Night vision scope ??

[wilnis]

I'm looking to tap into the Bitog knowledge base and am starting here. I'd like to get a night vision scope(monocular I guess) and wonder if those knowledgeable can help me. Using it for bird watching, wildlife watching,etc, and have tried a neighbors Bushnell which is a Gen I mono scope and it's useable but no longer available.
Questions include any general info about what to avoid, or what to get, where to buy, battery type(AA vs CR123), Gen I or newer (big price difference I find), and anything else a noobie should be aware of. I've searched Google and Amazon has lots for sale with reviews that are disturbing because they range from "the best there is" to "I can't get it to work" on the same item.
Thanks in advance, Bill

 

[Olas]

Are you working to a budget? I'd guess you'd want good image and resolution for watching birds? Gen2 or 3 gives a much better image but you gotta pay for it..
For extended use a CR type might be better, for short/infrequent use the AA option could be cheaper.

I bought one of these earlier this year to help me control rats and squirrels.. not quite as good as daylight but more than adequate for the job at hand
http://www.uttings.co.uk/p110187-cobra-optics-titan-russin-gen2-plus-monocular-2195/

 

[BISCUT]

Scope or monocular? You mentioned bird watching.....If you bird watch I'm going to assume you are into photography as well. If that is the case there is not a product you"ll likely be happy with if you seek detail. Not civ available anyway.

I don't have much experience with the civ avail products but do have LE/Mil experience with NV. The scopes we are now using are in the 12k range. We only have 1!! It is darn clear but not AS detail specific as you would want when having to differentiate between like size targets at longer ranges. Our mono's are basic 4th gen and do well for what they are intended. You should be able to purchase 4th gen as civ. If you can, I'd try it out first as it ma not give you the sight picture you would like and a bird will likely be a decent distance away with a relatively small sight picture and maybe won't let you get close enough for the capabilities to be what you want them to be.

 

[strat81]

All of my reading on night vision has led me to save my pennies for a Gen3 PVS-14 unit from TNVC.com. The guys at TNVC are very knowledgeable and friendly, but their site tells me they are focused on tactical users, not nature lovers.