Night Vision mirage through a clip on
- Thread starter taliv
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i have used plenty of clip ons and pvs-7, pvs 14 with magnafiers and scopes. i have never seen mirage at night. i assume it takes the sun to create mirage. i guess i could be wrong but ive never noticed it at all in the dark
while you're correct, the heat that creates the gradient in the refractive index of the air does come from the sun... it doesn't have to be shining at the same time you're viewing, as that heat is also stored in the ground, and as the air cools faster than the ground at night, it seems like a mirage is still possible as that gradient still exists.
I have used clip-ons at night and never noticed mirage or attempted to see it. I tend to keep the illumination level down to not destroy my night vision and I would think you would need to have the gain fairly high to see the distortion of mirage.
Will try to keep an eye out for it next time if I remember. Warmer months are coming so will be a good time to check.
Will try to keep an eye out for it next time if I remember. Warmer months are coming so will be a good time to check.
I'm with Rth on this one but I've seen weirder shit. See if you can video it. Is it possible you are seeing something un-collimated, for lack of a better term?
Having hunted with the PVS27 for several years now, I have never seen any mirage or anything that seemed like mirage. If anyone knows how to set up the day scope with the PVS27 to see mirage in the dark i am all ears. Most of my hunting is between 2200 hrs to 0300 hrs (HOGS) with most wind very light to calm during that time. When winds are stronger i just go with how it feels at my position, it usually works out.
I have a PVS26 (KAC UNS LR/LP) and live in a desert type area and I have t seen it. I rarely set up and use it before it cools down. Ill head out this Sunday night and see!! I have a 1.5-6X Elcan SpecterDR to try out anyway!!! Ill report back if I see something!!
Well I went out and tried to see it. I could not. It's still kinda cool here in the TX panhandle so by the time the sun went down it was too cool. Maybe in June or July when daytime temps reach 110!!! Ill keep playing with my NV for you guys!!
thanks for trying. honestly, i've used my 27s a lot over the past couple years and only once just recently did i see something that just really looked like mirage. i had just taken a class with a short night portion and missed a few gimme shots and basically just got pissed off at myself and determined to fix it. so i went out and was fiddling with the settings (focus and parallax) for a couple hours and then i saw it. it was a little different though because where in the daytime i mostly see mirage along the straight edges, like the tops of target boards or signs or fences or something, this looked like a very large portion of the image was blowing, and it did match the impacts i saw on the targets and it matched the wind i felt in my face. who knows? thanks again
Ill try again in a few months. The ground stays pretty hot here in July and August. This year might be different as the high yesterday was 34!!!! Anyway I'm sure summer will be here in July and ill try again then.
As a physics phenomenon, mirage is creates by the difference of refractive index between heat layers. At night, the temperature is much lower, and i think thats why it dissipates heat faster. Try shooting 20rounds of 308 and see if you stilll see the same hahaha, that would be how i test it.
winner winner chicken dinner. i bet thats your culprit. i cant say ive fired long strings of fire with my nvgs to note barrel mirage...interesting
You know I hadn't thought of that either!! I was working security on a yard close to the airport so no shooting. Ill have to find a night and run the EMC and see what happens! I guess I could break out the 300wm also!!
Yes, oh yes, you can see can mirage rising. BTDT many times. Clear picture, string of shots, not clear picture. Definite....
Would a nomex wrap around the suppressor help? I would think the barrel would still be hot but the can gets super hot!!
That's what I was talking about. I thought they were made of nomex. As my Jr High football coach told me one time " that's what you get for thinking!" He was such a cock sucker!! But I digress!! Thanks ill give him a call!!
I realize this is an old thread but I believe I was seeing mirage through my cnvd-lr last weekend.
It was 70f and sunny For most of the afternoon that day and by 11-12pm when I was seeing this it was in the low 50s. Kneeling and trying to find a coyote 600+yds out across a massive plowed field with a Luna illuminator. I could see him in my ir patrol but there was no moon and partly cloudy so NV was struggling. Definitely looked like mirage through the scope.
It was 70f and sunny For most of the afternoon that day and by 11-12pm when I was seeing this it was in the low 50s. Kneeling and trying to find a coyote 600+yds out across a massive plowed field with a Luna illuminator. I could see him in my ir patrol but there was no moon and partly cloudy so NV was struggling. Definitely looked like mirage through the scope.
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It is an OLD thread but who cares ? ..
Quiet no wind night ?
You sure it might not have been moisture/humid cold heavier air flowing around ? , That a Long way ( 600 yard ) + ( kneeling low ) for an IR light source to travel that close to the ground and not see contamination ( bloom ) off a gazillion particles hanging . Little to no wind out at night for keeping the surface moved clear at night makes for a thin layer of moisture usually .
