Being able to fight well at night as well as being able to make a potential stealthier bug out at night is a definite plus.

Being able to positively identify friend from foe while pulling security around your retreat or homestead is a huge plus.

All that being said, it's important to know how to operate at night WITHOUT NV also. I know that's odd coming from a guy that sells night vision, but it's true.

Like anything survival related, you have to know how to go about without it as well. It will greatly augment any and all skills you currently have. You will need to spend some time training with your NV just like your fighting rifle and other gear. Besides, it's fun to be out at night

If anyone has any questions related to this sort of thing, feel free to post them or email me.

interesting

A lot of people when they buy a 14 assume they will weapons mount the unit and run it that way.

After TRAINING with the unit or even just spending a fair amount of time hunting with one set up that way, most folks end up head or helmet mounting the 14 and putting an IR laser on the rifle as the aiming point for the NV.

As far as the IR signature goes when using an IR laser, consider that you are never going to totally erase your target signature at night.

30 years ago one of the old SF guys that trained us took us out one night and put the small little cyalume sticks that people used to use for fishing on some targets. We had to learn to shoot them with iron sights. Someone asked them "what's the purpose of the cyalume stick?" He answered that it was to simulate a muzzle flash. When their was absolutely no other input, that's what you trained to shoot at.

Proper use of an IR laser is pressing the switch, taking the shot and immediately releasing the switch. Ideally if possible you would move a bit also (muzzle flash still being a potential target indicator).

Further- when a 14 is weapons mounted, it's now for the time being "married" to the rifle. This means every time you want to get a "look" around via the NV, you have to raise the rifle, hold it up and turn your whole body. When it's head or helmet mounted you can keep your muzzle in a safe direction (not potentially flagging teammates via swinging the weapon) while turning just your head to get a "look" around.

Less arm fatigue, less potential safety issues.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Good points.

Most of us have "more than a few" extra rifles, most of which will likely never see the light of day if something bad ever happens. I've talked to dozens upon dozens of people that sold extra equipment to pay for their NV purchases.

That advice is almost sacrilege to the "collector" but as survivalists, we should be USING and training with our equipment, not just collecting it.

NVDs are what the Military calls a "force multiplier".  Used properly, and by that I mean intelligently, such a device might make the difference between life and death in certain situations.  As with any such technical aid, one should make a point of training in its' use.  NVDs are not something one can don, turn on, and then proceed full speed ahead.  There is definitely a learning curve to using NVDs, and intelligent users will practice with them before they are needed for serious social interaction.

In the same (albeit less expensive) vein, I would consider body armor a force multiplier.

But more important than all the above is good fieldcraft skills, and good marksmanship.  These skills are learned, and there are plenty of ways to acquire such skills.

So, in direct answer to OP's question, Yes, NVDs can be a game-changing tool, but there are any number of things to acquire/learn first. 

$450. a month X 24= $10,800. ?

Makes more sense now :)

Keep in mind shooting is just one skill you will need to be able to do while operating NV. But it is the one most people seem the most hung up on. So-

If going head or helmet mounted, most right handed shooters will run the 14 over the LEFT eye. Seems backwards but just keep reading....

The IR laser is mounted on the rifle. Rifle is carried at normal patrol carry relaxed type position until needed to shoot. Note that if you weapons mounted the 14, the NV would only be viewable with the rifle up in the shoulder pocket. This means arm fatigue issues after doing it for a while. Especially if you:
A. Aren't used to that for long periods of time.
B. Have a heavy rifle
C. Have a lot of extra bells and whistles on your rifle- optics, lights, tactical cowbell, luggage wheel, etc.

Some things you can do to get better with that. Hold your rifle out in front of you one handed like a pistol, extended in front of your body. Watch the clock. After a minute or two, switch hands and do the same with the left.

Suffice to say most of us will probably only be able to last about a minute or so like that and then have to switch hands. That exercise can also help show you how balanced your rifle is as well.

Back to NV-

So the head or helmet mounted way to go saves on arm fatigue but also makes it safer working around other people. Say you and Joe, Bob and Harry are out checking out the neighborhood. You have your 14 weapons mounted and have to have the rifle up to your shoulder to view it. You hear or sense something to the left and quickly scan that way with the NV (rifle attached), you just muzzle swept Bob.

In same scenario if you were head or helmet mounted you would have turned your head to look, the way God designed your body to work. Then when you saw the threat you could have -head, body, weapon- responded to the threat without sweeping Bob.

As far as shooting with NV in this manner.

The one thing you DON'T want to try to do, that rarely works out, if to head or helmet mount the NV and then try to line that up (on your head remember) with the optic on your rifle (think ACOG, Aimpoint, etc.)   It's possible to do this, but not very PRACTICAL.

Instead your using the IR laser as the aiming point. Most people will find that they don't "turkey neck" as much, instead keeping the head more erect versus cranked over to the side. Some folks will find that a less than optimal shoulder mount will also help this as well. Since your using the IR laser as the aiming point, this less than optimal shoulder position is rarely an issue. Your head up versus cranked over lends itself to better situational awareness as well- where exactly is Bob? Is he moving? Is he on my left?

It this sort of arrangement the way to go for say 400 and 500 yard shooting? Perhaps not. But considering PID issues, how many of us are really going to be shooting that far? If you need to shoot that far, a dedicated NV scope might be a better choice. But for moving around, shooting within 200 yards, etc. I would definitely go with a 14 and an IR laser.


Two tubes or one?

A lot of this is personal preference but consider this. After about 45 minutes or so under NV, your brain can get a bit of a "fog" going (for lack of a better term). I've found that that seems to be the optimal time to flip the 14 up and go without for 10 minutes or so and let my brain clear. When it's mounted over my left eye and I flip it up, I still have my God given night vision in my right eye- as well as my ACOG to sight with. If you were running a PVS7 or another device wherein both eyes are in the "green glow" then you could be without a lot of natural night vision when you took this sensory break.

That's not saying dual tube units suck, they don't. Quite the contrary if you were running something like a BNVD you could alternate eyes during the sensory break. Or you could just deal with during that time period.

A Wilcox amber filter really helps make the view of the screen less "harsh." That can help with the brain fog also.

Like JKM said shooting with them isn't really any super spectacular hard to learn skill. But like anything else it requires some training and practice. In general if your fundamentals are good during the day, they will typically be similar at night. If you have to look where your magazines are during a change during the day, it's going to be that much tougher at night.