This is my first time to post here and I’m really only starting to get into long range shooting. I have a Tikka T3x Tac A1 6.5 Creedmore with an SWFA SS 10x40 mounted as my day scope. I’m wanting to find a night vision scope that I can easily shoot pigs a minimum of 600 yards. I’ve read some about Gens 1, 2, and 3 and I was wondering if someone with more experience knows if a Gen 2 scope will get me to the 600 yard mark? I’m planning on buying a Coyote Cannon IR light to mount onto the scope as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Night Vision Lost and needing some advice on night vision scopes
- Thread starter Newbie77
- Start date
Welcome to the Hide...What exact NV scope are you considering?
Photonis 4G INTENS are still considered G2 but they are great tubes and the closest to L3's unfilmed that will get you to the ranges you need if built around a clip-on and great day glass.
As for hunting pigs at that range?? I dunno know as these are still SMALL critters. I am not confident in my abilities to differentiate against a cow so I don't have to write a check to a cattleman. But that's just me and older eyes.
Aww shucks. Saw your IG post with two left and passed it around a few group chats. Glad to hear.
I’m just gonna leave this here...
Outside of artillery, there’s absolutely ZERO way of reliably guaranteeing a humane kill-shot at 600+ yards on anything the size of your average hog even with the absolute-best NV/Thermal / Optics / Rifle / Skillset money can.
Maybe you have the best AXMC rifle. Maybe you have the best $5K scope. Maybe you have the best L3 WP LR clip-on or perhaps a UTC-Xii thermal. Maybe you have a full-power Raptar-S with Applied Ballistics. Maybe you’re the second coming of Carlos Hathcock.
CAN guys hit hogs beyond 600 yards? Sure, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean it’s smart.
So... you say you’re just getting into LR shooting. You have a nice little rifle and a 10x fixed power scope. 10x at >600 yards, at night, with a clip-on, is a tall ask for a dude with mad skills and great gear.
Just saying, pump the brakes, do lots of homework, save lots of pennies, because to be reasonably effective at those distances at night means you’re looking at a bare minimum of dropping $10K.
Outside of artillery, there’s absolutely ZERO way of reliably guaranteeing a humane kill-shot at 600+ yards on anything the size of your average hog even with the absolute-best NV/Thermal / Optics / Rifle / Skillset money can.
Maybe you have the best AXMC rifle. Maybe you have the best $5K scope. Maybe you have the best L3 WP LR clip-on or perhaps a UTC-Xii thermal. Maybe you have a full-power Raptar-S with Applied Ballistics. Maybe you’re the second coming of Carlos Hathcock.
CAN guys hit hogs beyond 600 yards? Sure, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean it’s smart.
So... you say you’re just getting into LR shooting. You have a nice little rifle and a 10x fixed power scope. 10x at >600 yards, at night, with a clip-on, is a tall ask for a dude with mad skills and great gear.
Just saying, pump the brakes, do lots of homework, save lots of pennies, because to be reasonably effective at those distances at night means you’re looking at a bare minimum of dropping $10K.
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If you want to actually kill shit at night, and don’t have any illusions of military grandeur..... get a thermal.
, if only I could afford an LRASThanks TheHorta. I’m not in a big rush but ideally I’d like to find something within the next month or so. The reason I asked about NV optics/setup (whether it be a clip on for my own scope or a NV scope and light combo) that’s capable of shooting out to 600 yards is because that’s the distance from my back patio to my feeder. I have a deer stand set up at 200 yards from the feeder that I can shoot from but I thought it would be nice/convenient/quite honestly lazy to be able to shoot pigs from the back porch if I ever had the desire. With expert spotting help I’m able to land on steel at 1500 yards with the setup I have but I know night shooting is completely different and pigs aren’t immobile steel targets. Before attempting to shoot anything living from this distance I have plans of setting up steel targets to practice shooting at night. I’m just lost in the minutiae of everything that’s out there. I figured some of you guys with experience would be the best to help me narrow down my search and to offer pearls of wisdom for a greenhorn. Thanks again for the suggestions
Hey Jeffl838,
I wish I could afford thermal but I just can’t. I was hoping to spend around $1000 maximum if possible. If I can’t find a NV scope or scope/light combo for that amount that can get me out to 600 yards I’ll start looking for a nice rig that will light them up easily at 200 yards where my stand is.
I’ll definitely check those out. I’m sort of fishing for suggestions and researching as I go along. Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it
$1K is gonna take some serious luck. Jeff’s advice
Is spot-on. You might want to find something of value you own and don’t need to own.
Luna is always a good call for long range illumination. I’d be looking at a refurb PVS-27. I bought one last year for $2700 off FleaBay and it works spectacularly well. Contrast is the problem, but with good illumination (Luna) or moonlight your goal is possible.
I assume your boomstick is suppressed?
Is spot-on. You might want to find something of value you own and don’t need to own.
Luna is always a good call for long range illumination. I’d be looking at a refurb PVS-27. I bought one last year for $2700 off FleaBay and it works spectacularly well. Contrast is the problem, but with good illumination (Luna) or moonlight your goal is possible.
I assume your boomstick is suppressed?
