Near-Complete Failure: Delta CAR-15 at Midnight Brutality 2023

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Күн бұрын

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Thanks to the 1 Shepherd cadre for making Midnight Brutality possible! And thanks to our excellent match sponsors:
Tactical Night Vision Company (TNVC)
B.E. Meyers Advanced Photonics
Live Q or Die
Varusteleka
Midnight Brutality was a 6-stage all-nighttime match held at the Echo Valley Training Center. It was designed to test gear and skills in a dark environment, and it was both tremendously fun and very educational. This particular night for me, more educational than fun...
This is my run through the match in Infantry division, meaning that I was using an infrared laser and infrared light. Specifically, I was using a clone of a 1980s or early 1990s Delta Force CAR-15 carbine setup. It is set up with an Aimpoint 5000 red dot, an AN/PAQ-4A infrared pulsing laser, and a Surefire 6P with an infrared filter. It also has a collar for an Ops Inc telescoped suppressor, but I didn't have one of those on it for the match. The upper assembly was generously loaned to me by Augie Kim of TNVC (Tactical Night Vision Company), who was also our primary match sponsor.
This sort of carbine setup would be fantastic for kicking doors and clearing rooms...but it did not work well for me against small targets at long (by night standards) ranges in minimum ambient light, to put it mildly. One could also say I crashed harder than a Blackhawk over Mogadishu. The problems I had were twofold; the flashlight just didn't give enough light for targets on the open range, and the laser dot was larger than any of the targets I had to engage.
Filming was done with a Sionyx OPSIN digital NV monocular/camera. I also used a Grec recorder on one of my PVS14 tubes to get a first-person view. The OPSIN struggled in the early stages before the moon rose and the clouds cleared a bit, but it was massively aided by my IR light. Actually, the OPSIN did a better job with the flashlight than my PVS-14s did. My test runs with the rig before the match had all been under significantly better lighting (lots of stars and some moon), and didn't give me a proper appreciation for the setup's strengths and weaknesses.
I completed four of the six stages, and avoided being dead last only because a couple other people also failed to complete all the stages, and one person DQ'd. It was educational, but frustrating. If I could go back knowing what I do now, I would not have chosen to use it in the match. That said, I initially tried to find a way to bring an M3 Snooper M1 Carbine with Korean-War era NV scope, and I'm very glad that didn't work out! That rig would have been even worse...
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Пікірлер: 827

@WardenWolf Жыл бұрын

40 year old night vision equipment vs. modern gear, really no surprise it was this bad. But back then when no one had this tech, it was revolutionary.

@classifiedad1 Жыл бұрын

If this setup didn't work well out there, imagine how badly iron sights would do.

@Ghatbkk Жыл бұрын

Add that when most of that gear was in use, the NVGs were PVS-5s.

@dj1NM3 Жыл бұрын

@@Ghatbkk ...or AN/PVS-7 (1988) and monocular

@kenibnanak5554 Жыл бұрын

@@classifiedad1 How bad they are, in Ukraine every day.

@MinimumSpeedOperator Жыл бұрын

@@classifiedad1 really if you were In a team environment with powerful white lights you would get more hits than with that laser. Just gotta master that momentary switch and SMCS.

@NotDave_x Жыл бұрын

Might not have been the most effective but its drip or drown out there and Ian is swimming.

@Sam-ge9bm Жыл бұрын

Swimming? Ian is in a speedboat

@adamnouiguer3430 Жыл бұрын

@@Sam-ge9bm Gun Jesus has such drip he's walking on the water.

@ryanlorenzo5003 Жыл бұрын

The water refuses to soak the drip.

@nihaalsandim9986 Жыл бұрын

His drip is dripping with more drip

@CHMichael Жыл бұрын

That size laser with today's technology is a great way to set your enemies hideout on fire.

@Dunkopf Жыл бұрын

LMAO except it doesn't have half the power to weight ratio needed to actually do it!

@Ugly_German_Truths Жыл бұрын

Sounds like GI Joe stuff ;)

@Arbiter099 Жыл бұрын

Phased plasma rifle in the forty watt range?

