A NV scope.

V4Vendetta · April 21, 2007, 10:53 AM

I was thinking about adding a NV scope to my SHTF gun. The trouble is that they are expensive. However I have found this model at Dick's sporting goods to be within my budget if I save my pennies for a month.

However when I looked at their website I could find no customer reviews for it. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...Id=20650439721

Does anyone here have any experience with it? Is it good quality or should I look at something else? I have never purchased any scopes before so if I ask any dumb questions, I apologize.

FirstFreedom · April 21, 2007, 11:34 AM

I dunno if that scope is any good, but 1st Gen will work fine out to short ranges - say 30 to 50 yards or so.

Just food for thought: Since Gen 1 is only good for short range anyway, you don't need or even want any magnification of your optic/scope. Thus, if you got instead, for about the same price or even less, a pair of 1st Gen NV goggles, then you could use them with any dot sight (ESD), any scope that dials down to low power (1 or 1.5), or even with a bow or crossbow's FO sights, *if I'm not mistaken*. So it would be much more versatile for your "night ops" - could be used with multiple weapons. And of course, your day scopes will also work fine in the daytime. AND, you could also use it just walking around searching/exploring, etc.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/nightvision-bino.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/atnamvipmodh.html

At least, that's MY plan as of now. I mainly want it for shooting grackles out of the trees at night with my pellet gun, and so I plan to put an ordinary dot sight or 1-4x32 scope on the pellet gun after I get the NV goggles. Me and the grackles are like Bill Murray and the groundhog in Caddyshack.

Here's an NV forum:

http://www.nightvisionforums.com/

V4Vendetta · April 21, 2007, 11:42 AM

So your sugggesting just getting some night vision goggles like those in your 2'd link & then using them with a regular scope?

Sounds good to me.

FirstFreedom · April 21, 2007, 11:46 AM

Yes, but I don't know how far UP the scale of power you can go, before they won't work (1.5, 1.75, 2, 3, what?) with a regular scope.

However, I cannot imagine that they WOULDN'T work with a 1.0-powered optic like a dot sight, since the light just flows right through the glass - all the sight does is give you a dot that allows you to aim on the target.

To be sure, however, one of us needs to register & ask in that NV forum. You got time?

That ATN Gen 1 goggle is half the price of the Bushnell since it's monocular rather than binocular. Still it should work fine when sighting through a riflescope or dot sight, since the latter is monocular anyway.

fisherman66 · April 21, 2007, 11:48 AM

The thermal infrared scopes look nifty as well. One day I might be able to afford one of the two. I will need better than gen I as it will be the coyotes' worse nightmare.

I'd like to see a side by side field test between the two (thermal ir and NV). I don't know if I could expect Outdoor Life to cover that article.

V4Vendetta · April 21, 2007, 12:12 PM

What I meant earlier was would a NV goggle with with a plain scope. The kind with lines. I don't have a red dot.

FirstFreedom · April 21, 2007, 01:17 PM

Well, I don't know for sure, but I think YES, espec. if it's a heavy reticle, because the IR illuminator combined with the gen 1 device will cause the IR light to reflect off the target back through the scope. So I think that you ought to be able to see a black heavy reticle against the lighter background of the target, just like in the daytime, although perhaps not quite as good as daytime; perhaps about like shooting in low light, where a heavy reticle is preferred over a target reticle. The goggles essentially turn night to day for all intents and purposes, and in the day the ordinary reticle on an ordinary scope works fine, so it should with the NV in the dark as well.

April 21, 2007, 10:53 AM	#1
V4Vendetta Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2006 Location: NC, USA Posts: 605	A NV scope. I was thinking about adding a NV scope to my SHTF gun. The trouble is that they are expensive. However I have found this model at Dick's sporting goods to be within my budget if I save my pennies for a month. However when I looked at their website I could find no customer reviews for it. http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...Id=20650439721 Does anyone here have any experience with it? Is it good quality or should I look at something else? I have never purchased any scopes before so if I ask any dumb questions, I apologize. __________________ But I being poor, have only my dreams. Tread softly. Because you tread on my dreams. Within each one of us there is a inch of hope, of will, of integrity. We must never lose or give away that inch. For within it we are free.

April 21, 2007, 11:42 AM	#3
V4Vendetta Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2006 Location: NC, USA Posts: 605	So your sugggesting just getting some night vision goggles like those in your 2'd link & then using them with a regular scope? Sounds good to me. __________________ But I being poor, have only my dreams. Tread softly. Because you tread on my dreams. Within each one of us there is a inch of hope, of will, of integrity. We must never lose or give away that inch. For within it we are free.

April 21, 2007, 11:48 AM	#5
fisherman66 Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2005 Location: The Woodlands TX Posts: 4,686	The thermal infrared scopes look nifty as well. One day I might be able to afford one of the two. I will need better than gen I as it will be the coyotes' worse nightmare. I'd like to see a side by side field test between the two (thermal ir and NV). I don't know if I could expect Outdoor Life to cover that article. __________________ la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!

April 21, 2007, 12:12 PM	#6
V4Vendetta Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2006 Location: NC, USA Posts: 605	What I meant earlier was would a NV goggle with with a plain scope. The kind with lines. I don't have a red dot. __________________ But I being poor, have only my dreams. Tread softly. Because you tread on my dreams. Within each one of us there is a inch of hope, of will, of integrity. We must never lose or give away that inch. For within it we are free.

April 21, 2007, 11:34 AM	#2
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	I dunno if that scope is any good, but 1st Gen will work fine out to short ranges - say 30 to 50 yards or so. Just food for thought: Since Gen 1 is only good for short range anyway, you don't need or even want any magnification of your optic/scope. Thus, if you got instead, for about the same price or even less, a pair of 1st Gen NV goggles, then you could use them with any dot sight (ESD), any scope that dials down to low power (1 or 1.5), or even with a bow or crossbow's FO sights, *if I'm not mistaken*. So it would be much more versatile for your "night ops" - could be used with multiple weapons. And of course, your day scopes will also work fine in the daytime. AND, you could also use it just walking around searching/exploring, etc. http://www.opticsplanet.net/nightvision-bino.html http://www.opticsplanet.net/atnamvipmodh.html At least, that's MY plan as of now. I mainly want it for shooting grackles out of the trees at night with my pellet gun, and so I plan to put an ordinary dot sight or 1-4x32 scope on the pellet gun after I get the NV goggles. Me and the grackles are like Bill Murray and the groundhog in Caddyshack. Here's an NV forum: http://www.nightvisionforums.com/

April 21, 2007, 11:46 AM	#4
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Yes, but I don't know how far UP the scale of power you can go, before they won't work (1.5, 1.75, 2, 3, what?) with a regular scope. However, I cannot imagine that they WOULDN'T work with a 1.0-powered optic like a dot sight, since the light just flows right through the glass - all the sight does is give you a dot that allows you to aim on the target. To be sure, however, one of us needs to register & ask in that NV forum. You got time? That ATN Gen 1 goggle is half the price of the Bushnell since it's monocular rather than binocular. Still it should work fine when sighting through a riflescope or dot sight, since the latter is monocular anyway.

April 21, 2007, 01:17 PM	#7
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Well, I don't know for sure, but I think YES, espec. if it's a heavy reticle, because the IR illuminator combined with the gen 1 device will cause the IR light to reflect off the target back through the scope. So I think that you ought to be able to see a black heavy reticle against the lighter background of the target, just like in the daytime, although perhaps not quite as good as daytime; perhaps about like shooting in low light, where a heavy reticle is preferred over a target reticle. The goggles essentially turn night to day for all intents and purposes, and in the day the ordinary reticle on an ordinary scope works fine, so it should with the NV in the dark as well.