I live on six acres and raise chickens for eggs and roosters for meat. I am doing everything I can to keep them safe and doing a pretty good job. Killed a fox and a coyote last year. Problem is they killed chickens first. I’ve been using traps and a flashlight at night but nv would make me much more efficient. Truth be told I have a ball walking around at night still hunting predators. I’ve been looking at the pulsar line of thermal and NVU Pvs-7(?) but don’t know what’s better or do I need both? Thermal scope or monocular? Nv goggles or scope. What brands stand behind their products?

My longest shot here at home will be 100 yards. On the family property in a different county longest shot maybe 300 yards but that would be tops.

Would also be great to be able to use NV or thermal on the lake at night to avoid the small unmarked islands in Lake Murray.

what is your budget ?

that parameter will matter

an expensive - but awesome - set-up would be a 3rd Gen NVD plus an IR laser zeroed to your AR.

that would mean game-over for your coyotes

reputable vendor - www.TNVC.com

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These are some items I have looked at (online, not in person)
https://outdoorlegacygear.com/...30-thermal-monocular

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/...-thermal-rifle-scope

https://nightvisionuniverse.co...oggle-system-pvs-7-p

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/...0-digital-riflescope

Total for everything would have to be less than $8000. Hopefully much less.

quote:

Originally posted by drobinson:
Total for everything would have to be less than $8000. Hopefully much less.

nice

you can get a darn nice set-up for that

I used the PVS-7 extensively in the Army and would feel very comfortable going that route with an IR laser

some will advocate a PVS-14 due to some additional capabilities (like physically mounting it to a weapon ...) and - it being a monocle design - you maintain the ability to see 'naturally' with the other eye when 'worn' in either the head harness or helmet mount

(I am partial to the head harness mount vs. a helmet mount but there is preference there...)

whichever way you go - NV is an incredible capability that changes the game as you lose no capability to darkness

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decent synopsis here:


https://www.thefirearmblog.com...n-buyers-guide-nods/



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[QUOTE]Originally posted by drobinson:
Thanks for the link. I have it looked at the pvs14 because I thought looking through one eye would cause eye strain like looking through a rifle scope too long.how Can a pvs14 be converted to work as a weapon sigh?

Don’t know squat about lasers either. What are are some examples of quality, affordable ir lasers?

quote:

Originally posted by drobinson:
Can a pvs14 be converted to work as a weapon sigh?

yes there are mounting systems available to do that

but the PVS7 or PVS14 - is an imaging system - not an actual gun sight. so you would still need a 'sight' device - compatible with the PVS14 - lined up on your rifle

hence the utility of the IR laser (IR being invisible to the naked eye)

you 'look' through the NV device - whichever one you have - and 'sight' with the laser

wherever the laser touches is where the bullet goes (when properly zeroed of course)

very powerful combination and you don't slave the NV to the weapon that way

because the MAX utility of NV is OBSERVATION of everything around you - not just dedicated to shooting...

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pretty good synopsis from another internet writer


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Night Vision Monoculars:

Our definition of a monocular is a single eye unit that has no magnification. These are what we call the Swiss army knife of night vision equipment. A quality monocular is the most versatile of all the night time devices. Their compact size and lightweight make them ideal for head mounting. Many of the higher generation monoculars can be attached to rifle scopes and spotting scopes and can also be mounted directly onto a weapon. Many of these same higher generation monoculars can be mounted onto a weapon in front of a red dot sight that is night vision compatible, such as certain models of Eotech's. Most of these devicess can also be adapted to a camera for photography with the use of a camera adapter. These versatile optics are often small and lite enough to fit in a shirt pocket.
There are both pros and cons of the single eye of a monocular verses both eyes of a goggle. The pros are that you can switch back and forth between your eyes when you get tired and that your unaided eye will maintain it's night adaptation and some of your peripheral vision. The US Military feels that this gives the user better situational awareness. The cons to this single eye is that it doesn't feel as natural and will take some time to get used to. With a monocular the user needs to get used to keeping both eyes open to have the best experience.
To sum it up monoculars will give you the most versatility as well as the most accessories to choose from. They are a great choice for those who want a product that will have the ability to do a lot of multi-tasking. The king of the monoculars is the PVS-14 Night Vision.


Night Vision Goggles:

Our definition of night vision goggles are a device that allows both eye viewing, has no magnification, and can be head mounted. The great thing about these types of devices is that they feel very natural when wearing them and there is very little learning curve to get used to them. There are two types of goggles; a two eye-piece that views through a single image tube and a two eye-piece that views through dual image tubes, also known as stereo-vision. Like monoculars a goggle is a great navigation device in that you can walk and even drive slowly - not recommended but has been done on more than a few occasions. Dual tube goggles offer "stereo vision" meaning each eye sees it's own slightly different image rather than the same image being shared with both eyes. This stereo-vision gives the dual tube goggles even better depth perception allowing for improved navigation ability. The down side of a goggle is more weight and less versatility than a quality monocular. Goggles tend to give a bit better depth perception than a monocular and a dual tube goggle gives even better depth perception than a single tube goggle because each eye sees a slightly different image which allows for better judgment of distances. This better depth perception does help with navigation, weather you are walking through a field or navigating your boat around the rocks, it will help. The disadvantage is increased size and weight and less versatility. When wearing a goggle in a head mounted position the extra weight tends to cause the unit to ride down below your eyes when walking, and you'll tend to get more tired with the extra weight as well. Goggles do not have the option to be mounted on rifles or adapted to rifle scopes and camera adaptation is limited also.
Goggles really excel at shorter duration navigation and stationary observation activities. However, if you will be doing more time consuming and physical activities that require constant head mounted hands free use, than the lighter monocular is probably the better choice. The top choice in single tube goggles is the legendary military quality PVS-7 (they take a licking and keep on ticking).

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