How To Mount a Night Vision Scope

Many folks are familiar with how to attach or mount a regular day time scope to a rife using a set of scope rings for attachment. With night vision scopes you don’t use rings as the scope itself has a built in mount that attaches directly to the rifle. What your rifle will need to have is a standard 7/8 Weaver base or a Picatinny rail. The Weaver bases will be used on most bolt action rifles and the Picatinny rails are standard on most military style semi-automatic rifles including the popular Ar-15 style models. These types of mounts are characterized by the series of cross slots running perpendicular to the length of the rifle. The night vision scopes have mounts that lock into and clamp down on these Weaver and Picatinny bases. Most night scopes will require a wrench for tightening down the scope while some of the better scopes come equipped with a “quick release” mount built into the scope. These quick release mounts allow a shooter to attach and remove the scope quickly with the use of a locking lever and do not require the use of any tools. Most of the night vision scopes with the fast release style mounts can be put on and taken off without the loss of zero. This means that you don’t need to re-zero your scope every time you remove it as the better models will hold within one half MOA (or 1/2 inch at 100 yards) each time you reattach it to your rifle. Many shooters like to remove their night vision scope and keep it in it’s case when traveling or when storing the weapon in a gun safe so the expensive electronic night vision optic doesn’t get bumped around. Other shooters have one rifle that they use for day time and night time hunting and use a quality quick release mount under their day time scope as well so they can swap scopes out in a matter of minutes. Whatever night vision scope you get make sure you have a high quality solid base to attach it to because these high-tec electronic scopes are typically much heavier than a regular scope. Mounting a night vision scope is very easy and if you have ever mounted a regular scope you should have no problem attaching a night scope however if you are unsure of the process or the size/style of your scope base, you should consult a professional. We are always happy to help guide our customers with mounting and can even get you the proper base for your particular rifle if needed.