Night Vision Monocular legal?

[x_ray]

May be an old question. Are Night Vision Monoculars legal in California? Won't be attached to a firearm.

Thanks

[x_ray]

Got rats in the fruit trees, using an air rifle to pick them off. Night vision would be helpful. I know that night vision scopes are illegal. Are night vision monoculars illegal? Considering a ATN Gen.1 Night Vision Monocular.

[gunnerstuff]

Night vision is fine as long as it does not actively project/emit/illuminate the target. There has been some discussion as to what if the illuminator is hand held. Not sure about that configuration.

[OpticsPlanet]

I think the law is that you cannot have a IR illuminator or designator that is attched to the NV unit. I know we can only sell NV scopes to California that do not have the IR built into the unit. Someone may want to verify that though.

Trevor B.

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Yes night vision (passive "starlight" image intensification) is 100% legal in CA. IR night scopes (active) are also legal, as long as it doesn't have a reticle.

You can legally mount any passive starlight or even thermal imaging scope with a reticle on a weapon. There are restrictions about hunting during darkness with night vision & other light sources. Check out the Fish & Game codes for that. IDK the details, as I don't hunt. Here's a short list of a few legal night vision scopes with a reticle: AN/PVS-1, 2 & 3 (all 1st gen) & the AN/PVS-4 (2nd gen). Most 3rd gen scopes don't use a reticle, as they are meant to use an external aiming system. The AN/PVS-14 is 3rd gen & also works as a great mono, or helmet mount. They are not cheap though.

You can also legally mount an older IR night scope without a reticle to a weapon. The WWII & Korean War T-2/3 Carbine "sniper scope" or the Vietnam war AN/PAS-4 would need the reticle removed to use or to own in CA. They did make a handheld version without the reticle called the "snooper scope". A later hand held much smaller version called the AN/PAS-6 "metascope" was made around the Vietnam war & works great. The IR flashlight part is junk though. The cheap IR LED flashlights on Ebay work great for close up viewing. You can also buy IR filters for spotlights or headlights. You can also find the AN/PVS-5 binoculars for cheap. They work great for tactical driving at night in restricted areas. The AN/PVS-5A is the same system, but with 2nd gen night vision tubes instead of the IR ones. You can also find a lot of WWII era US Naval IR scopes & stuff on Ebay for cheap.

Depending on your budget, you should get a rifle scope that can be aimed. The 1st gen scopes, other than the hard to find "mini AN/PVS-3, are pretty big & heavy to mount on a air rifle. The PVS-4 is not much better & not that much of an improvement for close range IMO. You may be able to find a SC/PVS-300 (cut down PVS-3 with 2nd tube) for a good price. They have good optics & are small enough to mount on an air rifle. The AN/PVS-5 with a spotlight would let you use the rifle sights & if you used a tripod for the spotlight, it would be hands free.

[Nitehog]

Yes night vision (passive "starlight" image intensification) is 100% legal in CA. IR night scopes (active) are also legal, as long as it doesn't have a reticle.

You can legally mount any passive starlight or even thermal imaging scope with a reticle on a weapon. There are restrictions about hunting during darkness with night vision & other light sources. Check out the Fish & Game codes for that. IDK the details, as I don't hunt. Here's a short list of a few legal night vision scopes with a reticle: AN/PVS-1, 2 & 3 (all 1st gen) & the AN/PVS-4 (2nd gen). Most 3rd gen scopes don't use a reticle, as they are meant to use an external aiming system. The AN/PVS-14 is 3rd gen & also works as a great mono, or helmet mount. They are not cheap though.
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Thanks for the info on the legality of NV in CA, I have been curious about this for quite some time.

To the OP: As with anything buy cheap, buy twice. It may be hard to put down the cash for a quality Gen 3 system now but it is truly worthwhile to save up and hold out until you have funds to do so. Totally understand if that is just not in your price range and that is why we offer gen 1 and gen 2 systems that we have personally tested and are willing to sell to our customers.

We have a great price on the PVS-4, and also offer Gen 3 systems with reticles or clip on night vision devices that have no reticle that would mount in front of your day scope. There are a lot of options for your specific use and price range.

Feel free to PM me or give us a call at 972-213-0162 to talk shop on anything night vision/thermal. Do you research and get the facts, there is a lot of BS out there on night vision.

[Chaparral]

ran a PVS 4 with a new intensifier tube on a Benjamin pump rifle. 2 pumps and a flat pellet would take care of the rats. I machined a custom Picatinny rail to go atop the old style weaver mounts that fit atop the barrel and tube.

The thing was very unwieldy and the parallax was horrendous as was the focusing and ranging but I dialed everything in for 20 feet and was able to get rid of several hundred rats over the course of maybe 3 years or so it was worthwhile. I used a thermal imager to locate them in the trees and a hungry beagle for dead rat disposal.

I just stuck a Trijicon Tri Power on the thing with a PVS-14 on a J-arm behind it. Haven't gotten any safe shots yet because I took out all the Ivy where the rats used to congregate. I have it dialed in at the same 20 feet.

I absolutely reccomend a PVS-14. There are attachments where you can stick them on almost any scope. There used to be an outfit called "High Tech Redneck" that produces them. SightOwl out of Michigan might also have them.