Every night vision and thermal device that I have ever owned or sold are imperfect solutions, with lots of compromise along the way. Thermal viewers do not really show the difference between a hog, calf, dog or coyote you can see a heat signature but 100% target id is suspect at best. A hog standing in the middle of a open field at 100 yards is about a 50% id other heat signatures are less. Plenty of other animals have been killed by careless shots on what looked like a hogs. Some of the popular U-Tube hog hunters have shot the wrong species and had land owners throw them out.
Option 1 PVS-14 mounted on a M69 mount
I agree with the post above suggesting the PVS-14 mounted behind a Aimpoint, Eotech, RMR or a 4 x or so scope. I personally use this option on one of my guns. This gives you a duel use night vision device by using a quick release lever style M69 mount about $270.00. A PVS-14 from a quality supplier should run $3200.00 to $4000.00 I recommend US Night Vision or TNVC I sell devices from both, the mark up is very low you can buy direct from both. I think TNVC offers a 5 year warranty on the tube.
Option 2 fixed night vision scopes
TNVC had a killer deal on refurbished units last year I got several people who were looking for night vision to purchase Raptor style scopes from them, these units looked like brand new units. For a dedicated scope the Raptor style In my opinion is the best there is, you get what you pay for. There are refurbished units out there be careful who you buy it from, stolen government property is a bad idea an agent from Uncle Sam might come and take it from you.
Option 3 front mounted or clip on night vision
The night vision device mounted in front of the scope is a most expensive option and it is less flexible, the PVS-22, PVS-24 require the scope mount to match the device. The scope needs to have 1x up to 6x more than this tend to get pixilated. I have one of these on my wife's rifle 1 to 6x scope, in 300 blackout. I am going to replace it with a 4x Raptor.
Option 4
So called digital night vision is nothing other than a low-light tv camera with illumination. Ok for hunting up close but totally useless in a long range or tactical situation. Someone makes a mount for an IPhone for less than $100 that works better than some of the stuff i see people buy.
There is something to keep in mind when you are comparing night vision devices.
There are about 10 or 12 days a month that night vision works great. About a week when it hardly works at all and 3 or 4 days on each end of that week that it works just ok. Overcast and clouds can turn wonderful conditions into terrible conditions instantly.
The full moon combined with a Raptor style scope is incredible most people that see this can not believe it almost like daytime.
The IR laser mounted on your gun is another option with a PVS-14 that is mounted on a helmet there are several civilian legal ones at very reasonable prices, good out to 200 to 300 yards. The military IR lasers tend to over power the night vision device at useful ranges.
From a tactical point of view all thermal and night vision are totally passive, as soon as you turn on illumination or a laser you become a beacon. (does not include digital night vision)
