Howdy y'all.

Searched the forum and there didn't seem to be many in-depth recent posts, so I thought I would ask. Just got a Sightmark 4k max. Heard the illuminator isn't bad but it might be worthwhile to upgrade. There are many opinions out there, though the Sniper Hog seems highly recommended (and they are from Texas). Any thoughts on how the stock illuminator stacks up against the after market stuff? Brand suggestions? Night snipe? Sniper Hog? Sionyx?

This will be used for pigs and varmint/predator clean up (coons, cats, and yotes/etc.)...pretty standard night hunting. Range is whatever is practical given the capabilities of the 4k.

Thanks much and happy hunting!
Q

https://www.amazon.com/UniqueFire-Flashlight-Illuminator-Rechargeable-Indicator/dp/B011I9SAEE/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=6HOX48ETMGVC&keywords=unique%2Bfire%2B1605&qid=1703519586&sprefix=unique%2Bfire%2B1605%2Caps%2C1389&sr=8-2&th=1&psc=1

I’m running this illuminator. I wish I made a side by side video but you get double if not triple the range. Also they run on 18650 batteries so you can get a good bit of life out of them.

I would estimate the range is 2.5-3times longer. Also it throws a tighter beam so you don’t light up all the brush in your shooting lane if you aren’t hunting wide open pastures.

Even though I went with the smaller 50mm it is still way heavier and bulkier than the factory illuminator.

I bought a cheap quick detach 1” ring to mount and added a quad rail section to my rifle to mount it.

That's a good thing to know up front, just in case you weren't already aware. You can essentially blind yourself lighting up the foliage in front of you.

My first night optic was a Photon XT 4.6X. It came with a built in illuminator, but performance was very significantly enhanced with the use of an external IR illuminator mounted to the rifle. If I recall correctly, the built in unit was not aimed very precisely in the same direction as the optic was looking (I could be mistaken---that may have been another DNV device that had that issue and I don't want to pin that on the Photon XT mistakenly). It's been a long time since I used it but it seems like it just about doubled the range I could see with it.

Here is a picture of the two illuminators so you can get a sense for the size difference.

Scot...no internal illuminator??

No the sightmark series are all externally illuminated. The small factory illuminator is good for 100-150 yards tops.

What y'all are talking about is a "photonic barrier." The term was coined by John Chapman in reference to being blinded through night vision by an external light source or by light reflected from your illuminator, resulting in what we commonly call 'whiting out.' https://bemeyers.com/blog/news/understanding-low-light-no-light-concepts-for-long-range-applications

I haven’t used it yet but I got a good deal on it. The one on bottom compared to the one on top that came with the scope.

Uniquefire UF-1503 invisible illuminator flashlight.

That looks like the one I bought. Works fine.

NIght Snipe N750 on my ATN 4K Pro and Sightmark Wraith Mini!




https://www.predatorhunteroutdoors....ghtsnipe/hunting-light-nightsnipe-ns750/

ya!

GWB

I replaced the Sightmark illuminator on mamma's Wraith 4k with a Armasight Watchman IR Illuminator. All I can say is WOW! It is really a good product. I like the way the light beam stays round and evenly lit when using a tight "spot" pattern. The others I tried all have a square beam and the beam is distorted by the LED chip. I am going to get another one for my son's Wraith Mini.
BTW, I did buy one of those Uniquefire UFs from Amazon but i ended up returning it. It was better than the ones Sightmark includes but it doesn't come close to the Armasight.

"photonic barrier." phooey, it's just like fog. Reflects light back to the optics.

Well, you understand the concept, but for some reason reject the term? That over illumination and blinding that results is a photonic barrier. The photons of light reflected back like that are blinding, causing the visual barrier. Gunsmoke reflecting IR light isn't the only time it happens, as per the article. So there are other photonic barriers that result not from things that are "just like fog."

Your headlights can't 'see' through fog as moisture REFLECTS light. Optical parameters are reflection, absorption and transmission. Scattering is reflection in this case (appears as transmission loss). H20 absorption is in near IR. What we 'see' is mostly from reflected light. Leaves, objects, fog, smoke, etc. No need for a special 'technical' definition for it. As photons react with our eyes, guess we should call it all photonic vs light?

Out in the open pasture my Wraith Mini and the Wraith monocular work really well. But get to looking down a long narrow sendero in the woods and I get a lot of illumination of leaves and such.

That is your opinion, but the term remains.