Add on NV for around £2,000 - £2,500 ?

[AndyCM]

Well, I've done stacks of lamping & baiting but never looked through any NV kit (except some £1k special at the sportsman warehouse - about 10 yards, so that doesn't really count). Seemed ok for airrifle & Rimfire....I didn't buy it.

 

My usual methods are either spot with Zeiss binoculars (with a little moonlight & bare fields) and flick on the 170 in company or 140 scope mounted if alone, for the shot.

 

Otherwise regular lamp & shoot with two of us out.

 

For bait spots I'd like to try a NV add on - can this work ok?

 

Ranges I'd expect to be 100-200 yards and either .223 or .243 with Zeiss 3-12x56, Zeiss 8x56 or Nightforce 5.5-22x56 although from (lots of) experience I know ever second & noise counts to want to keep things as simple & quiet as possible.

 

What options will be best for me?

 

Cheers

AndyCM

[sonic]

I've not tried any commercial NV add on's but do have one I built. It's similar to the ns50/200 type add on and will do just what you describe. best thing would be to see if anyone can do a proper demo for you

Basically I use a russian hand held to spot and the add on stays on the rifle combined with a NM800 IR this works well out to 200 yds.

There will be someone on here who has Archer etc better placed to advise on them.

[22/250 foxer]

something like a pvs 14 will do you nicely. my friend has been having lots of foxes lately with his sako 204. swaro 5x30x56 scope and pvs14 on the back.

he has the bonus of spotting with some nv bino's also though.

[AnthonyR]

For an add-on with your budget you 2 real choices, an Archer which come in various grades (tube quality) from s/h less than 1k for a not great Gen 2 up to Gen 3 for 1.5K+, personally I am not a fan but lots of people seem to get on well with them.

 

There is also a PVS-14 which can used as an add-on along with DSA (Day Scope Adaptor), these are all Gen 3 and only generally only really available s/h in the UK. You would have to watch the recoil on the 243 though, some of the PVS tubes don't handle it very well. My PVS offers a better picture than any Archer I have tried and they start at about 2k. They also make an excellent spotter when fitted with x3 lens.

 

You will need a decent illuminator to make either of the above work well as an add-on, something like a NM800IR.

 

No add-on I have tried is as good as a dedicated scope IMO, I find them fiddly to use especially when you are rushing to take the shot.

 

If you get yourself to SE Essex you can a have a go with my PVS-14 and my N750 and make your own mind up.

[AndyCM]

Hi AnthonyR,

 

That's a great offer, thanks - I can easily get to you, I'll pm you.

 

Thanks for the other advice guys.

Cheers

AndyCM

[AndyCM]

A BIG thank you to AnthonyR for being kind enough to demo his NV setups earlier this week.

 

It was great to see a real field based demo with a fox timed to the minute ! Good shot Anthony, I'm glad me being there did not jinx your plans!

 

Cheers

AndyCM

[tisme]

So which one did you like the best?

[AnthonyR]

A BIG thank you to AnthonyR for being kind enough to demo his NV setups earlier this week.

 

It was great to see a real field based demo with a fox timed to the minute ! Good shot Anthony, I'm glad me being there did not jinx your plans!

 

Cheers

AndyCM

 

No probs Andy, it was nice to meet you.

 

The fox's arrival was rather timely wasn't it, I said it had been coming at about 10:50 and I took the shot at 10:59. , rather rare that a plan comes together so well!!

[garyw]

i use a PVS -14 - a ranger pro with added illuminator-rem 17 -20 vmax- fox pro caller- deadly out to 150 yds.i dont need to shoot further as they can be called/baited in to the best spot to get a safe shot.

nv is the way to go no lamps to get them jittery.

[223magic]

Well, I've done stacks of lamping & baiting but never looked through any NV kit (except some £1k special at the sportsman warehouse - about 10 yards, so that doesn't really count). Seemed ok for airrifle & Rimfire....I didn't buy it.

 

My usual methods are either spot with Zeiss binoculars (with a little moonlight & bare fields) and flick on the 170 in company or 140 scope mounted if alone, for the shot.

 

Otherwise regular lamp & shoot with two of us out.

 

For bait spots I'd like to try a NV add on - can this work ok?

 

Ranges I'd expect to be 100-200 yards and either .223 or .243 with Zeiss 3-12x56, Zeiss 8x56 or Nightforce 5.5-22x56 although from (lots of) experience I know ever second & noise counts to want to keep things as simple & quiet as possible.

 

What options will be best for me?

 

Cheers

AndyCM

I have done a lot of baiting using high seats over the last three years, I have tried all sorts of kit N550 pulsar digital, Archer D grade is good enough, PVS, Starlight Longbow and Pulsar HD38 Thermal. All of which work well from a high seat. I have also constructed a few fox boxes which have a rock solid shooting table built in to it. This allows me to use a rear bag and shoot out to 250 yards using night vision.

 

My preferred bit of kit at present is the longbow to shoot and the Thermal to spot. Good luck with your high seat work. I find they cant smell you once you up of the ground and it works a dream.

 

ATB

Mike