Need advice on Night Vision scope

[coyotehunter56]

I am thinking about purchasing a night vision scope, but I am looking for advice on which generation I should get. I can't afford the 3 or 4 type, but I don't know how much difference there is between the 1 and 2. Looking for advice on where to buy and what brand.
Would love to have the 4th gen. but would also like to stay married. (I think).
I mainly do coyote hunting at night, usually shots range from 75 to 125 yards with the red light. Lots of the yotes in my area are getting red light shy. So the way I see it, no light at all may be the answer..

One other question, does the tube still burn out on these scopes? How long will they last, say in hours used or on?
Thanks, Mike

[Coyote Duster]

In my opinion the gen 1 & 2 are extremely poor out to about 50 feet and useless beyond that, at least for the purpose of hunting coyotes, rabbits etc. Do not buy one without trying it yourself before paying anything, I don't think you will be buying a Gen 1 or 2.
I'd hate to see you spend the money and then regret it right away like I believe you would.

I got stopped by a Highway patrol one night, last November, just after Midnight in NE Nebraska for going over the right line on the road, when he saw I was sober we eventually got off the subject and onto coyote hunting. Well, for the next 20 minutes or so he was showing me the new infrared scope he had. That was very impressive, I had never looked through one before that would allow you to identify what you were looking at. With the one he had you could see a coyote well enough to tell it from a dog, even at a fair distance. It mounted behind the regular rifle scope on the rifle. It was a gen 3 or 4, I can't remember for sure which it was.

Anyway that is about the only time I ever had anything good come out of being stopped by a Highway Patrol.

[Ackman]

The new stuff is real good. A friend lives in an area that backs up to some woods. He'll take the dogs out for their middle of the night crap and that area is either dark or pitch black. One especially dark night he stumbled onto a huge moose and barely made it home. So he got night vision for protection. It's the very latest technology that's expensive, and you'd never imagine how well this thing works. I'd guess that riflescopes must be available, but his is a monocular worn on a headstrap. This night vision goggle literally turns even the very blackest night into a sharp clear sunny day. I'd never have believed anything could be that good without actually seeing it. Absolutely amazing.

[Monkeyman]

Like you I've been wanting night-vision capability for a couple of years but I'm not willing to buy crap - I'm not rich enough to buy twice. The ideal setup for me would be a monocular that could mount to a head-harness but also attach to a Picatinny rail behind a weapon sight. Have a look at this link for an idea of price:

http://ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=124&t=350394

[Catfish]

I`m not a real expert, but have owned several 1 st. gen. optics and now own a 3 gen. set of gogles. I have a 1 gen. Russian rifle scope and have a good friend that has a 3 rd gen rifle scope. If you have any moon light at all the 1 st. gen. stuff will work well in open country, but the 3 rd. gen stuff is far superior. My biggest complaint about my 1 st. gen. Russian scope is that the glass lacks alot, and clarity means alot. Good gen. 3 gogles gives you about the same as day light with bino`s.
The biggest problem with a rifle scope is that you have to hold up the gun and point it at what your looking at. Not only is it a bad idea to point a loaded gun at thing you want to watch but don`t want to shoot, but the gun get heavy and it`s not nearly as effective as gogles. I`m going to start useing my gogles with a lazer sighted rifle. I had a dealer tell me he used to hunt coyotes for bounty, I think he said, in Ark. useing gogles and a lazer. You don`t have to hold you gun up and you don`t have to take your eyes off the coyote when you pick up your gun.

[OrneryCuss]

Another vote for a monocular especially for the ranges you mentioned.

This will allow you the most versatility.

You can wear it on a headband to walk around, and if you have a night vision capable red dot sight on your gun, you just bring the rifle up to position, place the dot on the target and fire. No need to mount it on the gun.

You cannot walk around and see clearly on an overcast night with a nightvision riflescope or with a monocular mounted on the rifle, and you don't want to be using a flashlight as that defeats the purpose of the NV device.

If you need a bit more light, say on a REALLY overcast night, get an infrared bulb or filter for your flashlight or spotlight. A pelican light with an infrared filter will put out plenty of light for a Gen 2 monocular out to 100+ yards. You can mount it in a quick release picatinny mount to attach to the gun as needed. If you can find an infrared bulb, they are even better in the pelican / surefire type high intensity lights.

Some monoculars can attach to the end of your regular riflescope for longer shots if needed. Don't even consider Gen 1 in my view. Get a Gen2+

[coyotehunter56]

Thanks for all of the replies. It certainly gives me something to think about. Especially the gloggle idea. I guess my next question is what kind of lazer sight goes 150 yards?

coyotehunter56