I'm seeking advice to what I should be looking for in a high quality night vision scope. At present I have been using a Nightforce 3.5-15X scope on my HART/Remington 700 VS LH in 308 Winchester. When I have snow on the ground and some moon light I have had no problem making shots to 225 yards on coyote, and other preditors. However when there is no moon light I'm having a tough time seeing the target area even with snow on the ground. I would like to hear what your suggestion are as what I should be looking at in the way of a quality night vision scope. I'm not inclined to buy junk from china or russia. I'm looking for high quality and night vision that will provide a shootable view of the target to 300 yards, with a magnafcation factor of at least 4X or more. Your suggestion will be a help in my quest for a high quality nightvision scope.thanks, Sendaro

There you go:
http://www.nvdepot.com/scopes/new-index.asp

Do you happen to know how much?

From my research what I've seen is that:

Generation I isn't that good.

Generation II is OK but probably going to set you back $2,000 or so.

Generation III is good but the price of entry will be in the $3,000 plus range.

Thermal imaging is REALLY GOOD but will cost about $9,000.

I like toys and like to play but so far haven't been able to justify the cost just to take out some yotes or racoons.

By the way, though the name is "Nightforce" I don't think those scopes necessarily have the best light gathering ability though they're very good (I have 3 of them). I think Leupolds may do a bit better in the night shooting department.

Grumulkin,I agree that the expence is far more then what the cause can justify. This is the first that I have looking into it. I have put a few of the Rus or Chi junk units on rifles for customers. I was not impressed when I checked them out. On moon light nights I have no problem with my night force scopes. As a matter of fact I have had to keep the lite ret. turned off at times till I was ready to take the shot, and then use the lowest of the settings.The problem is on the nights with no moon. The Yotes are still out there but I can't see them! have tried to use a light on them when they are on the bait, but as soon as the light comes on they are doing the road Runner!I've got less then half a second to get the round off. Would like a little ome of an edge. However not willing to pay $3,000.00. Guess that I'll have to stick to the moon doing the job for me. Thanks for the input. I have three of the NF scopes and 14 Leupolds. My Leupolds do not have the lite ret. Maybe I should take a look at one of them. Sendaro

in night vision the cost to be really usable is quite high. in general gen 1 and 2 are tube type intensifiers which have a decreasing lifespan. russian gen 2 is about US gen 1. gen 3 if solid state and has no virtual lifespan. a weapons sight is going to cost several times what a viewer costs. you can expect about a 50 yd nominal use from gen 1 or 2. gen 3 is entirely another animal. to put it into visual terms lets say you have a crat in the field. through gen 1 you will be able to see it is probably a cat. through gen 2 you will definitely see it is a cat. through gen 3 you can see it is a black & white striped on and is probably a tom at that. now you can go further to gen 3.5 and really see the sucker. in a nite viewer you can get a gen 3 for about 14-1500 but a weapons sight will set you back from 3500-6000 depending on quality. it is possible to mount the viewer in front of the rifle scope and then use the scope as your sighting device, but should only be done with light recoiling rifles. a gen 3.5 weapons sight cost is, well, maybe if you win the lottery. there are infrared illuminators built into gen 1 and 2 stuff and available on gen 3 for the dark nights. but some animals can see infrared (eles for instance)if you do get one, don't forget to look up at the stars some night, you will see thousand that you couldn't before

here is a PVS-24 that would mount in front of your day scope:

http://www.snipershide.com/for...=1585400&nt=2&page=1

quote:

Originally posted by Sendaro:
On moon light nights I have no problem with my night force scopes. As a matter of fact I have had to keep the lite ret. turned off at times till I was ready to take the shot, and then use the lowest of the settings.The problem is on the nights with no moon. The Yotes are still out there but I can't see them! have tried to use a light on them when they are on the bait, but as soon as the light comes on they are doing the road Runner!I've got less then half a second to get the round off. Would like a little ome of an edge. However not willing to pay $3,000.00. Guess that I'll have to stick to the moon doing the job for me. Thanks for the input. I have three of the NF scopes and 14 Leupolds. My Leupolds do not have the lite ret. Maybe I should take a look at one of them. Sendaro

MidwayUSA used to sell, maybe still sell, a unit called the Night Blaster which is a light that clips to the scope and has a red filter. Supposedly coyotes, etc. don't see the red light well while we do so that may be worth a try.

Try a Leupold Mark 4 with a lit reticle sometime if you get the chance. You might find it a little better than Nightforce. That isn't to say I don't like my Nightforce scopes though.