Poachers and night vision

"I bought a cheapo first gen night vision scope and it only works on bright nights, full moon. Resolution is very poor. I would not recommend it to any one. "

Uncle Buck, thanks for this comment. I have toyed with the idea of the cheap night vision to help with my hog problem. Now I will not waste my money on them. In the past I have worn the good military night vision (at least in the 1990's it was good stuff) and I always figured the cheap stuff I could afford would not hold a candle to those.
 
"I bought a cheapo first gen night vision scope and it only works on bright nights, full moon. Resolution is very poor. I would not recommend it to any one. "
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I bought a more expensive Gen I scope, an ATN MK390 rifle scope for $500. It has resolution good enough to make out the presence of the squirrel cage underneath a feeder at 250 yards...when illuminated with an ir laser illuminator. I can see the T posts helping secure the feeder's legs. The resolution is there, but you need a light source.

I have a more expensive Gen II scope without magnification for which it has trouble seeing the feeder's legs at 250 yards even with the ir laser illuminator.

The point here is that some Gen I stuff is pretty darned good, but few folks get a chance to really shop around. You can't go down to your local night vision superstore and try out 8 or 10 units to find out what works best for you within your price range.
 
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Go "Political" on the case

With your sheriff's record of malfeasance and nonfeasance, and with your experience and Mil. background, run for sheriff! Being stupid about its application is the same as being ignorant of the law entirely; sounds like your current sheriff qualifies there!!
 
I would also think the armed tress pass would be a concern for the sheriff, if he is not concerned about it then I would start running adds and letters to the editor explaining to the community that if armed people come onto their property the sheriff will not show up or send deputies out to protect the land owner and his/her property rights.


Our Fish and Game also put poaching right at the top of their to do list, but they need the sheriff to enforce tress pass laws they have no power to.

I also like the idea of the flash less IR cameras that way it is a picture and not just your word.
 
curious if anyone has played with one of those green laser illuminators I think they are marketed by BSA... they can be used like a flash light, but I think also mounted on top of a scope & used to illuminate your field of view through a regular rifle scope... they aren't overly expensive... I've been wanting to try one, for night varmints on the farm... they could be used for hunting, identification as in the OP's situation, or even probably for long range zoom photography... & they are within the OP's price range

similar to this...

http://www.natchezss.com/brand.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=OS&prodID=OSLGND3X50&prodTitle=Laser%20Genetics%20ND3X50%20Laser%20Illuminator%20with%20Mounts

http://www.studentmarket.com/BSA-Optics-GMOLGND5-BPC1001.html
 
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If it were me I wouldnt be out there no matter how armed you are. I dont like to put my life on the line for a couple deer. If it were me Id call both the game warden and sheriff, set up a sting. Here in ND the local game wardens have dummy deers that have moving tails and heads that they put up on private property to catch people shooting out of their truck or on posted property, and it works better than a guy would think. Humans are creatures of habit, what I mean is they have a pattern. When we set up our sting the people would come about every 2 weeks on a friday or saturday night, the warden and sheriff teamed up and as soon as the guys shot they sprung their trap. They seased 4 rifles, 2 pistols, their truck, and 2 spotlights.It was a couple of rich kids that got bored and would go out and shoot animals.

Just my 4 cents worth.
 
wgnungo,

Where abouts SE Va are you? Eastern Shore? I'm in Vabch, but I was under the understanding that each county in Va had at least 1 CPO. Interesting to hear that your area doesnt have 1. I would visit the VDGIF web site and write directly to the head of the game commission. In my past experiences going directly to the top gets action. And all the posts about your visitors being armed trespassers are correct and it DOES fall under the Sherrif's responsibility. THe Sherrif work for the Mayor... give the mayor a call. Catching the culprits is the only way you'll get anything done in court... weather its by you or by the law. Gates being put up, get pulled down. Camera's get stolen or broken. Spike strips/broken glass will get put under your vehicles in the middle of the night. These people are locals to you and know you and your property. Unfortunately there arent enough CPO's or sherrifs to go around to set up a sting. Best bet would be to discover them on your land, call the sherrif to report a armed trespasser and hope he gets there in time. Have you experienced them actually poaching? or just trespassing?

r/
Alex
 
curious if anyone has played with one of those green laser illuminators I think they are marketed by BSA... they can be used like a flash light, but I think also mounted on top of a scope & used to illuminate your field of view through a regular rifle scope
Click to expand...

They are basically a focussable green laser...ergo a very long range flashlight. They turn out to be problematic for hunting because contrary to their claims, the animals often are frightened by the light and run away. The other problem is that they don't work in cold weather. The company even suggested a patch of wrapping the light in chemical hand warmers which reports are that even then the lights don't always function when the temps drop below 50 and certainly when below freezing.

See links here...http://lmgtfy.com/?q=laser+genetics+nd3+problems+cold

On the Texas boars forum, people there who have used it say that it is no better than hitting the hogs with a spot light. They run and run fast.
 
I bought a more expensive Gen I scope, an ATN MK390 rifle scope for $500. It has resolution good enough to make out the presence of the squirrel cage underneath a feeder at 250 yards...when illuminated with an ir laser illuminator.
Click to expand...
+1 to the MK390. It is a superb Gen 1 optic. I have it on a 10/22, going to try and use it on rabbits. Makes a great nighttime plinker. Modified mine to take AA batteries. It's only major weakness is that the FOV is a bit narrow, but the resolution is good. Need to get a better illuminator.

Not all Gen 1 is trash, the cheap stuff is, but the higher end Gen 1 stuff can be quite good.

As for the game cameras, one could also get some of those 12 gauge blank noisemakers.

12 GA perimeter alarm

12_ga_alarm_ezr2.jpg


You can also easily make them from mousetraps, though of course check legality.
 
Another approach

wgungho,
I'm not sure I'd want to be present / chase after poachers, who clearly aren't going to abide by multiple laws by their actions. I submit there may be an alternative solution that addresses your concerns without putting you or family at risk.

I've bought a fair number of camera systems from www.supercircuits.com and www.securitycamerasdirect.com. Both offer cameras and systems that will operate in the NIR region (Near InfraRed). If you have or can get mains power, battery or otherwise/alternate power to the site(s) of interest, you can get a small system that includes a camera, an IR illuminator and a wireless transmitter for probably less than a handheld IR imager. You need to buy one of the more powerful illuminators, or place multiple illuminators such that they cover a larger field of view of the camera.

An advantage of this approach is you could see them without them seeing / shooting at you, allowing you to call law enforcement to handle the issue.
I have no interest in either company other than being a satisfied customer of both.

P.S. On the other hand, the company I work makes Internet / Network based weapons system platforms. Your choice of a manual and automatic engagement system, that supports your choice of a 30.06, 308, 20mm cannon / 50 cal. M2 / M240 grenade launcher / most any other kinetic device, letting you deal with the threat directly, well before law enforcement arrives ;)
 
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