Night Vision

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Those who know about the different types and devices of night vision, can you please chime in? I have been looking at night vision for a long time now. Bought some regular binoculars, but have not gotten any night ones. Frankly, because I am not knowledgeable enough. Some of the really Expensive ones, still get bad reviews. I’m looking for some reasonable ones...or monoculars. Paying thousands for each one is not in the cards. There are too many of us to do so. With that in mind, what do you think of these?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRVDD6Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A31CEZCI9MV6LX&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081PLDXSG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2Q4FDQ7IM2A3R&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-260...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GJH73M...&pd_rd_r=9304a58a-0ce5-48fa-a865-5151ebb16f63
Or any ones that you have and like.

 

[BillMasen]

Unless they have now invented NG goggles with at least a 120 degree field of vision I wont touch them, however if you are determined to get a set get ones that use COMMON sized batteries AA, CR123, 9V etc and learn how to use them properly. IE when you use them you must constantly move your head left to right to sweep the entire area to your front. If you treat them just like binoculars then you risk allowing intruders to get close from your peripheral vision, and dont forget to look up and down as well. You have to be smooth and fluid to ensure you inspect the WHOLE area to your front, not just staring into the night. I still prefer the Mk1 eyeball.

 

[Illini Warrior]

even an obsolete early version is better than nothing >>> give you some advance warning of some movement out on your perimeter ....

 

[Proud Prepper]

I have one very similar to the Gthunder. I'm happy with them.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

even an obsolete early version is better than nothing >>> give you some advance warning of some movement out on your perimeter ....

Thank you! That’s what I thought. Get one for everyone and it will give us an advantage.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

I have one very similar to the Gthunder. I'm happy with them.

Whew! So glad you have used one of these personally!! I was leaning toward the Gthunder or the Creative XP. Thank you!

 

[tmttactical]

From my limited knowledge on this subject. 1) NV (night vision) is best for identification. 2) Thermal is best for detection. I plan to use a Thermal monocular for detection and a NV scope for identification and elimination of varmints. JM2C

 

[OldButtoni]

We have night vision monoculars at our BOL cabin, but I don't know the brand. The full head gear night vision sets were cost prohibitive. We can afford them, but we convinced ourselves it was "going overboard". We've tested the monoculars and think it would be OK for scoping out distant intruders approaching to the cabin. But with monoculars, you have to put them down to handle a gun. Our BOL is 42 acres with 5 points of access inbound on foot. The area around the cabin for say 100 yards all directions is pretty clear (except for mature 6-7 trees around the immediate cabin with high umbrella level). But we do have 2 outbuildings someone could hide behind. Our barbed wire fenceline on all 4 sides (and the access lane) is (completely obscured for the most part) with extremely dense stands of yaupon holly (a Texas invasive plant). If you're familiar with it, you cannot walk through it without a lot of lopper work it it is a well-established stand of the invasive. Ordinarily we curse the stuff cropping up around tree bases and elsewhere on the property, but the 15' tall tree-like thickets may prove useful along our fencelines for security when the SHTF. Not thorny, but just too dense to get through. It's the open entry points I'm worried about. I hope the night vision monocular will help us at least see who is approaching from those 5 points, with both of us using a monocular, we can spot 4 of the 5 approaches with minimal movement or having to leave the cabin (16 windows in all around sides of the cabin). We have also invested and installed light-blocking curtains on all of those windows (keeping them folded back during the day currently). We are mounting this week our solar lights around the cabin as well. Not a military approach, but we're in our 70's (over the age to be of any further use according to some Democrats Biden is grooming for future positions in his administration). My husband has several health issues. We well know our abilities (and limitations) to protect ourselves is somewhat limited by our age. So we'll do the best with what we have at our disposal.

 

[BillMasen]

Another tip or two in case you accidentally get involved in a shootout after dark.

Gun mounted flashlights and tracer rounds work both ways.

At night your muzzle flashes give away your position that much easier to intruders, so shoot then move immediately.

Dont ignore your EARS and your dogs ears if you have one, at night you can hear better than you can see.

Sound can travel up to seven times further at night.

Also if you turn on a flashlight after dark /curfew your natural night vision will be ruined for up to 35 minutes

At night your eyes detect MOVEMENT more than SHAPE its the rods and cones on the sides of your eyeballs that work best at night, so so scan with your head left to right slowly when on lookout and you will have a better chance of detecting intruders.

if you must use artificial light at night then use RED filters to protect your night sight. Rhodopsin in the human rods is insensitive to the longer red wavelengths, so traditionally many people use red light to help preserve night vision. Red light only slowly depletes the rhodopsin stores in the rods, and instead is viewed by the red sensitive cone cells.

 

[BillMasen]

In rural areas it handy to NOT remove leaf debris, flallen branches and twigs etc on the commonest approaches to your homes, the noise peoples feet make as they walk through the debris can give you early warning of their approach.

