Night Vision for Hog hunting

My brother and I are looking for night vision scopes for are ar-15s, but we don't really know what is good without spending a crap load of money. We have a budget of around $1000, we don't know what is good, what is no good, If we can get a descent scope for less, that is great. Any help would be great, thanks!

Sightmark
Photon xt 500.00

Also, buy a good IR illuminator; you'll be much happier with one.

Depending on who see's this thread, you just opened a can o worms. People get passionate about this subject.

I just bought the Photon XT about a month ago and have had it out 3 times. I was with guys who had a lot more money in there NV scopes than I did. Theirs's were bigger, heavier, more expensive, took exotic batteries and weren't able to do any better inside of 100 hundred yards than mine. I bought mine for hog hunting. I didn't want to break the bank to get started and so far am very pleased. I can't recommend it beyond 100 yards with the iluminator it comes with but it did fine inside of that. For any extended outing you need to have extra AA batteries with you.

I recommend the Pulsar N-750. Buy the Energizer Lithium batteries and you are good to go all night. I have tried a number of other cheaper scopes and IMO this is the way to go.

Welcome to the forum

Here is a video from an unbiased source, what questions do you have based on what you see?

Following

Most folks are happy with their Photon XT and believe it to be a good value for the money. I like mine.

The N750 is better, but you'll struggle to find one in your budget range.

Armasights has a scope called the vampire that is preferred by a rep from Optics Planet, I just read this awhile ago - I've not used one yet but it goes for about 800...

Here is some input from Optics Planet on another product.

Mounted one up this week and put it on paper. Looks pretty promising so far.

The Photon is going to be the cheapest thing that will work ok, next would be the pulsar digitals and the X sight. Will they be 3rd gen or thermal good no not even close unless its a full moon but they will work better than lights white/red/green/rainbow whatever. People will argue till they are blue in the face that lights do not scare hogs, digital is as good as 3rd gen, ect the best thing you can do is test it out for yourself either by finding someone that has it or by renting some from a place like ultimate night vision. Hogs can see lights, hogs can see IR illuminators, 3rd gen NV is better in dark situations and thermal is the best, I can say this because I have used and tested them all. But what ultimately works best for you and your wallet and brings you success and fun is all that really matters.

I got this one...factory refurbished for $1200 and they thru in a video cam that attaches to it. I bought the extra IR

Well Said!!

Nailed it as usual...

Very well said.

The Photon is at the lower limit of what is usable in my opinion. The price relative to the competition is the lowest as far as I know. The only other option that would be less is to make something yourself, but that has it's own inherent drawbacks and limitations.

The Photon is low cost compared to the competition, but look at it in the context of what it costs to make one yourself or against compact digital video recorders. Compare digital recorders, cameras, and such with their much better performance, image quality, technology and functionality (as a camera) and their lower cost and it is plain to see that the Photon XT is expensive relative to performance (what you actually get).

Remember that you will also need to price in a mount for the scope (as low as $30 up to how much you want to spend), possibly the doubler ($200 from UNV), and IR Illuminator ($30 to $50 depending on the model T20 to T67 [the source is given in my thread in optics sub forum] or $195 for a T20 from UNV) and some sort of mounting solution for that. To get to the point where it is usable in large fields it will nickle and dime you up to around $1,000.

Better to go into it with your eyes wide open and realistic expectations than the expectation that these are some wonder NV. The performance is marginal, but in my opinion the form factor (ease of use) is good.

This video captures my albeit limited experience with Photon XT quite well. With current digital imagery technology and it's ever decreasing cost, there is much more potential for better digital products at lower price points, but at the end of the day a seller will charge what the market will pay...



Same guy as posted earlier, only without the doubler at 60 yards. A more honest representation of a stock Photon XT without the doubler ("an unbiased video" - LOL).



In the video of the Photon XT with a doubler you will also notice how much the field of view is reduced when using the doubler... It provides a better image at the cost of a significant reduction in the FOV. The FOV for me is important to be able to pick up targets for follow up shots once they are on the run. So there is no free lunch...

I used my Photon hunting for the first time last weekend. It has the doubler and UNV IR. I was amazed at how far I could see and make out hogs and deer. We were scanning fields that were probably 400 yards across and I could make out hogs walking along the tree line. Anything inside of 250 yards was a piece of cake. I took several shots at hogs at 70-150 yards and it's just like looking through a tube at a black and white TV. By adjusting the brightness and the focus you can make the image very good. I have to say I was really, really impressed, but the whole package was about $950 with doubler, IR, tax, and shipping.

I will say that I kept the doubler on the entire time and I had no problem following running hogs. If you are good with a scope then I don't see that as an issue and I would much rather have the extra magnification.

I have the Photon 3.5X (which is the predecessor to the Photon XT). While the UNV 20-IR is nice, I find it's not really absolutely necessary. It probably helps me more in finding hogs than in shooting them. As a general rule I don't take shots at night exceeding 75-80 yards, and the on board IR illuminator is good enough out to that range. As long as the wind is in my face, I can sneak up on hogs at night without too much difficulty. I don't have a doubler so I can't comment on that aspect, but I'm pretty satisfied with my Photon. It's not in the same class as thermal night vision by a long shot, but it doesn't cost as much, either. For a guy like me on a budget it has worked out to be a good choice.

When the moon is greater than a quarter and the sky is clear, or in the half-hour or so before or after twilight, I can see out to a half-mile or more without any IR illumination in an open pasture. Looking in shadows is another story. In that case the illumination is needed.

You might also check with Txkiller on here. He's a frequent poster on the subject and moderator on the forum. Send him a PM.