@yungweezer Жыл бұрын

sshhhh we dont talk about the existence of laser weaponry

@RubenKelevra Жыл бұрын

@@yungweezer kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hrxjncmDkqy5dpc.html 🤫

@JankoTuta Жыл бұрын

Hey I actually work with lasers, and in my opinion, the pulsing comes down to the age of the technology. First lasers were pulse lasers since they are easier to make. You basically pump the active media with a strobe light and selectivity let the photons out towards the target once the strobe light interacts with the active media enough (grossly simplified). Also, pulsing a laser generates a higher peak power, so a brighter beam, which is easier for a soldier to see. A continuous IR laser beam in the 90s was probably too expensive and would probably generate a very weak/dim beam. Also, today's lasers are diode lasers. Which have a better efficiency, around 50% of pump energy gets converted to light as opposed to 90s lasers which have a efficiency of around 2%-10% , so you don't dump energy into heat as much as a non diode laser. Lasers improved massively in the last 20 years. My take on the pulsing laser, tho my opinion and I might be wrong.

@Ass_of_Amalek Жыл бұрын

it looks like it would have been more useful though to have he laser pulse faster - would that have been more problematic to make or use? Ian says that the thing works best at close range with moving targets, but that's where I see the most need to have a faster pulse.

@fletcherreder6091 Жыл бұрын

Believe it or not the AN/PAQ-4A is a diode based device. It doesn't seem to be using an external cavity so I doubt it's Q-switched, so it's probably either for battery life or diode life, and since it's rated for 50,000 10 second pulses I'm thinking diode life.

@zwenkwiel816 Жыл бұрын

@@Ass_of_Amalek it pulses pretty fast already though, think with some practice you could interpolate between flashes

@JankoTuta Жыл бұрын

@Fletcher Reder interesting, I really couldn't find any useful information about this? If that's the case, maybe pulsing the laser is still due to the peak power. You do still gain a higher intensity at the target by pulsing the laser. Are there any other time period alternatives that weren't pulsed? As for the faster pulsing. You do lose some peak power at higher repetition frequency, assuming you are using the same source. As for the battery vs diode life I would probably lean more towards the battery life, in reality it's probably a mix of both.

@Ass_of_Amalek Жыл бұрын

@@JankoTuta not an electronics guy, but couldn't it be that the flashes are made brighter than a continuous beam by powering the laser through a capacitor that's charged by the battery between flashes? basically like a camera flash.

@krissteel4074 Жыл бұрын

Ian might have got on the midnight struggle bus with such a setup in the modern era. But everyone else back then it would have be bumbling through some kind of hellish existence in the dark getting their arses shot off by some spec forces ninja out of nowhere. So it was a great look at the technology and overall improvisation to get a weapon system and its accessories working together to the point someone was willing to trust their life to it

@gregorysteffensen3279 Жыл бұрын

Based on Ukrainian reports out of Russia, this level of night vision is *still* a huge force multiplier

@MacEwanMouse Жыл бұрын

@@gregorysteffensen3279 Where are these reports?

@ronnieman87 Жыл бұрын

@@MacEwanMouse they were in the leaked reports from the pentagon, ya know, the reports that contradict what the lamestream media is saying about the Ukro's winning.

@gregorysteffensen3279 Жыл бұрын

@@MacEwanMouse I mean, even informal word from as early as March/April last year has always been that Russian conscripts have extremely minimal night fighting capacity - the big anecdote I'm thinking of was a guy in the foreign volunteer service who almost felt bad for how outgunned the Russians were in any kind of night op, basically reduced to calling out in the dark for their squadmates

@moooooofy Жыл бұрын

@@gregorysteffensen3279 source: my ass

@JukeboxJoe101 Жыл бұрын

Having just finished reading Black Hawk Down, it's positively fascinating seeing another visual representation of what those guys brought into battle.

@Dunkopf Жыл бұрын

Tech be wild

@ShooterQ Жыл бұрын

Have you already seen the movie adaptation?

@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 Жыл бұрын

@@ShooterQ I have the deluxe edition of the movie, it's got a couple documentaries on the event and the making of the film along with interviews and commentary from guys who were there. It's definitely worth getting if you're interested in the whole Mogadishu incident. Funnily enough, some of general Aidid's kids were going to the same elementary school in London Ontario Canada as me at the time of everything happening.

