recommend a scope for a merlin NV ????? [Archive]

shuckers

09-10-2006, 02:26 PM

Just bought a merlin gen1 with a IR laser. Great piece of kit until I attach it to my scopes. Tried a Hawke 3-12x50AO mildot it was rubbish couldn't see the mildots at 40yds, tried a Simmons WTC 1.5-5x32 compact which was better but could not focus cross hairs beyond 30 yds as no parallax (it did say in the instructions no good without parallax adjustable)
I am looking for ideally something reasonably compact as it is mounted on a Skan m32 177. Anybody got one what do you use?

cliveward

09-10-2006, 06:12 PM

Prodigal

09-10-2006, 06:29 PM

Baldies sticky is at the top of this section. (YEEEEEUCK) :eek:

bennyblanco

09-10-2006, 06:32 PM

for a cheap and fairly compact answer the bushnell banner 4-12x40 is good and only £90 odd.

as Clive helpfully pointed out you might be doing something wrong as once focused the ret should stay clear and only the image go blurry.
here is an old post about setting up the unit

http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1055556&postcount=5

ben

shuckers

24-10-2006, 09:02 AM

try as I might I followed to the letter the advice given in the NV sticky and both my scopes were not having any of it.
Bit the bullet and have now got a new Bushnell Trophy 4-12x40AO with multi x ret zero'd yesterday and shot it last night with the merlin attached again following the sticky instructions. BINGO.Like it says on the tin.

It was pitch black last night, was shooting paper targets off a bipod out to 50 yds no problems at all. The ret stayed sharp through all distances up to 50 and I could see for miles, well not quite but the IR laser was brilliant.

Great product many thanks to nightvision supplies.

My advice for anyone starting up with the add on NV like myself would be to make sure your scope is compatible. Though its not easy without commiting to buying an add on in the first place. Budget for a suitable scope as well as your NV.

Thanks for all the advice

bennyblanco

24-10-2006, 05:37 PM

stillair1

24-10-2006, 05:56 PM

Very handy info. A scope shuffle needed soon.:)

mildot

24-10-2006, 10:25 PM

I used one extensively tonight with a Leupold VX111 6-20x50 LRT varmint ret.
Took quite awhile to get it setup as i was moving the unit back and forth to try and get the largest sight picture but still be able to see the ret.

It would be good if someone lives in kent who has the unit or a different scope for me to compare mine with, as im sure there must be a more suitable scope to use ! ! ! ! :rolleyes:

shuckers

25-10-2006, 11:29 AM

bennyblanco

25-10-2006, 05:28 PM

it would be best to tone the laser down a bit, i used to do this with a dark bit of a photo negative taped over the end. lasers have a very intensely bright beam and so over use with damage the tube.

have fun:)

Baldie

25-10-2006, 11:26 PM

out again last night, this is getting addictive, noticed range finding quite difficult. Can I use my onboard regular red laser? it is under barrel mounted or will this damage the NV tube? I'm thinking if I could just dab this laser on briefly and reference it to my cross hair its zero'd at 30 yds.
regards

Yes.

Will do the tube as much good as turning the unit on in daylight. ANOTHER thing you shouldn't do. ;)

It won't completely cook the tube, but will most likely produce a 'burn' on the tube. It's pretty obvious what you've done too, so 'warranty' claims against the defect can't be processed.

Illuminated Reticles will do the same thing if switched on, and again, fairly obvious what caused the resultant damage. :(

...

shuckers

26-10-2006, 12:41 PM

Baldie

so a piece of film negative? whats your view on that, or I have an ir filter I could cut down and put on the front of the laser? don't know how far it would go out to with that on though, but I don't want to test it if it is going to do damage.
regards

shuckers

26-10-2006, 01:00 PM

thanks rob
so what about putting an IR filter on the front of the laser ??
regards

mildot

27-10-2006, 09:54 PM

Well i have been using the Merlin unit with my Leupy 6-20x50 LRT varmint ret scope and ive not been happy with it. You just cant seem to get a decent view of the reticle or the site picture. It is the same with my Burris Black Diamond 6-24x50 ballistic mildot scope.

