Don’t forget iRay. Their sensors are gorgeous and they have a few options in the price range of the Bering optics as well.You have a few options...
Red light. Least effective. As coyotes get pressured, they get smarter. Lights are very old school. My first year of hunting was with lights, and it was frustrating. Can it be done? Yes, but it's very difficult.
Digital night vision. This is entry level and can be done for around $500. The problem is, you're limited to the ability of your infrared Light, and you're still looking for eye shine from a coyote. I've hunted a few times with my digital night vision. It now sits on top of my gun safe.
Night vision. Marginally better than digital. Once again, you're limited to your infrared. Another problem is that most night vision devices are recoil sensitive. I hunted with a PVS-14 as a scanner and I was less than impressed. I ended up selling it.
Thermal. For hunting at night, there isn't anything better. With a good thermal, you can see a coyote long before you can shoot one. You can get into thermal for around $1,500, but I wouldn't recommend that price point unless you're certain that you won't be hunting past 100 yards. Personally, I think it would be best for woods. As far as brands go, I've tried Pulsar, Trijicon, and Bering Optics. Trijicon is built like a tank, but I feel they have relied on their name too long and have let most companies pass them by. When I bought mine, Trijicon was king of the hill and very expensive. I paid $9,000, and it sits in my safe on my back up/loaner gun. Pulsar used to be pretty good, but they have switched to throwing on bells and whistles and charging extra. Pulsar used to sell the Apex which was a no frills scope at a reasonable price point. They stopped selling them and there's no model that I would recommend, especially considering the proprietary batteries. Last is Bering Optics. For the price point, there's nothing better. I own three. The Super Hogster is better than my Trijicon in some ways. I hunt with my Bering Optics scope and scanner.
The biggest issue is dropping a good chunk of money on something you've never seen. I can help. Feel free to message me, and we can figure out a time for you to look through my scopes and get a better idea of what you want.
Alan is right. In a few weeks, thermal scopes are going to get hard to find...
Right on. That nox from nvision looks amazing. Id really like to compare it to the mh25s. I havent been behind any of their stuff either.I haven't been behind iRay, so I can't make an informed recommendation. Same with Nvision. That's why I only recommended the brands I've used...
Steele Industries is one of many good vendors. Others i would recommend in no particular order:I'm looking into NVGs as well. From the research I've done, Steele Industries is the best bet for making a purchase.
I'm thinking as soon as I free up some $$ I'll get their night fighter package. PVS-14 Elbit thin filmed WP.
From what I've seen, that's the lowest recommended purchase. You can typically find them about 3k for the monocular, 4100 for the night fighter package. (Helmet, mount, monocular, IR strobe.)
You can get a digital night vision scope for under $1,000. Look at the Sightmark Wraith.Does anyone have any updated info on a good NV scope under a grand?