This year at SHOT Show 2022, while there was plenty going on in the booths and on the Las Vegas strip, some of the cooler things happened outside of town, in the desert. I’m speaking of the experience presented by Noctum Outdoors. If you like guns and you like night vision, you’ll appreciate this…
After scheduling a night for my friends and I, we were met in the valet pickup area at 1900. Piling into an Escalade, we headed for the desert. Twenty minutes of driving brought us to their range. It was set up with steel at different distances and on it a converted toy-hauler trailer, complete with workbenches covered with night vision and racks of guns for us to chose from.
The guns they had were all top-shelf. To include a Honey Badger SBR (suppressed) as well as the Honey Badger SD. And come to think of it, all the guns were suppressed, chambered in 9mm, 5.56 and 300Blk.
After introductions, we got to talk through what to expect, get sized for gear (helmets) and then a quick rundown on how to use and adjust night vision. Next, came the question, what do you want to shoot? Or more appropriately, what do you want to shoot, FIRST?
Some of my friends, having never shot under night vision before, opted for one of their 9mm sub-guns, the KR-9 SBR by Kalashnikov USA. And for a special treat, it was suppressed with a Rugged Obsidian 45 suppressor and it just so happened to be full auto. Who doesn’t like machine guns?!!! So after a short period of instruction on how to operate the gun and equipped IR (infrared) laser, they got to it.
First time shooting under night vision? Check. First time shooting a machine gun? Check. First time shooting a machine gun under night vision? Check.
With a small group, we rotated through, taking turns shooting, getting to not only shoot different guns, but also try different night vision setups, from a pretty standard PVS-14 to both Green Phos and White Phos DTNVS units.
I had a chance to do some shooting with an awesome suppressed AR-15, equipped with a GSL SWAT 556 suppressor and a B.E. Meyers MAWL-C1+. I also spent some time behind a Honey Badger SD in 300Blk, shooting passive with Trijicon SRO, illuminating my targets with the brand new B.E. Meyers KIJI Infrared Illuminator.
Eventually, once we all had a chance to shoot through the various guns, try out the different night vision systems and hang out for a bit, we headed back to the strip. Twenty minutes later we were dropped off at our hotel, ready for the rest of the night in Las Vegas.
If you’re headed to Vegas and you want a unique experience off of the strip, check out Noctum Outdoors. With both Night Vision and NFA items, Noctum Outdoors serves as a great try-before-you-buy opportunity. They will even deduct the cost of your experience from a night vision unit if you chose to purchase one through them. Find out more at Noctum Outdoors.