No sir I don’t have a suppressor. I put a Fat Bastard muzzle brake on it. Do you recommend a suppressor instead of just the brake? I’m sorry but I really am wading through this. I don’t have the funds to go all out but I want to get what I need to build a nice setup. Nothing outrageous but something people will look at and say “”man that guy put a lot of thought into building that”. If it means finding a good combo that’ll work at 200-300 yards instead of 600 yards then I’m up for doing that too.
@Newbie77,
@TheHorta is correct about thermal for KILLING hogs! I made the mistake of trying to stay in a small budget when I switched to night time hog hunting and wasted alot of money trying this and that... I always wanted better capabilities. I ended up with a N-Vision Halo Lr and have been extatic! But I wasted money along the way.
Also, I've killed alot of hogs at long range during the day and it is tricky because they are very twitchy and move around constantly. This makes long shots on hogs tricky at best. The beauty of night hunting is that I may spot them at 7-800 yards and EASILY stalk to within 100 yards when I have the wind.
Here is a pic from last Friday of a sounder at 900+ yards taken with the halo lr.
If you are near Oklahoma, pm me, I'll take you hunting and let you try it out.
David
@TheHorta is correct about thermal for KILLING hogs! I made the mistake of trying to stay in a small budget when I switched to night time hog hunting and wasted alot of money trying this and that... I always wanted better capabilities. I ended up with a N-Vision Halo Lr and have been extatic! But I wasted money along the way.
Also, I've killed alot of hogs at long range during the day and it is tricky because they are very twitchy and move around constantly. This makes long shots on hogs tricky at best. The beauty of night hunting is that I may spot them at 7-800 yards and EASILY stalk to within 100 yards when I have the wind.
Here is a pic from last Friday of a sounder at 900+ yards taken with the halo lr.
If you are near Oklahoma, pm me, I'll take you hunting and let you try it out.
David
I think the best analogy I have heard concerning this stuff is likening it to Vegas. You can stay at Bally's or Treasure Island and have fun, eat at the buffet and gamble. And if you didn't know any better you would think that Vegas was fun with decent food.
You stay at the Cosmopolitan or Wynn and realize there is a whole other world where supermodels pour drinks at bottle service and 10k dinners are paid with black cards and casino chips.
Just depends on your budget, taste and how deep your pockets are.
JR
Hey David,
Thank you for the advice. I’ve only been researching for a short time but I can absolutely see what you’re saying about wasting a lot of money on trying to put together combos that’ll do what I’d like. We live in south Texas now but moved from Lubbock a couple years ago. If we were still in Lubbock I might’ve taken you up on your offer.
TheHorta,
With thermal out of my budget right now what do you think about an ATN X-sight 4K ProSmart Day/Night 5-20x scope combined with a Coyote Cannon IR?
The problem is the distances you’re talking. You CAN get really good stuff for $3K or less if you cap your range at 300y or less. There are tons of new and used short-range thermal weapon scopes in the $2-3K range that are awesome. The Bering Hogster and some Pulsar models fit that range.
While 600y in the daytime barely qualifies as long range, when the lights go out that’s basically ELR in NV World. There are guys here who play very comfortably in that world at those ranges. I’m not one of them, but I make up for it by rocking $100K of kit when I roll at night listening to the yotes mocking and laughing at me the entire time. I’m basically a Pog, but I have a blast doing it.
I’d be patient and save my pennies for a cosmetic PVS-27 beater, as long as the optics and tube are sound. They pop up every couple of months for around $3K, give or take.
A suppressor is great, because at those distances the hogs and yotes have no clue where the shot came from. I’ve dropped yotes only to have their companion(s) run straight at me wondering WTH is happening. When I ran unsuppressed, I’d get one shot and they’d scatter heading away from the big boom. Since running suppressed, I’ve seen hogs get startled and run 10-feet only to stop and start foraging again, until you schwack 3-4 of them then they get a clue that it’s not a place they want to be.
While 600y in the daytime barely qualifies as long range, when the lights go out that’s basically ELR in NV World. There are guys here who play very comfortably in that world at those ranges. I’m not one of them, but I make up for it by rocking $100K of kit when I roll at night listening to the yotes mocking and laughing at me the entire time. I’m basically a Pog, but I have a blast doing it.
I’d be patient and save my pennies for a cosmetic PVS-27 beater, as long as the optics and tube are sound. They pop up every couple of months for around $3K, give or take.
A suppressor is great, because at those distances the hogs and yotes have no clue where the shot came from. I’ve dropped yotes only to have their companion(s) run straight at me wondering WTH is happening. When I ran unsuppressed, I’d get one shot and they’d scatter heading away from the big boom. Since running suppressed, I’ve seen hogs get startled and run 10-feet only to stop and start foraging again, until you schwack 3-4 of them then they get a clue that it’s not a place they want to be.
The only way you are going to come anywhere near that performance (distance being the biggest issue) for anywhere NEAR a $1k budget is w/ a KN203 SIMRAD and you're still going to be paying about double that. I've shot SIMRADs much further than that and never felt underequipped. They are outstanding pieces of equipment and represent the closest way you are going to be able to potentially pull off what you want to for under ~$4k. There were a bunch available a while back but haven't seen much recently.
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