Entry level night vision

[MaMllc]

Life on a budget sucks. I can afford an entry level 1911 right now ,but if WIlson combat were the only thing out there I would have to do without. Same with night vision, if four figure+ state of the art equipment is all that's worth having, I will have to pass. Will the entry level equipment that is available today give me any king of advantage at all, or is it really not any better than nothing. If it is better than nothing, can anyone make any specific recommendations?

I am thinking probably a monocular over a scope, but not sure.

 

[SPfeiffer]

Re: Entry level night vision

I do not own one YET but IMO the ATN ps-22 makes the most sense to me!! Cabelas 1899.99

 

[Haust]

Re: Entry level night vision

That's well into 4+ figures, though.

I'm interested in recommendations, as well. Obviously the higher end kit is going to give you higher end results, but is the lower speed stuff all that bad?

I've found a lot of good information, via: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.snipershide.com+budget+night+vision

 

[Ultraman550]

Re: Entry level night vision

I've actually been looking into this as well and this is the only place I have found that is not too expensive. Probably not the best but if someone out there has any experience I'd love to hear about it.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/nightvision.aspx?c=136

 

[Sledge1]

Re: Entry level night vision

If only there were a dedicated "Night Vision" forum close by....

 

[JohnnyC]

Re: Entry level night vision

Read the generation comparison guide in the NV forum. It's right at the top.

The short answer is that it sucks. Cheap night vision blows goats and you're better off with a good quality flashlight.

 

[solvovir]

Re: Entry level night vision

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JohnnyC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Read the generation comparison guide in the NV forum. It's right at the top.

The short answer is that it sucks. Cheap night vision blows goats and you're better off with a good quality flashlight.</div></div>
This. I looked through a buddys ATN 390 and was not impressed. Based on that experience I bought one of those ND3 flash lights and used it for night hunting. Not mounted to my rifle, just hand held.

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Entry level night vision

 

[SNAFU_]

Re: Entry level night vision

swingline red too...classic

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Entry level night vision

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SNAFUBAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">swingline red too...classic </div></div>

Nothing but the best man...

 

[SABuzzard]

Re: Entry level night vision

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JohnnyC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Read the generation comparison guide in the NV forum. It's right at the top.

The short answer is that it sucks. Cheap night vision blows goats and you're better off with a good quality flashlight. </div></div>

Exactly this.

Here's the link to the comparison

The pictures show that the cheap first gen stuff is all but useless past 25 yards in all but the best conditions including use of a high end illuminator.

I started with first gen, moved to second, and finally ended up with a high end 3rd gen devise. Very expensive learning experience. Don't make the same mistake I made.

 

[Triad]

Re: Entry level night vision

My agency bought 10 sets of rebuilt Russian tubes from, Bushnell (pretty sure thats where they were from). We had four sets in the field for a month to test. We could not find a single scenario where they were better than my Steiner 7x50 Military bino.

Buy once, cry once boys and girls............

 

[MBC223]

Re: Entry level night vision

My first night time hog hunt I shot a couple with a borrowed Atn gen1 paladin. It was pretty bad. Compared to gen3 pvs 14s, d740s, and pvs22s it was like looking through 75 yards of grape cool aid trying to find anything. Can you make hits on a bright night with ir illum....yep. Would I pinch pennies for 5 years to get something better? Yep.

 

[mcmillanman5]

Re: Entry level night vision

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JohnnyC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Read the generation comparison guide in the NV forum. It's right at the top.

The short answer is that it sucks. Cheap night vision blows goats and you're better off with a good quality flashlight. </div></div>

I agree with this 100%. My Dad has an old starlight scope, the first time I looked through it I struggled to make out a thing. Another piece of advice I heard and agreed with is to do the research and decide how much you are willing to spend. Once you buy night vision never look trough a higher gen than what you own or you will not be happy with what you have.

ETA: unless you're willing to upgrade!

 

[jwp6114]

Re: Entry level night vision

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MaMllc</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Life on a budget sucks.</div></div>

your telling me, i also live on a budget and have been saving for quite some time, Just pulled the trigger today on a BNS PVS-22 P+ it will be here tomorrow. traded a high dollar class 3 AR for a genIII pvs-14 a while back.

 

[aubie515]

Re: Entry level night vision

What's up with all this ATN talk? There are guys that have $2k optics on their trainer 22 rifle and you guys are talking about ATN like that's real NV...ATN is crap PERIOD.

OP needs to learn how to type a complete sentence and learn to proofread.

 

[tmckay2]

Re: Entry level night vision

i haven't felt the need to buy NV yet but i have messed around with gen 1, 2, and 3. please for the love of god don't waste money on anything below gen 3. even gen 3 isn't as ridiculous as the movies make them seem, but they are useable. money spent on anything less is a complete waste. personally i think you can make a case for gen 3 even being a waste, but everyone has their opinion. its by faaaaaar the best though.