Hunting hogs with night vision, a machine gun, and a suppressor
Alex C. 06.18.13
Here in Texas it’s open season on hogs 365 days a year, all day, and, most importantly, all night. I have yet to have much luck hunting pigs when the sun is beating down, and believe me I have walked many hectares of land with a rifle on my shoulder, a pistol on my hip, and snake boots on my feet. I usually end up coming back to camp with nothing to show for my efforts but sweat-soaked clothes and a bad attitude. I didn’t start consistently bringing home the bacon until a good friend of mine showed me a game-changer that I had never really considered before: night vision equipment.
To a hog hunter, night vision equipment is as important as the optic or the sights on your firearm, and the price of this gear has dropped significantly over the last few years. For example, I picked up this AN/PVS-7b for $1,800 from a local night vision dealer because it’s what is known as a “blem” unit.
Goggles are great because they allow you to comfortably identify targets from far away, and you can easily drive with them. I have a Jeep Wrangler that I use on my lease, and when I’m hunting for hogs I turn all the lights off, hit the built-in infrared illumination on these bad boys, and drive as quietly as possible with assistance from a head mount:
As I mentioned earlier, this is a blem unit, but it is generation 3 (the latest and greatest generation on the market). A blem unit will typically have a few pixels out, but because of this the price drops significantly. I tried to take a photo through the unit but it is quite difficult. This was taken in my living room at night with the place as dark as possible:
