Folks, please humor me in settling a debate.

For those who actually shoot steels in the dark using NV on a regular basis, which color do you find easier to see, white or black?

Thanks for your participation.

YouForgotThe I Like Pie Option

Everybody likes Pie, so that option would be superfluous.

Simple answer is White

Your poll is lacking some info however. What NV setup are you using to engage said steel?
As you know black stands out very well in NV but white works best for shooting. Background color of course plays a role in how well your target stands out.
Here is an example of why NV setup plays a role, lets say your using a Clip On with a day scope with black reticle than black steel will not be your friend, white would be preferable.

All of my steel in my yard is white but the distances are limited 25-75 yards.
Impact marks stand out on white steel with repeated hits if distance is reasonable, not so on black steel. I also find it easier to pick center mass on white steel

I was engaging white steel at a friends over the July 4th holiday @ distances between ~50-75 yards. I was using my PVS 14 inconjuntion with suppressed Ruger 22/45's which were equiped with IR lasers and their was no issue at all.

We shoot 100-300y with various devices, but mostly D-740s and IR lasers.  With a dirt berm backstop, black is by far better than white.  As far as seeing the hits, it is pretty self evident in the dark.  Since suppressors are required for night shooting at the range we use, hearing the hits is pretty self evident as well, albeit with a time delay particularly at the longer distances.

Thanks for your input.

In my experience, black is much easier to see with my I2 NVG.

When I use my pvs-14 behind a dayscope the white is great.  I've never tried black before, it would seem that it wouldn't stick out...  there again since I've never tried it I can't write it off.  I'll try black next week.

As we have no hogs in the NE night hunting is NADA during the summer so I decided to use this night for an experiment.
I set some plates out on my lawn at 30 yards.

Take note of the two green plates. I did not have any Tan/FDE  paint


My apologies in advance for the less than stellar NV photos but as we all know taking pictures through a NV device is not easy.
Clear skys so stars but no moon

Here is a picture through the Olympus SP-57OUZ but to the naked eye you could navigate


Taken with an ITT PVS14

PVS14 zoomed in with the camera
Take note of the green plates-they pretty much vanish  


Going to end this post here as I do not want to have a computer issue and lose my work.
I will post some pictures through the 740 with and without IR.

Ok here are a few using the same camera but through the Gen 3 740.
As you can see trying to get the camera lined up with the scope while getting the rubber eyepiece on the scope to compress just right is a bitch

740 with IR illumination from a Surefire 6P


740 with no IR cross hair on low setting
Again notice the green plate second from left.


740 with no IR Crosshair on Hi setting
In this one the black plates are not as visible as the whites


I tried to do this with the Gen 3 VisionMaster 2-10x56 Day/Night scope but dealing with the rubber eyepiece on it was impossible so I gave up.

This is certainly not a scientific undertaking and the quality of the photos leave alot to be desired but again, in "my" opinion given the yardage and given
the background I think white stands out better.

In a previous post I spoke about being able to find center mass on white better than black and Muderman spoke of the sound of hitting steel which I perfectly understand
but my point was I want to hit the center of my target, like hitting a bullseye. The clang on steel just means you hit it but it does not mean you neccessarily put the best hit on it.
Hitting an IPSC steel target on a lower edge will get you a clang but not a quote unquote kill.

CTM, you are a sick individual, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible!  

The non-IR 14 images seem to indicate black having the greater contrast, which is consistent with my experience.  The IR illuminated images demonstrate the greater reflectivity of white, but the differential is not consistent with my experience at longer ranges.  Maybe it is the intensity of the IR which makes the difference?

Nice images!

Sick I like sick
Maybe my eyes are damaged in some way that I am not seeing, perhaps from starring into all those IR lasers when I was testing for function

What I do know is that from now on when I am out night hunting I am painting myself in a light shade of green instead of tan

Now put down the mouse and go kill some bacon

Contrast

so it really depends upon the background or backstop.

It has always been easier for me to pickout people dressed in black moving across a field than those wearing fabrics that appear with the same or similar densities as the surrounding fields of foliage.

great question

I may not be able to control the ebb and flow of the Atlantic tides, the drift of the continents, the very position of the sun along its ecliptic, but I can control the color of my targets, all targets

With an illuminator or IR laser, it about more than color.  I have several  white steel targets out at 165 yards. While all look roughly the same in the daylight  but there is a massive difference under IR illumination and my PVS-14

It depends on your current light conditions and the contrast of your background.

In all situations, illumination with an IR source helps.
I have also found that if you're not trying to use "tactical-realistic" targets painting an outline of a contrasting color also helps.

I shoot in the desert and I use steel circles; painted black first, then I drop a smaller circle over it and then hit it with some white for the edges.

I love this place. You ask for something and sooner or later someone will post a more detailed response than we could have hoped for.





You are the man CTM1.