Night Vision/Thermal

[BrassBandit]

Looking to finally make the plunge and buy either a PVS14 or dual tube if I decide to splurge a little more, but think it would probably be a better idea to get a good spec PVS14 and put the saved money towards a thermal clip on like an IRay RH25 or similar.

Obviously a large amount of money to get into, so was wondering if anyone within an hour or so of the Indianapolis area has some setups they wouldn’t mind showing and letting me look through. I’ll buy dinner and or bring some beer

Feel free to PM me.

Thanks!

 

[Rookie]

I have a couple thermal scopes and scanners...

 

[AllenM]

I work in Avon. I have BNVD14's and a thermal clip on. pretty good stuff if you want to take a look. I have some land in Clayton to LARP on for a good test

 

[AllenM]

Looking to finally make the plunge and buy either a PVS14 or dual tube if I decide to splurge a little more, but think it would probably be a better idea to get a good spec PVS14 and put the saved money towards a thermal clip on like an IRay RH25 or similar.

Obviously a large amount of money to get into, so was wondering if anyone within an hour or so of the Indianapolis area has some setups they wouldn’t mind showing and letting me look through. I’ll buy dinner and or bring some beer

Feel free to PM me.

Thanks!

Playing with the thermal a little tonight.
Camera adjusted lighting on pics of the gun.
It's pretty dark out. The tree I am aiming at is about 125 yards.

 

[sheepdog697]

Playing with the thermal a little tonight.
Camera adjusted lighting on pics of the gun.
It's pretty dark out. The tree I am aiming at is about 125 yards.

View attachment 331355

View attachment 331356


View attachment 331357

Nice is that the 640 or the 384 stingIR?

 

[AllenM]

Nice is that the 640 or the 384 stingIR?

640

 

[9mm-SMG]

You can't really go wrong with a Gen 3 PVS-14. Anything above a 30SNR, EBI less than 1.5, 64lp/mm or higher, HALO less than 1.0, LG above 60k will equal a great set up.

 

[sheepdog697]

640

Very nice. Can you post some pictures with that? I'm torn between this and the RH25 from iray. I wish the stingIR was rated for higher than 223. Only thing holding me back atm.

 

[AllenM]

It does not have the ability to do pics or videos without hooking an external device up.
Is that what you meant?

 

[sheepdog697]

It does not have the ability to do pics or videos without hooking an external device up.
Is that what you meant?

Oh i did not realize it didn't have onboard video/picture. Do you ever run anything external to take videos or pictures? Ended up getting a VERY good deal on the RH25 from Custom Night Vision this week, might throw a short review on here when i get some time behind it.

 

[AllenM]

Oh i did not realize it didn't have onboard video/picture. Do you ever run anything external to take videos or pictures? Ended up getting a VERY good deal on the RH25 from Custom Night Vision this week, might throw a short review on here when i get some time behind it.

I have not tried

 

[BrassBandit]

Oh i did not realize it didn't have onboard video/picture. Do you ever run anything external to take videos or pictures? Ended up getting a VERY good deal on the RH25 from Custom Night Vision this week, might throw a short review on here when i get some time behind it.

How much is a very good deal?

 

[FN USA]

A full night vision setup is cost prohibitive for me at the moment, so I've been looking at a thermal clip on for my rifle in the interim such as the ones you all listed above. Is that a good solution in the short-term or should I save my pennies and get a PVS-31 setup?

 

[sheepdog697]

A full night vision setup is cost prohibitive for me at the moment, so I've been looking at a thermal clip on for my rifle in the interim such as the ones you all listed above. Is that a good solution in the short-term or should I save my pennies and get a PVS-31 setup?

It honestly depends on what you're doing.

If you plan on doing anything dynamic or navigating id say analog night vision.

If you want to primarily do stationary hunting, OR focus on detection I'd say thermal.

I would probably recommend a dedicated thermal optic before a clip on if you don't have any other night vision or thermal.

 

[sheepdog697]

How much is a very good deal?

I found a website that had them for almost $1k under MAP. I emailed custom night vision, and he price matched and then some. I've done business with him in the past with Night Vision related stuff and was very happy with their customer service.

With the additional adm qd mount and iray usa pictail mount. I was out the door with taxes and shipping for under $5k.

 

[sheepdog697]

Received the RH25, unit is incredible. I'm really hoping to do a review with this and the mh25 side by side soon. Resolution in person is probably 1.5-2x as crisp as videos online. I was able to spot deer at about 5-600yds tonight no problem in a field by my house.

 

[ZurokSlayer7X9]

I have one of those ATN Thor LT 5-10x in 320. Not as versatile as a clip-on, but I think it's decent for entry level thermal. I was able to see a mouse in a field 120 yards away at 1:00 in the morning with it.


Comparison between a PVS-14 Level 1 Gen 3 vs the Thor. Keep in mind the Thor is zoomed in by 5x while the PVS-14 is 1x, though both are looking at the same deer. The quality of both is much better IRL as my stupid iphone wouldn't focus properly. I'd say the Thor has about the crispness of the pictures AllenM posted, though I'm sure pictures don't do justice for his thermal as well.

 

[ZurokSlayer7X9]

One major complaint I have about the Thor is it has a very bad FOV because of it being 5-10 magnification. I mainly got it for surveillance for my friend's and uncle's property which can range from 600 yards to 3 miles to the treeline across their fields or lake. You can see stuff far away, but anything within 100 yards is disorientating. I once mistook a house cat for a cougar because they were much closer than I thought and appeared much larger than expected.

Next thermal scope I want to get would be an Armasight Sidekick, because they have a magnification of 1 with an FOV of around 22 degrees. Compare that to the PVS-14's roughly 40 degrees. It also displays at 60 htz and can mount on a helmet, though it's battery life sucks.

 

[BigMoose]

I have thought about upgrading my trusty AN/PVS-4 but it just works. It’s been upgraded with a third gen tube MX-11620. One of these days I will track down the AA adapter, mine still takes the big 3.0v “sterno can” BA-5367a battery. I have both the 5.56 and 7.62 bdc reticles. As well as AR carry handle mount, M14 mount, and the m60 mg bracket.

why the m60 bracket, why not.. came with it, makes a good mount if I use the PVS-4 dismounted for observation.

Its about to be taken for its annual Texas hog blasting trip second weekend in March.

Any more it usually sits atop my HBAR bushmaster A2

 

[sheepdog697]

I have thought about upgrading my trusty AN/PVS-4 but it just works. It’s been upgraded with a third gen tube MX-11620. One of these days I will track down the AA adapter, mine still takes the big 3.0v “sterno can” BA-5367a battery. I have both the 5.56 and 7.62 bdc reticles. As well as AR carry handle mount, M14 mount, and the m60 mg bracket.

why the m60 bracket, why not.. came with it, makes a good mount if I use the PVS-4 dismounted for observation.

Its about to be taken for its annual Texas hog blasting trip second weekend in March.

Any more it usually sits atop my HBAR bushmaster A2

She thiccc! Very cool