So i bought a Swat 4-16x56 scope (as the guys seem to say that is it one of the better scopes to use) just to do a comparison with. Well the picture is far clearer and you can see the ret very well indeed. Its seems like a completly different setup. Very clear through out all ranges (provided you re-adjust the paralax) This set up as i say is far better than using it with scopes that cost 3-4 times that of the Swat scope...... The only problem with the Swat scope and the NV mount unit is that you have to remove the tightening screw of the mount unit as the Swat scope has a raised grip for the diopter adjustment which is still awkward to fit over.

Although my Leupy and Burris are fantastic scopes and have far better picture clarity than the swat scope, they just cant compare when it comes to using them with the Merlin NV unit....

EDIT:- With the Leupy and burris the picture veiw is quite small. With the Swat scope the veiw is far bigger!

rowleyd3

27-10-2006, 10:15 PM

Merlin Tactical fixed 10x mag
Merlin Tactical fixed 4-14x56 mag
AGS Swat 4-16x56
Bushnel Banner 4-12
Bushnel Trophy 4-12
AGS Compact 4-14x42
Bushnel Legend 5-15x40
Nikon Buckmaster 4-14x40
ags swat 3-12x44 (more like 4-15x imo:rolleyes: )
4200 6-24x40 (suffers from slightly small image but very clear:) )
banner 6-24x40 (i thought it was ok but others slated it:confused: )

Hi mate,

Just wondering about your comment that with a 4200 6-24/40 the picture is a bit small?

I have one and I was thinking about getting a Merlin, so how bad is it?

Is it useable?

Cheers,

Darren.

bennyblanco

28-10-2006, 07:16 AM

The only problem with the Swat scope and the NV mount unit is that you have to remove the tightening screw of the mount unit as the Swat scope has a raised grip for the diopter adjustment which is still awkward to fit over.

get the cage bush that you use for the swat (the little black ring) and remove one of the ridges that are on the edge. you can use a stanley knife or a grinder but try not to damage the main part of the bush (or your hand:) )

with this removed, you fit the xvd as follows-

put the cage bush onto the scope with the remaining bush forwards

slip the cage on and push the bush back into the cage

tighten the bugger up;)

when you remove the cage the bush will get caught and remain on the day scope so make sure you don't loose it.

i remember the day i won a swat at the ukahft, rushed home to try it with the xvd and then found i couldn't get the bloody thing off again:mad: i ended up scratching my new scope and like you removing the screws from the cage:rolleyes: thats when i got the idea for taking off the ridges (i believe baldie was already doing it though.

hth ben

lionel

28-10-2006, 12:04 PM

Hi Darren, the picture is good with the 4200's that's why Ben's added it to the above list.

Then picture may be reduced but then the objective lens is small anyway.

Regards Rob

Just wondered whether it was the 6-24 AO or sidewheel that was tested and whether one gives a better performance than the other? Obviously the sidewheel is going to be a big help, but I wondered how the two compare optically with NV?

Lionel

mildot

28-10-2006, 04:06 PM

get the cage bush that you use for the swat (the little black ring) and remove one of the ridges that are on the edge. you can use a stanley knife or a grinder but try not to damage the main part of the bush (or your hand:) )

with this removed, you fit the xvd as follows-

put the cage bush onto the scope with the remaining bush forwards

slip the cage on and push the bush back into the cage

tighten the bugger up;)

when you remove the cage the bush will get caught and remain on the day scope so make sure you don't loose it.

i remember the day i won a swat at the ukahft, rushed home to try it with the xvd and then found i couldn't get the bloody thing off again:mad: i ended up scratching my new scope and like you removing the screws from the cage:rolleyes: thats when i got the idea for taking off the ridges (i believe baldie was already doing it though.

hth ben

Its always the simple ideas that work. I did kinda think of doing something like that but because it was late and i had to be up 5am I just wanted to have a play and see, so didnt put too much thought into it!

Cheers for the info saves me having to think of a way now..... :D

enigma

28-10-2006, 05:55 PM

get the cage bush that you use for the swat (the little black ring) and remove one of the ridges that are on the edge. you can use a stanley knife or a grinder but try not to damage the main part of the bush (or your hand )

with this removed, you fit the xvd as follows-

put the cage bush onto the scope with the remaining bush forwards

slip the cage on and push the bush back into the cage

tighten the bugger up

when you remove the cage the bush will get caught and remain on the day scope so make sure you don't loose it.

