P95Carry said:
I sure would like one but usually costs are prohibitive. If I had one tho it'd go on my FAL.
Some are reasonably inexpensive. The venerable PVS-2 with all the upgrades runs around $400 clams on an elcan mount. I own one, have ordered a second. It zeros instantly on an AR, but it's doable on the FAL. The negative on the FAL is the weight - about 18 pounds on a STG with bipod. Shoot from fixed positions is recommended, but let me tell you, it makes a hell of a weight trainer for the regular FAL. I'm no longer phased at all by the weight.
On the AR, it's a much more pleasant and compact system. It's easy to do shoot and move or look and move on the AR platform, which is why I built this unit (RRA CAR Elite 16" upper, Armalite lower). I don't love the round, but I do love the package.
Compared to the PVS-4 (at $1500ish), it's heavy, bulky, and mean, but survives impact pretty well and runs on a conversion pack that takes 4 AAs. My battery life in winter is in excess of 80 hours typically. For durability examples, I had mine refurbed last year. It shipped from Texas to Idaho with the switch in the *on* position via UPS ground. It arrived a week later still humming, a radioactive package humming its way through the system. Those batteries are still in it and still running strong. ;0
Best of all, it's totally passive. For indoor use, it may not be ideal, but outdoors no coyote or man-sized target is safe within identification distances, typically about 200m under extremely poor lighting conditions when that same person vanishes within 50m without trying into the dark.
I've had *very* bad luck with the Russian NVD units I've handled when it comes to bloom and burn issues. Maybe the newer ATNs on the weapon scopes are better, but the last ATN goggles we tried were ok for an indoor run, but worthless the minute the room got bigger than the illuminator.
Regardless, I tell you this much, after seeing what night looks like with one versus without one, I hate to think what it would be like to not have one and need it at night against someone who did, no matter how crappy or old their unit may have been. At night, those with night vision will stomp those who don't, no matter what the mall ninjas say.
