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PVS 30 illuminator

SmimL7

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 22, 2012
332
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OH River Valley
I know the topic has been beaten to death but I’d like some feedback for the best illuminator for a PVS 30. In particular the KIJI 3 or Steiner D2/spir. I know the spir has been discontinued However I have seen some in the used market.
I have been using a full power Luna full power which works great for my needs however I don’t want to risk blinding an animal I don’t wish to shoot when trying to ID my target. Between the KIJI and Steiner I like the idea of the D2/SPIR being focusable. This comes in handy with the Luna because I can spread the beam out when I dial back the magnification for scanning or taking closer shots. I’m not sure if the lack of focus would be an issue with KIJI.
 
A trick I learned from some other sniper buddies is to just use an IR hog hunting light mounted either on the rifle or spotting scope via picatinny. If it’s dumb and it works, it’s not dumb.

If you look in the top left of the nods pic, you will see the illumination from their IR Hog light. It was this brand I believe.
 

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A trick I learned from some other sniper buddies is to just use an IR hog hunting light mounted either on the rifle or spotting scope via picatinny. If it’s dumb and it works, it’s not dumb.

If you look in the top left of the nods pic, you will see the illumination from their IR Hog light. It was this brand I believe.

SniperHog Lights .

I have one of those 'Coyote Canons' , and it DOES pumps out a IR beam .
Well Built solid construction . IR Diode array Head . uses the Big rechargeable NL2150HP 3.7 volt 5000mAh batteries, and has a On/Off rheostat tail switch. Has adjustable beam size collimation, and Easy connection to Pic. rail

Only downsize is weight/size, but it is a fucking monster for IR illum.
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I have owned/used 3 peq2a's, atilla 200, and still use a couple old peq15's, along with a few other IR diode. flashlights . That coyote canon maybe just a IR Flash, but it is pretty BadAss .
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Any pics mounting it the rifle with a PVS 30? The PVS itself takes up a lot of space. Combined with the diameter of that thing would be quite the challenge. I’m usually hunting alone and PVS is my only NVD so I would need to be able to mount it to the rifle.
 
Any pics mounting it the rifle with a PVS 30? The PVS itself takes up a lot of space. Combined with the diameter of that thing would be quite the challenge. I’m usually hunting alone and PVS is my only NVD so I would need to be able to mount it to the rifle.

I dont own a PVS30 .
I work a pvs9 off one rifle, and a d-740 off another rifles for night hunting.
Don't know what to tell you. You going to Need to be a MacGiver, and be creative to your needs in making what Illum. you have work, to what platform you are choosing to shoot from.

I always stick to one rule . To get any illum. devise I mounting in a position infront of NV to NOT give me any bloom a Forearm Rail or suppressor.
The Coyote Canon is big unit but i always just keep it in the pack when going out to a stand. Then I take it out pack to mount to whatever I using. It has a QD connection to make it fast easy Off/On

As far as the 'Coyote Canon' this is what I used for a mount off an old EXR chassis last week for cutting an IR beam down between rows of huge hazelnut orchard that had zero ambient light.
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coyotecanon.jpg

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I have a lot of experience using a full power dbal a2 and Kiji 3.

In short, the kiji provides much cleaner illumination inside of 4 to 500 yd. However, if your target is through a break in tree cover or similar, meaning that there's trees or scrubs between you and the target you're shooting, there's probably going to be enough bloom that the kiji isn't as usable.

Once you get out past 400 or 500 yards, You're really going to want a full power unit. I had no issues making hits at 870 yards and spotting misses while doing it a few weekends ago. I had a few hits at 1100 but had more trouble self-spotting at that distance. I was using an SP10 in 6.5 creedmoor with a PVS30 (L3 white tube) and the dbal.
 
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Any pics mounting it the rifle with a PVS 30? The PVS itself takes up a lot of space. Combined with the diameter of that thing would be quite the challenge. I’m usually hunting alone and PVS is my only NVD so I would need to be able to mount it to the rifle.

I been pretty curious about the smaller model 38LRX 850nm IR head, (sniperhog lights) . to see the performance. So I ordered one the other night, and will take it out a couple times to bang a dog or two.
I am actually looking forward to working out that smaller model on a mount for a rifle.

The Coyote Canon model is heavy big with it's 70mm diam.head and lens. It pretty easy manageable when working off the tripod. But when you get a battery in it, and a QD mount 30mm body mount. You are looking at 2Lb. weight added hanging on a rifle. but the Canon does blow IR collimated beam 1-k + yards no problem when you crank-up the rheostat tail switch.
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I don't think a lot of people have seen these. The Diode module that go's inside the 'coyote Canon' is friggin respectable for size and design, easy quick change-out also for, 850, 920, red, green .

