Jumping into night vision device for first time. Want to run Glock 19 with RMR, but can't find information on best back up sight. Some seem to run either standard tritium or tritium suppressor sights, but wouldn't they drown out red dot through the monocular? Trijicon has suppressor sights with all tritium or with plastic ring, which might reduce the glare. Guess other option is standard irons. Any suggestion is appreciated.
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Night Vision Best pistol sights when running Night Vision monocular?
- Thread starter Lngrngdoc
- Start date
I have no xp shooting pistol thru nods so I may stand to be corrected. I would imagine tho with my xp of nod usage that it would be somewhat challenging to be able to have your sight picture and target all in focus at the same time and place. With your nods set at infinity focus your sights would look pretty blobby as you try to focus on both near and far. I think this is where a laser would be favorable.
A refocus apperatus would most likely help.
Here is a helmet I placed about arms length with focus set to infinity, caps open.
Same distance with my poor mans refocus apperatus, ie bc caps shut.
I found out quickly some moons back trying to do close in work with nods on is not cool, fumbling around about. My poor man's refocus caps never come off my nods.
Pistol shooting with nods sounds like a blast.
A refocus apperatus would most likely help.
Here is a helmet I placed about arms length with focus set to infinity, caps open.
Same distance with my poor mans refocus apperatus, ie bc caps shut.
I found out quickly some moons back trying to do close in work with nods on is not cool, fumbling around about. My poor man's refocus caps never come off my nods.
Pistol shooting with nods sounds like a blast.
I’m not a front press guy unless target shooting on a range, so take this for what it’s worth. But, I would not be trying to use any sights in the dark. I would develop my point shooting/threat focused shooting (whatever you want to call it) until I was confident in the dark. While the RMR does rock, I don’t want to rely on sights and especially not in reduced visibility.
I run tritium suppressor sights on my Sig RX. But haven’t tested them thru the NV. Looks like I have something to mess with for the next 30 mins.
Great photos Shifty6BR and demonstrates very well how difficult it'll be to identify close objects under night vision. Fig that's my concern with any tritium sight. Bloom from tritium may well wash out red dot let alone any target.
Understand laser may be another way especially under IR illumination, but don't want to just rely on batteries all the time.
Thanks for all the replies.
Understand laser may be another way especially under IR illumination, but don't want to just rely on batteries all the time.
Thanks for all the replies.
You don't use sights, you use a laser. Or just point shoot. If you're good at using 14's with both eyes open and using them on the non-shooting eye, then you should be able to point shoot fairly well with some practice. You can't line up the sights, you can only focus on close or far and if you focus on the target the sights will be a blurry mess.
An IR laser, you just tap it and fire, done. Some have the IR illuminators too, the Surefire X400V IR is the best one IMO. I begged them to make that for years.
An IR laser, you just tap it and fire, done. Some have the IR illuminators too, the Surefire X400V IR is the best one IMO. I begged them to make that for years.
Night sights are just a slightly glowing blur through the PVS. The rmr dot is clear.
Ir laser would definitely be faster.
Ir laser would definitely be faster.
This, but it depends.
If you are using duals/ANVIS than you're only bet for a pistol is to use the laser or come off the NODS. With a PVS14, you normally wear it over your weak side eye if you're a gangster; you can then passively aim down the night sights of a pistol with your normal pistol hold where you are putting the image of the dark background, with the illuminated sights from your right eye and your illuminated view via the PVS14 (which will have the sights blurred, if you see them at all, because of your far focus and tube orientation) together in your brain to make 1 image that is your target with nightvision illuminated surroundings with your sights on it.
Takes some training, but you can get good at it. You also need to change nothing if all of a sudden the lights come on, or you end up moving into a visibly illuminated area. Any Trijicon sights will work for you.
Using the laser is usually easier, but its always a benefit (and was for me, a requirement) to be able to successfully engage targets passively without a laser.
