I got my CO-MR last Friday after a long wait. I originally got a Pulsar DFA75 from Kenzie's Optics but found out that not only was it seriously defective, it was also physically painful for me to use. I've had the unit lock up and even shut off after firing a round and even had a black & white cross hatch pattern take over the screen and the only way to reset it was to cycle the power which is not what you want to do in the dark during a hunt. The physical pain part is due to the black & white display being so bright and then add in the illuminator was so intense that it felt like my retina was on fire and would trigger a migraine headache. After all that Kenzie's gave me a full credit for the DFA75 (something that they normally don't do) and since they are also an Armasight dealer I went with the CO-MR.
Unfortunately for me I'm financially challenged due to my income reliant on the VA so I wasn't able to contribute any $$ to get an upgraded unit so what I have here is the SD model with the manual gain control. I believe that it may be possible to upgrade the tube through Armasight to the HD model and if that's true then that will be my ultimate goal so my challenge will be getting the funds to do so. Getting to the unit itself, I tried it on 2 rifles with 2 different optics and sat on my back steps around midnight a few days before a full moon. It was very bright as I was getting shadows from the moonlight and the moon itself was already starting to set.
I had a real hard time taking pictures through my scope so for me to keep my sanity I just stuck with 1 scope, which was my Leupold Mark AR 1-4x Fire Dot. I focused on 2 landmarks in my back yard which happens to be the front of my shed @ 40yds and the back gate @ 50yds and both with just the moonlight and also with the illuminator that came with the CO-MR on the lowest setting with the beam focused to a spot. My cell phone camera is pretty high resolution and picks up minute things that the human eye can pick up so the pictures look grainier than it really is. I adjusted the gain down enough so that I can see good detail with the ambient light. Just a little disclaimer...this is my first "real" NV so I'm still learning on how to adjust things and whatnot so all I ask is that ya'll take it easy on me.
Here's my 300BLK that I built, it has an AERO Precision monolithic upper w/a 10" top rail. With the Leupold scope I have plenty of rail, but with the Nikon 300BLK 2-7x scope I'm just about out of rail-estate with the CO-MR. I found that the ACOG light shade works perfectly with the Leupold and I would imagine it would also work with other 1-4x24 scopes.
I found that the IR illuminator is in the perfect position on the left rail where I can manipulate the power switch with my support hand. I found the performance of the pack-in illuminator to be adequate...but I also have very limited experience with other illuminators so I can be called ignorant with this accessory.
This is the front of the shed at 1x with only moonlight. I had the gain set pretty low since is was so bright outside but I was still able to get decent detail.
Now the shed @ 4x without using the illuminator. The picture is grainier than what is actually visible and I believe that is because when the camera captures the image it stops everything at that moment and gives it that illusion of that extra grainy texture.
Now here's the shed @ 1x using the illuminator on the 2nd setting. I was getting some reflection off some items in the foreground so obviously it impacted negatively with the results but unfortunately unavoidable.
Shed @ 4x with the illuminator and this time I didn't get any reflection from the foreground.
Now out to the gate which is right about 50 yards. I was getting pretty tired by this point trying to hold the rifle steady with one hand and with the other trying to line up my cell phone and press the shutter. The pic is canted a bit but hopefully the image quality comes through.
Here we go @ 4x:
Same gate @1x this time with the illuminator. Once again the stuff in the foreground is reflecting back.
Lastly the gate @ 4x with the illuminator. The spot is adjusted down to a pretty good focus point and is nice & round.
Overall I'm happy with the CO-MR and I hope to get it upgraded to the HD tube sometime in the future. I would also like to see how other illuminators compare to the pack-in one and if they improve the image enough to justify that extra expense. I do like the wireless remote and how it mounts on the rail. The pull/twist selector keeps the unit from inadvertently turning on and is a good safety feature. Of course when using the remote the selector doesn't have to be pulled out and turned to operate as that's only required for continuous operation. The manual gain knob is way out front which can be awkward to reach, but it also shouldn't be something that needs to be adjusted or continually messed with. The focus lever worked pretty good and I was able to get a nice sharp image from as close as 10 yards but as of yet I haven't had to opportunity to use it at any distances past 75 yards so I don't have any personal experience at ranges out to where I would be hunting at (200-250 yards is about my night time hunting limit). I hope to get more use out of the unit and hopefully it'll continue to make me happy with the purchase.
