Yukon Digital Ranger + LEDRay Scopelight Combo

[C3PO_1]

My new night-hunting combination arrived morning after ordering from two seperate stores yesterday: first off many thanks Royal Mail for their efficient service. It's winter and my interest in night hunting has been re-energised. After reading various threads on this highly-knowledgeable forum, I wanted a more traditional combination for rats and rabbits.

My previous NV units have been with, in order, the Deben Atom Pro lamp, the Yukon NVRS-F dedicated scope; the Cobra Merlin Gen 1 scope attachment and the SM-3S2 HyperGen dedicated scope. All units were sold after a while, once I got bored with hunting at night, but I have acquired a bit of experience here and there and enough to make good judgements for comparison purposes.

This year I have plumped for a different approach to traditional night-hunting with the Yukon Digital Ranger (£280) and the LEDRay scope-mounted torch (£60). Much has been written about these units so I have decided to give them a try. I'll start with the torch.

LEDRay Scope-Mounted Torch

These LEDray gunlights from Deben are relatively new to the market and offer scope-mounted traditional illumination without the need for a heavy battery attached to the waist. LED power has transformed torch technology and this little unit has much to impress. I bought the version which uses 2 CR123A batteries which a claimed 130 lumens to 90 metres (we'll see about that range in a sec). As I approach my 40th birthday, tonight I still had that sense of excitement I had when I was aged 7 and given an electronic TV game for Christmas. Sad, but true.

Got the unit out of its box at feverish pace and was immediately hit with a sense of disappointment. I specifically ordered the "red" light version and what was before me was the unit with no red-coloured enclosed lens at all. "Bloody hell, how clear do I have to make it!" I irritatingly thought. As I worked out the mechanism to get it back to them and get a new one sent out as quickly as possible, I gave the "white" unit a try. Supplied batteries in and the switch turned on: FANSTASTIC -- IT IS RED AFTER ALL! The Red light is generated from the "bulb", not a coloured lens filter. And what's more, it's bright.

Popped it outside in the garden and the red light penetrated well to 35 yards, 40 at a stretch. Beyond that, it would be difficult to see clearly through the scope so 40 yards is maximum usable range I'd say. Still, good, for 12ft/lbs and red is less likely to spook quarry.

The unit comes equipped with a mounting bracket: simple, well made and functional. Will fit to the scope later. Also included is a second switch unit to allow remote on/off wired function. Otherwise you simply use the standard on/off switch on the back of the standard rear unit of the torch. Overall, very pleased.

Yukon Digital NV Monocular

You can tell an established and customer-focused company immediately by the quality and ease of use of instructions. The Yukon comes out tops with a simple, wrap-around piece of paper with marked instructions on the unit itself, instantly giving the user information about operating buttons. Supplied is a small manual too but I didn't need to read it fully to operate it. A minus point is that the unit does not come supplied with batteries. But, the unit does allow you to run it off the mains so at least I could try it out.

Bearing in mind my last NV unit was the HyperGen dedicated scope, this unit has a lot to live up to. Switching it on, the electionic screen was something very different to what I has been used to. Grey speckles filled the screen until I switched on the IR beam and immediately got "white out". I eventually turned down the brightness and focused the image. At x5 magnification it takes some getting used to but works surprisingly well. Definition is not as good as the HG scope, but you'd not expect it to be. I'd say it was 60% of the quality of the HG tube (a scope which cost £2k). However the Digital Ranger is perfectly good to see rabbits out to 60 yards with the onboard IR unit and well beyond with additional IR illumination, such as laser.

The true test of the units is not in isolation but combined use of course, and over the coming week I shall be testing both in the field. However, preliminary use has left me pleasantly surprised and looking forward to make use of this relatively cheap night hunting rig.

[C3PO_1]

Took the Yukon out into the garden properly last night and wandered down to a small stream where rabbits always seem to congregate on the other side in a field. It was from this point that I always tested the HG scope properly and the field was fully illuminated for around 200 yards with a 100mW IR LED illuminator on the more traditional NV scope.

With the Yukon, the clarity was much less, and I revise my initial comparison with the HG to ~40% of its capabilities. Regardless, I was still able to spot bunnies' eyes out to 60 yards although definition behind this range gets very difficult. I'll try to get some video footage uploaded over the next few days. BTW, no chance of a shot at the rabbits as I do not own the field, nor have permission there.

[C3PO_1]

Had another looking session tonight with the Digital Ranger: the range is actually quite a bit greater after discovering its capabilities of the adjustable IR power and the brightness control of the screen

A few pictures of the night-time hunting outfit:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...O_05/kit_1.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...O_05/kit_2.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...O_05/kit_3.jpg

[some bloke]

Thanks for the report CP30_1. I'd asked on the candlepower forum about the red LED drop in's - and someone there suggested it was on par with your findings. I'd love to find one of those drop-in LED units with a smooth reflector instead of the orange peel one.

The 'torch looks identical to my superfire torch - spoken of elsewhere - including all the machining and bezel characteristics. If you're interested I bought a spare white light drop-in LED with my torch thinking it would fit into another torch I had here: it don't fit but could be got for a tenner with recorded delivery

My next brain teaser is to try and find some of those topics about lasers with a spot that is too large for target purposes... to try as a lamp.

[C3PO_1]

Little update as I am going to be using this combination -- for real -- early Saturday morning before sun-up. I am returning to one of my permissions, a private school close to where I live, for the Christmas holidays and this set up should be perfect.

One disadvantage I have discovered: when looking through the Yukon, my eye's iris contracts significantly to account for the extra light. Therefore, when you take your eye away from the unit and look through the scope there is a large amount of black / dark in the middle (unless I'm going blind) until the eye readjusts. My workaround is to use my right eye for the Yukon unit, and the left eye -- as normal -- for the view through the scope and for the LEDRay torch.

[some bloke]

OH kerblimey eck

I have a right handed mate who shoots with his left eye because thats his best eye - and holds my right handed rifle to the left beause of it despite the roll over cheek piece. I note from the pic's in your previous post you shoot a right handed rifle...

[C3PO_1]

The HW100 is an ambi stock, same too for the HW95. Only Rapid is left handed.

[C3PO_1]

Going out tomorrow morning -- too cold, too wet and I'm getting too old to mess around in the rain