Introductory Guide to Night Vision Scopes

The world of rifle scopes is so vast it can appear
limitless. With so many types, models, styles, and range capabilities to choose
from it can sometimes overwhelm the most savvy of marksmen. So when you throw the realm of night vision
scopes and sights into the mix of a rifle’s regular daylight vision
counterparts, you can really have a dilemma on your hands.  Price, quality and capacity should be among
your criteria when initially starting your quest for night vision scopes.

Most weapon enthusiasts probably think that the night vision
scope is a niche scope with a limited military only, usage. But in reality,
there are many uses for night vision scopes, with most of them falling under
generic hunting purposes.

Before we get our sights set on night vision usages, let’s
explore the two major fields of night vision to discern which scope is best
suited for firearm purposes.

·
Image
Enhancing: The first method of night vision is achieved through a technique
called ‘image enhancing’. Image enhancing is the oldest of night vision
technologies. The process involves collecting as much light as possible from a
target and magnifying it through electrified tubes, passing it through
intensifier plates and focusing it onto a screen light plate. The light can
either be natural moon or start light, or it can be reflected from an infrared
light emitter attached to the night vision device. The infrared spectrum is
below the capacity for normal human eye perception so while it works like a
flashlight in night vision; it is invisible to our eyes and thus remains dark. The
image that is produced ends up being green from the final plate and results in
the stereotypical ‘green vision’ as seen in movies and television. However, as
with any sort of image enhancing, every time an image is tampered with, either
in an increase in size or light, the quality and clarity of the image is
inversely affected. So every time the image is passed through an intensifier
plate with this technology, the sharpness decreases. So this style of night
vision can be plagued with somewhat lower quality, or grainy, images. So what
does image enhancing night vision mean in terms of utilization? Compared to the
other technology, it has a much quicker refresh rate, so it’s more suited to
tasks that require quick scanning. These types of scopes are perfect of course
for most military applications, and for scouting an area while hunting. Having
one of these scopes on the end of your rifle can be a good way to scout for
movement in multiple locations very quickly. It also has great utility shooting
anything moving at short range, or non-living/non-heat-generating objects.

·
Infrared:
The second way that night vision scopes work is through infrared. Infrared
collects all the light in an infrared light spectrum, which for the most part,
is heat. The scope itself can see and detect the heat signatures of the target
and can differentiate changes within a half degree Fahrenheit. They work by
collecting the images through a magnified lens and transferring them to an
electrode that can change it into an electric signal and send it to a
microprocessor that can translate it into an image visible to our eyes and
project it to the viewer screen. The images produced by infrared technology can
be very crisp and can have an amazing range; however there is a slight drawback
in that due to the way the technology works, there is a slight delay from when
the image is seen by the original lens to when it transmitted to the viewer.
The delay can cause what is known as ‘ghosting’ which is when an image seems to
have a spectral trail coming from any movement in the target. However, due to
the intense clarity and range offered by infrared, it is the best for when it
comes to medium to long range tracking and any range of shooting for living
things or heat generating objects.

Ultimately the verdict depends on many personal
factors.  Depending on your budget, a
major point of contention would be price.
And be prepared to shell out a few extra bucks if infrared is your
desired target.  It usually is quite a
bit more expensive than image enhancing technology.  So do your homework, set a budget and start
narrowing down your parameters. With
night vision capabilities at your fingertips, a whole new world awaits.  Just wait until you turn on those lenses and
finally are able to see those objects that were previously obscured.

It just might worth the little extra price tag… 

Craig
Pearson is an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and adventurist. His main
passions are hog hunting in Texas and writing about his many adventures. He
currently blogs for nightvision4less.com,
a supplier of high quality night vision equipment