What affects the effectiveness of night hunting, besides experience, weather conditions, and weapons? What allows you to break the bank and bring home the perfect trophy? The answer is unequivocal - this is night vision optics. It determines whether you will remain blind in the twilight, whether you will correctly identify the game animal, whether you will be able to accurately hit the target with a humane shot, whether you will be able to control the entire playing field while remaining safe. Night vision scopes become your keen eyes at night and allow you to take complete control of the situation, as well as enjoy the benefits. Let's take a look at how to choose a night vision scope that would fully meet your needs and satisfy all your conditions.

Generations

Generations play a decisive role. They determine how far you can see at night in low light. We will analyze the capabilities of night vision scopes of each generation and point out the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Generation 1

The first generation of night vision scopes is distinguished by their considerable weight and dimensions, minimal magnification, and range. The best gen one scope will not see beyond 75 yards, and the light noise and imperfections in the outer third of the diameter will be significant. The image quality is the most primitive and does not provide intricate detail. The device amplifies light by 500-1000 times. For comparison, we present the amplification of light in the sight Gen2-40000 times. The difference is very significant, and you can immediately feel the level of equipment. Gen1 scopes are very sensitive to bright light sources and should be handled carefully. Generation 1 sights are used on the most brilliant nights and must be illuminated with an IR flashlight. If you need covert surveillance, then the Gen1 is not an option as the IR light will be visible to anyone with night vision goggles. The service life of such a sight is about 1000-2000 hours. Despite the low cost, we do not recommend using it for serious purposes. He's perfectly up to playing outdoors, watching vegetable garden destroyers from his front porch, or watching wildlife at close range on bright nights. You can find something more convenient and practical by slightly increasing the budget—for example, generation 2 scopes.

Generation 2, 2+

This generation sees on starry nights but still requires IR illumination in complete darkness. It gives a better picture overall and when zoomed in than Gen1. The resolving power of the sight has almost doubled. The detection range will fluctuate within 200 yards for Gen 2 and 600 yards for Gen2+.

Generation Gen 2 has proven itself for law enforcement home protection for hunters, athletes, farmers. Noticeably, almost twice, the weight of the sight and its dimensions have decreased. The average life of the equipment is about 3000 hours for Gen2 and 5000 hours for Gen 2+.

There are sharper and more detailed images on Gen 2+ riflescopes, with more minor smudges and improved magnification. It stands closer to the Gen 3 generation than to Gen2. The weight and parameters of the Gen 2+ sight have been further reduced, which gives additional comfort in use.

Gen2 and 2+ generation riflescopes are less sensitive to sidelight, have manual image brightness control, and are generally more reliable than previous night vision riflescopes. Gen2+ performs well when used in professional service, sports, hunting for the security business.

Among the sights of the second generation, you can already find a white phosphor and not the traditional green. When using a white phosphor, many note a reduction in eye strain and a higher image contrast. In general, the Gen2 and 2+ night vision riflescopes are the golden mean between quality, cost, and comfort of use.

Generation Gen 3 and 3+

Generation Gen 3

Night vision scopes the US military law enforcement agencies use Gen 3 and above. They are generally not very common in non-professional environments due to the high price and restrictions on overseas export and trade. However, these are the most pumped out of the available options. Any professional will be happy to work with this equipment.

The Gen3 riflescopes can deliver crisp, well-lit, and detailed images with no IR illumination in even the lowest light. The scope sensitivity is almost 4x better than the Gen2+, and the light amplification is virtually double that of the Gen2+. Significantly increased detection range, about 900 yards. Aimed fire can be carried out from a distance of about 300 yards, depending on the model. At the same time, the service life of the equipment has increased dramatically up to 10,000 hours.

Among the shortcomings, we note a lower resistance to side illumination than the Gen2 and Gen 2+ generations.

Generation Gen 3+

The Gen3+ generation is characterized by the most positive reviews possible. With a quarter-moon illumination, it is possible to obtain a high-quality, near-perfect image at a distance of about 600 yards and detect a target at a distance of more than 1000 yards without IR illumination.

The sights feature an almost instantaneous response of the auto-strobe system to a bright light source and are well tolerated in urban environments or close to busy roads.

They are stable to overloads from weapon recoil terrible weather conditions and are reliably protected from dust, water, and shocks. The work resource remained at the same level of 10,000 hours, even though energy costs increased.

If you are offered the Gen4 generation, then know that this is a marketing ploy, and officially such a generation does not exist.

Important parameters

When choosing night vision scopes, you should pay attention to the following parameters: detection range, zoom, tube resolution, weight and dimensions, service life, housing protection.

Target detection and recognition range.

