I know nothing about night vision but am leaning towards getting a Sightmark Wraith and sticking it on a BAR .270 I have. I've saw differing things about how they hold up to recoil, any issues with it being on a .270?

Likely won't handle the recoil. I had mine on a 7.62x39 AR and it would cut out about 50% of the time. Sits on a 5.56 now.

I've got questions about infrared now. (I'm expecting my Wraith to arrive later this week. First foray into night vision.)

"Some guy on the internet"™ says he put some sort of IR filter or lens on his IR illuminator to enhance the effect at the cost of a small reduction in brightness, so I'd be interested if anybody here has played with that.

Yes, many illuminators have filters that you can install and remove to “tune” how much light it makes available, or to knock down unnecessary/unwanted bloom for conditions or use. Also some illuminators offer a couple power settings that do the same thing without the use of filters.

I’m not savvy on the Wraith illuminator, or SniperLights referred to in another thread, but it’s all the same principle as to what I’m using or have used. The Steiner DBAL-D2 which I currently use has two IR/laser power settings and gives me a choice on how much light I want thrown depending on outside/inside conditions, ambient light etc. If it’s a clear night with sufficient moon or starlight I can use the lowest setting for anything within shooting distance of unmagnified PVS14s. If I need to throw light into darker areas or further distances, than I just switch to the higher power setting. MAWLS, PEQ15s and others have the same ability....

The LUNA ELIR III, which is a dang good illuminator, Perst 4 and others have filters that you can swap in and out as well. I know the above are probably overkill for the Wraith, but it’s the general concept of being able to “tune” available IR illumination I’m getting at.

Josh:

Good info. Thanks.

I may not want to shoot past 100 yards in most cases, but best quality illumination is always welcome.

I've been watching Youtube videos of night hunting with Wraiths and seems like every animal, including deer, is looking right into the illuminator much of the time. But I don't know if it's because they can see a little something of the IR light, or the hunter is making noise while moving around.

BTW: for something like the Wraith, stay with 850nm or go with 940nm for a third party illuminator?

Some LED IR illuminators can put off a VERY faint red glow that is visible to the naked eye of folks that know what they are looking for. I’m sure animals pick up on it as well, and that’s what you’re seeing...

I’ve used Illuminators in the 820-860nm range. All’s been good for my uses, but can’t speak to use with the Wraiths. If your concerning yourself with the actual brightness of the illuminator look at the MW output numbers.

Josh - I bought $150 of brass from you over two weeks ago and paid immediately. You haven’t responded to my messages on Longrangehunting or accurate shooter for over a week. You still haven’t shipped the brass. After asking around, I’ve found several deals you’ve been involved in here that weren’t “smooth” to say the least. You have time to post here but not time to respond to me. If you can’t get to the post office in 2 weeks, you probably shouldn’t be listing stuff for sale. I’ll give you 24 hours to respond to one of my inquiries on the three websites I see you on and then I’m making this “Uber” public.

LOL

I had mine on a .308, and never had anything cut out. Handled recoil just fine.

When you say the Wraith "cut out", could it have been the gunsmoke after the shot whiting out the scope because the illuminator picked up the gunsmoke?

That happens nearly every time I shoot. If you have a decent breeze to blow the gunsmoke away, it whites out less.

This short video shows the gunsmoke whiteout, immediately after the shot... but it's not the scope cutting out. You'll get gunsmoke whiteout with your .223 also...

Josh is a big boy and can defend or answer for himself.

But I can tell you first hand for two weeks down here, the main duty was survival, mitigate damages to freezing water systems, keep your family warm, and keep your livestock fed and watered.

I can also tell you thet USPS and UPS was totally screwed due to ice conditions, lack of electricity to pump diesel into trucks, and employees being unable to get into work.

Post office was closed. UPS hubs were closed. Tracking didn't work. System overload.

Basically the same type shutdown you would see in the aftermath of a hurricane.

If you can't cut anyone a bit of slack when your brass may take a backseat to what's been going on, then I see you as "Uber" stupid.

Dumbass.