Gone to the Dark Side

[Alakar]

Well, after many years of vermin control , using mainly the lamp , I’ve finally invested in some Night Vision .
I know that we have a dedicated section for this but I wondered how many others have finally succumbed and splashed the cash.
I bought a Pard NV008 from Blackwoods at a fantastic price with excellent service.
I know that for basic ratting etc I could of done it much cheaper , but I’ve always been a cheapskate , so as I only intend to do this once I thought I’d buy the best that I could afford .
The beauty of this unit is that it can be used both day and night .
I have some good clear scopes but this is different , viewing in 1080 colour during the day and black and white at night .
I don’t know if my bag size will increase but at least they won’t be able to see my clumsy approach .
What’s your experience of switching from the lamp to NV ?

Mods please move if necessary

[angrybear]

Never did much lamping, but the main thing with NV is lack of depth perception because generally only one eye has the NV view.

[bigtony]

your not regret it mate the nv008 are very good

[Saxmaniac]

Since I bought NV a few years ago now the majority of my hunting is after dark.

You’ll soon realise the futility of daylight hunting in comparison!

[Jesim1]

Congratulations Alan, I'm sure you will make good use of it

[ian321]

You won’t go wrong with a pard
Brilliant bit of kit. I have had many night vision in the past. Gen 1 was always disappointing as was gen 2. Gen 2+ wasn’t bad, then I went onto digital. I bought the ward add on which is excellent and by far the best I’d seen at the time. I recently got a pard and it’s a different ball game! Annoyingly it might need shimming, nothing a few bits of camera film won’t solve though! The thing I like about it is that it can record. So those shots that are missed, you can watch back and seen your mistake!

[Muskett]

I've always done a lot of night work. I still will use a lamp with truck as it can still work. However, NV kit is the way to go and now very good, and very affordable. The Pards really have hit the nail of performance to price to practical usefulness.

NV, still requires stalking skill. Wind, noise, and shy-lighting do matter. Marksmanship even more important. Safety even more demanding...don't skimp just because no one can see you. NV requires even higher standards and more restraint.
Overshoot a place and the critters will learn or change their habits.

[Alakar]

Thanks for the input folks .
I realise that shooting at night brings its own problems and can testify to once having a disagreement with an electric fence .
Certainly being aware of your surroundings is important.
I was at the stage where I couldn’t really justify buying another rifle , so I thought let’s make the most of what I’ve got .
The Pard is going on a Kalibrgun cricket carbine. Not really a carbine more of a full length rifle , but it has a good shot count .
One of our farmers has mentioned seeing a few rats this winter so I’m planning some night time missions.

[jon_h]

Night shooting with a decent set up is awesome. I’ve only got a self build kit (keep promising myself to save up for a pard) but mounted on my FAC rapid it’s a fantastic tool.
The kit mounted on the rifle weighs a fair bit so I bought a trigger stick tripod. Generally just walk into a field at night with the torch off and start picking them off. It’s a mighty effective mode of critter control once you get the knack of ranging everything.

[rapidresponse1]

fantastic bit of kit mate ,enjoy it

[Alakar]

Well, took it to the range this afternoon and managed to zero ..
Fantastic way of zeroing in two shots . The hard part is keeping the rifle steady.
With 5 profiles available it can be zeroed at different ranges for different jobs .
Really impressed with it .
Can’t wait to get out on the rats .

[Jesim1]

Congrats on zeroing today at the range, it was blowing a gale where I am, so must have been frustrating to say the least, best take a test shot in the first barn, probably the door - did I mention I've seen you shoot

Good luck with the new set up Alan

[Alakar]

Yes James you’ve seen me shoot.
Now you know why there’s no door on the barn
Seriously though you are quite right . It was pretty windy at the range so I was aiming off for some targets due to the wind .
I will of course check the zero in the barn or tractor shed before attempting to shoot anything live .
As mentioned earlier you can set one profile zero at say 30 yards and one at 15 yards .
Then just switch between them for rabbits or rats .

[Jesim1]

As mentioned earlier you can set one profile zero at say 30 yards and one at 15 yards .
Then just switch between them for rabbits or rats .

Sounds awesome, I don't know anything about these, but switching it electronically for different zeros at the flick of a switch sounds fantastic, you'll be wanting to mount it on a Daystate next and go the full Star Trek on those rats asses