@TheodoreRoosevelt3 Жыл бұрын

Doesn't matter how bad you do. You are officially the coolest guy at the range with that gun

@authorontranth5990 Жыл бұрын

There's a reason the IR Spotlight was a pretty "standard issue" modification that people would jury rig up whenever they could nab one for their tanks, emplacements, etc if it didnt come with one. Illumination is everything when lasers diffuse in your muzzle smoke and fog. Glad to see you were still able to pull some enjoyment out of a less than ideal setup, and hopefully next year is kinder!

@anteshell Жыл бұрын

That size of IR light on a tank does nothing more than paint you a target. You don't shoot 50 feet in front of you with tanks, which is about how far that gives sufficient lighting.

@zwenkwiel816 Жыл бұрын

@@anteshell still could be nice to see where you are going....

@authorontranth5990 Жыл бұрын

@@anteshell I was referring to the the spotlights, not a flashlight with an IR Cap on it. They'd illuminate out hundreds of yards and occasionally had scopes to match. Things like the an/vss-3.

@g45sp4 Жыл бұрын

“Karl is gone man, I’ll be outside”

@JerryEricsson Жыл бұрын

Now I am far from being an expert on tactical gear, and when I was in Vietnam I spent most of my time in the rear with the gear, as I was a field Communicator. Back in 1970 I had the duty, guard duty on our small base just a few miles outside Cam Rahn Bay at Dong Ba Thin, now a Vietnamese naval station. We had 60 foot steel guard towers and bunkers on the perimeter, I drew a tall tower. I was equipped with my M-16A1, and we had an M-60 as well on the tower. For night vision we had a starlight scope. It was huge by today's standards, but if my memory serves, it gave a MUCH better view in total darkness then your setup. Perhaps your setup was made for a different purpose.

@rollastudent Жыл бұрын

Mounting to a helmet really constrains the design, if you don’t want neck injuries

@jeromethiel4323 Жыл бұрын

Well, in any optic, the more light you can get into the system, the better it will perform, generally speaking. Those initial starlight scopes were light amplifiers, so the more light you could get to work with, the better it would run. The reason they were called starlight scopes is that they were supposed to be able to work with just starlight, although i have no first hand knowledge of that, it's just something i have heard. But based on the electronics, it makes sense. Although moonlight would be better. But i am in every way a noob to night vision, other than having a basic understanding of the electronics behind how it works.

@warrenharrison9490 Жыл бұрын

My friend, Vietnam veteran and Judo sensei, named his third daughter Cam Rahn. He didn't share many stories, but what hi did share was funny as hell. Wish I remembered more of his stories.

@jojojack4975 Жыл бұрын

I’m a Vietnam vet also. We used a starlight scope somewhen we were south of Tuy Hoa on highway 1. The scope helped some where we had a lot of open area. Say rice paddies. Actually on a clear night a pair of binoculars worked just as well. In the jungles of the central highlands the scope was useless. To big to deal with, and I don’t ever recall using one after we moved to the highlands west of Pleiku. I also carried the first one of the car-15, (XM177E1). Recon platoon 4Th ID 66/67

@GhostlyTurtle Жыл бұрын

It is worth noting that this match was DARK. I shot the same night as Ian did and it was pretty much complete overcast until the final stage of the match. Any light amplification tube would struggle in these conditions. If you were on a base, it is very possible there was supplemental lighting around and/or if it was a clear sky visibility would be great, for a Starlight or a modern PVS-14. Meanwhile, this match was in the middle of the woods far away from any town with zero moon or starlight until later in the night. It was seriously like night and day when the clouds broke and allowed moonlight in on the final stage. We went from *requiring* illumination from your weapon or helmet mounted light to being able to see clearly for hundreds of yards without any light coming from your kit.

@OverTheShenanigans Жыл бұрын

Another consideration when comparing old tech vs new is the fact that the the things delta and other branches were shooting were moving. Movement is way easier to pick up compared to static targets.

