Night vision is my main business. I used to work for GSCI before going out on my own so I know what is available and what is or not so usable. The biggest problem with most of the night vision rifle "scopes" is the great huge ugly dot and thick lines they call a reticle. Most come in 3, 4 and 7 x, some have decent glass, some not so much. ALMOST all NV scopes housing in Canada are Russian made and are very solid. I have dozens in use with private contractors in the sandbox and have not had one come back that wasn't totally abused by a National (and believe me, I have seen stuff cut off monoculars with side cutters). Most like the 3 and 4 power units.
Having said all that, the most important consideration is the IIT (image intensifier tube), a great scope with a crappy tube is a crappy tool. Good tubes are NOT inexpensive so you have to decide what your budget is. Another thing to consider is, unless you can pay the big bucks for a CNVD, you have to take the scope on and off to switch with your daytime optics, not very condusive to holding zero. There is one where you change out the tailpiece (one has the tube in it, the other for daytime use) leaving the housing in place but it is very sensitive to focus change on the tail and its ability to hold zero is suspect (IMHO).
There is US made gear that will outshine the Russian stuff, best scopes are by L-3 but getting them here is another story.
If you just want to sightsee, I would suggest just getting a monocular with a 5x mag lens. Less money, far more useful. You can also use a monocular behind (Focul side) a Vortex Sparc or Strikefire or MOST other Eotech sights. Feel free to contact me if you have anymore questions or would like some pricing. There are some deals to be had, you just have to know what to ask for and one of the ways is to get a grade "B" spotty tube. It will have a few cosmetic imperfections on the glass that are visible when viewed during the day through the sunshade but completely disappear at night. You can often get a tube with higher resolution than a standard grade "A" tube for less money.
J
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