When researching night vision rifle scopes, a quick internet search produces numerous options. Before looking at a particular scope, I’d recommend narrowing down the purpose your night vision scope will fulfill. By far the biggest users of night vision are military and law enforcement agencies. As technology improves and costs go down, we are now seeing exceptional night vision products accessible to hobbiests, survivalists, and other ‘civilian’ populations.
The purpose of this article is to provide a primer on the options available to bring night vision to your rifle. First off please remember that hunting using night vision is generally not legal. Please be very familiar with local laws prior to using any type of night vision equipment while hunting!
There are a number of options to bring night vision to your rifle. The first thing that comes to mind is a true rifle scope that incorporates night vision technology along with magnification and a reticle that is visible to the shooter. These types of night vision rifle scopes tend to be high quality, costly pieces used on a dedicated rifle.
Another option is to use a night vision compatible optic such as those produced by EOTec or Aimpoint. These are typically red dot or holographic weapon sights that can be used during daylight as well as with night vision equipment such as night vision goggles or a mounted night vision monocular. These options allow more diverse use of the weapon that the sight is mounted on, allowing day or night use without sighting in different optics for day or night use on the same rifle.
Another option for a magnified rifle scope is a night vision converter. Essentially this is a night vision device with threads or a mount that attaches to your existing mounted riflescope. This easily converts your existing scope to night vision technology, and can be attached and removed, making this a very versitile option as well.
Whether you are looking for night vision for military or law enforecment, hunting, or home defense, there is much more to learn about the technology that makes up night vision rifle scopes, and I’ll expnlore some of these and other options in more detail in upcoming posts.