So how do you handle scanning an area as you would during the day when you can easily see with the naked eye? Do you repeatedly shoulder your rifle and scan an area with your night vision scope or do you simply do your best to use whatever light is available and then shoulder and look through your scope when you believe you see a critter?

The cost of night vision equipment has dropped to the point where I suspect more hunters are considering making a purchase. But I also suspect many have not considered the logistics in using the equipment at night.

TIA

I just bought a thermal monocular for that exact reason. At just over $500 it gives me the ability to scan my surroundings without picking up my rifle. The clarity is good at 1x but leaves a lot to be desired at 2x and 4x. Inspite of that i can see and identify images at 150-200 yds.

I use a night vision monocular to scan the field first.

I have a bushnell equinox, not very expensive and for scanning works great.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1024064599?pid=363726

Ive got a pulsar Axion with LRF (thermal) that I use for scanning and ranging.. once I see something I'll transition to one of my "night" rifles.. I've got one with an AGM rattler thermal mounted, and another with an older Sightmark Wraith Day/Night vision optic..

The handheld also works great for finding downed game if/when it scampers off into the thick stuff after being shot (whether on a day or night hunt)..

Ive found that I use my handheld monocular much more than my rifle mounted optics honestly.. whether its just finding my way to my blind just before sunrise, or my way back to camp late into the evening, or spotting game, or finding downed game, the Axion seems to always be getting a work out...

I have a Sightmark Wraith on my rifle and can see out to 200 yards easily. I just got a Pulsar Axion just to scan with, it fits in the palm of your hand and is much easier to use than swinging your rifle around. With the thermal animals are super easy to spot. I might get a thermal weapon sight one day but I would still use the thermal monocular to scan with even if I do.

I have an old PVS-14 I use for hand scanning.
Also have a Pulsar digital monocular that we take along if friends go so two can scan different areas.

That Pulsar Axion, how long do batteries last? My handheld is a Sightmark Wraith, but it goes through batteries pretty fast, and it has limitations in wooded areas. Works fine in open areas though.

I use a Thermal handheld monocular. It's 256x192 resolution is enough to detect hogs several hundred yards out. Then switch to the rifle.

The Pulsar has a proprietary battery and the literature says it lasts up to 11 hours. I am confident that is a good estimate. I will just say battery life is not an issue. It boots up quickly and has a standby mode which returns the unit to function almost immediately. I power my Sightmark with an external Anker power cell. I never worry about battery life on it either after adding the external battery.

I haven’t timed it, but I easily get a couple of evenings use out of a single battery. I’d guess 7-8 hours of constant use and the battery generally has about 1/4 left..

I got mine from optics planet a few years back when they were running a sale on a package that included a spare battery and a couple of additional options for the price of the optic alone.. 2 batteries has been all I’ve ever needed to get through a 3-4 night hog hunt…

Both my sightmsrk wraith and my AGM rattler are battery hogs… I purchased external rechargeable battery packs for them on Amazon.. they’re fairly small and lightweight and strap to the vanguard nicely… I think I paid $9 each for them.. the external battery will get me through 5-6 hours of constant use on the sightmsrk or the rattler

I got my Pulsar from Outdoor Legacy. I've only used it in the field a couple of time, but I will say I'm impressed with the unit and Outdoor Legacy.

one thing most scopes have is a link thru an app, my pulsar thermion and agm rattlers have it. makes it easier to scan with the rifle if needed, I set the phone on the floor of the blind and just rest the gun on window ledge then pivot to scan.
works great and your vision is not messed up from the sight light.

I also run external battery packs on both agm rattlers, got rechargeable 123s with charger that will charge from the battery packs, the thermion has extra batteries but I have never had one run out at night.

Surefire 123a 4 Pieces Rechargeable Batteries & Charger

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Surefire...tner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101001778

I have a AGM Taipan 19 and can honestly say its one of the best hunting investments I have ever made. I use it for scanning for pigs and coyotes at night but I also use it when I'm deer hunting during the day. It helps me spot deer and other game I might have never seen without it. Animals just pop in white hot mode and are so easy to spot in tall grass or in the woods if cover is not too dense. It also helps locating downed deer and hogs.

