If the plan is to make a "beater mono" then I'd try to find a used D300 monocular that has a bad tube or no tube as the price would probably be much less than a PVS-14 without a tube. Might even find a MUM 14 with a bad or no tube for less also. If the plan is to make a 'beater mono' for now and to find a Gen3 tube later then I'd get the PVS-14 tubeless kit.
If you don't want to go through the trouble of find a housing and getting it assembled there's a person on the Sioux Falls, IA Craiglist selling a D300 Gen2+ monocular with a TorchPro IR light for $600 which in my opinion isn't a bad deal. Just do a search on siouxfalls.craiglist.org for " Gen2+ Night Vision Monocular & IR Light - $600 (ruthven iowa)" and you'll find it. No affiliation with the seller just passing on info.