NODS use and training

[OZZY.40]

There is an entire rabbit hole when it comes to PVS-14's. There are many good sources out there, even the internet elitists give good info, you just have to cut through the BS sometimes. The first thing is deciding if you want Green or White Phosphor, as White is typically better but somewhat more expensive. I went with Green because the cheapest White was over $1,000 above my model. I was once told "White is better than Green, but Green is EONS better than walking around with a toy flashlight in the jungle".

I got a simple AGM Gen 3 Green off of Optics Planet, mainly because I acquired a bunch of OP Bucks. I is still one of my best purchases. I've already had to use it several times, like searching for lost pets in the neighborhood when they got loose at night.

The night vision sub reddit has been the most useful place to find info in my experience,

You aren’t kidding, this rabbit hole never ends! One person says to look for FOM while another hyped up SNR. Then there’s the debate on Elbit, Photonis, & L3. White vs. green; thin film vs non film; single vs dual vs single with thermal! Yeah, it’s deep!

I will definitely start searching through Reddit. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos, I like Hoplopfheil’s videos but he does seem to push going with a PVS-14 even if it’s used/refurbished.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

It's easy to get lost in the weeds.

Most of that stuff is largely irrelevant for general use. Unless you have a specific use case like using an NVD for astronomy, worrying about individual specs on a tube is very much splitting hairs.

All of the units/housings have wierd quirks. That's more important for moving and shooting than your tubes FOM or SNR but even then none of them are deal breakers; just annoying some times.

One example is the objective lense on the NVM/MUM 14. The focus adjustment goes WAY past infinity to both positive and negative. That makes people scratch their head when they are using it in a head mounted setup, but it makes sense if youre using larger magnified lenses for static observation.

Its 6 of 1 and half dozen of another.

Dont get hung up on green Vs white phos tubes either. Having used PVS 31s with white aviation tubes, yes they are better... they are like 10% better, not 400% better - but you'll pay 4 times more to get them.

The diminishing returns for anything 'better' than a green tube monocular is insane.

Example: if you pay the extra $1000 to get a white tube with a higher FOM you could have snagged a used PVS7 off gun broker or ebay and had 2 people under NODs instead of being out there alone. The jump up in capability that comes with having a buddy is worlds above what a higher spec tube would give you, even if that buddy is just using an obsolete unit like the 7s.

 

[turnandshoot4]

I'm looking for a place to shoot at night as well. I have a rifle setup but I'm not sure about the laser zero past 20 yards or so because of the restricted areas I can shoot.

Lots of people complaining about price of NODs when they have 5 ARs and 10 handguns. Stop buying REDUNDANT guns and start buying new capability. That's just as true for night vision as it is for other oreos.

Try calling the company's directly and make a deal. I called ATN directly and got a gen3 NVM14 with mounts and arms shipped for $2500. Stop buying PSAs and wait a few months till tax time.

Another problem is You Tube. The channels that do most of the night vision content either sell night vision, or are invested in looking cool on Instagram. They want people to get into it... but only at their price point and preferred equipment.

They don't tell you that a $300 TLR-VIR2 actually does a great job for most purposes (it doesn't look good on camera in the Idaho mountains and they can't compete wurh Amazon's pricing). You need to spend a grand on a holosun/ vampire combo at minimum they say.

They don't tell you a surplus pvs7 housing with a newer tube can get you into a usable device for less than a 14 with an equivalent tube - they say its better to get the 14 to preserve natural eye vision... then talk up the 31s with their next breath (they can't mark up a unit if you're buying surplus housings)

It's all bunk and its intentional Gate keeping.

But yes I do try to train with NODs and im looking to do so with like minded people.

Bro. We literally train in your back yard. 1/2 of our night guys are running NODs and the other half are white light.

 

[millsusaf]

Looking as well, north side of Indy. I've been doing some training in my back yard with airsoft but it is not the same. I'm fortunate to have a fairly large back yard and wooded area behind the house.

Nav, moving/obstacles, ir/laser, passive dryfire/airsoft, etc, just can't shoot. It's better than nothing though.

Get out and train.

 

[BravoOneFour]

Looking as well, north side of Indy. I've been doing some training in my back yard with airsoft but it is not the same. I'm fortunate to have a fairly large back yard and wooded area behind the house.

Nav, moving/obstacles, ir/laser, passive dryfire/airsoft, etc, just can't shoot. It's better than nothing though.

Get out and train.

We just did an all night land nav at at mississinewa this past weekend. It was a good time.

 

[BravoOneFour]

What a nice night last night.

 

[BigNyaKelly]

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Night vision and thermal are used widely these days. Just curious how many of you train with yours with a prepping mindset? Anybody have good night ranges around central Indiana? I’m very new to the world of NODS (you might even say I’m…. Green.. ) I’m not totally kitted out yet with lasers but I’ve got the basics down and would love to train with others in the field.

I have a PVS-14 Gen 3 Green Phos (L3) and personally I don't do anything with it for anything other than larping. The amount of hours I've put into it and I'm still damn near useless except at known targets that I personally set up. Finding stuff under nods and trying to engage is really hard. That and, it's just scary I guess - if things ever required night combat I assume my best bet will be to duck and cover! XD

 

[BravoOneFour]

I have a PVS-14 Gen 3 Green Phos (L3) and personally I don't do anything with it for anything other than larping. The amount of hours I've put into it and I'm still damn near useless except at known targets that I personally set up. Finding stuff under nods and trying to engage is really hard. That and, it's just scary I guess - if things ever required night combat I assume my best bet will be to duck and cover! XD

Becoming proficient at night is certainly as much an investment of time as it is money,

 

[Refrigerator27]

Becoming proficient at night is certainly as much an investment of time as it is money,

This is why I’ve started using a cmmg .22lr conversion on my night shoots. Most shots are within 50 yards for me so it just works.