all, but thermal is king.
 
I will also say this...

This year alone thermal has come a LONG way in ways of price/performance. You mentioned $5,000. Two of the hottest thermals on the market right now are under $4,000. Whenever the companies start coming out with the 2025 models those two should be even cheaper.
 
Bill, I would say take Mike’s (jmeddy) advice and take your scanner and your NV out somewhere and locate some deer (or racoons, skunks, possums or anything else with a heat signature) and see exactly what we’re all trying to explain to you. You have both a thermal scanner and a NV optic. You are going to see for yourself exactly what we’re all saying.

If you want a simple way out. Fill a gallon milk jug with hot water and set it out in the open somewhere at night and look at it with scanner and NV. Then take milk jug and set it beyond some slight obstructions. Brush, tall grass, trees, a picket fence or whatever. Then look again. Chances are good that you’re going to see “something” with thermal and probably not much with NV because it’s going to wash out.
 
OK, got to reach back the grey cells. Put near (NV equal) and IR scanners (cooled Military stuff) on an A26 to fly over Lawton in dayllight, looking for tanks under the tree canopy. NV, trees blanked the tanks, IR could sometimes see them. Radar missed them completely.
 
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