When we first became the New Zealand distributor for Pulsar- Yukon in 2011, night vision was the only option available for stealthy night hunting until Pulsar launched their first thermal imager, the Pulsar Quantum HD38 in 2013.
During this early period our range of night vision included monoculars, binoculars, goggles and riflescopes, all of which used Image Intensifier Tubes (IIT), with the exception of the Pulsar Digisight N550, which was the World’s first digital night vision riflescope and the start of a long line of high-performance successors.
2011: stepping into darkness
My first night vision hunting experiences were shooting rabbits in a vineyard in the Tasman district. I had been shooting during daylight which made them very spooky, choosing to run at the first hint of danger. The Yukon Sentinel Gen1 night vision riflescope that I mounted onto my .22LR BRNO was a massive game changer.
What became immediately apparent with night vision was how easily animals could be approached in total darkness. With a stealthy upwind approach, I could approach to 20m or less, though it was important not to break the skyline. I settled on 30m as the ideal night vision shooting distance for a guaranteed headshot from the shoulder. Longer distance shots were taken using trees and fenceposts as a rest.
I soon swapped my scope onto a suppressed .22 Webley PCP that greatly reduced the sound of the projectile impacting target and ground. This set-up was so quite that after taking a shot, other rabbits in the group would sit up in their alert position, only to continue feeding after their dead comrade had stopped kicking, totally oblivious to the fate that awaited them. It was effective beyond my wildest expectations.
At first, I would use my night vision riflescope to spot and shoot, lifting the rifle to scan down each row of vines in turn. Though this worked well, tired arms are not good for taking steady shots. I next opted to use a Yukon Spartan 3×42 Gen1 night vision monocular, enabling easy spotting while keeping the rifle slinged to my shoulder. The Spartan monocular could show-up rabbits eye shine at around 150m, perfect for vineyards, orchards and farmland. I progressed to better Pulsar and Yukon night vision optics as they became available, though I know that the old kit would work just as well today.
2013: dawn of mainstream thermal imaging
The next great advancement was in 2013 when Pulsar launched the Quantum HD38 hand-held thermal. Spotting groups of rabbits at great distance, then approaching with my night vision scoped rifle enabled me to target areas with the greatest rabbit density. The thermal also had the advantage of being able to clearly check background safety, that was more difficult with IR illuminated night vision.
Pulsar launched their first thermal riflescope in 2014, the Pulsar Apex XQ38, that was ideal for shooting at longer ranges but with the limitation that distance requires a rest to ensure a clean kill. For walking and shooting freehand in vineyards, orchards and farm paddocks, a thermal riflescope and a night vision riflescope yield similar results due to the shorter distance required to cleanly place a shot, though night vision requires a clear line of sight. While a thermal spotter is essential, the choice of riflescope is more flexible. Choosing a set-up that works
A hand-held thermal imager and night vision riflescope is a very effective combination. I have experience with many night vision and thermal optics, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages. The choice comes down to budget, terrain and distance. Very few image intensifier riflescopes are now available, having been largely replaced by digital devices, many of which are not capable of decent low light performance because of the use of colour sensors.
A true digital night vision riflescope should have a monochrome sensor that amplifies light, has a high sensitivity to near infrared light and forms a clear image with little or no additional infrared. Monochrome sensors use all pixels to form the image, while a colour sensor only uses 25% of its pixels (red only) at night. Colour pixels are also less sensitive to longer wave infrared and have a smaller surface area for gathering light. Colour sensors are great for daytime use but poor at night.
The biggest investment is choosing a thermal monocular that provides sufficient target detail for the distance at which it is used. For general use on farm paddocks, orchards and vineyards, a wide field-of-view is important, especially when walking around and spotting. Small distant blobs can be identified by how they move, for instance, rabbits move in short jerks while hedgehogs move in straight lines. Larger animals like pigs and deer are easier to identify because of their size. New thermal owners should spend time observing different animals to gain essential knowledge about animal movement, behaviour and identification capability.
The choice of night vision riflescope is more down to budget. All Pulsar and Yukon night vision riflescopes that I have used are suitable for the distances that I would normally shoot at night. A rabbit at 50m or a pig at 100m is really the maximum distance that I would shoot in darkness from the shoulder, because there is plenty of time to observe, approach and ensure that the shot is safe.