Ideally on the DRIVE / Pavement to your house from the road you would be wise to leave at leave one section of the road unmetalled / untarred and lay gravel instead. this again makes plenty of noise as people walk over it.

 

[OldButtoni]

Another tip or two in case you accidentally get involved in a shootout after dark.
Gun mounted flashlights and tracer rounds work both ways.
At night your muzzle flashes give away your position that much easier to intruders, so shoot then move immediately.
Dont ignore your EARS and your dogs ears if you have one, at night you can hear better than you can see.
Sound can travel up to seven times further at night.
Also if you turn on a flashlight after dark /curfew your natural night vision will be ruined for up to 35 minutes
At night your eyes detect MOVEMENT more than SHAPE its the rods and cones on the sides of your eyeballs that work best at night, so so scan with your head left to right slowly when on lookout and you will have a better chance of detecting intruders.
if you must use artificial light at night then use RED filters to protect your night sight. Rhodopsin in the human rods is insensitive to the longer red wavelengths, so traditionally many people use red light to help preserve night vision. Red light only slowly depletes the rhodopsin stores in the rods, and instead is viewed by the red sensitive cone cells.

A very useful post, Bill. Thanks for those tips.

 

[BillMasen]

A very useful post, Bill. Thanks for those tips.

Your welcome, BTW dry grasses in your state are also bloody noisy, esp prairie grass.

 

[OldButtoni]

In rural areas it handy to NOT remove leaf debris, flallen branches and twigs etc on the commonest approaches to your homes, the noise peoples feet make as they walk through the debris can give you early warning of their approach.

Ideally on the DRIVE / Pavement to your house from the road you would be wise to leave at leave one section of the road unmetalled / untarred and lay gravel instead. this again makes plenty of noise as people walk over it.

Currently, the access "lane" is just two wheel ruts in the vegetation atop our sandy loam. And THOSE wouldn't be visible if we weren't leasing the pasture and he were driving on it 2-3 times a week. On 40 acres, with the cabin centered on the parcel, the lane is too far from the cabin to ever hear gravel on it making any noise. Once one gets to the inner end of the 1/4 mile lane (600-800 yards from the cabin), it's sandy loam pasture, so real quiet approach to the cabin is possible. We have had legitimate visitors we never heard approach until they passed by a window. We're aware of this security vulnerability. We don't have a dog. Our 17 y.o. rat terrier passed away last month. But we have talked about the need to get one down there, a larger dog from a local shelter there, as an "alert" system against surprise intruders.

 

[BillMasen]

If TSHTF and you need to do night patrols and sentry duty the first thing you do is

STOP USING SCENTED soap, deodourant, after shave, perfume or strong toothpaste, it can be detected from over 70 yards away at night.
Take off all jewelrey that could reflect start light or make noise
If you wear eye glasses then get black or dark frames, NOTHING bright and shiny.

Before you go outside junp up and down a few times, if anything on your person rattles, bangs or squeeks repack until its silent

At the start of your patrol step outside, sit down, shut up, calm down, breath quietly and start to LISTEN, get used to the NORMAL night time sounds and familiar shadows.

Dont smoke, dont talk, dont chew gum, just acclimatise to your surroundings, YOU must control the night, not the night control you.

Do not stare straight at anything after dark, observe your surrounding with slow side to side movements of your head.

Walk slowly stay within the shadows where possible with your weapon close to your body.

Stop frequently and LISTEN and SMELL , them side to side scan before moving on.

Every few hundred yards pause, turn around and watch, listen to your rear to ensure no one is stalking you.

Never use the same route out band back twice in a row

All patrols must be done at irregular intervals.

 

[BillMasen]

Currently, the access "lane" is just two wheel ruts in the vegetation atop our sandy loam. And THOSE wouldn't be visible if we weren't leasing the pasture and he were driving on it 2-3 times a week. On 40 acres, with the cabin centered on the parcel, the lane is too far from the cabin to ever hear gravel on it making any noise. Once one gets to the inner end of the 1/4 mile lane (600-800 yards from the cabin), it's sandy loam pasture, so real quiet approach to the cabin is possible. We have had legitimate visitors we never heard approach until they passed by a window. We're aware of this security vulnerability. We don't have a dog. Our 17 y.o. rat terrier passed away last month. But we have talked about the need to get one down there, a larger dog from a local shelter there, as an "alert" system against surprise intruders.

Cordless / wireless / solar powered passive Infrared = movement detector placed up to 200 yards line of sight to a chime in the house will give you early warning.

 

[TexasFreedom]

If you're going to have night vision, consider something that comes with a scope. I'd rather hit them further away where peripheral doesn't matter. Depending where you are, also consider thermal cameras. Heat signature doesn't hide easily (unless you're somewhere hot, oh, like central Texas?).

(I typed this an hour+ ago & somehow it didn't 'reply'...)

 

[OldButtoni]

Cordless / wireless / solar powered passive Infrared = movement detector placed up to 200 yards line of sight to a chime in the house will give you early warning.

