Night Vision I can’t decide which IR Laser

[WillHugh]

For my money the dbal 9007 units (ir laser and illiminator, no vis laser) are pretty sweet. They can regularly be had in the $600 range, which is half the price of an A3, and all you're giving up is the vis laser which most people only use for zeroing anyway.

I also run a full power peq 15, and while the light saber beam is cool, inside 100 yards, which is where most night shooting happens, it blooms out too much to be very useful. Also, for scanning/searching you don't really want to be swinging your muzzle around anyway. I run a surefire vampire light on my helmet for extra illumination when the dbal doesn't cut it (and for driving my atv).

I'd say grab a dbal for the blackout and see what you think of it. If you can find a used full power peq they're nice to have, and while lacking a warranty, most civi units are only covered for a year anyway.

-will

 

[ddavis]

FWIW I ordered a Perst 3 Nov 18th directly from Zenitco Russia. It arrived in NY Dec 26th and has been there since. No resolution from USPS. Puts me in a shitty spot. Something to consider.

-Dan

In a round about way I did eventually get a Perst4. Now that I've had it a couple months and had an opportunity to hunt with it, figured I'd share. Thankfully it has adjustable intensity because it's really too bright at anything but the first couple settings. On full power it turns a tree into a disco ball. I love how light and compact the whole set up is. I never even bothered with the switch, I just use the buttons on the unit. One of them has a tactile click and the other is mushy. Not sure if they are supposed to be that way. I don't have complaints so far other than being a PITA to buy.

-Dan

 

[CBDR]

I was waiting to hear some actual feed back on how it preformed in the field. The initial feelings I got when it could be ordered from Russia reminded me of the mail order bride scenario. Gee honey you look different than your picture. On a more serious note be careful with the intensity setting, we only get issue one set of retinas

 

[tadawson]

Fwiw, just made an order with Zenitco 4/1, and it's delivering today. Less than 3 days in NY/customs . . .

 

[ddavis]

Fwiw, just made an order with Zenitco 4/1, and it's delivering today. Less than 3 days in NY/customs . . .

Basically my first one I ordered in Nov. was lost or stolen when it hit NY customs. I said fuck it and ordered another in the meantime. I let Dmitriy with Zenitco know that I had ordered a second one and he told me he accidentally shipped the wrong color laser to someone else in the states and he would have that person ship me theirs. Got it within 2 weeks or so of ordering. He eventually acknowledged that the first one was lost and sent me another on 3/18. It still hasn't arrived in the US. You are VERY lucky to have gotten one so soon.

-Dan

 

[tadawson]

Basically my first one I ordered in Nov. was lost or stolen when it hit NY customs. I said fuck it and ordered another in the meantime. I let Dmitriy with Zenitco know that I had ordered a second one and he told me he accidentally shipped the wrong color laser to someone else in the states and he would have that person ship me theirs. Got it within 2 weeks or so of ordering. He eventually acknowledged that the first one was lost and sent me another on 3/18. It still hasn't arrived in the US. You are VERY lucky to have gotten one so soon.

-Dan

I did pay for the expedited/express shipping. Not cheap, but compared to the price of the gear, pretty much irrelevant. I have made 2 other orders (vacuum display tubes) from Russia in the past few years, and have never had an issue. Granted, 3 orders isn't a large sample . . .

 

[gunsandgear]

The D2 is a pig. A3 illuminator is lackluster performance compared to a MAWL or PEQ15 but not as bad as some would make it seem.

Not knowing your budget but understanding that saving money is important to you, it sounds like you should get maybe a simple IR laser and light setup. Something like a Steiner OTAL combined with a Surefire M300V or equivalent IR capable light. Paired with a Unity TAPS system you have alot of IR capabilities for potentially well under $1k if you buy used.

The Russian lasers are so excessively powerful. If you're into that type of thing go for it but they always seemed like a good way to burn your tubes and/or retinas potentially.

 

[aslrookie]

The D2 is a pig. A3 illuminator is lackluster performance compared to a MAWL or PEQ15 but not as bad as some would make it seem.

Not knowing your budget but understanding that saving money is important to you, it sounds like you should get maybe a simple IR laser and light setup. Something like a Steiner OTAL combined with a Surefire M300V or equivalent IR capable light. Paired with a Unity TAPS system you have alot of IR capabilities for potentially well under $1k if you buy used.

The Russian lasers are so excessively powerful. If you're into that type of thing go for it but they always seemed like a good way to burn your tubes and/or retinas potentially.

I have been thinking about that combo. It’s not that saving money is much of an issue more so than value. Cost vs benefit type of thing. The MAWL is awesome, but not worth $2500 to me personally. I’d rather buy PVS14 for that much money for a friend to use/handheld for when I just want to quickly scan a field or something.

I just bought an IR Modlite and the light is badass. So I may pair it together with OTAL.