@spacewater7 Жыл бұрын

I would agree BUT he had a lot of difficulty with the spinner. Of course that zippy do dah laser was getting in the way. That thing is a clear example of 'man that sounds cool, it's gonna be great!' which turned out counterproductive.

@randomidiot8142 Жыл бұрын

Moving *and* shooting back. My limited experience with ir is that things that hold still are hard to find. When things move it's easier to see what needs to be shot at.

@METALLIFY16 Жыл бұрын

We stand on the shoulders of giants. Operators back in the day really revolutionized how we set up fighting rifles today.

@pcarrierorange Жыл бұрын

They walked (hose clamp flashlight) so we could run (duct taped dollar store laser pointer)

@epluribusunum5318 Жыл бұрын

@@pcarrierorange Ah, a fellow tactical dollar store enjoyer. Greetings brother.

@davidcox3076 Жыл бұрын

We'll never know all the bleeding edge tech and stone age field mods various operators have used. Even dollar store tactical gear only goes so far.

@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 Жыл бұрын

I know that Delta/CAG was at the time of the Mogadishu debacle using NVGs that were designed for pilots because they were considerably better. It would be interesting to see a comparison between the standard issue and those optics from back then.

@kilroy5166 Жыл бұрын

The tubes themselves were the same in both the AN/PVS-7 and the ANVIS 6/9 units. Dual tube is just obviously better but the technology and picture quality is exactly the same.

@Rocketsong Жыл бұрын

@@kilroy5166 not quite. Aviation tubes for OMNI III were better than ground tubes, both in SNR and EBI. They were made on the same assembly line, and the ANVIS units were simply upselected, so you could get ground tubes as good as ANVIS, but it was not the norm.

@marks1638 Жыл бұрын

We did NightFire training for several Air Force units (Pararescue and Forward Combat Controllers) back in the 90's using Infared lasers and PVS-7's. It was interesting experience in total darkness. They would engage pop up targets at night and the only way we could see what they were doing (other than muzzle flashes) was with our PVS-4 scopes or PVS-7 headsets. As you noted there were limitations, and it took lots of practice with the PVS-7's (and just a hint of moonlight) for the system to work well. When you wore the night vision goggles it was a veritable laser night show, without them you saw nothing (that was the point).

@Jimtheneals Жыл бұрын

Even though you struggled with the setup, I love the way you use some historical firearm or kit in these matches. It really shows how things have changed versus modern arms and equipment. I'm sorry you struggled but I still loved the effort you put into this. Thanks Ian, and good luck on the next match.

@itsapittie Жыл бұрын

I was in a special operations unit in the late 1970s and we were given some laser sights to play with. Our conclusion was that they were too bulky to ever be practical. I don't think any of us imagined how tiny they would eventually become.

@ScottKenny1978 Жыл бұрын

Well, the old gas lasers were way, way too big to be usable. Modern diode lasers are tiny.

@holdorf333 Жыл бұрын

This is really meant for MOUT inside of buildings. This is a specific load out for a specific scenario. This was also used by teams with a lot of experience with the benefits and limitations of what they had.

@detritus23 Жыл бұрын

A third possibility (albeit since this is a He-Ne excited laser, duty cycle and thermal control also make sense) would be improved visibility of a pulsing dot under adverse conditions. However, because it is gas laser, the pulse may also be a natural artefact of the underlying laser technology.

@vhscopyofseinfeld Жыл бұрын

I wonder if the pulse can be modified? I know pulse IR lasers are used for laser-guided missiles. The pulse acts as a signature for the missile to lock onto; they will only lock on to specify pulses to avoid it locking on to random lasers.

@detritus23 Жыл бұрын

@@vhscopyofseinfeld For a diode laser, absolutely. Gas lasers probably could do it through the use of shutters or, possibly, electronics. However, He-Ne laser tubes are similar to fluorescent bulbs In that they need an initial pulse of electricity to get them going, I don't know how much that dwell time can be adjusted.

@transtubular Жыл бұрын

@@detritus23 They are basically fired by a xenon flash tube...almost exactly like a camera flash. The dwell time can be adjusted to a point by changing out the capacitors in the circuit to reduce the charge time...but only by so much once the battery starts to lose charge, as it will take longer and longer to reach firing charge.

