Hog killing machine! ND-5 Mini review

[Harrisracing]

I have used a friend's Laser Genetics ND-3 for night hunting before and really liked the green laser designator idea for hog hunting at night. We stand hunt around stands that we see signs of hog issues and quite frankly it's some of my favorite hunting. I decided that this year I'm going to rig up my Sig 556R in 7.62x39 for these hunts. I was still trying to keep things cheap and easy and ran across the ND-5 mini while trying to decide on which to use. Same 400 yd features as the ND-5 with a bit shorter battery life except less expensive than their ND-3 or ND-5 kits - plus I REALLY like the smaller size. Now this one is advertised as nothing more than a handheld unit with no available mounts, and I could not find info on the diameter of the light body for mounting purposes but decided to take a gamble anyway and here are the results.

NDS-5 mini from opticsplanet.com for $149.49 http://www.opticsplanet.com/laser-genetics-laser-designator-miniature-sized-nd5.html
LEAPERS UTG 45 degree Quick Disconnect Mount $12.49 http://www.opticsplanet.com/leapers...e-mounts-w-integral-qd-lever-lock-system.html
A set of 1" rings from local sporting goods $15.99 (I used only 1 scope mount/ring).
Black electrical tape.

I had to use the tape to take up the diameter from the body of the light to the scope ring because the diameter of the ND-5 MINI body is 22mm and the scope ring is 25.4mm (or 1 inch). So I tightly and neatly wrapped the tape around the light and test fitted every few turns until it took up nice and tight in the ring. This worked out GREAT because to adjust the aiming point of the light, I simply push / pull the back of the ND-5 mini and the tape does a GREAT job of deforming and setting the light there. NO PIVOTS NEEDED, ETC (at least on my rig).

I must say this is INCREDIBLE night vision for the money. I am currently on a SIG CP-1 3x illuminated scope and at 100-150 yds I have a VERY CLEAR field of view with the light adjusted almost all the way open. The picture at night does it NO justice!

AS A FLASHLIGHT, I think the ND-5 mini is not exactly the best option because it's FOV doesn't open up enough for trail walking (at least for me). It is, however, INCREDIBLE at looking down range and I'm sure with better optic would be 300 yds sight EASILY. I mean it is a "LASER BEAM" after all with incredibly crisp edging and definition with zooming in and out.

So far so good, expect a couple of dead hog pictures very very shortly!

Patrick

 

[3fifty7]

Comparing the ND3 to the Mini5 how is the illuminated field compared to the field of view through the given scope.

 

[Harrisracing]

Comparing the ND3 to the Mini5 how is the illuminated field compared to the field of view through the given scope.

Just took measurements to compare since the laser genetics website doesn't give specs on ND5 Mini field of view adjustment. They do, however, give them for the ND3. http://www.lasergenetics.com/nd3-laser-designator_hunting.aspx

ND3 says 26mm up to a whopping 320mm circle at 1 foot distance from emitter.

I measured ND5 mini at 26mm up to only 60mm at 1 foot over the whole zoom range.

This is strange to me that they advertise the ND5 as a hand held "trail light" application, yet the ND3 has a substantially more useable range!

So, I think ND3 covers most bases for hunting and illumination aside from the fact that the kit really is setup for single dedicated gun use and not for quick removal and hand held use as I have done to the ND5 mini.

All that being said, I think the ND5 mini works just fine for hunting since the fov is Perfect at what I would consider the lowest night hunting zoon level I would ever use (3x magnification) since at the most zoomed out setting it is still just slightly larger than the FOV of my 3x scope.

 

[fishbaja2]

Nice writeup on the application! Now I will be very interested to see how the hoggy's react to the green light when ya put it on em before the shot.

 

[Harrisracing]

Nice writeup on the application! Now I will be very interested to see how the hoggy's react to the green light when ya put it on em before the shot.

Been there done that. They get a little antsy, but they stick around usually. So said, If you have a quiet enough weapon and get head shots (between eye and ear) you can pick off a herd before they know what's going on. I shot one with a .308 last time, but I was FREAKING out when the other one ran up next to my stand (ground stand on a hill with no doors on it) and started making noise scrambling for my pistol and flashlight.

I look for them with a night-vision monocular in a stand before pulling out the rifle + laser. Start the laser zoomed out and gradually zoom in until you can see enough, but not so much that they get spooked.