That's the trade off with a single unit and a dual. I can passively aim a carbine through my RDS with duals, yet cannot use this method on a pistol unless I have actual dual PVS14s where I can stow one sideways. Then with a single, I can passively aim a pistol yet cannot with the carbine; even if you put it over your aiming/dominant eye its still a complete shit show and you'll do nothing but run your monocle into your stock/rifle.
With that said, stick to shooting shit with a carbine. It always works better.
I have CT grip ir-laser on my m1911 ... works fine with single or dual 14s ... CT doesn't make them any more ... but grip viz laser works just as well ... they still make the grip viz laser last I checked. If I was buying today, that's what I'd get.
I don't have a glock, so can't comment on what is available for glock.
I don't have a glock, so can't comment on what is available for glock.
I put a set of those on my 22/45! It works amazing for critters around the house at night. I wish I could find another set of the ir grips.
Great information German. Always assumed duals were better in terms of field of view and ease of movement, but appears to have disadvantage with weapon transitions. I'm taking a night vision course next month and will have opportunity to try out some different systems before I pull the trigger on mono vs dual.
Another question is rear sight location on your pistol. Any thoughts on rear sight mounted in front or behind RMR?
Sounds like a simple solution, but plan to run a Glock 19 and not aware of any laser grips available for polymer pistols. Will look at the Surefire 400 as an option. Thanks for the suggestion.
CT has grip lasers for 9 flavors of glocks ...
https://www.crimsontrace.com/products/type/lasergrips?manufacturer=176
The reason I don't mind vis lasers for the pistol is I figure by the time I am down to blazing away with the pistol I don't need to be too stealthy for much longer
especially with critters that don't shoot back ...
And if you want to be hard to see, turn on a tac light and point it at the critters, they will be needing to look in a different direction ...
https://www.crimsontrace.com/products/type/lasergrips?manufacturer=176
The reason I don't mind vis lasers for the pistol is I figure by the time I am down to blazing away with the pistol I don't need to be too stealthy for much longer
especially with critters that don't shoot back ... And if you want to be hard to see, turn on a tac light and point it at the critters, they will be needing to look in a different direction ...
CT has grip lasers for 9 flavors of glocks ...
https://www.crimsontrace.com/products/type/lasergrips?manufacturer=176
The reason I don't mind vis lasers for the pistol is I figure by the time I am down to blazing away with the pistol I don't need to be too stealthy for much longer
And if you want to be hard to see, turn on a tac light and point it at the critters, they will be needing to look in a different direction ...
Stand corrected. Just ordered one with green laser for my 19. I’ll give that a try. Thanks
It's not the transition, its the fact that you really can't see anything focused up close. The benefit with my ANVIS 9's however is much better FOV and I can easily use my Aimpoint Micro on a riser that I have on my night time gun. The RDS reticle will show up and allow you to aim whereas night sights on a pistol will just be a distorted, fuzzy blur. Again, easy passive aiming with no signature; what happens when the people you are shooting at also have night vision and can see your laser?
9/10 I'll grab my ANVIS 9, but I can drive a vehicle with either (easier with duals) and the fact I can passively use my carbine at night much much easier with the ANVIS is why it normally gets picked. I do however miss the peripheral vision with the PVS14 as well as being able to have my naked eye sense what the light brightness of where I am standing truly is, as you can easily get lost with duals thinking you are always in the dark, when in fact you're not standing underneath a light source and didn't realize it.
Are you using a PVS14? If so, there's a way you are supposed to wear the tube infront of your face I can try and explain to you; most people wear it wrong and have it infront of their eye, straight on, looking through 100% of the tube.
For the RMR, I've only ever seen the sites behind the RMR. Now I'm curious how the RDS in the RMR will come up with an ANVIS; will it be like my Aimpoint? That would then fix my passive aiming problem with a pistol, with duals.
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It's only useful if you plan on using a weapon (primarily a carbine) while you have your PVS14 on.
