NV advice needed.

[Twigg]

I’m shopping around for a better night vision device. I had a rather inexpensive unit (Around $400.00) I used for coyotes last year (Yes, NV is legal for hunting use in Massachusetts but lights, visible or IR are not.) but I had two issues with it. In passive use the resolution was hardly bright enough to see. There was a small IR illuminator attached but the effective range was very limited.
I used it a couple of times and returned it.

I'm open as to price point.

Primary use, varmint (Coyote) hunting. Secondary use is as surveillance & SHTF defense. The recent horrendous home invasion in Connecticut had several reports of the criminals with NV gear in their possession so I’d prefer to have something capable of working without an attached IR illuminator.

Equipment requirements are;
Weaver rail mountable
Low or no magnification, not looking for more than a 100 yd effective range at most
Ability to work well without IR illumination.
Ability to work with separate IR illumination.

Your thoughts ?

 

[economist]

I have a third generation ITT PVS-14 night vision monocular, and the image quality is excellent. With mounting hardware, it can be mounted on a rail in front of an eotech or other such sight as long as the sight has a low enough setting to avoid blooming on the PVS-14. The Eotech 552, for example, does this. Get a couple of mount pieces from Larue Tactical -- the QD mount LT110 for the Eotech has a bit of rail included that perfectly coincides the PVS-14 behind the Eotech; the QD mount LT133 from Larue mounts PVS-14 on this rail. The Larue mounts are excellent, and allow quick detachment without loss of zero (for the Eotech). All-in, this is an expensive way to go, but you end up with a lot of flexibility and two very nice and separately useful optical devices.

 

[Twigg]

...this is an expensive way to go, but you end up with a lot of flexibility and two very nice and separately useful optical devices.

Holey Moley ! Some quick research shows these components will run $4,059.00 !

After reading about this equipment I'd have to agree with you on all accounts though.

Truly, there is no subsutite for quality. I was planning on spending up to about half of that. I've got to re-think my budget.

 

[economist]

Yes, very expensive. I don't have a lot of experience with night vision equipment, but it does seem like the more expensive options produce a significant improvement in quality. I used to have a "generation 1+" device that seemed fun at first, but just wasn't very useful. The gen 3 PVS-14 is in a whole different league, and is a lot of fun to use. A couple of nights ago my wife and I heard a loud almost cat-like sound outside. We quietly went out and we were able to follow a fox that was trotting down the road in almost complete darkness. He was very clear in the PVS-14, with details easily visible at about 75 yards. With my old gen 1 device I don't think I would have seen him. I don't know how, e.g., a gen 2 device would compare. By the way, ar15.com has an active night vision forum that may be useful to you in your research.

 

[Twigg]

After doing a little research the old saying of "You get what you pay for." holds true.

Thanks and a Tip O The Stetson !

 

[digitech]

GG&G has the PVS-14 for $3095.00.

They also have a very good article on natural night vision in conjunction with artificial and also about your eyes blind spots. Do one of the linked tests it is pretty cool.

WHITE PAPER: WHAT EVERY URBAN WARIOR SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DARK ADAPTATION AND NATURAL NIGHT VISION