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I noted it immediately the first time I got behind a pvs30. You can very definitely watch wind.
I was watching a switchy weak wind across a draw this past weekend. Wind looks a little different than in the daytime, but I easily read a weak switchy wind, was able to note the shimmer, and resulting directional change. (0 - 1/4 MIL wind at 500)
I was watching a switchy weak wind across a draw this past weekend. Wind looks a little different than in the daytime, but I easily read a weak switchy wind, was able to note the shimmer, and resulting directional change. (0 - 1/4 MIL wind at 500)
Wind was probably 4-8 for the most part
4-8 mph more than enough to clear out low hanging moist air .
You did say ' plowed earth ' field that you glassing over . To bad you not have a thermal unit same time you looking . be interesting how much heat/energy the darker plowed was hanging onto in the colder night .
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You did say ' plowed earth ' field that you glassing over . To bad you not have a thermal unit same time you looking . be interesting how much heat/energy the darker plowed was hanging onto in the colder night .
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I did have my or patrol and lwts along that night but was more concerned with finding hogs and coyotes and didn't pay much mind to the ground.
Last year there were a couple nights that I witnessed what I can only assume was mirage under NV through my spotting scope. I believe it was spring or summer time if memory serves. I never thought much of it because I didn't realize it was so uncommon. No idea what the atmospherics were that night since I did not consider it noteworthy at the time. If it wasn't actually mirage then I have no idea what it was since it looked identical to boiling daytime mirage only grainier. It was everywhere and had nothing to do with a hot barrel or can since this was on a spotter.
Mirage can be difficult to see at night through a high quality UNS but once you see and understand what it looks like, its easy to pick up. An IR illuminator is also almost necessary in most cases. To be perfectly honest reading winds at night is almost easier than durning the day one you see the mirage, dust, etc. I've been teach no-light/low-light with precision rifles for years and again once students pick it up they're typically good.
Well I hate to disagree but years of using clip on/UNS in a professional capacity has presented an opposing view. I’m interested in why you think it’s not possible from scientific prospective and also what it is that’s being seen if not mirage?The presents of mirage at night is a known and practiced method of wind reading across professional military schools.
I wish I had video capture to share, perhaps I’ll be able collect some later at another point and circle back around. As I said before, projecting a high power IR light source is almost key as well as manipulating the focus ring of the UNS and having the parallax set correctly. Ironically I would describe mirage at night as rather “ghost” representation and shadow like when compared to what’s seen during the day light hours.
Rudy - pretty sure this is TheGerman's sense of Humor. He knows I shoot by myself in the woods and trys to scare me like he is the Brothers Grimm.
Speaking of parallax at night, what do you teach as far as setting it on the day scope? The manual that came w/ the PVS-30 I had said to set the day scope parallax to infinity, so that is what I have been doing for around a year now. Last time out I started adjusting the parallax little by little to see if it had any effect. I couldn't pick up much difference, but was not going beyond 8-10x either.
Setting to infinity is a pretty safe move. Thought I find setting it at a general range works well also, for example if I’m working any area like 200-600, I’ll set it at 400ish, pretty much the same flow of shot process as during the day. When zeroing at 100, you certainly want to work the parallax and focus together for the best image.
...also I believe in ghosts, so there’s that.
...also I believe in ghosts, so there’s that.
Funny you say that, we were training one time and we hadn't had any sleep for a few days and had just been pushed to the limit. We went out with no cold weather gear, no fart sack, 3 MRE's --for a week in the cold, rain and snow. We did get a few more MRE's later but not much. I understand it was to see how tough we were, what we could take. Me and a buddy were manning an OP and we were so tired we just couldn't take it and didn't want to both doze off so we started a 10 minute or so on and off sleep schedule (which sounds fucked up, and it was, but any longer and the chance we'd both fall asleep rose dramatically). Fell asleep instantly, woke up more tired...
My buddy was sleeping his ten, then he gets blasted awake when I started firing the SAW. He starts looking for the target, I call it out --and by the time I did that I realized what I shot at.
I opened fire on a fucking witch riding a broomstick through the woods at 2am or so! Damndest hallucination ever! Bitch was straight out of "Wizard of Oz"! I don't tell everyone that story but I bet most of you can relate one way or another.
As far as mirage, no, I haven't seen it. But you can spot trace, or rather the splash, a lot of times --the back of the bullet is usually visible when the IR hits it. But it doesn't leave that Matrix-esque rippled trail you get during the day.