Instead of putting the tube so the circle is 100% in your view, tilt the mount up so you are looking through the top 2/3 of the PVS14. After some time with this you won't even notice it. You can also get a full view of anything without having to flip the PVS up by simply raising your face/head up a bit to 'look under' the PVS, yet bring your head/face back level and your back to 2/3 of the tube view.
Reasoning for this is first peripheral. Second its so that when you go to shoulder your carbine with your modified night time stance/hold and get the best hold on it you can (square, legs spaced, head forward over front foot; not doing some weird hipfire or stand up straight while holding it against your shoulder stance) the tilted up PVS will now allow you to look up and forward much easier, much in the same way you would during the day, without NODS.
To see what I'm talking about, go grab your carbine and your mounted IR laser and put your PVS 14 on with it 100% straight in front of your eye. Now try to aim at something with your gun, but try and get your body position and stance very close to what it normally would be. It's slow, awkward as fuck and most of the time it doesn't work.
Now tilt the PVS up as I explained and it will give you much more flexibility, a better overall stance to shoot and control recoil, yet you lose nothing.
I've spent a little bit of time behind an RMR Glock with a PVS-14 on. All my RMR guns get plain black irons. I've played with both night sights and fiber optic irons with the RMR and I haven't found a use for them. They are distracting to a small degree but basically they are just a waste of money. I could spend an hour typing all the reasons I don't go for night sights but that's not what you're here for.
As for sight picture under nods the RMR can be used a few different ways.
-If you leave it cranked up to your normal daylight or weapon light setting you can pick the dot up with your passive eye while your active (under nods) eye does situational awareness and threat ID. It takes some practice but once you can make your brain see two things at once it's actually very effective. (similar to TheGerman's concept of using the carbine optic) * I have found this to be my preferred method as it offers the versatility of going white light if it all goes tits up.
-You can set the RMR to a NV setting (But frankly any setting will do, some are just way bloomed out) and see the dot through your tube. The focal issues described above are irrelevant because you don't need to have the dot in focus you are basically just going to see a dot (or bright ass blob) hovering over the gun. Unlike a carbine you don't have to contend with cheekweld issues so you just put that sucker out there and do work. If you are running the PVS-14 in front of your non-dominant eye you may have some trouble with your presentation as you probably present your handgun to your dominant eye but this can be worked with.
You will not be able to effectively use night sights or iron sights with nods. It can be done but it is ineffective at best. As with carbines the most efficient way to use the weapon system under nods is with an IR laser. That being said the RMR is a very effective alternative and with some training can be almost as intuitive.
As for sight picture under nods the RMR can be used a few different ways.
-If you leave it cranked up to your normal daylight or weapon light setting you can pick the dot up with your passive eye while your active (under nods) eye does situational awareness and threat ID. It takes some practice but once you can make your brain see two things at once it's actually very effective. (similar to TheGerman's concept of using the carbine optic) * I have found this to be my preferred method as it offers the versatility of going white light if it all goes tits up.
-You can set the RMR to a NV setting (But frankly any setting will do, some are just way bloomed out) and see the dot through your tube. The focal issues described above are irrelevant because you don't need to have the dot in focus you are basically just going to see a dot (or bright ass blob) hovering over the gun. Unlike a carbine you don't have to contend with cheekweld issues so you just put that sucker out there and do work. If you are running the PVS-14 in front of your non-dominant eye you may have some trouble with your presentation as you probably present your handgun to your dominant eye but this can be worked with.
You will not be able to effectively use night sights or iron sights with nods. It can be done but it is ineffective at best. As with carbines the most efficient way to use the weapon system under nods is with an IR laser. That being said the RMR is a very effective alternative and with some training can be almost as intuitive.
Trying to line up pistol sights and have them in focus with NODs is a PITA.
The only way I've found to effectively run a pistol with them is to use a Surefire X400V and zero the IR laser. This method is very effective and very quick on target.