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sniphogDiode.jpg

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I been pretty curious about the smaller model 38LRX 850nm IR head, (sniperhog lights) . to see the performance. So I ordered one the other night, and will take it out a couple times to bang a dog or two.
I am actually looking forward to working out that smaller model on a mount for a rifle.

The Coyote Canon model is heavy big with it's 70mm diam.head and lens. It pretty easy manageable when working off the tripod. But when you get a battery in it, and a QD mount 30mm body mount. You are looking at 2Lb. weight added hanging on a rifle. but the Canon does blow IR collimated beam 1-k + yards no problem when you crank-up the rheostat tail switch.
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I don't think a lot of people have seen these. The Diode module that go's inside the 'coyote Canon' is friggin respectable for size and design, easy quick change-out also for, 850, 920, red, green .

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I’d be interested in hearing how the 38 does. I do shoot off of a tripod so weight isn’t so much an issue as mounting configuration. I had a hard time finding the right place for my Luna lol
 
I'm running a 3 degree Kiji on a ClipNV-LR (has that handy pic rail on the unit). The Kiji is pretty versatile in that it's got four power levels that you can program to cycle through in a number of ways (kind of a pain to program) and it throws a good uniform pattern. Is it worth the money? Probably not if you're staying inside of 300 yards. For that you could probably do with a much less expensive light with IR head. But if you were planning to take it two or three times that distance, then the Kiji is a good fit.
 
I'm running a 3 degree Kiji on a ClipNV-LR (has that handy pic rail on the unit). The Kiji is pretty versatile in that it's got four power levels that you can program to cycle through in a number of ways (kind of a pain to program) and it throws a good uniform pattern. Is it worth the money? Probably not if you're staying inside of 300 yards. For that you could probably do with a much less expensive light with IR head. But if you were planning to take it two or three times that distance, then the Kiji is a good fit.
Do you have any pics of the beam pattern of the KIJI at various distances/magnification? I guess my biggest concern with the KIJI is that the beam pattern would be too tight if I was scanning a field between 50-150 yards.I know with the Luna if I’m scanning out at say 3-400 yards and I move back in to scan closer, I need to adjust the beam pattern to spread it out more. I’ve read that most of the cheaper lights with Ir heads aren’t very useful much past 50 yards. I’d like to have all the illumination I can get but eye safe. I love the performance of the Luna. I just don’t want to inadvertently blind a deer I don’t want to shoot. I use this setup for predator hunting and crop damage permits. Taking a deer with antlers is prohibited. That been said it’s hard to differentiate sometimes without putting the illuminator directly on them.
 
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No, I don't have pictures. However, there's a diffuser on the Kiji that sets the pattern pretty wide and you can still click through the power levels. Slide the diffuser off and now you've got that 3 degree pattern. There's also a 10 degree model with a 40 degree diffuser, which isn't anywhere near as popular as the tighter version, so they should be easy to find. I'm sure you can see examples of this in a random youtube review.
 
I’d be interested in hearing how the 38 does. I do shoot off of a tripod so weight isn’t so much an issue as mounting configuration. I had a hard time finding the right place for my Luna lol

I did set-up mount that ( 38LRX ) 850nm light to check it out, and it actually is about the right size/weight and illum. power for for Pic. rail rifle mount . Size and weight are nice easy coat pocket carry also .
38LRX uses the 18650 rechargeable batteries that are pretty common found. I already pretty dialed with that battery use already with having Nightcore charger and batteries at the house.
It also has pretty easy change-out for switching different diode modules in the head . The Rheostat tail-switch does add extra length to the unit, but still it pretty tight package. and I can't see a person not using a rheostat for this kind of illum set-up, over just a On/Off tail-cap button.

Was a pretty low cloud ceiling and dark last night. I checked it out pretty good with PVS14 and a NV Scope on the rifle . It throws both a pretty intense Flood or tight Collimation beam. I had ZERO problems Illum. objects out 300 to 400 yard last night. Reality is all my dog shots are all inside 200 yrd. I did not even have to crank-up the rheostat power to even illum. 200 yard. The 38lrx had a lot more illum. to give that I was not using.
So.. I going to say 38LRX is REAL Solid illum. unit for working 300 yard rifle shots with NV. that ( you can ) squeeze more yardage from depending on night shooting conditions.
sales Price-$ is pretty fair also for the quality construction you getting. Even with the extra's added like, 'turbo' diode, rheostat tail-switch, QD mount kit. I think it was delivered under180-$ .
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here a quick Pic. for a comparison .
Both In the hand, The monster Coyote Canon, and smaller 38LRX unit.

38LRX.jpg

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