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Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 17 Dec 2017 13:01
by LowKey
Ranch Dog wrote:It seems to me that the way to go is with digital imaging vs. thermal. This has become a very popular hog hunting scope: Sightmark Photon XT 4.6 x 42S Digital Night Vision Riflescope

The only reason I haven't bought a scope like this is that I don't want a single rifle dedicated to the purpose. I like shooting a hog with one rifle and then moving on to the next and it would not be practical to move it each time.
Ranch Dog, thanks for posting this. The Photon XT looks like a reasonable option.
Plenty of youtube reviews to get an idea of the practical range as well.

It looks like this is a Russian import.
Sightmark also recently came out with an updated (and pricier) version, the RT.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 12:34
by Missionary
Was not aware of that one ! $485 at the E Place delivered. I think I need to be looking seriously at this model. Places I hunt I cannot see past 65 yards.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 18 Dec 2017 13:30
by LowKey
Missionary wrote:Was not aware of that one ! $485 at the E Place delivered. I think I need to be looking seriously at this model. Places I hunt I cannot see past 65 yards.

Photon seems perfect for 65 yards.
Range seems to be very much a function of the IR illuminator used.

Hogs we've been seeing lately are very "light shy", regardless whether using a green, red, or white light.
Sure hope thay can't see IR light!

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 19 Dec 2017 07:48
by Missionary
They for sure cannot "see" thermal imaging.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 19 Dec 2017 10:13
by Ranch Dog
As far as digital imaging goes, I've never had a hog spooked off by a game camera.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 19 Dec 2017 20:18
by HarryAlonzo
LowKey wrote:Hogs we've been seeing lately are very "light shy", regardless whether using a green, red, or white light.
Sure hope thay can't see IR light!
According to the interweb, hogs are less color sensitive than humans. It's a good bet that they are insensitive to IR.

I don't have plans to hunt hogs with NV, but I am scheming on rats. This is with a .22 at short range. The big advantages of thermal imaging appear to be long range and fog insensitivity, neither of which matter in this application. I'm leaning toward NV goggles or monocular, coupled with an NV compatible laser and illuminator on the rifle. I'm generally not a fan of laser sights, but it seems better than the other options. NV sights are heavy and tall, and I also have concern about parallax at short range.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 20 Dec 2017 16:45
by LowKey
HarryAlonzo wrote: I don't have plans to hunt hogs with NV, but I am scheming on rats. This is with a .22 at short range.
There are a lot of night "ratting" videos on youtube. Might find some pointers there.

I haven't seen anything suggesting that animals can see IR light or thermal energy, but I did see a couple of videos suggesting that the IR illuminators emit a red glow that animals seem to notice. This video makes a distinction between Infrared LED and Black Flash LED trail cams:

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

This may explain why so many cows stick their faces so close to the trail cams.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 20 Dec 2017 20:30
by HarryAlonzo
Thermal imagers don't emit any energy. They're creating an image from the infrared emissions of the stuff in front of the lens.

I'd bet that the IR illuminators in the less expensive Night Vision optics use more broad wavelength emitters. LEDs are rated by their peak wavelength, but some have very long tails on either side of the peak. If part of their energy is being put out in the visible spectrum, it will glow red. This makes me inclined to pay full retail in a place where I can inspect the device in a dark room before I plunk down $500 or more.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 11:50
by LowKey
At the end of this video, it looks like the hog notices the IR illuminator on the shooter's night vision device.

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

In a dark room I checked an IR illuminator I already have (for some reason).
When turned on, the room remains dark, but you can see the a red glow in the lens end of the device.
(Didn't look directly at it.)

A solution might be to be aware of the direction your target is facing before turning on the illuminator.

Re: Night Vision Alternatives

Posted: 21 Dec 2017 15:28
by HarryAlonzo
And another thing to keep in mind while checking . . . Your eyes take about 15 minutes to fully adapt to complete darkness. You might miss a glow with a quick check that will jump out at you after 15 minutes.