#NightVision

If you’ve ever wanted to hunt at night, Pulsar has a night vision tool that can be used as a monocular or attached to your existing rifle scope. The DN55 is the same as the DFA75 unit, but comes with the monocular attachment for stand alone use. The following video shows the unit being attached to a scope.

If you live in a state that allows the use of night vision for hunting, the ATN X-Sight HD digital night vision riflescope would be an excellent choice of optic. The ATN X-Sight HD series of night vision rifle scopes are digital night vision scopes. These scopes do not use an Image Intensifier/Photocathode, but rely on a CCD sensor and an infra-red light source.  Essentially they are a camcorder, or a digital night vision camera with an adjustable infra-red filter and a reticle. Since they do not have an Image intensifier/Photocathode, end users do not have to worry about burning out the Image Intensifier, they can be used in the daytime and they are less expensive.

TrackingPoint is now selling a 7.62 NATO chambered rifle with a night vision optic that will drop a running hog at 500 yards. Called the NightDragon, this rifle system is the latest AR and optic mashup from the innovative Texas company.

If you research traditional night vision devices online, you typically walk away with the impression that unless you spend upwards of $2,000, you are wasting your time and money. The problem with this theory is that, for currency-challenged people like myself, high-priced imaging devices are basically out of reach. And if you settle for an affordable Generation 1 (“Gen1”) monocular, you are buying a single purpose piece of kit that, at its best, can only give you a basic look of your surroundings at night. Here’s where the ATN BinoX-HD binoculars come in: you get a multi-function device that includes Gen1-style night vision at an affordable price.

TrackingPoint, known for their “precision guided firearms” ( and corporate / financial issues) has released their latest version of their AR-15-based precision guided firearm, the NightEagle. The NightEagle is fundementally the same general rifle as their M600 Squad Level Precision Guided 5.56 Service Rifle, now adding in night-vision capability through an infrared sensitive CMOS sensor.

Introduced at the CES show now wrapping up in Las Vegas (just in time for SHOTShow to move in), FLIR has announced the upcoming release of its Scout TK thermal vision monocular. The new Scout TK is the latest and smallest offering in FLIR’s Scout brand.

If you’ve ever hunted at night, or want to, you understand the need for good quality night vision. New from Firefield are three different pieces of night vision, each with a different feature to recommend. After all, you can never have too many toys, and when they do double duty as useful tools, it’s even better.

Hat tip to Bradley for sending us the link to this video. It is a public service announcement. Many of us have heard of squibs happening. Just like a DQ in a competitive match; there are two kinds of people out there, those that have had it happen and those that will. I only have a .22LR SWR Spectre II suppressor and I shoot standard velocity and high velocity loads out of it. So it never occurred to me that a subsonic load would be more susceptible to being a squib load. The scenario in the video was a stroke of luck for the shooter. Shooters should try to always be vigilant when shooting. Accidents happen when we get complacent. Just like this shooter. He has shot thousands of rounds. He felt something odd but continued loading another round and he kept trying.  Had he been paying more attention, he would have acted on his initial observation and checked for the squib. It is hard though, to divorce yourself from the task at hand. We all do it. We get tunnel visioned into the target and forget to stop and check. Let this video be a warning to stay aware and pay attention to what is happening in your gun.

The US Army has been investing heavily in improved sighting and target acquisition systems for dismounted troops. Among these initiatives has been a steady improvement program for night vision systems including rifle sights and monocles. Soldier Systems brings us news of a new step forward in the development of those devices that seeks to increase the gap between US soldiers and enemy forces when operating at night. From the article:

The new riflescope’s rangefinder does more than just let you know how far away an object is, it also has a scanning feature so you can track targets on the move. In addition to the obvious cool factor of a built-in laser rangefinder this riflescope has a total of thirteen reticle options, each of which is preloaded into the scope, each of which has four colors possible, and each capable of operating in various light levels. For ease of use it also has the ability to store three settings and it has what sounds like a fairly detailed menu.

Tactical Night Vision Company (TNVC) has put up photos of their third generation D790 Magnus 6x Night Vision Scope being tested, saying “If we are going to equip guys going into harm’s way, the gear better perform as advertised first time, every time. That said, we present the baddest night vision scope on the block: the Magnus D790. Rated up-to/including .50 BMG and proven by our own field testing.”

Sightmark announced they will show a new Photon digital night vision scope at the 2015 SHOT Show. The new models, the Photon XT 4.6x 42 and the Photon XT 6.5x 50, are an improvement over the Photon-S released a year ago.

We saw Flir bring out the Flir One, a thermal imager for the iPhone. Well now MSM Labs is making the NVC case for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. NVC stands for Night Vision Camera. The NVC case also acts as a battery backup and has a microSD card slot for storing the images and videos shot with this camera.

Tactical Night Vision Company has announced the upcoming release of a civilian legal ATPIAL-C, known to the military community as the AN/PEQ-15. The new civilian legal version incorporates a Class 1 infrared laser pointed and class 3R laser illuminator instead of restricted components. The ATPIAL will still have the red visible laser pointer.

Please excuse my Boondock Saints reference. This is footage of an Apache, followed by some Little Birds, firing on a a target in the night while observed with NODs.(Night Optical Device). From the footage it does not seem likely that anyone could survive this barrage.