@detritus23 Жыл бұрын

@@transtubular Solid-state lasers, like ruby lasers are definitely fired like that. The gas lasers I am familiar with, specifically He/Ne bench lasers, have the electrodes in the sealed gas tube, they directly excite the gas to get it to lase. Unfortunately, I cannot find a description of this laser other than it is a He-Ne laser. There definitely has to be more than a gas tube in the emitter, because something has to step down the beam from vis/red to infrared.

@transtubular Жыл бұрын

@detritus23 Yeah I forgot that these are not optically pumped. My bad.

@petesheppard1709 Жыл бұрын

Yes, the shoot house with that old gear would have been awesome! I found myself thinking of Vickers in his prime.

@MrPolicekarim Жыл бұрын

Yes indeed!

@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 Жыл бұрын

It would be awesome if Delta/CAG invited Ian to their training facilities. I bet it could be done without security concerns if they were careful about what was filmed.

@MrPolicekarim Жыл бұрын

@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 But Delta aren't like the SEALs unfortunately.

@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 Жыл бұрын

@@MrPolicekarim yeah, they're certainly more secretive, which is understandable. With today's recruitment problems having someone like Ian make a video with them would be smart.

@gunrunner5095 Жыл бұрын

Dude, you were using 40yr old electronics! I can't think of any 40yr old electronics that can touch what we have now. I wouldn't say you failed at all. What you accomplished with it was impressive.

@expiredvitamins Жыл бұрын

ah the CAR-15 one of my favorite carbines

@1982rrose Жыл бұрын

An interview with LAV or someone else from that period would be interesting regarding their memories of this kit.

@anthonyburke5656 Жыл бұрын

Hi Ian, I’ve contacted you before, I served in SVN with the Australian SASR. My patrol Sgt had a “real” CAR 15, I can’t recall precisely, but I think he got it while we were on exchange with Seal Team 2. One of the numerous funny memories I have is of my Sgt cursing a blue stroke in the middle of a contact on the Song Ri River, because his CAR 15 had numerous stoppages, he was incandescent. He never went bush with the CAR 15 again. You may recall, I used a cut down SLR/FN 7.62 mm. Btw, I’ve been in Arizona for the past 2 months, love it, I’ve been experimenting with pistols, the people I stay with have about 60 acres with a nice little shooting range out the back. The CAR 15, in my opinion, needed a different buffer.

@AlphaChimpEnergy Жыл бұрын

It’s cool he loaned you what’s basically a museum piece.

@adambishop7699 Жыл бұрын

Absolutely Incredible Seeing this gear used. Never would I have thought I’d get to see this setup in action, i was glued the whole way through!

@revvyishonisd5027 Жыл бұрын

That opsin is really neat in that it has auto shut off when you deactivate your illuminator. That + the quad battery pack must be how they get a fifth of the battery life a pvs14 gets with a single AA

@Panzersoldat Жыл бұрын

I normally absolutely love watching you run vintage/period guns and gear but boy oh boy was that painful to witness. Kudos to you for sticking to it as long as you did.

@viggenguy4411 Жыл бұрын

It was a lot of fun shooting in your squad! I wish your gear worked better for you, but such is Brutality!

@SaintBrick Жыл бұрын

I find it hard to trust people who can't talk about their failures; Or that pretend they don't have any. I think one of the reasons people like you see you struggle is that it's very human, it's real, it's realistic it's relatable. It's hard to express fully. Regardless, it's awesome to see that you're comfortable enough with your abilities that you can post a video of yourself having what looks like a miserable time of things and come away from it without injury to your ego. I think we need more of that in the world.

@con6lex Жыл бұрын

Thanks for being open to posting this. It really is too bad about the shoot house as that would be closer to the capabilities of your rifle.

@BattleChemist Жыл бұрын

I wonder if the reason your flashlight is becoming "dark" under your PVS-14's is due to the strength of the full-power laser causing the 14's to auto-dim. You'll notice as you turn on the flashlight, it's visible, but then as the laser is pulsing, the flashlight slowly darkens to nothing. However, the digital NV is probably not auto-dimming, or at least not to the same effect.

