An introduction to shooting with night vision

This article originally appeared on The Firearm Blog.

Night vision for civilians used to be exorbitantly expensive, if not prohibited in some places. However, as technology has improved, the devices have gotten to a point where civilians can now afford very decent night vision devices at a price that you don’t have to take a second mortgage out on. In this episode, we break down some myths and talk about some of the practical lessons that are important to take into account when looking at night vision devices. But more importantly, we look at the ability to actually engage a target through while donning night vision and how to best go about it.

Although it appears as simple as turning night into day through the use of a device, there is much more involved to the ability to not only see at night, but also to shoot accurately. Lasers cause blooming effects that can obscure targets, gear mounted on rifles can get in the way of manipulating them during malfunctions. Even the presence of outside lights during the shooting can drastically affect the performance of the devices themselves.