Sightmark Photon XT 4.6x42S works great in the daytime, too


I have an order placed for one of the photon xts i was curious is there any way to mount an external ir to a bolt action rifle? And the second part of my question is what distance can i actually expect the on board ir to light up a target well enough for recognition and to shoot....
 
The Photon has a small rail on the right side for mounting an IR light. I'm using a T-20 on one and a Sniper Hawg with the 50LR head on another one. The onboard is probably good to 75 yds., but with the moon full like it is right now, you don't have to use any IR.

You will have to have 30mm rings for the scope and for most bolt action rifles you will probably need a picatinny rail to mount them on, EGW (Evolution Gun Works) makes rails to fit most rifles and they run about $40. There are cheaper and more expensive rails available.
 
Double Up thank you for the insight,im new to the night vision game buy a die hard yote hunter. so will the rail on the scope hold up to a unv20 external ir. I am really anxious to try the scope but still a bit apprehensive bout spending the money on the scope.
 
Yes, it will do fine. I have one that is set up for calling using the T-20 mounted on the side rail and it has done fine. Read all you can on here and other sites about the Photon. There is a learning curve and some of the tips will shorten it for you. I don't think you'll be sorry. In fact, I jus recently bought a second one so that I can have one set up for calling and one set up for my bait site. My hunting buddy couldn't stand the pressure and just bought one himself this week after seeing the results with mine.
 
Last edited:
Great I was thinking about an ar-15 so id have the rails up front to ount it to but since it will work without it I can save some money and maybe buy a second scope. If you don't mind my asking what range do you zero your scope at.
 
You will definitely want to punch out the center insert in the lens cover, but be sure to keep it to reinsert when sighting in or if you should want to use the scope during daytime hunting. At night the larger hole with the insert removed really sharpens the focus much better than just looking through the scope with the cover completely open, but you will need an eternal IR for that to give you the best picture as the onboard IR isn't enough. On full moons you can use the scope with the cover completely open and you won't need IR.
 
A note on mounting a T 20, the cheapest and very workable way I have found is a 1" QD Weaver style scope ring, but it has to be a high ring for the bezel of the light to clear the lens cover on the Photon XT 4.6.

Also, a ring with a smaller "T" shape QD feature works best, some levers on QD rings will rub on the scope. I had a spare set of both 1" and 30mm low Leupold QD rings and another brand of medium. The levers barely rubbed. The 1" didn't provide sufficient clearence for the bezel, the 30mm mounted at the end of the light on the tail piece allowed just sufficient clearance, but every time I zoomed the light's beam I unscrewed the tail piece. I finally ordered a cheap set of high 1" QD rings - so cheap I wouldn't trust them to hold zero on a scope, but they work fine on the light.

BTW, I use QD rings so I can remove the light from the scope, which is set up in a Burris PERP one piece mount, so I can store the scope in the original case, along with the light, spare batteries for both, etc. The light and spares fit nicely in a soft sunglasses case, which fits alongside the scope in it's case.

FWIW, I find the view through the scope much clearer with the T 20 than with the on board illuminator. My T 20 has only one power setting, but the zoom feature works well enough adjusting the amount of IR light. Zoomed out to full flood and the amount of IR light isn't overwhelming at close range, zoomed tight it is plenty sufficient well beyond 100yds. Perhaps the only drawback to a one power setting T 20 is that if you are on the ground in an area with some tall grass or brush you will get washout from too much light at close range. A lower power setting and more zoom would probably succeed in cutting down the washout while still providing sufficient light at the target.

Also FWIW, I was able to confirm zero the other day with the center piece out of the scope cover, I just used the knob to reduce screen brightness. Of course, after I was done I found the centerpiece with the pinhole...

JPK
 
wow you guys are the greatest great information, I was actually going to buy an ar to put the external ir on cause I was lead to believe it wouldn't mount up on my savage axis. You gentlemen have saved me a lot of money, my shots where I hunt are gonna be 200yds or less most of the time an occasional longer shot could possibly happen but not often.
 
Back
Top