So I have had my PVS-14 for 4 days now n I'm like a kid in a candy store. Makes me wonder why I waited so long to get one.
I opted to pass on a weapons mount when I made my original purchase. I was advised that it was better to have your NV on your head so you didn't have to have your weapon up to look at everything. I thought that sounded reasonable so, I make all my observations from a helmet mounted system.
I pulled out a few different weapons and went to my back yard. I wanted to see how different sights would work with the NV on my head. The first thing I noticed from playing with it it the was a side arm may not be practical (at least with traditional sights). If I tried to focus on my sights the target would be distorted enough that accurate hits would be unlikely. In fact I could not even focus my front and rear sight at the same time! Perhaps someone with more experience can offer a solution. I also noted that night sights seemed worse than a standard sight although neither were good.
I then used a Leupold CQT and a Trijicon ACOG for comparison. I found the ACOG seemed to be brighter (easier target acquisition) but the aiming point was harder to refine. I could get it acceptable by playing with the focus and the gain. I could use the CQT's reticle without turning it on. It was a full moon so, I am unsure if it would work on a dark night. The extra magnification was nice but, the problem with both of these options was you needed to adjust your focus every time your went on and off the scopes.
So I left the house and went to do some shooting.
I put out the target and started to back up and I lose it.
This is at about 30 ft
60ish
Had to move it out in the road to ID it clearly.
"Disclaimer Pic were from my phone"
Even in the these pics you can see it was difficult to ID when its outline was broken up by the bushes. Which surprised me had I not known where it was I most likely wouldn't have noticed it. Lesson learned. I could however clearly see it at 120 yds in the road.
I didn't take out a red dot but, I will soon. I thought it would be similar to the CQT on 1 X but, now I am guessing it would let more light through.
Making hits on the targets was tough for my first time. I found I could naturally find the scope well enough and even get a good sight picture, but adjusting the focus, gain, and keeping a proper spacing for a full sight pic wasn't easy. Not being able to clear up my cheveron and target at the same time made for poor accuracy. As stated earlier the CQT was quite dark so after the targets started to grey it became even less useful.
Those were a few things I picked up, maybe helpful for someone else starting out.
Cody
I opted to pass on a weapons mount when I made my original purchase. I was advised that it was better to have your NV on your head so you didn't have to have your weapon up to look at everything. I thought that sounded reasonable so, I make all my observations from a helmet mounted system.
I pulled out a few different weapons and went to my back yard. I wanted to see how different sights would work with the NV on my head. The first thing I noticed from playing with it it the was a side arm may not be practical (at least with traditional sights). If I tried to focus on my sights the target would be distorted enough that accurate hits would be unlikely. In fact I could not even focus my front and rear sight at the same time! Perhaps someone with more experience can offer a solution. I also noted that night sights seemed worse than a standard sight although neither were good.
I then used a Leupold CQT and a Trijicon ACOG for comparison. I found the ACOG seemed to be brighter (easier target acquisition) but the aiming point was harder to refine. I could get it acceptable by playing with the focus and the gain. I could use the CQT's reticle without turning it on. It was a full moon so, I am unsure if it would work on a dark night. The extra magnification was nice but, the problem with both of these options was you needed to adjust your focus every time your went on and off the scopes.
So I left the house and went to do some shooting.
I put out the target and started to back up and I lose it.
This is at about 30 ft
60ish
Had to move it out in the road to ID it clearly.
"Disclaimer Pic were from my phone"
Even in the these pics you can see it was difficult to ID when its outline was broken up by the bushes. Which surprised me had I not known where it was I most likely wouldn't have noticed it. Lesson learned. I could however clearly see it at 120 yds in the road.
I didn't take out a red dot but, I will soon. I thought it would be similar to the CQT on 1 X but, now I am guessing it would let more light through.
Making hits on the targets was tough for my first time. I found I could naturally find the scope well enough and even get a good sight picture, but adjusting the focus, gain, and keeping a proper spacing for a full sight pic wasn't easy. Not being able to clear up my cheveron and target at the same time made for poor accuracy. As stated earlier the CQT was quite dark so after the targets started to grey it became even less useful.
Those were a few things I picked up, maybe helpful for someone else starting out.
Cody
