I was able to take my Laser Genetics ND3-X40 out hunting Saturday evening for coyotes and hogs. I decided to sit in one of box blinds on my ranch covering a large wheat field as to not disturb the areas where we were bow hunting.
Overall I think I’m going to really enjoy the ND3 but I need to rethink my plan on using it for night hunting.
I mounted the ND3 on the Tikka .243 and used the neighbor’s house to make sure the laser was in line with my cross hairs. I’ll admit I screwed this up as I was in a hurry. I used too wide of a beam and too short of a distance to verify this was all correct. When I got into the box blind I could not make out my feeder at 150 yards as the beam was too far right. I fussed with it the best I could and got to the point where I could open up the beam and see my feeder. but by using the wider beam I gave up a lot of clarity and I couldn't see much beyond that.
Next issue that needs to be addressed but I think I’ve figured this out. The ND3 puts out an almost perfect circular beam without any light dispersion. Meaning its pitch black where there is no light. There is no fade from light to dark. With the ND3 mounted on my scope scanning the field was a bit of a pain in the butt as you have to move the entire rifle around to see. Think of waving your rifle like a flash light. In a box blind this was a pain; in my normal tri-pod stand this would show a lot of movement.
Solution, I’m going to get a set of quick detachable scope rings since the ND3 comes with a weaver rail mount to attach your scope. I’ll sight the system in at 100 yards on the narrowest beam possible then remove the ND3 and reattach it. If all goes to plan it should stay sighted into the scopes cross hair’s at 100 yards when reattached. Then I can take the ND3 off and scan my field of view as if using a flashlight. This will provide much less movement and reattach it quickly when a shot presents it’s self.
Like I said overall I like the ND3 and I think it’s going to be a blast night hunting with it. However, I can tell this is going to be a work in progress as I’ll keep tinkering with it until I find a system that works for me.
Overall I think I’m going to really enjoy the ND3 but I need to rethink my plan on using it for night hunting.
I mounted the ND3 on the Tikka .243 and used the neighbor’s house to make sure the laser was in line with my cross hairs. I’ll admit I screwed this up as I was in a hurry. I used too wide of a beam and too short of a distance to verify this was all correct. When I got into the box blind I could not make out my feeder at 150 yards as the beam was too far right. I fussed with it the best I could and got to the point where I could open up the beam and see my feeder. but by using the wider beam I gave up a lot of clarity and I couldn't see much beyond that.
Next issue that needs to be addressed but I think I’ve figured this out. The ND3 puts out an almost perfect circular beam without any light dispersion. Meaning its pitch black where there is no light. There is no fade from light to dark. With the ND3 mounted on my scope scanning the field was a bit of a pain in the butt as you have to move the entire rifle around to see. Think of waving your rifle like a flash light. In a box blind this was a pain; in my normal tri-pod stand this would show a lot of movement.
Solution, I’m going to get a set of quick detachable scope rings since the ND3 comes with a weaver rail mount to attach your scope. I’ll sight the system in at 100 yards on the narrowest beam possible then remove the ND3 and reattach it. If all goes to plan it should stay sighted into the scopes cross hair’s at 100 yards when reattached. Then I can take the ND3 off and scan my field of view as if using a flashlight. This will provide much less movement and reattach it quickly when a shot presents it’s self.
Like I said overall I like the ND3 and I think it’s going to be a blast night hunting with it. However, I can tell this is going to be a work in progress as I’ll keep tinkering with it until I find a system that works for me.
