Anyone have any experience with these? I am considering buying one of the AMT models, but am subject to any input or advice I can get.

I have a serious feral hog problem on my ranch, and have killed over 25 in the last couple of months, which has driven them to be almost 100% nocturnal. They are fun to hunt and good to eat, but the 25 probably has not kept up with their breeding rates. I can trap them, but prefer shooting them. Spotlights do not work. Hit a light of any color, and they are gone faster than a flushing covey of quail. Any input on NV scopes would be appreciated.
BTW hogs are vermin in Texas and there is no restrictions on ways or time of harvesting them.

I've used several different versions of night vision.

The 2nd Gen was grainy but useable, much better when the illuminator was turned on.

The 3rd Gen + was of course very good and wonderful with the illuminator.

The problem with all the ones I've tried is the depth of view. I find myself needing to focus back and forth across the view area so as not to miss any object(s).

I've found that for my purposes, a straight clear non-NV scope works best. I get low to the horizon and glass across the field(s) with binos. Best to be out on nights just a few days before or after full moon. Full moon is too much light and the critters can easily spot ya. I find it easiest to spot them with the moon either directly behind me or directly in front of me. It's quite easy to spot the dark/shadow side of a critter if the field is light and the light/lighted side if the field is dark.

The most difficult part is estimating critter size and range. I use areas that I'm familiar with the range/distance.

I spent a few hunts down in Tx shooting wild hogs. Had a real blast but the bigger boars aren't really all that good for food.

You might also contact www.usnightvision.com They have good prices and there is an excellent forum at their website.

Personlly, I've tried the Litton AN/PVS-7B gen 2+ and it didn't meet my expectations/demands so I won't buy anything less than gen 3. But since I can't afford a gen 3 at the moment, that means get one for a while. But you might not need a gen 3, which means you'll save a lot of money too. (Technically, I don't "need" a gen 3 either, but that is beside the point!)

Since I started regularly hunting these critters at night, I have mounted a high quality regular scope, bought a high quality pair of binoculars and mounted a 30,000 power flashlight with a remote switch. I only need to use the flashlight on those nights when there is no moon or very little light and I have already aimed at the pig, but am not sure exactly where on the animal the crosshair is.

I quit using my night vision device as it ruins your night vision.

I read a post where a guy was using chem-sticks, and a laser sight. You might try that. You might also invite a fellow Texan to come and help you reduce their numbers. I make a mean polish sausage with hog. What part of Texas are you in ?
Good luck and good shooting

Eterry:

Extreme NE, near where Tx,Ok,and Ark join.

I would be glad to have a visitof off this board and we could probably shoot some silhouettes(have a 500m range) or something but I am becoming distinctly discouraged with the hog hunting. At this point, as I said, they are 100% nocturnal and are, possibly seasonal or possibly just during the full moon phase that was just over, not coming out into the fields at all.

The lights do not work, you would have to have reflexes faster than a cat to shoot these when you hit them with lights, they disappear instantly. Been there, done that. I suppose that if you had the EXPENSIVE solar powered variety around feeders they might get used to them and come out, but the only ones I have found so far are about $230 a light. I figured for that much money for one light for one feeder site, might as well go NV

Only area where you can consistently see them is on some baited corn sites in fairly dense planted pines that I have covering about 400 acres, and that is at night, ergo, my NV question. Ranges are close 50m or less, usually much less, and the area of vision is narrow, like 10m or less, usually more like 5m.

I guess I am going to start trapping them to reduce their numbers, our kill rate is not up to their reproduction rate at this point. Hunting them is fun, but spending all night doing it doesn't help the other minor areas of your life, like wife, family, income, etc.

[This message has been edited by Gatogordo (edited 01-31-2002).]

I hunted one time near De Kalb, Tx. Didn't get a deer, but it was a nice time. We have stalked hogs on the edge of a wheat field, and had them come to a feeder right at dusk. Have also just stumbled upon them walking in the woods. Like I said earlier, I heard of the chem sticks and thought that a pretty good idea. They glow, similar to a neon light. The guy said he used a laser sight , locating them over bait with the chem sticks, them putting the laser sight on them.
I haven't tried it, but it sounds good in theory.
The 500m range sounds good, havent shot that far in a while.
I live in Wichita Falls, about 1 1/2 hours north west of Fort Worth, near the red river.
Good luck and good shooting

Gat,

I've been chomping at the bit to get one of those really neat 3rd Generation scopes for my Bushmaster. It would be worth a darn for the hogs, but it would be just right for coyotes.