@johneden2033 Жыл бұрын

It's fascinating watching you compete with these historical loadouts. It gives such a great perspective on where we've come from technologically and even culturally. Any chance of doing a Brutality with one of those occluded-eye dot sights?

@carlhicksjr8401 Жыл бұрын

I was in the 11th ACR patrolling the Inter-German border just after Eagle Claw [from 82-84]. The ACRs at the time were on the higher end of the US procurement scale [say top quarter] and we occasionally got some very nice gear. Much of it, however, was hand-me-down stuff the Airborne didn't like. For example: Obviously, when were patrolling we needed more night vision than that offered by our Abrams sights, so each vehicle also got a set of AN/PVS 5 'night vision binoculars'. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were those things lousy!!! For one thing the range wasn't all that great. For another, no matter how well you tightened them, the entire weight of the SOBs sat on the bridge of your nose. Lastly the light frequency broadcast into your eyes were guaranteed to give you a splitting headache. Comparatively speaking, the unsatisfactory product you've reviewed here was Gucci gear!

@bower31 Жыл бұрын

Can't speak for anyone else but wearing NODs when I was in a few years ago still gave me a splitting headache. I hated driving with the more than anything

@themischeifguide Жыл бұрын

Were you guys at that time, aware of capabilities of the oppositions NVD's? Were they better, worse or equal to what you had?

@carlhicksjr8401 Жыл бұрын

@@themischeifguide At the time, all we had were intell briefings. And to be honest, there was a large slice bullshit in them. We were told by DIA sources that the Soviets NVG capability was low... the T64s and 72s had IR sights that relied on a headlight fixture next to the main gun [as a tanker, what the bad guy tanks had was a major concern]. Category A divisions [the very best the Pact had to offer] had handheld NVGs at the platoon level, usually carried by the platoon leader, that was based on Starlite scopes captured in Vietnam.

@bower31 Жыл бұрын

@@themischeifguide Everyone else has always had less issuance of, and shittier NODs. Like comically so. Soviets NODs were awful, Russian NODs are still bad, Chinese NODs are laughable like the whole PLA

@carlhicksjr8401 Жыл бұрын

@@bower31 Well, the problem with the PLA is twofold: a] They're **believers** ... they've been indoctrinated since the womb to believe in that Mao shit, and b] There's a metric crap-load of them. As Zhukov said, "Quantity has a quality all it's own."

@manscapedgrinch1427 Жыл бұрын

Love seeing Varusteleka getting all this attention lately. Can't wait until they set up their NA branch.. here's hoping for eventual physical stores here in the states 🙏

@KTMS4420 Жыл бұрын

Don't blame you at all for calling it and saving the ammo. Sometimes you just have to accept the failure and take your lessons from it before wasting time and resources. Awesome video anyway! Loved seeing the difference between the kits and the digital camera.

@spacewater7 Жыл бұрын

Exactly, realize that you're not ready, and rescue the hostages in Iran another time, another way.

@0toeknee0 Жыл бұрын

For anyone interested-magpul makes flight gloves like the ones Ian is wearing. I love mine. I use them when riding a motorcycle.

@NinjaDeathSlap Жыл бұрын

I'm developing a nostalgic fondness these days for all the wack mounting solutions specops used for their accessories before the advent of picitinny rails. Running the full gambit from 'just duct tape it to the handguard" to the uber-specific prorietary mounting system which only fit this specific accessory to this specific rifle and nothing else.

@christhesmith Жыл бұрын

Hats off to those guys who ran around with this kit when it came out!

@leomtk Жыл бұрын

I think that using the historic equipment, while frustrating for Ian, was very interesting to get an insight to many of their limitations.

@JaredAF Жыл бұрын

Hey Ian, on the Ops Inc M4 suppressor, unless there was some variance with the originals, they are a direct thread and designed to reflex over a 14.5" barrel. Also that collar was originally a 2 piece aluminum collar whereas the modern ones made by Ron Allen are 3 piece: an aluminum outer collar with a stainless insert and I believe that's what that rifle has. I have a new Opsinc/Allen engineering M4 suppressor from Ron Allen currently in NFA jail. Interesting rifle, similar to how I'd like to set up my A2 carbine.

