Hunting in total darkness is an absolute struggle without night vision scopes. As these can help increase the efficacy of hunting in low light conditions and take the experience to a whole new level.
Night vision scopes are basically light amplification devices, which allows you to amplify any ambient light or use IR light to pinpoint your target from a distance.
Scopes of this kind uses IR light instead of natural lights as seen by our eyes. It picks up and converts the IR lights into a visual image.
Top 6 Best Night Vision Scope For Hog Hunting
1. Night Owl Optics NightShot Digital Night Vision Riflescope
This is an excellent choice for beginner to intermediate hunters. Perfect for picking off larger hogs, coyotes at distances up to 200 yards, with a capacity of an infrared laser to stretch up to 200 yards. Also, this scope is a great choice for other activities like night -time paintball, airsoft battles, or even crossbow archery.
NightShot Riflescope is famous because it comes with exceptional functionality, yet it is budget-friendly to customers. This Gen 1 type scope is designed with 3X magnification, large FOV digital optic.
The product has a built-in infrared illuminator and is completely weatherproof. The optic is made from heavy-duty thermoplastic. This riflescope is rugged, lightweight, durable, and can easily handle the recoil of rifles up to .30 caliber, making it perfect for .308, .30-06, or even.300 Win Mag.
It comes with three reticle types which have both black and white configurations, done to better suit the background of your picture. To further ameliorate the picture quality, multiple adjustability options are present- windage, elevation, and focus.
Inside the scope, you will find 4AA/ lithium batteries that can supply power for 2 hours at high IR settings and 4-6 hours on Low IR. It can be mounted on Weaver and Picatinny rails as well.
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2. Sightmark Photon XT 6.5x50L Digital Night Vision Riflescope
The best thing about Sightmark is its usability options, which can be utilized in different lights and conditions. The scope comes with multiple lances which helps you to clearly target objects both during the day and night times.
The riflescope features a built-in, high-power infrared illuminator to boost visibility in low ambient light conditions. It also has a low battery indicator and excess light cut-off exposure sensor which helps in ensuring longevity.
The riflescope comes with six reticle styles. Many shooting enthusiasts find this scope convenient to mount on their rifles. Especially during the advanced shooting competitions because of the technical superiority offered by it when compared to other scopes.
It is also highly popular because of its magnification power, which stands at 6.5×50 magnification, making the scope effective for accurate focusing in all conditions. This Gen 1 scope has a video output feature that allows avid hunters to take recordings of their shots and also has a digital windage/elevation adjustment system.
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3. LaserWorks LE-032 Riflescope Mate
This night vision riflescope comes in a camouflage color and is made from durable material. It is made with an alloy of aluminum metal which is extremely tough for it to be used in any harsh conditions. It has features like shockproof, lightweight, and long-lasting weather resistance to perfectly match the camp patterns.
It has an illuminant OLED Screen for display. A clear and easy to read digital speed display meter. The elevation and windage are easily adjustable. It also has an inclination meter, extremely helpful and absolutely needed for ELR shooting.
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4. ATN X-Sight LTV Day/Night Hunting Rifle Scope
ATN X-Sight is a versatile product with great functionalities. It is a technologically innovative scope that lets you capture your shots with great video quality. It performs well on higher magnification. Hence, recommend you to use it on 5-20x instead of 3-14x.
The riflescope features a built-i ballistic calculator, rangefinder, e-compass, thermometer, 4k ultra HD sensor, and 3d gyroscope. With a gyroscope and image stabilizer in-use, you can easily spot your target. It also has recoil activated recording and real-time Wi-Fi streaming capabilities. It has a Lithium-ion battery that can operate for up to 18 hours without any breakdown.
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5. Pulsar Digisight Ultra N455 Digital Night Vision Riflescope
Pulsar adds a 1280×720 CMOS sensor bonded with a 1024×768 AMOLED display for a nighttime detection range of up to 600yards. This incredible feature ranks this device among the best for hog hunting.
With Digisight you can easily record your hunts as it has a built-in recorder with sound and 16GB of internal memory. This night vision scope is ultra-lightweight and extremely durable as well.