This is an important parameter that affects the choice of night vision scope. It depends on the conditions where you plan to use the scope. If you plan to hunt in a limited area of ​​50-250 yards, then the Gen2 and 2+ scopes may well be enough. If you have to observe a vast field or considerable distances, you should look towards Gen3. It is necessary to distinguish between the detection and target recognition ranges. Detection is used to detect the presence of a target. And recognition is used to decide on the shot.

Zoom

There is a smooth magnification, with manual adjustment and a constant, for example, 2x. High zoom numbers around 20x are used by professionals and require a lot of experience. As a rule, the most running 2-10x is pretty enough for most tasks. To determine which one you need, you need to select the size of the target and the distance at which you need to identify it correctly. If you have to hunt a large animal, for example, a deer in a forest, then a zoom of about 4x is enough. Manual adjustment allows you not to lose the target from the field of view and better adapt to your conditions. Hunting smaller animals in the area will require higher magnification.

Tube resolution

The tube's resolution allows you to see all the details of the target and eliminate possible errors. The higher this figure, the better. But, unfortunately, the price will follow in the same direction. Generation Gen 2 has a resolution of 35-50 ppm. These are average figures that will be enough to solve most missions. Everything below is used for games and entertainment. For more complex tasks, you need to look for 50-64 lines / mm and higher resolution. As a rule, Gen3 night vision scopes can boast of this.

Weight and dimensions

The size of the lens directly affects the weight of the product and how much light enters the scope. By choosing a too small lens, we will reduce the importance of the product, but we will lose image quality. Therefore, it makes sense to stick to the middle (around 40mm) lens size and aim for a higher generation scope. As a rule, higher-generation night vision scopes are lighter, more compact, and more comfortable to use.

Work resource

You should not consider the cheapest options for permanent use. It is better to buy one high-quality sight use it for the same period as several very budget models. In general, you will spend the same money, but you will operate equipment with more features. The work resource sharply increases with Gen2 (3000-5000h) and aspire to 10000h in the Gen3+ generation.

Focus on your needs. Operation in the field will require extended sight battery life without recharging. More capacious batteries make the equipment heavier but provide additional features. Alternatively, an optional battery pack or external battery can be used.

Hull protection

The body should be made of quality materials. They should be light, solid, and durable. It is good if aviation aluminum, magnesium alloy, or composite materials with carbon fibers are used. Additional comfort of use will give a rubberized case or anti-slip surface. We prefer models with protection against dust, moisture, water, and shock when choosing. There are options for sights with water protection with complete immersion to a certain depth for a specific time. Most users are satisfied with the IP67 standard. This setting is essential if you operate your scope near water or in very rainy or snowy weather.

Price and features

The characteristics of night vision scopes directly affect the price. The higher the generation of the sight and the more features it has, the more expensive it is. The price range is extensive. Gen 1 equipment costs three digits, Gen2 four digits, Gen3, 3+ four digits and up. If we have a specific budget, it is worth looking for a compromise between the task and the list of night vision scope features. Do not overpay for new and unnecessary features. They increase the cost of the sight and add extra weight and size. The choice must be rational and fully correspond to the level of complexity of the task.

First-time use of night vision scope

First, you need to fix the target mark precisely in the center of the sight lens. To do this, we use the screws on the body and securely fasten them so that the mark does not move after the weapon recoils from the shot. Adjust the intensity of the mark glow to not interfere with aiming.

Secondly, you need to zero the night vision scope or reset it. We fix it on the weapon with which we plan to use it to do this. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, it is essential to wear exactly what you are used to using your weapon. It is necessary to fix your gun and scope motionless for correct zeroing. It is convenient to do this with the help of bipods. For shooting, you need a target, a tape measure, and a pen to mark the shot's point. We move the target 25 yards and fire the first shot. We estimate the horizontal and vertical deviation from the bullseye point. To avoid getting confused, we mark the image with a pen. By this amount, we shift the crosshairs of the reticle insight. We fire again. We compare the result. If he hits the target accurately, move the target 50 yards, 100 yards, and 150 yards and follow the same procedure. If the result is a miss, repeat the adjustment of the center of the reticle until the exact hit. We take into account that the errors at small distances will be insignificant. And on large ones, they will give substantial discrepancies and will not accurately hit the target. Therefore, we will take the zeroing process seriously and do not miss important milestones: we move from small distances to large ones and monitor the immobility of the weapon. As a result, we get excellent shooting accuracy without unpleasant surprises.

The scope is the most crucial piece of equipment after the weapon. A good scope can't be cheap. If you are offered a budget version, you should not place too high expectations on it. Take your time deciding, study the information, ask questions, test personally. You get exactly what you pay for and not one opportunity more.