Unfortunately for me I'm financially challenged due to my income reliant on the VA so I wasn't able to contribute any $$ to get an upgraded unit so what I have here is the SD model with the manual gain control. I believe that it may be possible to upgrade the tube through Armasight to the HD model and if that's true then that will be my ultimate goal so my challenge will be getting the funds to do so. Getting to the unit itself, I tried it on 2 rifles with 2 different optics and sat on my back steps around midnight a few days before a full moon. It was very bright as I was getting shadows from the moonlight and the moon itself was already starting to set.
I had a real hard time taking pictures through my scope so for me to keep my sanity I just stuck with 1 scope, which was my Leupold Mark AR 1-4x Fire Dot. I focused on 2 landmarks in my back yard which happens to be the front of my shed @ 40yds and the back gate @ 50yds and both with just the moonlight and also with the illuminator that came with the CO-MR on the lowest setting with the beam focused to a spot. My cell phone camera is pretty high resolution and picks up minute things that the human eye can pick up so the pictures look grainier than it really is. I adjusted the gain down enough so that I can see good detail with the ambient light. Just a little disclaimer...this is my first "real" NV so I'm still learning on how to adjust things and whatnot so all I ask is that ya'll take it easy on me.
Here's my 300BLK that I built, it has an AERO Precision monolithic upper w/a 10" top rail. With the Leupold scope I have plenty of rail, but with the Nikon 300BLK 2-7x scope I'm just about out of rail-estate with the CO-MR. I found that the ACOG light shade works perfectly with the Leupold and I would imagine it would also work with other 1-4x24 scopes.
I found that the IR illuminator is in the perfect position on the left rail where I can manipulate the power switch with my support hand. I found the performance of the pack-in illuminator to be adequate...but I also have very limited experience with other illuminators so I can be called ignorant with this accessory.
This is the front of the shed at 1x with only moonlight. I had the gain set pretty low since is was so bright outside but I was still able to get decent detail.
Now the shed @ 4x without using the illuminator. The picture is grainier than what is actually visible and I believe that is because when the camera captures the image it stops everything at that moment and gives it that illusion of that extra grainy texture.
Now here's the shed @ 1x using the illuminator on the 2nd setting. I was getting some reflection off some items in the foreground so obviously it impacted negatively with the results but unfortunately unavoidable.
Shed @ 4x with the illuminator and this time I didn't get any reflection from the foreground.
Now out to the gate which is right about 50 yards. I was getting pretty tired by this point trying to hold the rifle steady with one hand and with the other trying to line up my cell phone and press the shutter. The pic is canted a bit but hopefully the image quality comes through.
Here we go @ 4x:
Same gate @1x this time with the illuminator. Once again the stuff in the foreground is reflecting back.
Lastly the gate @ 4x with the illuminator. The spot is adjusted down to a pretty good focus point and is nice & round.
Overall I'm happy with the CO-MR and I hope to get it upgraded to the HD tube sometime in the future. I would also like to see how other illuminators compare to the pack-in one and if they improve the image enough to justify that extra expense. I do like the wireless remote and how it mounts on the rail. The pull/twist selector keeps the unit from inadvertently turning on and is a good safety feature. Of course when using the remote the selector doesn't have to be pulled out and turned to operate as that's only required for continuous operation. The manual gain knob is way out front which can be awkward to reach, but it also shouldn't be something that needs to be adjusted or continually messed with. The focus lever worked pretty good and I was able to get a nice sharp image from as close as 10 yards but as of yet I haven't had to opportunity to use it at any distances past 75 yards so I don't have any personal experience at ranges out to where I would be hunting at (200-250 yards is about my night time hunting limit). I hope to get more use out of the unit and hopefully it'll continue to make me happy with the purchase.
