Night Vision Night Range Distance

[softcock]

They don't make Radius anymore, and wilcox Raptors are 6-grand . But to get your fix, there is a 'low-end unit' ( LaserWorks LE-032 ) that I just MacGyver'ed up, for Nighttime ranging .

You can mount LaserWorks LE-032 on top of Pic.mount scope ring for ranging . I don't want anymore accessories on my night rifle, as is now I have suppressor, tall bipod, laser-illum unit and clip-on NV . So ( for my use ), I mounted the LRF on L-side of my Pig Saddle for night Ranging in the field off the bipod with Rifle.
Was an EASY fix for me. I just used aluminum angle for a bracket . using 8-32 hex head bolts for everything . I just drilled and tapped a piece of Pic. Rail to the angle bracket . Then drill and tapped 3 bolts straight into the L-side plate of the Pig Saddle . And the Pig Saddle is mounted on a tripod head QD plate .
The unit itself is not very big . roughly a box and mount, 3 1/4" long . 1 1/2" wide . 2 1/4" tall . also surprised me for a cheap import LRF. it not plastic but is an aluminum housing . it also displays on the screen 'cosign angle' . And for the biggest need of improvement that jumps right out. The manufacture needs to make the pressure pad switch that plug-in/out out and is replaceable, and Not hard wired in . because when the pad breaks your fucking screwed .

1st thing I did was throw the cheap china CR2 battery in trash can and bought a quality lithium CR2 . I Just got it up and mounted and only had it out twice at night now getting familiar to it and working out the bugs . but I will get it out more and push it to see it's limits . it got no problem getting out to the 400 yard range just playing with it . It seems to work well enough . All I am using it for is Range reference on objects where I am setup and calling for coyote .
Easy to range at night, Just look where the LRF unit IR flashes, while viewing with the pvs14 on the helmet and looking threw the clip-on NV on rifle . Then read the Range in yards or meters on the screen . Being on the Tripod it also is real steady for aiming the laser diode flash .
It is adjustable for aiming with elevation and wind . It has a few mode settings, but all I am interested in, is the scan-range mode . The Laser diode of the unit will 'continuously' pulse out a IR flash to paint on an object when you push the pressure switch pad . It will continue to flash a beam until you press it again to stop .
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[ballistic1]

Appears to be around $140 on Amazon. I didn't notice any other retailers come
up on my brief Google search for it..

Will be looking foward to your findings and updates on this unit as you
time test this unit out.

Nice work putting it on the tripod ..

 

[wigwamitus]

True Radius is discontinued, but they are still quite available. I have 2 radiae and 1 raptar (and BTW, RAPTAR LRF are around $3,000 ... only costs $6,000 if you want the ballistics module, but for just the range finder $3,000). It seems like there is a Radius for sale on the hide about every 2 weeks. That said, your creativity is laudible if you can effectively range at least out to your shooting distance !!!

 

[softcock]

I admit LRF's are not my forte . I use one for day ranging and shooting . I understand a good strong sharp IR that gets out there and pings back even under bright sunlight . This unit is NOT that . The LaserWorks LE-032 is down there in quality in comparison to those 100-$ 'Golf' LRF's for barnyard pool that you see at retail . ---> it's IR is not a hard hitter . is 1st thing you really notice .

My Nighttime LRF wants are on the lower end of my Coyote priority kill list ...LOL . and my technique has always been if I wanted to Range nearby object for a range reference when out calling . I will just whip the Leica out of the pack and use scan mode to see with pvs14 a 'good' IR pulse and get a reading, then stick it back in the pack .
My shooting distance 'POI' at night is for most part always under 200 yard . And I am pretty successful at getting them in and shooting coyotes . So I will never really put a LRF to the paces when I out at night hunting . And if it is a real POS and malfunctions bad I will just toss it the trash with no regrets .
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Not a big investment for a play toy . was on sale on Amazon and I got prime so ( 139-$ ) I just Could Not resist getting one and fucking around with it for a few night . Laserworks 'Is' what it IS . Not bashing it . I just out amusing myself for a couple night .

https://www.amazon.com/LaserWorks-Riflescope-rangefinder-Tactical-Rangefinder/dp/B077M4BF7T
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[wigwamitus]

... I will just whip the Leica out of the pack and use scan mode to see with pvs14 a 'good' IR pulse and get a reading, then stick it back in the pack ..

I've done that hundreds of times myself ... way more than I've used the fancier radiae and raptars and such ... just because I've had the bushy for more years ...

==
Yes, I see what you are trying to do .. you're trying to see what you can do ... in practical terms ... at the low end of the market ... and hecque ... if we all used optimized flat flying cartridges ... we wouldn't need range finders at night ... out to 450yds ... which is farther than most of us will shoot anyway.

 

[softcock]

Just Bumping up for fun .. for future reference and use of this 'low-budget LRF' for night hunting . I been out bumping the IR off trees and houses, barns and even some elk the other night .
Been out hunting and the most I can squeeze out of this unit mounted on the side of my Pig Saddle is ( 430 to 440 yard ) ' At Night '. on good conditions .

Something people might want to keep an eye-on though in future, if they ever do any refinements in IR diode and output . It could be brought up a better usable level of performance . All they need to do is just take another small step with there unit and diode to clean it up . it would be really be usable for night hunt and not just a play toy .
No way I want to mount anymore crap to my night rifle platform . But mounting LRF to the side of tripod head is a slick trick, and the small size of unit is really workable . It is 'really easy' to just walk the blinking IR dot over to a target to Range wearing pvs14 or looking threw you NV scope . but it just a shame the power and beam focus is weak and spreads/distorts crappy past 300+ yard .
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[STI 45]

I picked a couple of these up from Ebay for $70 each and they are impressive for the price. I could range deer out to 400 yards at night. With a NV scope it is easy to center the unit with the reticle. I mounted it on top of the scope. With a push of the button it goes into a 30 sec scan mode. Should give all the readings I need. Haven't had a chance to hunt with it yet as our sea is closed until November. Worth the money for Night time hunting, but I'm not selling my Radius or Raptor any time soon. I believe these were originally made for crossbow hunting, hopefully they come up with a better unit for rifles.

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

my technique has always been if I wanted to Range nearby object for a range reference when out calling . I will just whip the Leica out of the pack and use scan mode to see with pvs14 a 'good' IR pulse and get a reading, then stick it back in the pack .

I do the same except my Sig hangs on my neck, range, drop it put the IR laser on target, pull the trigger. I've tried mounted IR scopes, but for me I like the ability to see everything all the time at night. Can shoot from carry w/o mounting the rifle at all an it's still very lite, vs a rifle that is weighted down with LRF'er IR scope, RMR an all the other stuff people add.

 

[wigwamitus]

I think of it as "patrol style" versus "overwatch style". And I've done patrol style for more years (4) than I've done overwatch style(1). But they both work.
WIth patrol style, I would have a carbine and a one or more head mounted NODs, including at least one pvs-14 ... and if needed a hand held LRF.

With overwatch style, a rifle on the tripod with a rifle mounted LRF. Can range more precisely at greater distances with the rifle mounted LRF due to greater stability of the platform. But much more mobile with the carbine. I do continuous 360s, so there are no surprises.

So, depends on what you are doing. For me, I'm often overwatching my chickens or cattle, so I don't need to patrol as much. But I do patrol sometimes.