Deer Hunting with a Night Scope?

My son and I each just purchased AR 308s and installed SIghtmark Photon RT 4.5x42mm IR sights for pigs at our place in ETX. Our plan is to hunt deer during legal shooting hours but stay in the stand after dark to shoot pigs. Any legalities we need to be aware of?

Just don't shoot deer after legal shooting time and you should be good to go.

I have a photon with quick detach. But was surprised how well I saw during the day with it.

Should be fine. But the batteries go out when you least expect it.

Roll-Tide, I have an auxiliary battery I use for my LabRadar. It connects with a standard USB connector. Can I use it to power my Photon? I was thinking about hunting with a regular scope with QD rings during the day and switching to the Photon with QD rings at night. Have you tried this? Does yours hold zero when removed and replaced?

Yes. It holds zero.
I forget which ones I got. There is a guy in the optics section that has a business. I bought them from his business.

I was thinking of just leaving the photon on. I can see pretty good during day. Even better in the trees.

I'll give it a try. If I don't like the daytime performance I may daytime hunt with a regular scope and switch to Photon at night. First I need to confirm that both scopes will hold zero if removed and replaced.

You need to remember the burden of proof is not on the game warden to "prove" you were hunting illegally in texas. He just has to have cause. If you were ever checked and the only gun had a NV scope on it (even with daytime capabilities) the game warden could surmise you were using the NV portion during the low light hours of morning and evening to shoot deer, even if you were not. Hunting with any artificial lighting or NV scopes is prohibited for deer. So I would contact your game warden and ask them. My guess is they would not be ok with that as it opens the door to very possible problems.

If you turn the NV portion on at all during the low light hours, that's illegal. I am not sure it is a good scope in day mode for those peak hours of low light.

Using a QD mount and another scope at least gives you plausible deniability to a judge or jury if ticketed. Then the burden of proof would be on the warden to prove you were shooting with that specific scope attached. But with only one gun and one scope, the plausible deniability goes away.

I just put a call in to our local Game Warden. I'll see what he says about it. I don't need any trouble with those guys

I just spoke to the GW and said that was fine and hopes we kill a bunch of pigs, lol.

Sounds like you have a reasonable GW. One other thing you may consider would be to not hog hunt after legal shooting light IF you have a deer on the ground.

best answer is a call to the local GW. Glad he was OK with it. Hope you shoot a bunch of hogs as well!

THIS! 3 years ago or so... I missed probably the biggest deer I’ve come across in a scope when the batteries in my POS X-Sight died as I was about to pull the trigger. I now keep my Remy 700/Leupold in my blind for deer season.

Good advice, if I shoot a deer I will not hunt hogs after dark.