 

[Timmeh19]

I'm probably just piling on more here, so this might be more for others reading...

But my two cents is find a PEQ-15 or 15A or something like that for $1500-1800. Mainly for the illuminator.
The Perst 4 green + is great for the price and availability, but like everything the Russians have, it's a slightly crappier laser compared to a PEQ-15. Just not as clean, the laser is bigger, the illuminator is fuzzier around the edges.

IMHO if you want to shoot coyotes further than 75yd, you'll want a full power illum., the civ won't cut it. So that should be the deciding factor. I wouldn't spend $1000-1200 on a DBAL civ when I can buy a Perst for $1350 or a PEQ for $1600ish.

 

[Thor6T9]

I’m on the struggle bus with this one. I need two IR lasers: one for my 11.5” 5.56 and 8.5” 300blk.

I think something like a perst 4 would be pretty cool to have that powerful of a laser, but it’s not like I’m mounting this on a LR rifle with a PVS30. My shots would be within range of a civilian legal IR laser capabilities. Also, the perst 4 has a proprietary connector, so you can’t use a dual switch in conjunction with a weapon light.

Every video I see the ATPIAL C illuminator looks damn near useless past 25-50 yards. The DBAL D2 looks huge, and the DBAL A3 is the same price as the D2 but with split performance between D2 and ATPIAL.

I also considered something like a DBAL I2 and use a SF M300V, but the white light lumens is less than a pistol light.

I’m so torn. After dropping $5k on nods, can’t swing 2 MAWLs. I’d honestly rather buy another set of nods than 2 MAWLs.

I have a perst - 4 on an 11.5" build, the connector is proprietary to Zenitco products.. However, they do have a dual pressure pad that they sell separately that works with their Klesh series flashlights.

 

[aslrookie]

Yeah, I’m not going russian laser route

 

[WhereNow&How]

Yeah, I’m not going russian laser route

Maybe Anastasia can talk you into a Perst 3. I have enough but one day I am just gonna buy one. Those Perst 3 units are pretty well featured.

 

[CBDR]

I remember when I was scratching the surface on what IR Illuminator did I think I wanted / needed.
After a little consultation from a reliable source it came down to.
Q: Whats your objective?
A: Night hunting swine & coyotes. Distances not to exceed 500 m.
Q: How much are you willing to spend?
A: Enough to achieve the objective.

I have gained a lot of knowledge from this site over the years and come to realize this. Some of these guys have a massive amount of long range precision night shooting experience in some pretty serious jobs that require the best gear. Unfortunately Uncle Same does not see my recreational role in keeping the swine / predator levels in check.

I went with the LN-ELIR-3. It is more than capable for my application and cost effective. I think it was around 300 dollars. Once again I'm just shooting hogs in the swamp. I'm not on the front lines dealing with bad guys.

 

[sled_mack]

Just to clarify- you are using the ELIR 3 as an illuminator, not an aiming laser, correct?

 

[sheepdog697]

Im not sure if this was addressed earlier but you can splice the plug that comes with a perst into a normal TS. It is relatively easy and there are a few threads on ARFcom where this was done.

Also, i have a perst 3 and i do really like the features. The illuminator is awesome and i use that for coyote hunting. The laser is a legit lightsaber, but havent really found a "practical" use for what im doing with it. I usually turn it down and im probably in the civi legal range when i actually use it. That being said some of my buddies run a dbal I2 with a separate illuminator on a TAPS sync. This option is very nice as well, and it has warranty options that can be fulfilled in the US vs the MUTHALAND.

Cheers.

 

[TheGerman]

Maybe Anastasia can talk you into a Perst 3. I have enough but one day I am just gonna buy one. Those Perst 3 units are pretty well featured.

She's a Russian 5.

 

[WhereNow&How]

She's a Russian 5.

Come on man, shes at least a solid 7.
2 Bonus points for being able to handle a weapon, lasers and the voice. Yep, solid 7.

Also remember, in the Great Patriotic War basically 1 in 10 of their population died (soldiers & civi numbers combined) so she comes from some pretty tough survivors.

And while we are at it, always remember something important about that 10. There is at least 1 if not more guys that want to take that B..ch out and I aint talkin bout for dinner and drinks.

 

[danatkins]

What about a holosun ls321? They ain't tier1 but are any of us kicking in doors

 

[aslrookie]

What about a holosun ls321? They ain't tier1 but are any of us kicking in doors

Speak for yourself. I CQB the shit outta my house lol

 

[danatkins]

Speak for yourself. I CQB the shit outta my house lol

Yeah but don't need anything to bright for that lol

 

[GhostFace]

I have 2 dbal i2s and one D2, I don't find the D2 to be all that big considering how much size there is to adding external illuminator to get that performance. I was looking at the Perst but the idea of possibly not being able to get it serviced made my decision to get the D2 easy. I am happy with the D2...