Will night vision work in wooded areas
- Thread starter TXCOONDOG
- Start date
TEXASLAWMAN
Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Yes it can be used the better the tube the more effective it will be. They just work way better in open areas but so do your eyes in the day. Also the IR illuminator will blind you bouncing back off the leaves and such.
TXCOONDOG
Highlands, Texas
the coyotes have been educated in my area by inexperienced callers and will not come out in the open.
So I was wanting to set my caller in the open while I setup 200-300 yds in the woods.
Being CQ, I was thinking about a PVS and a laser on the rail, but I hate to waste my money if this not going to work well.
Would a ditigal system be a better option ?
So I was wanting to set my caller in the open while I setup 200-300 yds in the woods.
Being CQ, I was thinking about a PVS and a laser on the rail, but I hate to waste my money if this not going to work well.
Would a ditigal system be a better option ?
Last edited:
a digital system would be worse. they do not amplify light nearly as much as a good generation 3 system. In thick woods thermal will work much better. Then use a pvs 14 and laser to shoot. Just having a pvs 14 and a laser will for sure get you some dogs in the woods. Just pick a tube with good specs and hunt clear nights with a little moon. the thicker the canopy gets the less light will come through the woods. Talk to Jason at Ident Marking and he will explain it much better than I ever could.
TEXASLAWMAN
Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
No digital does not even compare you will see way better with the pvs-14. Digital needs illumination more often than not and a illuminator will bounce back and blind you in the thick woods. A thermal would be best for the dark woods next to thermal the omni 8 3rd gen night vision will be your best bet.
Also 200-300 yards with a laser is a long shot on a coyote in my opinion.
Also 200-300 yards with a laser is a long shot on a coyote in my opinion.
I agree that digital will suck in the woods and a gen3 with a illuminator would also not be ideal. I would think a filmless gen3 tube would be your best bet for NV products since they are about 15% brighter than the standard tubes. Even better would be thermal as that is even better.
TEXASLAWMAN
Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Ahhhh ok that makes more sense I am comfortable using my laser out to 100 or so yards.
DaveABQ
Albuquerque, NM
if you're talking about a thermal for spotting (not a thermal scope), watch for deals on the L3 Thermal-Eye monocular. Even the X50 is a great unit, sure it doesn't have the detail that a X320 does, but you can see far with them. I have the X150 I picked up on ebay for pretty cheap and a friend just picked on up for cheap also, mine was listed as new, supposedly, but I don't believe it lol, even though it looks new
TXCOONDOG
Highlands, Texas
Dave, Thanks for the reply and if you see a unit that's a great deal, please let me know.
Right now I'm leaning towards a hand held thermal unit, a tree stand with a day scope and light combo. Call in the dark, scan with thermal and pop them with the light/scope combo. Works ok with using electronic ears in the dark, and light/scope combo, but no telling how many got passed me just listening for sound before turning on the light so thinking thermal scan would be ideal (nothing is fool proof).
One of the biggest issues I face is my eyes. Halo Graphic, Red dot, etc sights bloom out (look like a giant smudge mark) on me even during the day.
Tritruim, etched reticles with fiber optics, lasers, etc do not so I have to chose my system carefully and since I've never looked at a ditigal reticle, not sure how it would work out with my eyesight.
The new Flir ThermoSight RS24 looks interesting
PS: Ok Frank, even though you haven't bought anything my gut says; you have been doing some research, you have to spend your income wisely, and even though your situation or setup may be different than mine, let's hear what you've come up with.
Last edited:
TEXASLAWMAN
Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Thermal will spot the coyotes better than night vision but you will need a thermal designed to be weapons mounted. While thermal is best for spotting the pvs is going to be the best all arround devise for moving driving shooting everything. As many have stated here before it is the workhorse. If all you plan on doing is sitting in one spot scanning for coyotes then the thermal handheld and spot light combo should work. But if you ever plan on branching out to other styles of hunting I think the pvs should come first then thermal.
TXCOONDOG
Highlands, Texas
Some additional information of my situation:
I lost my lease due to housing development so I hunt in the Sam Houston National Forest where hunting pigs at night is not allowed along with hunting on/near (have to maintain certain distance) roads.
90% of my time is spent scouting during daylight, once I find a good place, I walk-in and setting up a stand ( tree and ground) and I've got pretty good walking in the dark without artifical lights during full/half moon.
I use trails, pipelines, rivers, etc as pathways to get where I'm going and sometimes the vegitation is chest high (majority of the time knee high) and now since it was pointing out that the PVS with IR could blind me, I'm afraid of trying it. Then again, maybe using the moon to my advantage could help with this situation by eliminating the use of an IR.
Keep'em com'in guys because this is very helpful to me and greatly appreciated.
I lost my lease due to housing development so I hunt in the Sam Houston National Forest where hunting pigs at night is not allowed along with hunting on/near (have to maintain certain distance) roads.
90% of my time is spent scouting during daylight, once I find a good place, I walk-in and setting up a stand ( tree and ground) and I've got pretty good walking in the dark without artifical lights during full/half moon.
I use trails, pipelines, rivers, etc as pathways to get where I'm going and sometimes the vegitation is chest high (majority of the time knee high) and now since it was pointing out that the PVS with IR could blind me, I'm afraid of trying it. Then again, maybe using the moon to my advantage could help with this situation by eliminating the use of an IR.
Keep'em com'in guys because this is very helpful to me and greatly appreciated.
Last edited:
Well my situation is financial, what I can pay for cash and not hurt me. So my research is limited to that and now the ATN digital X sight(not out yet) for $599 is the best bet for me If I had the $$ The W1000 and the PVS 14 combo looks the best from what I hear. The thermal spotting Dave got might be in my budget if I need it after getting the X sight. I am not much help due to a very limited budget.
TEXASLAWMAN
Lone Star Boars Owner
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
You should not need IR with full to even half moon. Unless the trees are so thick no light gets through.
TXCOONDOG
Highlands, Texas
Even though I make ok money, I hate wasting it. I also perfer to drive a nice truck, eat steak, my wife is in college, and I also have a special needs child so anything bought would have to be paid via loan.
Hunting is a hobby which I enjoy, but my families wellbeing is my top priority!
Frank, I'm sure we all will be where you are someday, and glad you have your priorities straight.
In short, you make some sound decisions at times (
), I appreciate your honesty Sir!
Hunting is a hobby which I enjoy, but my families wellbeing is my top priority!
Frank, I'm sure we all will be where you are someday, and glad you have your priorities straight.
In short, you make some sound decisions at times (
), I appreciate your honesty Sir!
Last edited: