(Starlight?) Archer Nightvision Monocular

[JohnGalway]

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Edited September 2, 2009 by JohnGalway

[grasshopper]

Just finished a 12.5hour nightshift and got another tonight so no time answer all of your q,s now John.

 

PM sent.

 

GH

[grasshopper]

Hi folks,

 

Please read the post fully before answering, there are a lot of questions! Thanks

 

Am looking for owners of the Archer NV monocular unit please for some info.

 

As far as I (think I) know GrassHopper and Ballie have one, must be others too...

 

I watched the You Tube bunny video last night, it was good, 140 yard shootablt rabbits on 4x to 12x magnification (even though it took hours to download on my elastic band internet connection).

 

First off, as people will know I'll want NV for shooting foxes 99% of the time, with 1% bunny bashing. I'll need to know a few things from the users such as;

 

1. What grade tube did you get? B, C or D? (I probably won't be able to afford anything outside of D or C myself). Or did you go for another type? I'm not interested in the complete NV scope set-up, just an add on.

I got the D at £1400,couldn,t see the £400 benefit of the C grade

2. What method of illumination do you use with it, laser or lamp with IR filter?

The IR laser you get with it is awesome,don,t need a lamp

 

3. Which do you find to be better for scanning as a monocular (detached from the scope) and which is better for (fox) shooting with?

The unit on it,s own is more than enough to locate fox,on a bright night the fox stands out crystal clear without the laser on,when moonless the ir will light it,s eyes and it up no probs

 

4. Is it easy to use the unit off the rifle to scan around for eyes and can it be quickly reattached to the scope?

Very simple,quick and efficient..only problem can be re-locating a fox if it,s on the move as your field of view is greatly reduced

5. Does it need to be adjusted when switching from monocular use to scope use? (Using up valuable time).

Yes,it has a camera lense on the front with 2 adjustments.1 is the iris,which will be fully open in the dark so no need to alter.2 is the focus.This has a setting called infinity which is for shooting with(for better clarity)you turn it fully to the right,this will take about 1 second.In the heat of the action i,ve forgotten to set to infinity a few times and still seen the fox ok to shoot

6. How far can you spot fox eyes with your Archer? Please remember to say what grade tube and type of illumination you have/use.

Mine is Gen 3,D grade and i can spot fox out past 300yds on a clear night without the laser on,same on a dark night with the IR.

7. How far have you shot a fox? How far can you clearly see a foxes body with your unit?

My furthest is 182yds through the heart..closest about 50yds.Because your not illuminating them 1st with a lamp ,they,re often easier to call in.Although this myth about IR being invisible aint true as at 1 point all the critters you see at night have been aware of it,it just doesn,t seem to bother them.You will always see the body if it,s out in the open.

 

8. I have heard that it's hard to judge range using NV, is this true? I've also heard the NV is hard on the eyes, is this true?

It,s hard to judge range at night anyway,but you will know roughly how far and if it,s within 200yds what are you worried about as it,s well within your capabilities..an experienced fox shooter like yourself It does kinda make your view darker after looking through but nothing that affects you if you suddenly switch to using the lamp.

 

9. What scope do you use, make model etc.?

Hawke 3x9x50 set at 5-6 as Archer is x2.Just got the bush made for new scope which will be going on tomorrow..Leupold 6.5x20x50 with side parrallax so hoping for clearer image and to use more magnification

 

Please, please feel free to volunteer loads more information and questions and anything you think I have left out

 

Thanks in advance for the help,

 

John

[JohnGalway]

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Edited September 2, 2009 by JohnGalway

[grasshopper]

Been thinking a bit more about your questions on the nv....

 

I,d advise getting a mod on your rifle 1st.

This is because of how narrow your field of view is when on the scope,with a mod you can see the fox during and after the shot as you don,t get muzzle flip.Just lets you confirm the hit without trying to re find foxy.If it falls right you will still light it,s eyes up as you wud with a lamp.

Saying this as i had 1 slide into a ditch and thought it had run till i got there and found it.

Another thing to be aware of is i set my scope as far forward as possible so as to allow for the archer.This has the effect as to make it awkward for shooting with just the scope in daylight,so you may want to try different settings if you get 1 as you do a lot of lamping/daytime shooting(mine is set up as a nv rifle only..use the 243 in the day)also get to know the 2 eye relief settings,think mine is just under 2 turns.

When you get set up and zeroed,i,d advise attaching the unit and checking,as although it says no loss of zero,i missed the first fox i shot at(facing me at about 160yds)even though i,d just set the rifle up.When i checked with the archer on it was 3 clicks to right.Altered and away i went.You can do this as you only open the iris 1 click,indeed i,ve actually shot 1 fox in daylight with it.Waiting in a hedge(how strange are we :lol: )for darkness when out he popped.Also if your waiting from dusk you,ll find you won,t need the laser to shoot any early visitors as they will really stand out until proper darkness falls.

If you decide to go down this road you won,t regret it.It is expensive,it sounds complicated and a right hassle but it,s really simple to use.1 downside of nv is you don,t get that view of the fox in full colour you do with a lamp,it,s all in dark shades of grey,black and green depending on how dark it is,but you do see all of the fox and all of it,s details to pick your shot.

1 last thing, you,ll need to raise your mounts to allow the bolt to pass the shroud,High millet mounts wern,t even high enough,so got raiser blocks.Have added a few pics to show.Not the clearest but you,ll see wot i mean.

Any other questions,just let me know

 

Jeff

[tikkamark]

Excellent advice jeff