Night Vision Devices
About Night Vision Devices You Need to Know
When I first joined the Army, my unit was still using the old “Starlight” style rifle scopes for night vision. That was a long time ago. During my first tour we got Night Vision Goggles and it opened up a whole new world, in a manner of speaking. Being able to see, and operate in the dark is an essential fighting skill. At California Tactical Academy, we recently ran a low light/no light class featuring the tactical use of flashlights to address and solve shooting problems. We teach this class because most people don’t have night vision goggles. Night vision devices make an amazing difference in every aspect of low light and no light operations.
Night vision devices work in one of two ways. Either through thermal imaging, by amplifying heat signatures to create a “picture” of an object based on the heat it is putting out, and light amplification, which uses ambient light. The thermal imaging is an excellent way to locate a living creature in low light. However, thermal imaging does not differentiate between tow like sized and shaped heat sources. For example, if you were hunting wild boar in low light, and shot one, if it ran into brush where other wild boar were hiding, you could not see which boar was the injured animal. You would only be able to see there are boar (or boar like heat sources) hiding in the bush.
With light amplification, you can see the actual person and identify specific characteristics. The original Starlight scopes were blurry and produced a mediocre image. The viewer would be able to see a human, but beyond that, and particularly at distance, other details were tricky. With today’s light amplification night vision devices, one can see as well as they might in full daylight.
On my former SWAT team we used state of the art night vision devices and they proved to be an excellent method of not just locating targets, but also navigating and moving within darkened buildings without having to use a light source.
Night Vision Devices for Complete navigation, surveillance and targeting
Night Vision Devices were once the subject of spy novels or specialized military units. Now they are well within the reach of any security company, law enforcement, or even the well-prepared home owner. Imagine the home owner who responds to a crash in the night by donning his goggles and searching his house in complete darkness. The tactical advantage is huge. Night vision for Hunting
Security Pro USA carries a full line of Night Vision Devices. While some represent a notable investment, others are priced within the range of many homeowners. For about what a well-equipped AR-15, with quality optics might run, a homeowner can now turn darkness into night and into his advantage. Because, half our day is dark. And being able to work in the environment is a tremendous advantage.
About the writer
Mike Lazarus
Military and Law Enforcement Veteran
FBI certified firearm instructor
MP5 and Sub Machine gun instructor
Defensive tactics instructor
0 comments