The only way I've found to effectively run a pistol with them is to use a Surefire X400V and zero the IR laser. This method is very effective and very quick on target.
I’ve done a few courses of fire suing training with my pvs31a and my Glock 19 with RMR. I haven’t tried it with a pvs 14, but I imagine it wouldn’t be that much more difficult than dual tubes.
You can try using standard night sights with your nods but you’ll only end up trying once.
Ir laser on the pistol works as well, and is probably faster initially, but it’s really not that difficult out to pick up the RMR with your nods.
I also run straight black irons, behind the optic and never really use them. Even if my RMR went out, I can still point shoot or use the edge of my slide to aim if I needed to. Night sights or fiber optic irons would be too distracting for me.
You can try using standard night sights with your nods but you’ll only end up trying once.
Ir laser on the pistol works as well, and is probably faster initially, but it’s really not that difficult out to pick up the RMR with your nods.
I also run straight black irons, behind the optic and never really use them. Even if my RMR went out, I can still point shoot or use the edge of my slide to aim if I needed to. Night sights or fiber optic irons would be too distracting for me.
I run a Glock with Leupold DPP and nightsights. My rear is in front of the DPP. The optic has no NV setting so it blooms. Its so hard to bump the DPP illumination up or down I leave it at the daylight position. The bloom of the dot requires supemental illumination to crisp it up again. Even then I have to focus closer or use a refocus device. The rear tritiums are so low they are partially masked. The front is a glowy ball. The fact there is no longer a color difference is a small issue but the DPP is SO bright there is no confusing. I have a green CTC laser on it too and while it is not discrete, it works under NODS. Same with my Surefire X300U, its not IR but the illumination cuts the dot bloom... then again if you are going white light, you might as well use your dominant eye. If you had duals on, or if your dominant eye was not usable, you could still use it.
Still, a pistol is a last ditch weapon. If you are using it with NODS something has gone horribly wrong anyway. I feel like a green laser at close range is not that bad of a compromise. Do I wish they made IR/Green Gen 4 Glock selectable lasers? You bet. Its just not in the cards. The RDS market has cut too deeply into the CTC sales and their aquisition by a Glock competitor is further holding back inovative Glock products. Barring a military order, I doubt we will see another vis/IR CTC lasergrip.
Still, a pistol is a last ditch weapon. If you are using it with NODS something has gone horribly wrong anyway. I feel like a green laser at close range is not that bad of a compromise. Do I wish they made IR/Green Gen 4 Glock selectable lasers? You bet. Its just not in the cards. The RDS market has cut too deeply into the CTC sales and their aquisition by a Glock competitor is further holding back inovative Glock products. Barring a military order, I doubt we will see another vis/IR CTC lasergrip.
Thanks for all the advice. Have decided to go with RMR on Glock 17, and black suppressor sights mounted behind the optic. Adding the Surefire X400v, which is more expensive than the darn pistol! Then I have option of using optic, laser or white light. Expensive setup but you know what they say, buy once etc....
Now need to find a holster for the X400. Safariland is out. Any suggestions?
Now need to find a holster for the X400. Safariland is out. Any suggestions?
There are a LOT of good KYDEX holsters available and custom Leather. Google it. I have Bravo and several other kydex. Custom Mitch Rosen. When ordering make sure and give the correct Light and pistol model
You’ll love the red dot. That’s the best option IMO. The T Rex arms Ragnarok is an awesome holster. Rds cut, light compatible for G19, and the back has patterns for Safariland and Bladetech. I have multiple setups with the Safariland qls forks and receivers. Best way to switch setups without messing around with belts etc
On the holster check out KT holsters. I’m lefty and needed one for my suppressed G20 w/RMR & Inforce APL. KT made a kydex one that checked all those boxes plus was compatible with Blackhawks Strike system, which allowed for quick detach from my molle belt - easy on/off for getting in/out truck when checking different fields for hogs.
