Airgun Hunter: Silent and Stealthy

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Last updated: 20/11/2017

Review
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Night vision (NV) is one of the most useful tools for hunting and pest control. My first experience was with the Nite Site NS50. It was about two years ago when a friend loaned it to me, when he upgraded to the NS200. I soon got the hang of shooting with my head in an upright position and the rats on the chicken coup certainly didn’t like it. The only thing that I struggled with was range finding. It was next to impossible to gauge distance using the little screen. I carried on using this older unit for a few months until Nite Site kindly sent me the brand new Wolf R-Tek and rangefinder to test, which has made hunting at night so much easier.

Little things

Over time, I have found little things that really help make a night shoot easier, more efficient and ultimately more successful. I was due to go and visit a local golf course with the NV; their greens were suffering, so I wanted to see if I could put a dent in the rabbit population. I had recently been focusing my efforts on daytime shooting, more trying to get the squirrels under control at the pheasant shoot ready for when the poults arrive.

As I felt my ‘night game’ might be a little rusty, a few nights before I was due to visit the golf club, I drove down to the farm, just to get warmed up and to make sure all the gear was working as it should. I took my Air Arms S200, which is by far the cheapest rifle I have ever bought. Second hand I paid £225 and for that I dropped on one hell of a gun. The accuracy is astounding and possibly equals that of my Air Arms EV2. The only issue is that it is a single shot, so not ideal for fast fire action in the dark; I’ll trade that for superior accuracy at range any day of the week!

Nightfox

On test, I also had the NightFox 100v. This is said to be the cheapest infra-red spotting unit on the market. I was a little sceptical when opening the box, as the feel of the unit is very light and a bit ‘plasticy’ but for around £109, you do get a lot of tech for the money. The 3x magnification screen allowed me to spot rabbits with ease out to 100 yards.

When trying to spot rabbits through a scope, there are a couple of draw backs. To start with, it is not as safe as using a separate spotting unit. I tend to spot with my scope but I am sure it’s not the best way. The same is true when out day time hunting.

Bino’s are always going to be the better option, even though it is just one more thing to be lugging around. Another advantage with having a spotting scope, compared to using the rifle scope, is the increased field of view! As I could see far more and had a much better idea of the lay of the land and even distances using the NightFox.

Whist testing, I have been able to spot far more game than using the Nite Site Wolf alone. The Fox states that you can spot up to 100 yards with its integral infra-red illuminator set on full power and you can add an additional infra-red light source, if needed, to extend its capabilities. I managed to see over 300 yards with the Wolf illuminator.

Pros and cons

The NightFox is designed for two-handed use, as I would discover and sits nicely in the hands with all the buttons easily accessible and has a comfortable neoprene neck strap, for a first model its good! There are a few improvements I might suggest. I found the screen brightness too much, to the point of dazzling and a rheostat would be mandatory. Another thing I found to be more of a hindrance, was the welcome and goodbye screens. Each time it’s turned ON and OFF, a bright blue screen appears, which again is extremely bright and stays on for a few seconds and seems unnecessary! I did find I needed to take extra care when packing the unit in my bag, as it accidentally switched ON. A button lock or a press-andhold type might prevent having an unexpectedly premature flat battery. Other than those points, it’s a real help and I look forward to many more shoots using it.

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I headed to the farm to try out my set up and see if I was ready to take the rabbits head-on at the golf course. When I arrived, I took the spotter and had a quick look around to see if there was any movement out in the field. I could just make out some black dots in the distance, right on the usable range of the unit without an additional light source.

Knowing that they were well out of range for the air gun, I parked the car and continued on foot with the rifle and Nite Site in one hand and the Night Fox in the other.

Double hander

I soon realised that the spotter was not designed for one handed use, the buttons are located in such a way that it is impossible to effectively use single handed. I knew that a sling needed to be fitted to the rifle before the next trip out to free up both hands for spotting (which was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find out from this trip.) I struggled along and soon came across a rabbit sat in the field just off the track. It was bang on 25 yards. Prone would be ideal as this is far more steady than standing but I didn’t have a bi pod fitted, so standing was the best option. Lining up the shot I had another thought. Because the Wolf’s screen is positioned above the scope, it would be far easier for me to have a hamster attached to the bottom of the gun. This would raise the rifle and be more comfortable if a stander was needed. I remembered a spare one I had at home and decided to give it a try before the next shoot.

Feeling solid enough, I took the shot. The bunny rolled over as the pellet struck in the sweet spot, behind the eye and under the ear. I walked to retrieve it and it was stone dead. It was fully grown, strong and healthy. Having felt I had learned all I needed to, I went home and began to get the bits and pieces together I needed to make the ideal night rig for me.

Handicap

The time came to visit the golf course. It had been pre-booked with the green keeper and I had organised my brother to accompany me and take charge of photography. So re-scheduling was not ideal should anything crop up; like a completely still night with a full moon and no cloud cover. We arrived at approximately 11pm and I could tell that we were going to be fighting an uphill battle. There were plenty of rabbits but they were a long way away and they didn’t give us much chance to go get within even 100 yards.

Even though we walked for miles, stalking in on the hedgerows, trying to hide in the shadows that were cast from the moon, we had little success. I was satisfied with the upgrades and improvements made to the S200, even though we didn’t have a lot of chance to try them out on the rabbits. The hamster was fantastic and very easy to use in the standing or kneeling position. The added height really allowed for a more solid shot. It will be no surprise for you to learn that the sling also was an essential addition. We were doing a lot of walking and not a lot of shooting and my arms would have been truly dead by the time the night was up without it. Finally, the Javelin bi-pod.

I did not need to use it on this occasion for shooting off, but when it came to take a rest, it was nice to have the option to drop the gun down, rather than it being wet, lying on its side or propped against a tree with the potential to fall.

In the end, we had a couple of rabbits. This won’t be remembered for the numbers but won’t be forgotten either, because we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The unfortunate two were taken with clean head shot with the .177 S200; what a nice rifle! I am looking forward to going out on a cloud covered night with a little more wind to mask our approach. We called it a night at 4am – starving! The sky had firmly established its blueness, so we hunted down breakfast and bagged a Big Mac and fries each on the way home!