For those on a budget, spend the money on the thermal monocular and just get a good clamp on red light for your rifle and you're good to go night hunting out to 200 yards or so. I have a buddy that does that and he prefers it to his Wraith. He's a pig killing machine.

My issue with night vision (ATN X Sight 4K Pro) is no matter how low I set the display it's too bright and looking away from it I have no night vision in either eye. I get that for my right eye, I shoot right handed. Maybe I'm just not used to night vision, I've only used it two or three times in the yard to check it out and never hunted with it. Sorry if I'm not articulating the issue well enough. I know this unit is a video display and may be the root of the issue. I have an app and WiFi but there may be an issue with regulations. I wouldn't shoot using the app anyway.

You are blinded in both eyes after looking through the scope with just the right eye? You are describing something I have experienced. Maybe you are like me, maybe not. In my experience, both of my eyes function normally, but I am hugely right eye dominant, often to the exclusion of using the input from my left eye. So early on, I would come off the scope and be blinded like you despite exposing just one eye. This is because the brain was really only using the dominant eye to see and when the dominant eye gets blinded, the brain thinks you are blinded because it isn't using the input from your non-dominant eye. I had to learn to manually switch over to trying to see through my left eye with its preserved night vision capabilities. Eventually, it became second nature.

If you aren't like me, then I would bet you have something very interesting going on that causes you to be blinded in both eyes when only the dominant eye is exposed to bright light.

Night blindness is a problem. I turn down brightness to a low value and find (right eye - looking) closing that eye after looking MAY allow recovery faster and left eye works pretty good still. Older you get, longer recovery. I hunt a feeder with pole mounted green light. Didn't see the 2 doe walking past it, just a shadow. Picked up the Rattler I use as a scanner, see em fine. Did catch a glimpse of a hog coming out of the trees, small barely moving white spot. Probably would have missed completely if just using NV and a spot light.

I have a quick release pulsar thermal and scan all the time except when the sun is out. Great for watching wildlife in the early AM in the stand, also great to quickly pick up animals in low light. If using a thermal - learn hiw to adjust brightness and contrast as the light changes.

I'm using a hand held monocular ( IR) as well.

For older guys like me, I find scanning with left eye and shooting with right helps.

Interesting. Are you running a helmet? Otherwise, it seems like a good way to blow the night vision in both eyes.

had an atn when they first came out, I found using the app to scan worked best for me in the blind. set phone on floor and use rifle to scan, if not in a stand I hold it in my left hand while scanning with the rifle (I am right handed). saves the night vision pretty much.

When I hog hunt, We use a thermal for spotting. a PVS7 for stalking. then you switch over to either the gen3 or thermal scope for shooting (depending on weather, light and humidity).

After using both, I prefer analog gen 3 night vision for stalking and shooting. I definitely think thermal is the way to go for spotting hogs. That being said, a thermal weapon sight isn't a detriment. The reason I prefer the gen3 over thermal for stalking and shooting is that for stalking gen3 allows for better visual understanding of what you are walking on. & for shooting, the thermal scopes can be a bit busy with a ton of extra data and features that make it a bit overwhelming.

just my .02...

IMHO, scanning with night vision while hunting with a rifle is a non-starter.

Night-vision works best when one is watching for game coming to a fixed location such as a water trough, pig pipe, spin-cast feeder.




Thermal for scanning!

ya!

GWB

I use an Apex 38 for scanning along with a DIY CCTV camera with an attached 940nm illuminator. Both are plugged in to a 7" LCD stuck with velcro to the carpet on my blinds wall in front of me . The monitor has two channels so I can switch between the cctv and the thermal with a push of a button. Neither is fixed mounted so one is scanning the front other out the side. I have a Wraith mounted on my Airgun which makes it a lot of fun when I can pop a couple pigs under the feeder with out the others spooking.