FWIW I use black suppressor sights (behind the rmr) and with rmr on lowest visible setting I can easily pick it up with nod w/o too much bloom but can still see it with the Inforce on and nod flipped up. Looking forward to utilizing TheGermans tip on tilting the pvs to 2/3 view in order to avoid having to flip up the nod.
FWIW I use black suppressor sights (behind the rmr) and with rmr on lowest visible setting I can easily pick it up with nod w/o too much bloom but can still see it with the Inforce on and nod flipped up. Looking forward to utilizing TheGermans tip on tilting the pvs to 2/3 view in order to avoid having to flip up the nod.
Looks like a great choice. Didn't see Surefire X400 as option on website but will call them tomorrow. Thanks
Sounds like right decision was made. With training an RMR is faster and more accurate with mono or dual all the same. Mono run as normal and dual just run them higher and can aim passively through the duals or look under the duals and aim visually. I can beat most people with my duals or mono with rmr over people with lasers. Lasers on pistols are little more difficult with nods than rifles when talking about quickness.
Well for s&g's I messed with the duals last night in the gitrage with my tritium sights. As expected even with refocus caps it was a bloomy mess and focus was piss poor. I guess in a pinch point and shoot, but getting a decent sight picture for any type of accurate fire with nods and night sights is less than desirable.
Yep. This is why:
Single PVS14 over non dom eye = pistol with night sights + white/IR light, and IR laser if wanted
Duals = pistol with sights (night optional, you wont be using them) + white/IR light + RMR
The problem with the IR laser plus the RMR, especially with a single PVS14 is that when aiming the pistol, you'll simply have too much going on unless you turn the RMR off (why would you?). The rookie mistake with a sidearm at night is that the person aims/holds/presents the pistol differently because they have the NOD unit on their face, than they would during the day with nothing on. Benefit to RMR is that its passive and can be picked up with both your naked eye fusing the image with your left eye under a PVS14, or it can be seen through duals just like you'd use your Aimpoint T1 at night.
Lately I've been using the ANVIS9 + Glock 19x + Surefire 300V combo and want to get it RMR'd for exactly this reason.
BLUF: RDS with black sights is the way to go for pistol use under NVGs.
Over the years, we have tried, trained with, and taught a variety of different equipment combinations and techniques, many of which worked to one extent or another, but none of which was ever wholly satisfactory compared to using an RDS.
On the one hand, it is possible to use night sights with NV if necessary, though it is neither quick, nor particularly accurate, and requires a good bit of training to really learn how to do, as it is nowhere near as easy or intuitive as good TTPs and engagement techniques are. Long story short, it requires the use of three-dot night sights, and rather than worry about focal planes or front sight focus--you simply line up the three blurry dots, which will more or less allow you to engage at "typical" handgun distances.
That being said, from an end-user standpoint, the typical "technique" was simply to transition to white light during pistol engagements, with the logic following that if it came time for you to deploy your pistol, staying covert using NVDs was likely moot, especially considering that many organizational TTPs used NV during movement to the objective, but transitioned to white light fairly quickly once things really "got interesting" anyways.
There were some obvious limitations to this "technique," but for a long time it was the simplest and most efficient solution, despite those limitations.
Meanwhile, pistol mounted lasers, visible or IR come with some fairly significant limitations of their own, not the least of which being the limited number of options for "duty ready" lasers and holsters--while it's true that many custom Kydex holster makers can make holsters for nearly unlimited variations, they are often unsatisfactory for duty use, while "holster independent" solutions such as the CT IR lasergrips were always relatively scarce and expensive, and only covered a small number of models.
On the other hand, RDS offer an essentially seamless transition between daytime, white light, and NV use--simply present the pistol the same way as always, and as long as you have trained to use pistols with RDS and developed the muscle memory, the dot simply appears on top of the target, and since RDS are inherently designed for the shooter to focus on the target and not the sight(s), there are no issues with focal planes, or any need to mess with refocus devices, or adjust the NVDs in any way--it. just. works. If you're using duals or a monocular over your dominant eye, the dot will appear in the googles--or, if you're using the RDS over your non-dominant eye, you can either use an occluded method, or simply shift the weapon over slightly so it is visible through the NVD.
