You have to admit that night vision is awesome. You have heard a lot of people say that they cannot use their air rifles without a night vision scope anymore. You cannot help but wonder how you are going to make your night vision scope too.
Purchasing night vision scopes can burn a hole in your pocket. They can be very expensive especially if you are going to purchase those that are manufactured and produced by popular brands. The expense may be too expensive for you especially if you would consider the type of setup that you want for your air rifle.
Creating Your Night Vision Scope
Are you aware that you can create your night vision scope? This is not as hard as you may be expecting. The plus side is that it is not going to be as expensive to make. There are different ways that you can make your night vision scope depending on the features that you are looking for and what your capabilities are.
Step #1: Prepare the Things You Need
Expect that there are going to be different things that you will need to make your night vision scope. You cannot expect that you can make it materialize out of thin air, right? Even a clip-on night vision scope should be purchased.
Now that you are making your own, these are the things that you have to prepare:
- Scope – This is what you are going to transform to have night vision capabilities.
- Camcorder – You need to use the smallest camcorder that you are going to find. If you do not have a camcorder, you can use a digital camera but a camcorder is the better option.
- Lens Adapter – Various types are available in the market. You need to find the one that will fit your lens.
- Tape – You do not need any special tape. You just need the normal regular tape that will work great for this project.
- Batteries – There are different types of batteries that you can use for your camcorder. Without batteries, your camcorder will not work as planned. You also need to prepare spare batteries so that you can just replace the batteries when they run out.
- Infrared Flashlight – The whole project will not work if you do not have the right flashlight. You cannot just choose a random flashlight. You need to look for the IR LED flashlight. Adjustable beams will be great too.
- Scope Ring – This is what you will use so that you can adjust the flashlight to the scope.
Step #2: Attach the lens adapter to the ocular lens.
Make sure that it fits properly. Once you are happy with how it fits, you can secure it with tape.
Step #3: Place the camcorder or the digital camera to the lens adapter.
If you want to be sure that you are doing things correctly, make sure to place them at the back portion of the scope. You can test if you have done things well by looking at the camcorder screen. Does it look like you are looking through a scope? If you answer yes, then you have done this step successfully. If not, you can make further adjustments.
Step #4: Test out what you have created.
Now is your chance to look at what you have created. You need to see if it works which means that you can start using it at night. The image that you will see on your camcorder should be clear. Other things that you should check are the following:
- Adjust the magnification
- Zoom in on the scope
- Adjust the light beam so that you can see a wider area. You can also check if the flashlight will be able to illuminate a bigger area.
Once you are happy with your night vision scope, you can start bringing it with you whenever you need it.
Some Commonly Asked Questions
Most people would need to do a lot of adjustments before they become happy with their night vision scope. These are some questions that you may also have about the scopes.
- Do I need a camera with night shooting capabilities?
Yes, you need a camera that comes with night shooting capabilities to help your scope function as a night vision scope. Cameras with night shooting capabilities will be able to work because of their built-in technology. If you use one that does not have this, then it will not work.
- What if I would just use my infrared flashlight?
Your scope will not work if you would just use your infrared flashlight. IR light cannot be detected by the naked eye. You will always need special equipment to make your normal scope function as a night vision scope.
- Can I still use my scope during the daytime?
Yes, you can still use your scope during the daytime. All you have to do is to remove the things that you have attached. Just remember that if you would place it back again, you may need to do some adjustments again to make it work properly.
Conclusion
Based on the things that are mentioned above, do you think that creating your night vision scope is easy? The most important thing is you will have all the right materials to make this project happen. Do not forget to adjust until you are happy with the results that you are getting.
