Didn't have anytime last night to put up anything about what I use. The rifle is a 6.8 stag arms upper with a bushmaster lower. I shoot 85gr tsx and absolutely love this round for hogs. By the way adding the geissele drop in trigger was one of the best add-ons I've made to the gun. The scope that's on there now is a PVS-4 with a Gen3 tube in it. My old scope, that was just recently retired, is a Gen2 D-760 and is right above the gun. What I use for long range spotting is a FLIR H-307. What I use for approaching is a pvs-14. It has a 3x magnification lens on it in the picture and that's what I used to use for spotting before I got the thermal.
If anybody wants to get semi-serious about hunting hogs or needs to battle a hog problem I can't emphasize the need for night vision enough. And no I'm not saying that you have to get the latest and greatest either.
Below is part of a post I made on arfcom. This kinda sums up my experience with night vision over the past couple of years that I've owned it. I don't claim to be an expert but I have gone from a "know nothing" to a "know a bit"
GEN2Does Gen2 stuff work?Yes! My first night vision purchase was a D-760 Gen2. I used this thing for over 2 years and just recently switched from it (the tube did happen to go out on me just as I was transitioning). I had that scope mounted on everything from a bolt action .270, a .223, and then a 6.8. Over those 2 years I shot a little over 200 hogs through the scope(actual number of hogs found. that number is probably higher factoring in kinda sorta/maybe kills that got into cover before dropping) This is a MUCH better option than trying to spotlight
How good is Gen2?Gen2 stuff is GREATLY impacted by the moon. Above a 1/3 moon its decent. Around 3/4 moon to a full moon it can get pretty good. In no moon/little moon it suffers quite a bit. IR light is mandatory. If you're looking at stand/feeder hunting a Gen2 scope should be able to handle that adequately. If you're planning on using the Gen2 to scan medium to large areas it's gonna be hit or miss depending on moon phase and you will be playing the bush/stump/weed or hog game with yourself alot. Maybe about 8 months after getting my D760 I stepped it up to a pvs-14 for scanning and then just recently went to the flir. Through all of that I still used that Gen2 scope to handle business. I wasn't using it to scan anymore and most if not all of my shots were usually within the Gen2's capable range when I started shooting.
Disadvantage of Gen2?As I stated above one main disadvantage is the limited scanning range. But another major disadvantage I kept running into was having to use the IR light. When shooting multiple times (especially in cool weather) a cloud of steam/powder forms in front of the gun barrel. The IR light will reflect off of this making it very hard to see. This really sucks when you're trying to take on a big pack. Be prepared to make your first 5 or so shots really count. Another thing about the IR light: it tends to reflect off of tree limbs and grass/weeds alot. This makes shooting pigs through tree branches and in shin-knee high grass/weeds kinda difficult. I could usually get away with not using any IR on clear nights with above a 1/2 moon out.
Gen3Just recently got a Gen3 pvs-4 and 2 major differences I really like. One is that I no longer have to use an IR. This makes the smoke/powder cloud problem go away. Also the pvs-4 is a 4x power scope. For taking on a group of hogs in the 30-75 yard range initially it's tons better than a 6x power scope. Makes your target acquisition so much easier and quicker. Plus running shots are easier without the "feeling/effect" that your panning really fast.
If anyone has been thinking of purchasing some night vision I've run across some good people that assemble/make it themselves (old L3/ratheon/etc people) for the purpose of selling it to farmers/ranchers/hunters that don't want to pay the premium/markup prices. I got my Gen3 scope for $2800 and a couple days ago when I was talking with one of the guys he mentioned that they could make a Gen3 monocular for a little above $2000. I actually currently live in the motherland(CS) so if anyone around here has been thinking of getting some sort of night vision I have no problem taking you out one night to show you how its like. And no I don't charge a couple hundred bucks either a couple cigars or good bottle of whiskey would do just fine as payment!
Here's a look through a pvs-14 one a night with a good moon out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH4KeeKmyLc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=ULA funny story goes along with this video. So I saw all these pigs going into our run-around, which leads into the lot, in one of our pastures. Probably 2 acres all fenced in with panels. So I got the plan to put corn in there and once all the pigs had gone in I was going to close the gap.....and then execute the whole herd. A couple nights later I was there watching them go back into the run-around. Waited til around 20 had made it in and then crept up and shut the gate.
Trapped!!!......not quite though. Once I started shooting them they broke in every direction and at first just ran around. But then I noticed my pigs were gradually disappearing. All but 4(shot)
of them managed to get on their bellies and squeeze out under the panels in just a couple inches of space. In various places the panels were bent up a little, maybe giving a total crawl space of 5 inches. On the bottom of the panels was blood and hair where they had scraped their backs to get out. My plan didn't end up the way I thought it would. Guess the pigs didn't want to just sit there and take it
[This message has been edited by farmerjoe (edited 1/31/2011 5:11p).]
[This message has been edited by farmerjoe (edited 1/31/2011 5:14p).]
