Night Vision Compact IR Laser/Illuminator

[slothlacrosse]

What IR laser/illuminator are ya'll running on your SBRs and pistols?

I'm not kicking in any doors or preparing for any end of the world scenarios. I've used PEQs in the past, but I'm not interested in buying a FP "gray market" PEQ.

DBAL D2 sounds like it offers the best illumination but carries a weight/size penalty. It also appears to be unobtanium ATT.
DBAL I2 (no vis laser) and A3 (vis laser) have weak illumination but I have white light override.
Open to suggestions, but I'm not interested in the MAWL.

 

[TheHorta]

Well… basically the thing you’re “not interested in” is the very thing you need.

Assuming it’s because of the price, you can get a Kiji 3° (or Luna/SPIR) and a TOR, which would be $1K and light as hell. No visible lasers though.

Otherwise, you need to swim in the Gray Pool.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I saw a spir on here for like 550 I think. I'd grab that if you don't want an A2

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

I wish the Night Optics Night Chase was still being made. It's nothing super impressive on the illuminator side, but it works well enough out to 100-200 yards depending on conditions, and the laser is pretty standard for a civilian power unit. The reason I love them (I own 2) is the footprint - it's not much bigger than a typical front BUIS and has that function in addition to the IR laser and illuminator.

I have one riding on my SBR right now with a Surefire pro scout tucked up under it, and the second bounces around between rifles depending on what I need one on at the moment.

 

[bllistc]

You say you don't need a FP unit but its not just for kicking in door. In areas with more ambient light or where your target might be backlit, a civ powered unit isn't gonna punch through at light to illuminate.


ETA: I'll post pics tonight if i can to demonstrate what i mean

 

[GhostFace]

If you want a D2 they are available, JRH has them right now for under $1300.

 

[bllistc]

So this isn’t a perfect example but it should demonstrate a bit what I mean. The target is the lawn chair at about 25 yards and there is a 500 lumen white light next to it on the ground. The chair is still easily visible due to the contrast with the house behind it but with a darker background, it would be more difficult due to shadows created by the flashlight.

The first pic is just the chair and the light.

The second is a peq15 on low power (3.5 MW) laser illuminator/pointer. The peq punches through the illumination from the flashlight and allows for more contrast between the chair and house, allowing you to see the target a little better.

The third pic is the peq on high power (40MW) laser illuminator/pointer. In the camera, it completely washes out the target and everything in the circle of the illuminator but it shows the power of the illuminator. In person, it washes out the flashlight completely and makes the target very clearly visible and identifiable.

Civ power laser based illuminators have a max output of <1 MW. The peq on low power is over 3x higher than that. The result in this a scenario, with high ambient light and a backlit target, would be that a civ power laser would not really provide much if any illumination on target. It would not be able to overpower the effects of ambient light and backlighting. In scenarios where there is minimal ambient light, a civ power laser would probably be ok out to 50-100 yards. But that’s about the extent of it.

 

[bllistc]

If you want something more compact than the D2, the phantom hill CTF-1 may be an option. It is a white light, IR laser and IR LED (basically a surefire vampire light) in a small package. It will suffer from the same limitations as a SF vamp light but it may be useful on PCC/PDW types.

Zbolt is also making an IR LEP head that will work with surefire scout bodies. It should provide similar functionality as the D2 except it cannot be zeroed. At least as far as I know. You would need a laser pointer like an OTAL-C to use with it an a white light if you want it. It won't really be compact but the illuminator will be far better than a civ laser.

 

[Twistid]

I use a dbal pl

 

[jeffl838]

Depending on how far you're trying to illuminate/shoot, the TLR VIR2 might be what you're looking for.

It's kind of a piece of shit, but it's also cheap and it does do the things that it's supposed to do

 

[bllistc]

View attachment 7849463
I use a dbal pl

How do you like the AEMS? Looking to get either that or a NV compatible eotech.

 

[Reload10]

Having the fp illuminators is nice to push through photonic barriers, like illustrated above. For budget get a Luna and slave it to a civi laser.

 

[stefan73]

View attachment 7849463
I use a dbal pl

Those are discontinued, sadly.

 

[Millennium200]

You might check out Holosun ls321r or one of the other Holosun IR laser models. For the money they work great, but keep in mind that I am one of the poors.

 

[Conqueror]

If you don't want a MAWL and can't find or stomach a D2, then wait for the Phantom Hill CTF-2: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/01/25/shot-2022-phantom-hill-ctf2/

That plus a Kiji head on one side and a Modlite head on the other would be an extremely capable system for like half the price of a MAWL. But I agree with Horta, if compactness is really important to you, the MAWL is pretty much king. It takes up a lot less rail space on an SBR thanks to the offset and the built-in pressure switches.

 

[Twistid]

How do you like the AEMS? Looking to get either that or a NV compatible eotech.

It's great, but there's a slight tint and very tiny amount of fisheye that's only noticeable if you go back and forth from an exps to the aems. If you don't compare side by side you probably won't notice it. One of those "ignorance is bliss" type things.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

If you don't want a MAWL and can't find or stomach a D2, then wait for the Phantom Hill CTF-2: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/01/25/shot-2022-phantom-hill-ctf2/

That plus a Kiji head on one side and a Modlite head on the other would be an extremely capable system for like half the price of a MAWL. But I agree with Horta, if compactness is really important to you, the MAWL is pretty much king. It takes up a lot less rail space on an SBR thanks to the offset and the built-in pressure switches.

Oh, that looks fucking sexy.

 

[GreenMushroom]

If you don't want a MAWL and can't find or stomach a D2, then wait for the Phantom Hill CTF-2: https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2022/01/25/shot-2022-phantom-hill-ctf2/

That plus a Kiji head on one side and a Modlite head on the other would be an extremely capable system for like half the price of a MAWL. But I agree with Horta, if compactness is really important to you, the MAWL is pretty much king. It takes up a lot less rail space on an SBR thanks to the offset and the built-in pressure switches.

I'm hoping they will make a version that takes surefire tail caps. Basically just sell battery tubes with a laser in the middle.

 

[stefan73]

What about this?

SUREFIRE XVL2-IRC PISTOL & CARBINE LIGHT/LASER MODULE SYSTEM​

https://tnvc.com/shop/surefire-xvl2-irc-pistol-carbine-light-laser-module-system/​