NV Safety

[cliveward]

Hi All,

Now this post is not directed at anyone personally so please nobody take offence. Most of you will know that I manufacture, import, sell and more importantly use night vision rifle scopes. I've read some alarming practices over the last few months on several boards so I thought I would throw this in the mix:

Shooting with an NV rifle scope or attachment often breaks the 2nd law of shooting. "Never point a firearm at something you do not intend to shoot." The obvious danger of this can be reduced by knowing where buildings, habitation, livestock, vehicles, etc. are on your shoot and planning your route to avoid muzzle sweeping these high risk areas.

The danger can be again reduced further by following the 1st law of shooting. "Treat every firearm as if it were loaded." This means finger well clear of the trigger. You may also want to use the safety or lift the bolt but the rifle will only discharge if you actually pull the trigger or subject the rifle to some considerable mechanical shock.

The final law, "Be sure of your target and backstop." is the one that people seem to have the most trouble with. People seem to be taking pot shots at anything that reflects IR including bottle tops, stones, dew, road signs through hedges, etc. And these are the ones people are openly admitting to!

Even if the only substance in the world that reflected IR was a rabbits eye...it's still a waste of time shooting at just a reflection unless you know the orientation of the target. Are you shooting the rabbits brain or it's nose?

The simple rule of thumb I follow is that if I can't positively identify a target within the first few seconds of having it in my sights I don't shoot. Then I can decide to either leave it or stalk closer until I can get an instant indentification. If you look at something too long then the 2D image of the NV and your mind will eventually make it look like what you want it to be.


Cheers





Clive

[Cocker (sp)]

^^ Bump for a sensible thread ^^

Thats why I have a monocular on a cord around my neck. Spot and stalk with it, switching to the rifle (fitted with a 2nd NV scope) when in range.
Its Also a lot less tiresome on the arms...

[dbarnard2]

very sound advice........

[Gary C]

Good advice Clive

[Baldie]

^^ Bump for a sensible thread ^^

Thats why I have a monocular on a cord around my neck. Spot and stalk with it, switching to the rifle (fitted with a 2nd NV scope) when in range.
Its Also a lot less tiresome on the arms...

If you can run to £299 there is a much better product on the market. It's a digital bi-ocular with x5 mag optics. Looks a lot like binoculars (note spelling difference), but with only one output screen.

'Blindingly' brilliant. Rabbits out to 100/150 yards with onboard (semi-covert) illuminator, with foxes seen out even further.

Bit of a luxury, but I won't be without one now. Faster and safer scanning than using a rifle, plus less obtrusive. [Hence semi-covert.] Hopefully a video available on a website near you, soon.