my club now throws targets at night with a black light behind the shooters, in a 5 stand format. It is very cool but takes some getting used to. A lot of young shooters were there , most equipped with sights that glowed under those conditions.

We went through night shooting training in the military in early-mid 1960's. It was before the starlight scope and without the advantage of infrared. 1) 30 minutes getting accustomed to the dark in a red chamber. 2) raise your eyes above the sights twice - dark will create phantoms; 3) don't expect to hit anything so fire multiple rounds (and since the M-14 flash suppressor will give you away for the opposing machine gun, get out of the position). I operated once in Laos at night but the moon was so bright it cast shadows. Never had to shoot - was checking a map coordinate location stream junction.

Shooting blacklight targets (infra-red?) sounds really interesting and instinctual. .pretty much air-soft stuff .not sure what the point of it is other than novelty. But one can see the fun. And it does extend the usefulness of the club after sunset - not to mention the hot chocolates and snacks sold. the possibilities for other sports to expand into night-time are fascinating.

Poachers training.

Best,
Ted

We shot skeet at night under the lights at one of my clubs this year. We tried it last year and I did fine until Station 8. Could not pick up those targets at all. This year, I cleared 7 without any misses, but figured I was about to crash and burn. Not sure what the difference was from last year, but this year the station 8 targets looked like big orange pumpkins. Finished my straight.

Shooting blacklight targets (infra-red?) sounds really interesting and instinctual. .pretty much air-soft stuff .not sure what the point of it is other than novelty. But one can see the fun. And it does extend the usefulness of the club after sunset - not to mention the hot chocolates and snacks sold. the possibilities for other sports to expand into night-time are fascinating.[/quote]

I saw an ad for a MN club throwing targets under black lights.on TS.Com.
VERY innovative, bring the young bucks that have been weaned on video games outdoors for some fun. This club also features heated stands that probably cross reference for daytime shoots.
This is exactly how our shooting sports survive these dark times!

The targets are easy to see, unless edge on and when they break it is much more dramatic than in daylight.

My club used to throw the white targets shooting trap at night when we had our monthly meetings. They don't do it so much anymore. But the white ones always showed up pretty well.

With the right conventional lighting any skeet, trap or wobble trap will show white domed birds really well, well enough to shoot well at them. My home club, Bay Gall Sporting Clays has been hosting monthly night wobble trap (scrap) shoots for many years. It may be the second most used shooting venue at Bay Gall, other than the two excellent sporting courses. It's one shooting venue that's fun to watch even if you're not participating. Good lighting is the key.

According to all I have ever read the PVS-1 and PVS-2 were patented by the U S Army in the 1960s, and were certainly used in the Vietnam War. Your experiences must have just barely pre-dated them, Gene. I started out hunting hogs and shooting deer on predation permits with Gen 3 devices. I moved to thermals some years go but sometimes wonder if I wasn't better off with my old PVS units. They were very sharp and crisp. Thermals have improved, and come down in price a whole lot, but the images are nowhere near as crisp as the old "starlight scopes".

I think different eyes see things differently, but while pricey, upper end thermal sights are stunning. I can see foraging field mice at a hundred yards, easily making out their form and movements. Count points on bucks, see quills on procupines, way more detail than full sun daylight. You probably have far more experience with the different types than I do, but it's a crazy look at details that are hard to image, wildgrass seed heads swaying in the breeze. Neat stuff.

"Uh, boss? Mister Brown is worried about tomorrow's night shoot."

"Brown was shooting here before Eisenhower invented the interstate highway system. He'd arrive on a cart pulled by a mule. Life member. Fine shot. If he's worried, I'm worried. What's his beef?"

"He says he couldn't see the Station 8 pigeons at all, last year."

"Yeah. The light's pretty bad. Okay. Go see Nadine at the farmers' market and ask her for a matched pair of cantaloupes about this big. Then swing by the hardware store and get a rattle-can of fluorescent Safety Orange."

"Why don't I just buy pumpkins?"

"Pff. One day, Jimmy, you'll be running this place."

My club has shot trap and skeet for many years at night. First you have to have cooperative neighbors. When things were really busy there 20 years ago we shot right up to 11pm. The lights were mercury vapor stadium lamps but now they are LED which saves a lot on electric. I always like shooting at night, all you see is the target. Pitch targets break normally but the bios make a gratifying white cloud. Nice way to spend a Friday night to.