Longbob:

A .223 will kill a hog easily with a head/neck/heart/lung shot placement, they aren't really tough unless you hit them too far back. Assuming you aren't using a varmint bullet.

We are also overrun with coyotes. If you know how to hunt them, come on over.

I've got an electronic call but haven't used it for them yet.

ETerry:

I am very close to DeKalb, about 12 miles. Shot my first hog second day of dove season last year out your way, near Markley, about 40 miles S of you.

The chem sticks might work, but so far any light source, no matter how dim has run them off. If you had a dim light that you put on a feeder, they would get used to it, but I doubt you would have any action the first night or two. When I tell you we have hunted these hogs hard and pressured them, believe me, they are spooked. I'm surprised they still come to bait. As a matter of fact, if a friend or someone off this board doesn't come over, I am going to trap a dozen or two and then leave them to "de-spook" for a while. Meaning, I won't be putting corn out every day for them.

Gat,

I'm studying up on how to hunt them. I think I have a way that sounds stupid, but it seems to be quite successful for some of my buddies. If I can swing it, I will get one of those scopes and get with you.

If you are going through the bait routine, why not buy one of the motion activated security lights that runs off a battery? You could either get one with a solar panel or one that just works off batteries.

Here is an idea how they look, Northern Tool Supply has a solar powered one for $90 that works off a motion sensor. Kind of like this, but not this actual one:

Mark:

Again, the hogs might become used to an on/off light set up eventually, but from several efforts and experiments here on my ranch I can tell you that turning on a light, even the smallest of pinpoints will make the hogs on my place vanish in an instant. I am not ruling the lights out, but I know for sure that it would take a while for them to work, and, they would almost have to be weatherproof to do so. I have read that using the type of flourescent lights that speckled trout fisherman use to mount on the side of their boats and attract bait which attracts fish, that is a kind of green glow, I understand, seems not to scare the hogs off, but I have not been able to confirm that. Like I said, when you get to that much expense and the hassle of installing them, without knowing if the result is going to be positive or longlasting, then NV becomes a reasonable alternative.

I'm not going to argue the pros and cons of bait here, but without bait, or dogs, you will kill very few hogs in East Texas, the cover is just too thick and the hogs are too smart. And, remember, this is not really a sporting proposition, while it is fun and can be done in a sporting manner, they are vermin, have a tremendous reproductive capacity,(each sow normally has 2 litters a year of 4 to 6, beginning at 6 months of age), destroy native animal's habitat, and in the final analysis any dead hog is a good hog, even if unrecovered. But I am still, at this stage, hunting them in a sporting manner, but the diminishing results are forcing me to consider other means of population control.

Dave King:

What kind of scope do you use for your night work?

Longbob:

A friend of mine told me he saw a method on TV for coyotes where they staked 2 dogs out in a field and called from about 150 yards away. The coyotes could not stand the idea that the dogs might get the wounded rabbit or whatever and went after the dogs, providing easy shots. I've got 2 labs that would volunteer as long as we agree not to shoot them. Might be worth a try.

I haven't done it yet because I think you need 2 shooters, if you get over here, we might give it a roll. Worst that can happen is that we have 2 labs wondering what those stupid humans are up to now?

Gatagordo, this may have already been mentioned but try baiting them with corn so they will come to you to be shot.

"I haven't done it yet because I think you need 2 shooters, if you get over here, we might give it a roll. Worst that can happen is that we have 2 labs wondering what those stupid humans are up to now?"

Thank God they cannot talk.

Gatogordo

I like the Leupold 3.5 x 10 VariX-III Long Range M1 version. I have the MilDot reticle as installed by Premier Reticle.

The MilDot Reticle has VERY wide bars for a good distance and then the standard fine(r) reticle with the USMC "dots".

At night I use it on lower power settings.

This scope, or for that matter, any of the MilDot scopes I have, except the straight 10X, work well at night. The very wide bars show up very well at night and there's no searching for the "cross-hair".

http://www.premierreticles.com/

You can buy the scope with MilDots installed directly from Premier.

This is a 30mm tube scope.

[This message has been edited by Dave King (edited 02-02-2002).]

A flat top AR(14.5" M-4) with an ANPVS 14 in conjuction with an aimpoint works real well and has fast target acqisition. The clarity is sureal. You can engage a target without problems to 200. I figure with 60gr SP's, it would be great pig medicine.

Gatordo,

For a most effective culling, I suggest that you use a suppressed weapon, in addition to the NV. I bet an AR15 in 300 whisper would prove very effective to solve your problem.
olivier