DTN Zulus 5x20 HD IR Night Vision

1

So, I got really interested in the night vision game during this hunting season.
BOTTOM LINE: I put mine on one of my 308s, zeroed the optic (2 rounds) went straight to the reticle and I am shooting an 8 inch gong at 300 yards, first round impact. COST: $400 - 460.00 DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU BUY (I PAID 440.00)
My cousin, purchased about 2 years ago now, a really nice thermal night vision scope costing upwards of $5,000.00., and it is sweat.
We can see animals, especially larger ones like deer in excess of 1200 yards without any problem, and with enough detail to know what your are looking at through the optic.
In reality, we have used it for varmint hunting from field rats up to coyotes, and you can see all of them with clarity in order to take that shot easily through 300 yards.
Well, being the frugal person I am, I would rather have a cousin that owns a thermal optic, than go buy one myself…that is a lot of bullets, powder, brass, and aftermarket match grade barrels. Also, unless you are in the business of night hunting pests (hogs) then how often do you really spend 4-8 hours in the dark hunting? I love doing it, but I cant get past the cost versus utility side of dropping that much money on a thermal.

I went looking for the middle ground to see what was out there in the market. There have been pretty good advances in the thermals and a solid thermal can be had now for $2000, but the premium units still go up more towards 3-4000.00.
Well, in my research I came across DTN, which is now making a thermal and IR optic with a laser range finder for about $1100.00. The optics is getting stellar reviews, but the trend I saw in the discussions was that the thermal was good, but not long range good. Most said it was excellent for detecting at distance, but then they would transition to the IR picture to engage the target.
That is what got me thinking about the IR world of optics and to see if it has improved over the years.
DTN makes the Zulus NV - IR only in three basic models (go to the webpage) and after watching tons of user videos on hunts, targets, testing at night, etc., I purchased the DTN 5x20 IR - no laser range finder.

The reviews convinced me that the DTN 5x20 IR would provide me what I needed to varmint hunt effectively through 400 yards.

All I can say is the optic has exceeded my expectations.

  1. The HD camera is clear both night and day
  2. The reticle image is perfect and there are multiple options to choose from as the one you pick is selected from a menu when you set up the device, mine is in MIL
  3. The IR light is small and attached to the optic, so you do not have to purchase a separate light and mount it or hold to project enough IR light into the area you are hunting to see the varmint
  4. The device comes with a picatinny ready rail mount; 2 rechargeable batteries and charger, so you can get to shooting once you charge those initially.
  5. My battery life has been 7 hours without issue. The batteries are not expensive and I purchased 6 when I ordered the optic.
  6. The controls to operate the optic a really simple, and there are a ton of videos on youtube by people that are really into the night game and they walk you through it, in addition to the instructions provided.

If you are looking to get into the night hunting game, and want to do it, but not spend what is normally required for good night vision optics, I would say this is your gateway drug.

1 Like
2

All, one last thing that I really meant to say, but did not.

There is a lot of money spent on premium optics that reportedly give us that “last bit of critical light” to take that shot on a buck of a lifetime right when the sun is down but we are still within legal shooting lights.
This thing gathers light efficiently to the point you can see clearly, like watching your tv clear, well past sundown, and WITHOUT using the IR light.
Check your local rule books on hunting with this type of system.

3

Good recommendation. I got the Athlon one that has been very impressive so far but I will take a look at DTN when i get the opportunity.

4

Did you mean DNT? Arken makes a Zulus NV scope too. Just trying to make sure i’m looking at the same one

5

DNT, my bad. Arken sold out to DNT and now they carry the optic. According to all the reviews, if you own an Arken labeled zulus, you can download the DNT firmware by getting their app on your phone and the image improves significantly. I got the app yesterday but have not tried to use it yet. The image is good on mine right now as far as I am concerned.
Just to be sure I wasn’t over selling the performance on the optic to this audience, (from my viewpoint) I did a check last night.

  1. On my property I have a covered blind from which I hunt a 315 yard lane which is 25 yards wide at the most in the woods. The view faces west so I get the evening sunset into my face until the sun drops below the treetop horizon. That horizon is masked totally by a thick pine forest, so once the sun is below that, there is very little light filtering into the woods.
  2. Went to the blind, at the 300 mark and sitting on a pond dam, is an 8 inch white gong. I waited until I could not see the gong, even though I know it is there and know what I am looking for, I waited until the light was so low I could not pick it out.
  3. Using only the camera option, no IR, when I flipped on the optic I could clearly see the gong, the dam, and the colors of the grass, individual small limbs, and a few ducks at 300+.
  4. In low light, using the magnification between 5x - 10x works best, after that it becomes grainy as the optic struggles with the image. On 5x or 7.5x it is clear and taking a shot would be no issue.
  5. Flipping on the IR illuminates the gong, and I could see clearly the 1.5 inch metal fence posts used to hang the gong.
  6. The other image I used was just a black and white camera image; when you first flip on the IR, it goes to a black and white view, but no IR illumination has been introduced into the view yet from the flashlight - as with all black and white images, that was very clear and in some ways in low light, was superior to flipping on the IR if you have any passive light left in the day for the optic to collect.
  7. Finally, using the optic to see clearly past 30 after sundown, without IR, is going to be superior to any traditional optic you can purchase at any price, in terms of light and image and ability to see an animal.
    Anyway, just wanted to test my observations so far and make sure I am not pitching something that does not work. You still have to make your own judgement, as I did before spending money.
    Thanks
1 Like