How to Make a Night Vision Scope for an Air Rifle
[Step-By-Step Guide]
Hunting or shooting at night has different excitement and thrill. No hunter will want to limit his hunting until day time. But in the night hours, spotting your target is not easy for the human eye as the light is less. This is when night vision scopes come to your rescue. In the past, getting a night vision scope was tough. Also, a night vision scope can be quite expensive. When you have to add it to an air rifle, that can be a pretty big hit to your bank account.
What if you can make your night vision scope? It is an easy and cheaper option. Thus, you don’t have to miss any night shooting adventures. (Funny story. We once had a family of skunks take up residence under the house, and this would have helped if I had known about it at the time) There are many ways to make night vision scopes on your own. Let’s discuss the most straightforward method to make a night vision scope that won’t affect your pocket.
Key requirements
There are some essential items required to make a night vision riflescope for an air rifle. These things will help you make a night vision scope that will serve your purpose without disturbing your budget. The things you should have are as follows:
Digital Camera or Camcorder
Since the camcorder is smaller than a digital camera, it is more preferred because the camcorder’s smaller size will make it convenient to handle. If you are going for some digital cameras, choose one that can work well in low light conditions. The digital camera’s advantage is that you can get it at any store nearby and in a reasonable price range.
Your Scope
Having a scope and a rifle is mandatory. You are not building a night vision scope independently. It must attach to your area.
Lens Adapter
Camcorder and scope lenses are to be fit together. For that, you need a lens adapter of your lens size. Some people use rubber coupling for the attachment, but still, a lens adapter is preferred. You can get any Lens adapter of your choice that serves your purpose.
Infrared Flashlight
For a night shooting endeavor, you should have an IR LED flashlight with an adjustable beam. The flashlight is vital to make the entire project possible.
Batteries
Your entire night shooting project can be ruined if your camera’s battery life expires and you don’t have a battery as a backup. Thus, you should carry extra batteries with you to charge up your camera whenever required. Also, it would be best if you spared some of the batteries for the IR flashlight too.
Tape
When you have to attach the lenses, that is the time to get the tape out of your bag. Anything like duct tape or aluminum tape would work as attaching the lens is the only purpose. To make the entire setup more robust, you can use black electrical tape.
Scope Ring
This is an attachment to connect the flashlight with the scope.
Steps: How to make a night vision scope for Air rifle?
Once you have gathered all the essentials, you can start making the night vision scope for Air rifle. The entire process will take a few minutes so that the night vision scope can fulfill your purpose and perform well. Let’s get started.
Step One: Attach the Lens Adapter
You have to attach the lens adapter to the ocular lens of your scope. Attach both the lenses such that they work as a single unit. Further, secure them with a tape of your choice and make sure they stay intact. This process will not take much of your time.
Step two: Attach the Camcorder.
You should now attach the camcorder along with the lens adapter at the back of the scope. To see the target on the camcorder screen, you need to make sure that lenses are perfectly aligned. Now, your camcorder scope is ready. Make sure you can see images distinctly by adjusting the magnification. Alter the magnification a few times to be sure that you can see the images through the scope just like you would see them usually.
Step three: Attach the Infrared Flashlight.
The next step lined up is to attach the flashlight to the scope. The flashlight is going to show the path during the dark, thereby enhancing your night shooting capabilities. After done with the attachment experiment with the flashlight and its intensity. This will give you a clear idea of how the IR light can help you view certain objects through the night lens. Don’t forget to ensure that the flashlight is aligned with the scope precisely. Thus, the light will focus only on the target you want to see.
Step four: The Night Vision Scope Test
Once you think you have attached everything in a precise manner, you should check your night vision scope. You can’t be sure about the night vision scope until you test it in the actual environment. While testing keenly, observe that the camcorder screen’s image is as clear and crisp as possible. You can achieve this by adjusting the magnification of the camcorder and the scope.
Make sure that the flashlight clears your vision more during the night hours. Also, while you adjust the flashlight beam, you should have a picture of the area you want the scope to cover and make sure that the scope covers the same. Also, test your rifle abilities by shooting for various distances such that you don’t miss any of the targets while using the night vision scope. Thus, make sure you have a night vision device with enhanced performance.
Working with What You Have
To make your own night vision scope is not an expensive and complicated task. However, you need to gather some essentials. Further, you have to put them together. Lastly, test if the night vision scope enhances your night shooting capabilities. There are many ways to make a night vision scope. We have mentioned the one we found the best, easy, straightforward, and is definitely going to save dollars for you. Let us know how you made your own night vision scope for an air rifle and share your experience about the same. Also, you may need to adjust your scope again after a project like this. We’ve put together a page about how to sight in a rifle scope here, and you should be able to follow it for a setup like this, too. Have fun.
