Walker570 Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 I have a friend from overseas enquiring about night scopes for full bore rifle use. Not using one of these myself, do any of you have knowledge of use and best choice? I think he is talking in the region of £3000 max. Any help suggestions would be appreciated as I have absolutely no knowledge since using a military one for covert purposes back in 1973. Hand held, weighed a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetter Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) For £3K the world is his oyster really. You can go top end image intensifying and could probably get a generation 3 image intensifier unit, Or go digital night vision and have money to spare. Finally there are also thermal weapon sights that are also availble for that sort of money Depends what you want it for quarry wise they all have advantages and disadvantages Tubes image intensifying night vision especially the new high end stuff can produce great images and can need very little infra red externally if the stars/ moon are bright enough. However even the new stuff can be damaged by bright light sources or overuse of strong IR illumination. (have a look at stuff like the archer units for this) Digital night vision doesn't suffer from the issues of damage from strong light sources but will need infra red to be able to be used either from their own inbuilt unit or an external torch and some can be battery hungry (check out the drone pro for this as its widely acknowledged as the best about at the moment) Thermal does what it says on the tin i.e. shows heat sources such as those generated by living things. these are great and can cut through mist, fog and light foliage. However they can take some getting used to for quarry identification and caution is needed to i.e. not mistake a fox for a cat at longer ranges. Bit of a split opinion on these with a lot of shooters buying a thermal to spot with as a hand held unit and using standard night vision to take the shot/ confirm target identification. (some nice stuff out from Pulsar in this department) Overall though its an exiting time to be able to get hold of gear with stuff being light and easy to use. Forget the old generation 1 bulky units the new stuff can allow you to clearly identify small targets such as rabbits at over 150yards. Edited October 1, 2016 by Zetter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted October 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 Thanks Zetter, that's a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 Zetter has put about as good as your going to get. Thermal id is getting better now but I wouldn't trust it to id a fox at much more than about 150yds. Combining thermal with either digital or tubed it's a brilliant combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekychappy Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 As above really as well, i use thermal for spotting and an archer add on for the shooting, I have had a lot of NV gear the Archer is good but saying the I still have my gen 2 Cyber eye and that is as good and half the price of the Archer, for spotting I used gen one binoculars for years and still have them they are very good but require a laser for eye shine, thermal is brilliant for spotting but as above identification at longer ranges is iffy, I know where there is an Archer for sale as my shooting partner is selling one nothing wrong with it what so ever he just thinks it is to heave compared to his other unit, binoculars I have two pairs so for £1500 you would have a full set up just a laser required and it would be top draw shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig83 Posted October 1, 2016 Report Share Posted October 1, 2016 I sell military grade night vision. £3k will get you a mediocre unit, but again it truly depends on what you want to shoot and with what. My units range from £3k to £20k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Drone Pro and then you can use it during the daytime also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted October 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 The friend is interested in a Pulsar Apex xd50 ... discuss :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetter Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Im still a bit dubious about them as an actual sight over traditional NV. Thermal I would love as a spotter but I still prefer the absolute accuracy of quarry identifiction afforded by either digital or tubed NV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougy Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Once that bullets on the way you ain't gonna stop it. Just remember that. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Magnum Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 (edited) The friend is interested in a Pulsar Apex xd50 ... discuss :-) Tell your friend to wait till next year. The Apex range will have a new line, so I'm told. Edited October 2, 2016 by Mini Magnum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig83 Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Wait for 4 or 6 weeks il have something that will blow your minds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Magnum Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 Something new 'latest and greatest' pops up every couple of months from Pulsar but the XD-XQ jump was not really that impressive and was mainly control functions more than actual image quality. I agree having had HD, XD and XQ models. you do get an increase in detection range, but its still hard to positively identify anything at range. Personally if you have an XD model I'd stick with it. The Apex XD75 blows them all away for image clarity, and it cuts through fog a lot better than any of the quantums, mainly due to its bigger lens, I'll be having one when they bring another out with higher optical mag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunny_blaster Posted October 2, 2016 Report Share Posted October 2, 2016 I have a Drone Pro on top of my .222. If you want to view it let me know Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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