Even with non-NV compatible RDS, depending on ambient light conditions, the dot is usually effective enough for close-range engagements at "typical" handgun ranges, while the use of an IR illuminator, whether helmet mounted or weapon mounted such as a Surefire V-Series light effectively eliminates the issue of blooming when more precision is required.
The RDS also renders tritium powered night sights unnecessary to the point where they simply become more of a distraction and annoyance, even if they are not likely to be "confused" with the optic's dot, as they are still glowing blobs floating in your field of view (applies both with or without NV).
~Augee
Over the years, we have tried, trained with, and taught a variety of different equipment combinations and techniques, many of which worked to one extent or another, but none of which was ever wholly satisfactory compared to using an RDS.
On the one hand, it is possible to use night sights with NV if necessary, though it is neither quick, nor particularly accurate, and requires a good bit of training to really learn how to do, as it is nowhere near as easy or intuitive as good TTPs and engagement techniques are. Long story short, it requires the use of three-dot night sights, and rather than worry about focal planes or front sight focus--you simply line up the three blurry dots, which will more or less allow you to engage at "typical" handgun distances.
That being said, from an end-user standpoint, the typical "technique" was simply to transition to white light during pistol engagements, with the logic following that if it came time for you to deploy your pistol, staying covert using NVDs was likely moot, especially considering that many organizational TTPs used NV during movement to the objective, but transitioned to white light fairly quickly once things really "got interesting" anyways.
There were some obvious limitations to this "technique," but for a long time it was the simplest and most efficient solution, despite those limitations.
Meanwhile, pistol mounted lasers, visible or IR come with some fairly significant limitations of their own, not the least of which being the limited number of options for "duty ready" lasers and holsters--while it's true that many custom Kydex holster makers can make holsters for nearly unlimited variations, they are often unsatisfactory for duty use, while "holster independent" solutions such as the CT IR lasergrips were always relatively scarce and expensive, and only covered a small number of models.
On the other hand, RDS offer an essentially seamless transition between daytime, white light, and NV use--simply present the pistol the same way as always, and as long as you have trained to use pistols with RDS and developed the muscle memory, the dot simply appears on top of the target, and since RDS are inherently designed for the shooter to focus on the target and not the sight(s), there are no issues with focal planes, or any need to mess with refocus devices, or adjust the NVDs in any way--it. just. works. If you're using duals or a monocular over your dominant eye, the dot will appear in the googles--or, if you're using the RDS over your non-dominant eye, you can either use an occluded method, or simply shift the weapon over slightly so it is visible through the NVD.
Even with non-NV compatible RDS, depending on ambient light conditions, the dot is usually effective enough for close-range engagements at "typical" handgun ranges, while the use of an IR illuminator, whether helmet mounted or weapon mounted such as a Surefire V-Series light effectively eliminates the issue of blooming when more precision is required.
The RDS also renders tritium powered night sights unnecessary to the point where they simply become more of a distraction and annoyance, even if they are not likely to be "confused" with the optic's dot, as they are still glowing blobs floating in your field of view (applies both with or without NV).
~Augee
Great explanation Augee. So in your opinion the addition of a IR light/Laser setup such as the Surefire X400v has no real advantage over the RDS with NODs for your typical self defense handgun range? Seems that's the consensus as LivOutLoud suggested earlier.
Correct.
Especially with a pistol-mounted RDS, a laser will be redundant and likely more trouble than its worth.
~Augee
Especially with a pistol-mounted RDS, a laser will be redundant and likely more trouble than its worth.
~Augee
RMR will bloom like crazy under NODs. Standard tritium sights work just fine. Never used a laser on pistol. If you have your pistol out under NODS it will be quick and dirty so no need for a laser.
