I've been thinking of setting up a shotgun for use with night vision but I have some concerns.

I'm not sure if a laser can survive the recoil, or if a PVS-14 can properly function with the flash.

I had a CQBL-1 in mind for this.  Would this laser tolerate the recoil on gas operated shotgun?  What about a pump?

I've read that excessive muzzle flash decreases the life of night vision optics.  I looked up videos of shotgun muzzle flash, but they were inconclusive as there were some that showed a lot of flash, some that showed very little flash, and none with any indication as to what load was being used.  I'm not even sure how much flash is too much with regards to PVS-14s, but if it's too much out of a shotgun I would like to know.  Lifespan aside, could I even fire a shot without causing my PVS-14 to shut off?

Loads will mostly be high brass birdshot, followed by a modest amount of buckshot, and then the occasional slug.  They will all be 2 3/4" length, but I'm curious if a gas operated shotgun can adequately tame 3" shells for this purpose.  It's my understanding that fancier defense loads are recoil and flash controlled - would I have to stick with these to ensure my NV equipment doesn't get damaged?

I've done this and had a few oh sh*t moments with pigs running around my feets.

1. Smoke is a problem.  Especially if there is an illuminator in the mix.  Its not so bad on windy nights and maybe there are some loads that produce less smoke.  On occasion, I've had to do a shoot and then side step move to get out of my own cloud of smoke.
2. Recoil is a problem. Make sure your helmet and mount are well secured, it wobbles them around quite a bit and can skew your helmet a bit.

I totally forgot about smoke.

How many shots does it take to produce a bad enough smoke cloud?

Your video makes it look like being on the move helps avoid it.

Now that was weird, but cool.

I've had an "Oh sh*t I can't see" moment after the first round.  

If it is dark enough to have to run IR and you put a smoke cloud 2 feet in front of your IR, it illuminates the smoke and then your autogain kicks in and the background gets dark real fast.

Heh, yay, that's great, yay.

funny stuff

Hey, don't make fun of my APITAL equipped spear. I need to see where that bitch is going!

I've got a CQBL on my Atl-Atl, fits the range profile nicely...