Just a thought, what i did with my swat was use electrical tape to build up to the hight of the ridges
9in front of ridges), once there add a few layers to both ridges and in front of the ridges, take shim out the cage and clamp direct to the tape.

doesnt hurt the scope or cage and is pretty good hold.

i did this with both my swats with no probs

just a thought

bennyblanco

28-10-2006, 06:28 PM

Just a thought, what i did with my swat was use electrical tape to build up to the hight of the ridges
9in front of ridges), once there add a few layers to both ridges and in front of the ridges, take shim out the cage and clamp direct to the tape.

doesnt hurt the scope or cage and is pretty good hold.

i did this with both my swats with no probs

just a thought

could allow the cage to tip whilst fixing it whilst the rings will always tighten pretty square? i used to do it too though:rolleyes:

ben

you ready to sell me that monocular yet?:)

rowleyd3

10-11-2006, 01:38 PM

Hi Darren, the picture is good with the 4200's that's why Ben's added it to the above list.

Then picture may be reduced but then the objective lens is small anyway.

Regards Rob

Getting more and more tempted, but I'm still concerned about the small picture.

Is it REALLY acceptable?
Where are you? (and is it possible to come down for a demo?)

Darren.

rowleyd3

10-11-2006, 06:50 PM

Gents,

Not quite sure how to put this, so apologies if its an awkward question .....

Whilst the operation of your business is none of my concern, I'm aware that there is a disagreement between the 2 people running/owning the site.

Could you just confirm that all is up and running and that any order won't be a problem? (and as you have both spent time giving me advice, I hope you both reach a mutually satisfactory solution)

Darren.

larena

10-11-2006, 09:31 PM

Placed my order tuesday,parcel delivered wednesday,a happy customer ;)

DeadShot Stu

30-11-2006, 05:14 PM

Hi all, I'm looking at buying a Merlin NV add-on, I'v also posted a note in Optics/scope reviews named 'Merlin Night Vision Add-on's', Reading all your comments will i need to change my scopes on my Rimfire I'v got a Simmons whitetail 3.5x10x40 and on my HMR a Simmons whitetail 3.5x10x50. Does any of you know if these scopes will be okay with the Merlin NV?????? thanks for ya help Stu.

bennyblanco

30-11-2006, 06:49 PM

Aqualung

13-01-2007, 08:08 PM

Hi, I have a Simmons WTC 6.5-20x50 would this be suitable for a Merlin NV....
mind you theres not much room for moving the scope forward:confused:

Thanks,
Aqualung

DOGFOX

13-01-2007, 08:14 PM

4-16-50 or the 56mm of mtc optics viper ive been getting brilliant results a lot clearer than the ags;)

LagomorphHunter

13-01-2007, 08:34 PM

I have a Simmons Whitetail Expedition 4-12x42 which I have re parallaxed thanks to the help of Ben's rubber strappy thing and advice from Ben and Rob.

It now works very well indeed, though I'm looking to change to a mildot scope and will be trying my XVD out with a couple of scopes from Bones in the next couple of weeks. With the scopes being so very variable with the XVDs, it's wise to try before you buy (thanks Bones!).

And before you ask, my son has already put first dibs on the Whitetail (not that I expect to see any £s :rolleyes: from him).

Getting it re parallaxed not only sorted it for the XVD, it also made it far better for HFT.

jw tolly

08-02-2007, 04:52 PM

Ok then ? which is the best scope for the NV add on.

Baldie

08-02-2007, 04:59 PM

Ok then ? which is the best scope for the NV add on.

