How To Choose A Night Vision Scope For Hog Hunting

Depending on where you live in the country, hog hunting may be a hobby, a source of food, or a necessity. Without a doubt hogs are among the most destructive animals on local habitats, causing damage to indigenous wildlife, native plants, and crops. They are also well loved as a source of food and can be a fun and challenging hunt.
If you talk to any experienced hog hunter, they will tell you night is the time to take these beasts. This has led many areas to lift daylight hunting restrictions to better control hog populations. The classic way to accomplish this has been spotlighting but this is far from the most effective method. For that, you need a good night vision scope.

Just a few years ago this was a very expensive proposition but with increases in technology and availability, night vision has become more affordable than ever. This means hog hunting is becoming more effective and more exciting for those just getting into the sport.

If you are interested in getting your start, his is a brief primer to help you pick the right scope for your needs and location.

Technology
When we discuss the technology of night vision, we are referring to how the device works. There are two different types: Traditional night vision and digital night vision. They each have their strengths and weaknesses and work in different ways.

Without going into a long spiel about the mechanics, traditional night vision uses a sensor that picks up the faintest ambient light. It converts this to electric impulses which can be amplified and projected on a cathode display.

This is the type of night vision that is represented by generations. Currently there are 4 generations, the best of which seems to be Gen 3 at the moment. As you increase generations, the price can go up by huge jumps with Gen 1 costing less than $1000.00 and Gen 3 running up to the $10,000 mark.

Traditional night vision excels in detection range and optical quality. Even a Gen 1 has good range and with modern scopes, it can pick up fine details. If you simply want the best regardless of price or are a collector of military hardware, this is the technology you want.

Digital night vision is the newer technology though that doesn’t mean better. Rather than amplifying only faint, visible light, it uses light from the near-IR spectrum. Otherwise, it works like as standard camera would work. This means it is usable day or night.

There are no generations in digital night vision. The difference in detection range and resolution is controlled by the camera and display. When it comes to cost, even a very high resolution model with a ton of extra features can be had for around the $1000.00 mark with some cheaper models running just a few hundred dollars.
The strength of this technology is mostly the lower price point. It is also much easier to add extra features to these optics and battery life is often much better. For most consumers of night vision, this is the technology to look for.

Magnification
Hog hunting at night is challenging so we will assume anyone who is engaging in this activity is an experienced hunter or has an experienced hunter to advise them. This is the best way to determine the scope magnification needs in your region. If you are in Texas, it is flat and open calling for a more powerful optic. In the Eastern woodlands, shots are often much closer and you can get by with less.

With that in mind, traditional night vision usually has a lower magnification range, rarely exceeding 10x. For digital night vision, some models go as high as 40x. You do need to be cautious with the digital scopes as much of their magnification is basically camera zoom. This can cause issues with resolution if you are at a very high resolution making targets hard to see.

If you have no other advice to go with, you can get a digital scope with very high magnification and scale that back to meet your needs. That is one of the main strengths of a variable power optic.

Extras
For this, we will mostly be ignoring traditional night vision, it usually has no extras. This is the world of digital night vision.

Video Recording
Most digital scopes have some form of video capture. The best scopes have video capture that is tied to the recoil of your rifle so it turns on the instant you pull the trigger. While this is mostly a novelty, it has become very popular. If you want to preserve a hunting trip or share it with friends, this is an amazing technology. You can find dozens of videos of hunts on Youtube and other media that was filmed in this way.

Streaming
Much like recording, most higher end scopes can cast video from the scope to a smart device. I consider this less of a novelty. Most people use this to have a spotter that is seeing exactly the same image you are thought the scope. What I believe is the most useful aspect of this technology is the ability to set your rifle on your target area and then sit back and relax. You can watch your phone or tablet until targets begin to show up. Some use Bluetooth but most are using wi-fi streaming.

Smart Scopes
There is one company, ATN, that makes a night vision scope that can do about everything. Included in this is a ballistic calculator and rangefinder. With these combined, it makes shooting at range a much easier task.

With this technology, you enter the data in a smart phone app or computer program for your specific load or use one of the presets for common commercial loads. When you sight a target, a single button press will range the target and use its calculations to automatically adjust for bullet drop. Even if you aren’t hog hunting, you need to experience this technology. It is simply amazing.

There are other brands that have similar setups but so far ATN has proven to be the best.

Conclusion
With a growing problem with feral hogs around the country, we need to encourage more hunters to take up this sport. Its challenging but that is why we are hunters. All you need is a good rifle and a decent night vision scope. From there, its all the excitement you can handle. Hopefully this article goes a short way to helping you decide on what scope choice is most appropriate for your needs.

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Author Bio: McKinley Downing is an avid shooter & firearms instructor. He shoots, hunts and is a patriot in the sense that he enjoys pissing off gun grabbers and an anti-hunters. He has worked with and around firearms for several years, and enjoys talking to anyone interested in learning more about firearms and their 2nd Amendment rights. He currently writes for several online outlets on the use of guns, scopes and ammunition.