Advise on commercial night vision scopes

[vintage hunter]

I do quite a bit of crop damage control for the local farmers and the current methods I'm using are'nt very productive. The way it works now I'm allowed to hunt from 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and after 3-4 days the critters get wise and go nocturnal then I have to use a spot light to see them. This requires a spotter to run the light as it's next to impossible for the shooter to do both and at best this only works for a few nights before they wise up again and go over the hill soon as the light hits them. This just ain't cutting the mustard. So, I'm in the market for a night vision scope but I have'nt a clue about what to buy. I'm hoping theres some varmint hunters among us that can advise me on what will best meet my requirements, which are:
1. allow shots to at least 200 yds on a dark night.
2. reliably hold zero
3. stand up to the recoil of a semi-auto rifle (M1A)
4. have at least 4x magnification.
5. price range of $1500, give or take.
I have no experience with night vision scopes so you're help will be greatly appreciated. VH

Information

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[jmoore]

You could just round up an A/N PVS-2. Big, but not terribly expensive and used from the outset on M14s. Or any of the other US surplus scopes. -5s aren't bad.

I've had a super fanastic Russian scope which was the clearest I've ever used, but it's focal plane was short, so it needed refocusing. I sold it cheap after it started requiring several whacks to get it to turn on. Have since regretted selling it as another hasn't turned up.

The only commercial night vision with which I'm familiar that's worth having is the ITT/Aurora convertible day/night scope. Very nice, but well over US$1500...

[vintage hunter]

Yep, the A/N PVS-2 idea had crossed my mind but honestly I don't remember the last time I saw one for sale. I did get the chance to look through one once, 8-10 years ago. A buddy and I were doing this crop damage control thing together back then and had the bright idea of putting one on a shotgun for shooting hogs raiding cornfields, but ended up scrapping the idea for various reasons. Any idea what they go for now?

[Peter Laidler]

When I was in the Army in Malaya we had a special clamp that clamped onto the side of the No5 rifle or big Savage shotguns that housed a long 5 battery torch. A bit agricultural now with modern long beam bright torches but the light beam was zeroed in at 40 yards so that anything within that distance would get it! The bracket and torch were quite sturdy and these were used in ambushes so that as soon as the trigger was pressed, the light would illuminate, identify the target and open fire. You could open fire from the waist. As you can imagine, it was good fun just testing these things, shooting from the waist at targets to ensure good central hits

Assuming that your critters ain't going to shoot back at the lamp (the critters there were inclined to - if they weren't dazzled or running around like headless chickens.....) then that's a cheap option. Or even a laser will light up their eyes at night. They just sit up and wave at you as if to say 'here I am...., what's keeping you........?

[jmoore]

Or even a laser will light up their eyes at night.

In actual fact, a friend has used a laser for just such duties. But it needs to be better than the uber cheapie jobs out there. The green seems to carry a bit further than many red units, but battery life is much less.