Beginner night vision on a budget

[SmokinM]

Is there any thermal/ night vision for hopefully less than $1500 that are worth having. Don't need video or anything fancy just want to be able to see/ shoot things that go bump in the night. Got a lot of coyotes here getting closer in on the cattle all the time and neighbors have had some issues with calves. Best thing to mount it on and anything particular to look for feature wise? Thanks

 

[Brute 23]

Pulsar N750

They have discontinued them but there are still some for sale.

Basically you are looking for digital night vision. Pulsar is a very reliable brand. Stay away from ATN.

 

[sstterry]

Here you go. Not the best but cheap.

 

[SmokinM]

Ok thanks. What is the difference between digital night vision and thermal if any? I see lots of N 450 models for sale, would that be a similar quality product? Sounds like it from the description but again I am a total novice.

planning to mount it on a Model 700 in .243 or an AR thoughts on if one of those is a better pairing than the other.

 

[sstterry]

Ok thanks. What is the difference between digital night vision and thermal if any? I see lots of N 450 models for sale, would that be a similar quality product? Sounds like it from the description but again I am a total novice.

planning to mount it on a Model 700 in .243 or an AR thoughts on if one of those is a better pairing than the other.

Above my pay grade, I will defer to those more knowledgeable on that.

 

[Brute 23]

Ok thanks. What is the difference between digital night vision and thermal if any? I see lots of N 450 models for sale, would that be a similar quality product? Sounds like it from the description but again I am a total novice.

planning to mount it on a Model 700 in .243 or an AR thoughts on if one of those is a better pairing than the other.

Lots of $$$ mainly. you looking at a couple grand to get in to base model thermal stuff.

Thermal is detecting heat. It can be very awesome and it can be a useless with fog or light rain.

I've shot hogs and coyotes just the same with my $1K N750 as with my buddies $5K thermal. The great thing about hunting at night is animals really let their guard down so you shouldn't have to make very far shots. I rarely shoot over 100yds at night unless I'm purposely playing around. Avg shots are 60-80 yds.

With any optics you are paying for zoom and clarity. The more zoom and clearer picture the more expensive it gets. With a lot of this high end nv and thermal these guys are chasing the video quality to post on youtube, not functional clarity. Like I said, I can shoot a raccoon at 100yds with a 1K scope just as easy as a 5K scope for practical purposes. The 5K scope makes a lot better youtube video though.

 

[Brute 23]

I believe the 450 is 4x and 750 is 7x. Not sure how they compare specifically. Just have to read thru reviews but pulsar is known for quality products.

Either the 243 or the a AR will work fine.

There is a newer 450 that looks like a traditional scope. Its 4-16x. It's not bear as bulky as my old 750. Its looks like an old school camcorder.

Amazon.com : Pulsar Digex N450 Digital Night Vision Riflescope : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Pulsar Digex N450 Digital Night Vision Riflescope : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[SmokinM]

Brute thanks for all the help. I am leaning towards the Pulsar Digex N455 if you got a chance to give me your thoughts on it I would really appreciate it. I will try to do a link but I am not sure it will work. Thanks https://www.eurooptic.com/Pulsar-Digex-N455-Digital-Night-Vision-Riflescope-PL76642.aspx

 

[Brute 23]

That would be my choice.

This site is throwing in a free mount and looks to be the same price.

Pulsar Digex N455 Night Vision Hunting Scope - Day/Night

Pulsar DIGEX N455 Digital Night Vision Riflescope Based on 1280x720 HD CMOS sensor Pulsar DIGEX N455 Digital Scope is an excellent choice for Day or Night hunting and easy to mount on AR15/AR10 platform or a bolt rifle with 30mm rings. This Day/Night weapon sight delivers a long list of...

www.nightvisionguys.com

 

[SmokinM]

Thanks so much for the help Brute! If I lay my hands on one I will let you know how it works.

450 has a visible IR and longer distance 455 is invisible IR but a shorter distance. Thinking I want invisible, you have any thoughts on that. Not likely I would be shooting more than 150-200 yds. Thanks again.

 

[Brute 23]

I have a regular visable IR and certain animals like deer and cattle will pick up on it. With coyotes I know they say to minimize the amount of time you hold right on their face because they can pick up on it. With that said, a lot of people use the standard IR. Either is probably good in all reality.

Definitely do a review for us. Lots if us are fighting hogs, coyotes, and who knows what else in this business. I like how slender and scope like they are all getting now.

 

[greybeard]

The differences between the types.
Night vision just gathers natural or existing light (from stars and moon), amplifies that light to allow you to see a bit better. Think the old Starlight scope from the Vietnam era war movies.
I've used them (a bulky monocle) and found them frustrating in anything but a clear crisp night, with low humidity. mejor que nada...better than nothing. It was basically a spotting scope.

Cheap thermal simply measures the differences between a target and the air immediately surrounding the object and displays 'an outline'.
Better thermal measures better/tighter and uses the light gathering capability of night vision combined with thermal to show the actual object.
The thermal scope is actually looking at IR signatures, but how it is displayed to the viewer is the difference between a thermal scope and a better IR scope.

IR picks up light in a different wavelength. A good thermal/IR scope or camera shows the shape very clearly.

 

[FungusProudKY31]

Pulsar N750

They have discontinued them but there are still some for sale.

Basically you are looking for digital night vision. Pulsar is a very reliable brand. Stay away from ATN.

Could you please fill me in on ATN? Thanks.

 

[Brute 23]

Could you please fill me in on ATN? Thanks.

When I was researching my purchase I found a lot of reviews that were negative about the reliability. That was mainly on their lower end digital night vision.

I dont personally own one though so if a person was really interested in that brand they should do their own research. If I remember correctly their higher in thermal like the Thor gets better reviews but I'm kind of talking from memory here which has failed me from time to time.

 

[FungusProudKY31]

Thanks.

 

[SmokinM]

So I picked up a Pulsar 450 today at the local gun shop. We will see how it does as soon as I get it charged up. I asked the guy at the counter about what he had in the case and and he didn't bat an eye and said Pulsar was the best they sell. This is a big shop with a very knowledgeable staff and they had at least 4 brands in there. I am not a big online shopper and the price was the same so I was glad to get it local.

Good thing I wasn't there to buy ammo, pickings were pretty slim.