One of the exclusive features, Picture-in-Picture mode with 2x/4x digital zoom provides a wide field of view. The user can see both the enlarged image of the targeting area as well as the full view of the field.
There are over 10 reticle options and a removable IR illuminator, and the rechargeable B-pack power system provides 8 hours of battery life.
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6. Firefield NVRS 3×42 Gen 1 Night Vision Riflescope
Firefield was designed specifically for the AR-15 platform. This night vision scope has an IPx4 splashproof rating, keeping it weatherproof in all conditions.
It comes with an integrated IR illuminator, quality multi-coated optics, and an illuminated duplex reticle. This scope features a quick-detach weaver mounting, that hunters really crave.
This feature allows you to quickly swap out your optic for daytime shooting and reattach it after sunset, but your zero will still be set. The optic has rugged durability with the body made of titanium, which makes it a little heavy.
The quality scope also features a built-in infrared illuminator, an illuminated duplex reticle with additional brightness adjustment, and multi-coated glass. The scope only has a range of about 75 yards.
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How to choose a night vision scope?
The factors that you must keep in mind while selecting a night vision scope are – Budget, Resolution, Clarity, Magnification Power and Effective Range and Battery Type and Life
Budget
Night Vision Optics tends to cost more than any other optics. Some high-end products cost several thousand dollars. The pricing of the products depends on quality and branding. before opting for a night vision make sure you have a clear and defined budget.
It is always wise to go for something that’s a top performer that doesn’t go beyond your budget. From the above-listed products, Firefield NVRS 3×42 Gen 1 Night Vision Riflescope is the least expensive(under $200).
Resolution
A scope’s resolution primarily depends on the quality of the lens. High-grade lenses make loftier night vision scopes as they keep image distortion at bay. Resolution is measured in lines per millimeter(LP/MM).
The higher the LP/MM rating the clearer your target. High-end scopes have LP/MM ratings of 60-70. Plastic or polymer lenses produce low-resolution images. This is not problematic if you are hunting at a close range but becomes critical at higher ranges.
Image Quality and Clarity
Night vision depends on the device’s ability to detect light. But sometimes it also picks up noise from an object’s surroundings. Because of this night vision scopes may appear to have grainy images.
Higher quality scopes have noise filtering techniques with which they filter out noise while receiving image signals. This refers to the signal-noise ratio which is a useful image clarity meter.
Magnification Power and Effective Range
It’s a basic mistake to go for night vision scopes with the highest magnification power. The distance can affect clarity to a great level. The level of magnification, in high-end vision scopes, can considerably increase the processing time. Moreover, magnification affects the field of view. that means, as we increase the viewing distance the field of view decreases.
The effective range helps hunters to determine the magnification of scopes. It also includes the detection and recognition range. So while choosing your night vision scope, do not forget to see how effective it can be at a certain range.
Battery Type and Life
This is another factor that you need to consider while choosing the best night vision scope that suits you the best. If you want to own the night, you need to carry the rifle for long periods of time.
So the weight of the batteries is always important. And along with that, you will need to look at how long the batteries last.
Tips for Hunting with Night Vision
✔ Bringing extra batteries is a must.
✔ Follow the manufacturer instructions to clean the objective lens to experience better longevity of the product
✔ IR light is always the best option in no moonlight
✔ Even if your night vision scope is weatherproof and rugged it is always best to protect it from harsh weather conditions to experience clarity for a longer period of time
✔ Take breaks frequently, whenever and wherever possible to avoid eye fatigue.
Conclusion
All of the above night vision scopes are great for multiple functions, and Night vision scopes are incredible pieces of technology.
Different hunting conditions call for different type of scopes, which would perfectly match the situations. Keeping, that in mind, we have tried to cover the best night vision scopes. Few optics on our list are quite expensive but we have tried to include scopes that fit every pocket.
As with all technology, we expect some more advanced night vision devices will come in the next few years with the least or no drawbacks. We hope that our detailed review will satisfy you and eliminate all your doubts.
Nighttime shooting is exciting as well as dangerous. So, don’t forget to follow the gun rules before mounting your favorite scope on your rifle. Have fun, stay safe and happy hunting!