+unless your RMR has a NV setting but then do you really want to set it to that because if you suddenly go into a room with light now you cant see your dot.
1. IR illum
2. BUIS
3. You can still see through your NODs when the lights are on
4. In practice you often have a good sense of when you’re going to be NODs-down and when you’re going to transition to white light
5. Could you continue to posit increasingly unlikely scenarios until you arrived at one where night sights were superior to an RDS? I’m sure. Does this make it the best overall solution? No.
~Augee
2. BUIS
3. You can still see through your NODs when the lights are on
4. In practice you often have a good sense of when you’re going to be NODs-down and when you’re going to transition to white light
5. Could you continue to posit increasingly unlikely scenarios until you arrived at one where night sights were superior to an RDS? I’m sure. Does this make it the best overall solution? No.
~Augee
Precisely this - running an rds on your carry gun with a rail mounted light (IR/vis vampire or white only) you keep the same muscle memory day or night. I prefer white light only so I'll never be in a situation needing vis light and discover it's on IR. The distances to use a pistol I've found I don't need IR on my gun. If you had to clear your house in the dark you probably won't have time to be wearing nvd's and even if you did, if you find someone you'll want to blind them with white light.
There's a reason so many people are switching to rds on handguns. It works.
**edit: lost Auguee's quote: "RDS offer an essentially seamless transition between daytime, white light, and NV use--simply present the pistol the same way as always, and as long as you have trained to use pistols with RDS and developed the muscle memory, the dot simply appears on top of the target, and since RDS are inherently designed for the shooter to focus on the target and not the sight(s), there are no issues with focal planes, or any need to mess with refocus devices, or adjust the NVDs in any way--it. just. works."
There's a reason so many people are switching to rds on handguns. It works.
**edit: lost Auguee's quote: "RDS offer an essentially seamless transition between daytime, white light, and NV use--simply present the pistol the same way as always, and as long as you have trained to use pistols with RDS and developed the muscle memory, the dot simply appears on top of the target, and since RDS are inherently designed for the shooter to focus on the target and not the sight(s), there are no issues with focal planes, or any need to mess with refocus devices, or adjust the NVDs in any way--it. just. works."
Using a helmet-mounted IR illuminator is a good alternative to running a VIS/IR WML on your pistol.
While, as I noted earlier, there is no way to account for every single scenario--under many circumstances, if the ambient lighting is dark enough for your RDS to cause enough bloom to interfere with your ability to engage, it is probably dark enough to be using supplemental IR illumination anyways, especially while conducting active search.
Especially at pistol engagement ranges, helmet-mounted IR illum will be just as effective as a weapon-mounted IR illuminator, and depending on the mount/configuration, and can be pretty useful to have in more than just these circumstances, while you retain the ability to go white light with your pistol if need be, and can take advantage of the more powerful white light only WMLs (like the new 1,000 lumen X300Us), without ever having to worry about your WML being on the "wrong" setting when you really need it.
Note, when I talk about a helmet mounted illuminator, I'm talking about an IR spot, which is separate from an IR nav light or task light--on my helmet I use both an M300V Scout Light, and a Princeton Tec MPLS Switch mounted on a Unity Tactical KNUKL.
~Augee
While, as I noted earlier, there is no way to account for every single scenario--under many circumstances, if the ambient lighting is dark enough for your RDS to cause enough bloom to interfere with your ability to engage, it is probably dark enough to be using supplemental IR illumination anyways, especially while conducting active search.
Especially at pistol engagement ranges, helmet-mounted IR illum will be just as effective as a weapon-mounted IR illuminator, and depending on the mount/configuration, and can be pretty useful to have in more than just these circumstances, while you retain the ability to go white light with your pistol if need be, and can take advantage of the more powerful white light only WMLs (like the new 1,000 lumen X300Us), without ever having to worry about your WML being on the "wrong" setting when you really need it.