Best is Falcon 10x Tactical, by some margin. :D

Ideot Savant

08-02-2007, 05:00 PM

bennyblanco

08-02-2007, 07:18 PM

I hope a bushnell trophy 3-9x40 will work on a merlin as thats pretty much all I have to try it with, I'm getting the merlin sunday :D cant wait.
I have a rubbish ags and little jsr but thats it, I've run out of scopes.

you are going to struggle with no parralax adjustment mate(if its the scope i think it is) which ags/jsr scopes do you have?

ben

Ideot Savant

08-02-2007, 10:34 PM

Hi Matt,

We can give it a go and see how it performs on the Trophy, I am fairly sure it will be good.
If you want to hang about and don't have to shoot off early after the HFT comp on Sunday, or falling that you are welcome to pop back Sunday night and again we can give it ago on a SAGC Plinking Range, this way you can find the correct distances and even check your zero and range finding at night using the Merlin add-on system:)

Just let me know on the day.

Regards Rob

Will do Rob, thanks. I arrange it with you at the shoot.

Ideot Savant

08-02-2007, 10:36 PM

you are going to struggle with no parralax adjustment mate(if its the scope i think it is) which ags/jsr scopes do you have?

ben

Well, i know spotting with a fixed parallax is a bit of a no-no as objects much further than 40 yards are gong to be a blur. The ags is fixed parralax at 35 yards, like the bushnell and the jsr is PX but tiny, its a 6x32.

Baldie

08-02-2007, 11:54 PM

Well, i know spotting with a fixed parallax is a bit of a no-no as objects much further than 40 yards are gong to be a blur. The ags is fixed parralax at 35 yards, like the bushnell and the jsr is PX but tiny, its a 6x32.

Make sure you have a look through the Falcon x10 while you are at Shepreth. Three (or 4) of us had a look though a few scopes while we were all together one night over at Ben's. The x10 Tactical was stunningly good. The 4-14x56 was very good too, but the x10 was stunning. These are available at a much lower price now, £159 new everywhere. ;)

If I could find a variable mag scope that provided the same size picture the fixed x10 Tactical provided, I would own one, whatever it cost. I have seen nothing better, and I've spent a reasonable amount of money trying. [Every AGS SWAT, several Vipers, all Falcons, most Bushnells, a Nikon etc etc.]

Ideot Savant

09-02-2007, 08:20 AM

Make sure you have a look through the Falcon x10 while you are at Shepreth. Three (or 4) of us had a look though a few scopes while we were all together one night over at Ben's. The x10 Tactical was stunningly good. The 4-14x56 was very good too, but the x10 was stunning. These are available at a much lower price now, £159 new everywhere. ;)

If I could find a variable mag scope that provided the same size picture the fixed x10 Tactical provided, I would own one, whatever it cost. I have seen nothing better, and I've spent a reasonable amount of money trying. [Every AGS SWAT, several Vipers, all Falcons, most Bushnells, a Nikon etc etc.]

Good to know, thanks. And you are correct, a merlin (on a merlin!) would not be too expensive. I will have to limp along with what I have for the moment, buying my first house eats all my money so I cant blow it all on airguns :(

WelshBoa

09-02-2007, 08:54 AM

Hmm, could be tempted by one of the Falcon scopes if I end up giving my bro-in law back his AGS Scope. Dont know what would be best all rounder though, the fixed scope or t'other.

On paper I would probably plump for the 4-14x56.....what difference is there in quality to plump for the fixed 10x??

Baldie

09-02-2007, 09:39 AM

On paper I would probably plump for the 4-14x56.....what difference is there in quality to plump for the fixed 10x??

Both scopes are very good quality.

You can only really decide on cost. There is a lot of choice around the £200 mark. The Falcon, the Viper (4-16x50), and the longstanding AGS SWATS.

The x10 Tactical provides (IMO) the largest NV image of the lot. If you historically had used a x10 scope for HFT or hunting, this scope would be the one to use with the 'add-on' system. Now priced at £159, it's the best value scope on the market, bar none.

Most find a 3-12 or 4-14 or 4-16 range better suited to hunting though.

Fortunately, all the trade names I've mentioned perform well with the add-on system, so you are spoilt for choice. ;) :D

jw tolly

09-02-2007, 04:08 PM

[QUOTE=xxrobrsvxx;1644818]Falcon Tactical 4-14x56 is very very good as well, in fact I think it's better than the fixed 10x mag version not by much, after a couple of recent demo's that I've done on the Falcon 4-14x56 scope.