We have deer, of course, cayotes, fox, tons of hawks and literally a bazillion red cardinals flitting back and forth on the access lane and the pasture from yaupon holly clump to clulmp (it's tightly wrapped around every single tree trunk and cardinals love to nest in 5-7' dense vegetation like that). And they are everpresent year-round. So movement sensors would likely be sounding off the inside chime non-stop (from the cardinals alone) and we might go crazy with those. But we might have to pay that price to catch human intruders we DON'T want. We thought about cameras, but unless connected inside to rule out wild fauna activity, that, too might get to be problematic and we'd have to have SO MANY of them to protect the full perimeter of 42 acres.

 

[Jayson]

I bought a Russian Cyclop-1 Monocular Night Scope a few years ago because it was relatively inexpensive. Well, Igor must have dropped it off the Volga barge on his way to the post officeski. The illumination functioned, but the image was blurry.

 

[OldButtoni]

If TSHTF and you need to do night patrols and sentry duty the first thing you do is

STOP USING SCENTED soap, deodourant, after shave, perfume or strong toothpaste, it can be detected from over 70 yards away at night.
Take off all jewelrey that could reflect start light or make noise
If you wear eye glasses then get black or dark frames, NOTHING bright and shiny.

Before you go outside junp up and down a few times, if anything on your person rattles, bangs or squeeks repack until its silent

At the start of your patrol step outside, sit down, shut up, calm down, breath quietly and start to LISTEN, get used to the NORMAL night time sounds and familiar shadows.

Dont smoke, dont talk, dont chew gum, just acclimatise to your surroundings, YOU must control the night, not the night control you.

Do not stare straight at anything after dark, observe your surrounding with slow side to side movements of your head.

Walk slowly stay within the shadows where possible with your weapon close to your body.

Stop frequently and LISTEN and SMELL , them side to side scan before moving on.

Every few hundred yards pause, turn around and watch, listen to your rear to ensure no one is stalking you.

Never use the same route out band back twice in a row

All patrols must be done at irregular intervals.

Luckily I don't wear jewelry much anymore. Don't smoke. Don't chew gum. DO like to talk (my husband will attest to ), We often sit quietly out on the cabin front porch and listen to the "normal" sounds of the night (mostly cayotes, leaf rustling by a resident armadillo we can't seem to catch when a gun is at hand, and the periodic wild pig group squealing in the distance (so far).

I had to smile (and am glad you pointed that out, else I would have forgotten) at your "Don't wear glasses" and "Don't look straight ahead" tip. I no longer wear glasses and have had to get intra-occular lenses implanted in both eyes from cataract removal. If you've never known anyone with them, they're invisible to the naked eye, sitting right behine the cornea. At night, when I am in the bathroom or bedroom (lights off) and in front of the mirror turning my head as you say "subtly left and right" the lens' film edge creates a barely visible circle of light/shine (ever so tiny) that is actually visible in the mirror. My husband has said he has only noticed it once or twice in 10 years, and only in the right light conditions (light has to be bouncing off my eyes from a certain direction/angle to see it). Maybe my husband better do all the nighttime guard duty. at SHTF, becase I don't think walking with my eyes closed on guard duty is going to work out too well. LOL

 

[lonewolf]

night vision is outside of my budget.

 

[BillMasen]

We have deer, of course, cayotes, fox, tons of hawks and literally a bazillion red cardinals flitting back and forth on the access lane and the pasture from yaupon holly clump to clulmp (it's tightly wrapped around every single tree trunk and cardinals love to nest in 5-7' dense vegetation like that). And they are everpresent year-round. So movement sensors would likely be sounding off the inside chime non-stop (from the cardinals alone) and we might go crazy with those. But we might have to pay that price to catch human intruders we DON'T want. We thought about cameras, but unless connected inside to rule out wild fauna activity, that, too might get to be problematic and we'd have to have SO MANY of them to protect the full perimeter of 42 acres.

Get one with adjustable volume, keep it turned down in normal times but if TSHTF turn it up dusk til dawn, Cameras have to be watched to catch bad people in real time. something that buzzes or dings is better. You could use the more developed Microwave and PIR combined detectors that can distinguish by size, which helps reduce false alarms. if TSHTF someone in the house is going to be on duty overnight anyway listening for the warning buzzer.

 

[Illini Warrior]

Thank you! That’s what I thought. Get one for everyone and it will give us an advantage.

night vision is one of those tangent prep items that should be down further on your list >>> not going to do much for a starving poorly armed bunch that can't keep the rain/snow off their heads ....

a few handheld scope units available to the guards at the observation posts and a unit with a squad out on a nite patrol >>> goes a long way - some kind of modern warfare helmet-mounted unit could be wayyyyyyyyy overkill

 

[BillMasen]

Just remember this folks when TSHTF and you are on your home territory the night is your friend, not your enemy. Make it work for you not the intruders.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I'm usually in the house sitting in front of the wood stove when it gets dark.