Note, when I talk about a helmet mounted illuminator, I'm talking about an IR spot, which is separate from an IR nav light or task light--on my helmet I use both an M300V Scout Light, and a Princeton Tec MPLS Switch mounted on a Unity Tactical KNUKL.
~Augee
I knew I should've edited my edit . I meant "lost Augee's quote" as in I didn't attach it to my reply, so the edit was to attach it. Perhaps it came across as in you lost me?
I'm tracking Augee. Online at least, it seems a lot of recreational folks new to nvd's are trying to match their kit and "ttp"s the same as stars & stripes ninjas but it's overkill for the typical guy who gets out what, maybe once a quarter, with their nvd(s) if that? And the closet or backyard doesn't count. I suspect most people on this forum would agree.
I originally thought that of rds' for handguns. You know, the cool guys use them so everyone follows, but after trying one wearing my binos, it was immediately clear to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was the superior aiming solution. I'm not quarterly or closet user (those literally in the closest and hope ya'll know what I mean don't take it wrong way). I use my toys a lot. I had unimax IR's on many guns and still use them for plinking but if some dirty crap goes down I know I can hit my targets with my g19 and DPP whether or not I'm wearing nvd's.
. I meant "lost Augee's quote" as in I didn't attach it to my reply, so the edit was to attach it. Perhaps it came across as in you lost me?I'm tracking Augee. Online at least, it seems a lot of recreational folks new to nvd's are trying to match their kit and "ttp"s the same as stars & stripes ninjas but it's overkill for the typical guy who gets out what, maybe once a quarter, with their nvd(s) if that? And the closet or backyard doesn't count. I suspect most people on this forum would agree.
I originally thought that of rds' for handguns. You know, the cool guys use them so everyone follows, but after trying one wearing my binos, it was immediately clear to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was the superior aiming solution. I'm not quarterly or closet user (those literally in the closest and hope ya'll know what I mean don't take it wrong way). I use my toys a lot. I had unimax IR's on many guns and still use them for plinking but if some dirty crap goes down I know I can hit my targets with my g19 and DPP whether or not I'm wearing nvd's.
So which light are you running at this point? Is it on that G19 with DPP?I knew I should've edited my edit
I'm tracking Augee. Online at least, it seems a lot of recreational folks new to nvd's are trying to match their kit and "ttp"s the same as stars & stripes ninjas but it's overkill for the typical guy who gets out what, maybe once a quarter, with their nvd(s) if that? And the closet or backyard doesn't count. I suspect most people on this forum would agree.
I originally thought that of rds' for handguns. You know, the cool guys use them so everyone follows, but after trying one wearing my binos, it was immediately clear to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it was the superior aiming solution. I'm not quarterly or closet user (those literally in the closest and hope ya'll know what I mean don't take it wrong way). I use my toys a lot. I had unimax IR's on many guns and still use them for plinking but if some dirty crap goes down I know I can hit my targets with my g19 and DPP whether or not I'm wearing nvd's.
Running a G19 with RMR and tritium night sights and PVS-14 on dominant eye. For me, the rear might sights appear as a subdued large blur - I actually use this as an index point for faster sight acquisition during target transitions.
I have a VP9 Tactical with 507C X2, Streamlight VIR II, and factory tritium suppressor sights. I have both DTNVS and a PVS-14. I always set my focus to the stars. The 507C in night vision mode works perfectly. The IR laser works great, but I prefer passive shooting with the 507C. I still practice with both. Tritium sights are worthless to me as they bloom like crazy and cause issues with looking through an RMR. With suppressor sights, the bloom is so bad that I have to put the dot at the top of the RMR window to get a sight picture (not sure if my high FOM tubes make the tritium bloom worse). If you focus your NODs on the front sight, the rear sight still blooms quite a bit (and good luck with PID). My solution is that I tape over my tritium sights when using with NODs. If I had to use a handgun without my RMRs/507Cs and/or laser, I would just point shoot.
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