Rob
is that the 4-14x56lr,how much are they and where from.got a link.
mike

Fordy1315

09-02-2007, 09:34 PM

How much was your NV with IR and where from including delivery?

Cheers

Paul

jw tolly

10-02-2007, 10:56 AM

Falcon Tactical 4-14x56 is very very good as well, in fact I think it's better than the fixed 10x mag version not by much, after a couple of recent demo's that I've done on the Falcon 4-14x56 scope.

The 4-14x56 scope is better for hunting and low light conditions where you still want to use your day scope when it's not yet dark enough for NV, the Fixed 10x scope suffers a bit in low light as you are unable to reduce the mag; it is a lot better for HFT though so I guess that it depends on what else you using the set-up for, the 4-14x56 simply does not have the same depth of feild that you need for HFT due to the Large Objective Lens.

Both scopes are however very good with the Merlin add-on system, so good that I know longer demo with this scope as i don't want to mis-lead people that it's as good as this on every scope:o

Demo's I do now I use a 6-18x44 A/O Airmax, still a very good image but I know that I am not going to be showing people the very best image that's achievable but the customer is unable to achive with the scope that they have.

Regards Rob

what make a good NV scope ? is it the 30mm body size,large front len of 50+,side parallax.

Baldie

10-02-2007, 04:11 PM

what make a good NV scope ? is it the 30mm body size,large front len of 50+,side parallax.

Side parallax is good because you will want to have mount your dayscope as far forward as you can tolerate it for normal daytime use. If you have one, this may put an Adjustable Objective (effectively) out of reach. You won't get this problem a SideWheel Focus scope.

30mm tubed SWF scope should provide more light opportunity than 25mm. Nothing to do with glass quality, it's to do with light getting past the adjustment mechanism. There are 25mm/1" SWF scopes out there, but they are usually the wrong side of £300.

Larger objectives do (hopefully) provide greater starting light levels, but there may be a cost to this, in lower Depth of Focus. A widely held belief is that larger objectives have smaller focussed areas at any given position in front of the shooter. 44/50mm might provide better Depth of Focus. If anyone knows better, or knows why this belief might be wrong, please tell us all. ;)

The work I have done studying comparing many many, SWF scopes (even ones not commercially available), suggests the critical issue is the 'exit pupil size'.....

I have (obviously) been looking for the best price/compromise on dayscopes to use with the 'add-on' system, and recommend those found to be most suitable.

...

beth

10-02-2007, 09:15 PM

I've used Hi end Leupold scopes with fairly big objective lens that are fantastic during the day but rubbish on NV add-on systems:confused:

I believe it is to do with the coatings. High-class glass has lots of coatings which reduce the level of reflected light, which occurs at each air <-> glass interface, at particular frequencies. I believe that the better the coating the narrower the bandwidth. The IR and near-IR frequencies we are interested in are sufficiently outside the coatings bandwidth that they are no better than plain glass, and possibly worse.

Then there is the way lenses interact with each other at the different frequencies. Daylight and IR will focus at different places within the scope and the actual range versus the markings on adjustable parallax scopes will be different for IR. Some scopes like the Bushnell Banner seem to behave well when confronted by IR and whilst not necessarily the best scope around does seem to be easy to set up/etc.

Beth

Baldie

03-03-2007, 03:26 AM

AGS SWAT 4-16x56
AGS Compact 4-14x42 [not the 3-12x44 Compact SWAT?]
AGS SWAT 3-12x44 (more like 4-15x imo )
Bushnel Banner 4-12x40
Bushnell Banner 6-24x40 (i thought it was ok but others slated it) [So not recommended then?]
Bushnel Trophy 4-12x40
Bushnel Legend 5-15x40
Bushnell 4200 6-24x40 (suffers from slightly small image but very clear ) [So not recommended then?]
Falcon Merlin Tactical fixed 10x mag **Best**
Falcon Merlin Tactical 4-14x56IR mag
Leupold Vx-III 6.5-20x50 lr Model no. 57180 Varmint retical, side focus
MTC Optics Viper 4-16x50
MTC Optics Viper 6-24x56
Nikon Buckmaster 4-14x40
Simmons Whitetail Expedition 4-12x42

Any more, for any more? :D