Rossi Rifleman

I get that the hogs see it but this was not a hunting situation as the hunter spent about minute of wasted opportunity with the intent of keeping the crosshairs on the head or eye. I would have drilled the hog dead at the 53-second mark. The one thing I've learned about feral hogs is that every second of an opportunity missed is never regained by waiting.

Santa delivered one today.

Pretty simple to use, pretty impressive so far.

Sniperhawglight 50LR with 850nm IR led is pictured below the Photon.

That looks cool please keep us posted to how it works.

I'd like to try that but none of my guns cost much more than $500 so I would feel guilty.

GasGuzzler wrote:I'd like to try that but none of my guns cost much more than $500 so I would feel guilty.

Lol. You've got a point, GasGuzzler.

It's going on a bottom of the line, but very accurate, $249 Savage Axis rifle.

Digital is very appealing. But the specs say that its minimum focus is 10 m. If that's the case, it won't work for my close quarters rat hunting.

Good morning
I also await some report... Have al sorts of fun night time plans for a digital...

Here's a partial update:

The Photon requires 2 AA batteries, reviews say it uses up alkaline batteries pretty quickly.
Someone suggeted higher capacity rechargable AA's.
Purchased a 4 pack of 2700 mah NiMH for about $12.
Already have a charger.

The Photon requires 30mm rings.
I used Vortex 30mm "HIGH HEIGHT" rings, Model VPR-30H from the local Academy.

Lower height rings would not have worked since the picatinny rail I am using extends beneath the front of the Photon. There is only an index card's thickness between the front bottom of the scope and the picatinny rail.
Harry, I checked the close range focus on the Photon.
I don't know how close you like to get to the rats you're shooting, so I tested the Photon at 15 ft and 6 ft, measuring from the center/middle of the scope to the target.

At both 15 and 6 ft, the focus was adequate to read the words"Fig.1" on a typed piece of paper.
The smaller text was blurry at both ranges. This was done in my garage with a picture window letting sunlight in the room. The lense cap was on, it has a small pinhole for daylight use. The attached illuminator was not used.
Hopefully soon I'll be able to sight it in and do further testing.

Good morning
This is reading better all the time !
Rechargable batteries are a good idea !

How does the view look out to 65-70 yards ?

Edit Note: In my excitement, I jumped the gun with some of my thoughts about this Photon XT, particularly about use with only ambient lighting. I should have hunted with it first to get more information.

The acid test for me is whether the Photon will allow you to see a black hog standing next to a black treeline. At 200 yards, (with no ambient light at all) and just the stock illuminator, the answer would be no.

However, tonight there is a 1500 foot overcast, with nearby city lights providing some reflective illumination. From an elevated stand, the grassy areas appear much lighter than the dark trees. Right now 4 black hogs are 250 yards away walking on the grass AWAY from the treeline. They area quite visible even with the attached illuminator off. These hogs would not be visible with just a normal scope without an adequate additonal flashlight or spotlight.

We'll see if these 4 hogs come close enough for further testing....

**********

Here's a bit more information about the Photon XT 4.5x42S mentioned by Ranch Dog. Remember this is not the newer and more expensive RT version. Be careful when shopping to get the version you prefer.

The main questions most have before spending $500 (or more) are "Does it actually work or am I throwing my money away like I did before."


Yes, it works great IF you add an aftermarket illuminator. Not as great with just the attached illuminator.

With the aftermarket illuminator I used, cows 400 yards away were easily and clearly viewable. Zero was verified at night with the aftermarket illuminator at 150 yards, which is close to the maximum shooting distance limit I plan to use at night.

The attached illuminator is built into the Photon. It cannot be aimed, and it is not removable.

So Harry, you might try the Photon with just the stock illuminator for rat hunting. Also, with the high scope mounts, the center of the Photon lense is 2 inche above the center of the rifle barrel.

Missionary, I'll do further testing for you at 65-70 yards.





WHAT IS AN IR ILLUMINATOR?

An IR illuminator is simply a flashlight with an IR module instead of a white light bulb or module. http://www.sniperhawglights.com has flashlights of various sizes that can work if you request the infrared LED X module as one of the options. Or you could also just buy their IR LED X module separately for about $30 if you already have a flashlight that it will fit.


I already had their 50LR flashlight and IR module, so that is what I used as the illuminator on the Photon. Sniperhawglights.com sells flashlights that are smaller and cheaper than the 50LR that might work as well. http://www.sniperhawglights.com/category-s/1833.htm

It is possible to have too much IR light. When you do, the screen will show all white. The Photon automatically adjusts for brightness, and there is a manual control knob to tone down the brightness further. Even with the manual brightness set at the lowest level, there were times that the 50LR was still too bright.

The solution was to either adjust the 50LR lense to diffuse the IR beam, or to re-aim the 50LR to below the target thereby decreasing the amount of IR light actually on the target.
Since you want the ability to adjust your illuminator's point of aim, it's great to have an adjustable flashlight mount to attach your illuminator to the Photon. Adjustable flashlight mounts are available at sniperhawglights.com and perhaps elsewhere. Remember that the portion of the flashlight mount that attaches to the Photon must be 30mm and not 1 inch.


I hope this helps.