@exuberance3973 Жыл бұрын

God Ild love to do this with a STG44 and a Vampir sight the whole retro kit idea is a real breath of fresh air in competitive shooting, we love the vids Ian!

@darkoflight4938 Жыл бұрын

This just makes one appreciate the modern stuff we have now. That looks really hard to do.

@fieldy-8008 Жыл бұрын

Ayyy AUGEE!!! He helped me get my 727 together that came from puerto rican surplus. Great guy for sure and dude has unlimited knowledge of colt ars

@yocapo32 Жыл бұрын

You know, there are not many things that _really_ make me feel old, but hearing 14.5 inches being referred to as a "relatively long barrel by today's standards" gave me arthritic pain.

@1stCallipostle Жыл бұрын

It's in context though In the context of special sneaky boys that is old fashioned For standard battlefield meat, I recall it still being a standard barrel length?

@spondulixtanstaafl7887 Жыл бұрын

Thanks, you guys are constantly pushing the envelope and coming out the other side with cool insights and a great attitude. Very interesting.

@cuckertarlson3329 Жыл бұрын

I just built a retro style! Unfortunately I couldn’t find an a1 style upper and had to settle for a a2….mine looks very similiar to the blood diamond carbine now except I have a 13.9 inch barrel. It is sweet! I didn’t think I would like the aim point sitting up that high off the rifle but I like it better than any modern style I’ve ever owned/shot!

@Totemparadox Жыл бұрын

Just watched Blood Diamond. USP and CAR-15 are an undefeatable duo.

@matthewrikihana6818 Жыл бұрын

This video puts the strident fandom for this AR15 set up into historical perspective. It's not OP, nor is it especially bad. However, it is mission specific. Thank you, Ian, for a very educational video.

@509Gman Жыл бұрын

It is very interesting how 20-30 years later when I was running around Iraq and Afghanistan the gear setup was better but not that different. An M4 with a receiver mounted Comp M2, PEQ-2 mounted to quad rail handguard, and a Surefire Scout light with IR cover isn’t too terribly different, just better on the batteries.

@monkeyrider7173 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ian, despite the frustrating time you had it helped me learn a lot about night shooting without having to go broke. Very informative on the progression of night capability over the years.

@vanstory946 Жыл бұрын

Phenomenol Ian. It's really nice to see when KZfaqrs can be honest about challenges and failures. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's so refreshing to hear when things go poorly - it happens to all of us and so many people won't admit when things go wrong with no excuses.

@boingkster Жыл бұрын

From an Australian that has no hope in hell of owning most of the stuff in use here... live the good life Ian, you rock! I hope you have a lot of fun, you deserve it. Its always good to watch. Cheers!

@aceman1126 Жыл бұрын

Curious if they ban the ownership of NV there too. I mean only criminals are our after dark so no one NEEDS night vision gear right? Man I hate protecionists

@flecktards3126 Жыл бұрын

Build slam fire shotguns

@boingkster Жыл бұрын

@@flecktards3126 we're not that bad off. Basically just California without the semiauto longarms. As for longarms with a barrel under 16"? Fahgeddaboudit!!

@cycadaacolyte6349 Жыл бұрын

Just build whatever you want, be the change you wish to see in the world...

@Guysm1l3y Жыл бұрын

@@boingkster That's tragically pathetic.

@narrowgauge0727 Жыл бұрын

Old gear like this is extremely aesthetically pleasing. Old-school ar-15 platform guns are just something else man

@Ass_of_Amalek Жыл бұрын

you mean like how they haphazardly fixed the light to the plastic handguard? xD

@diktatoralexander88 Жыл бұрын

Its what we grew up seeing in all the movies and the toys. It's what we were first introduced to as "modern" even though it's outdated by today. Today looks foreign to us.

@narrowgauge0727 Жыл бұрын

@@diktatoralexander88 i am very young (still in high school)) and i just think they look awesome. way cooler than modern stuff in my opinion

@randomidiot8142 Жыл бұрын

@@Ass_of_Amalek pretty crazy that picatinny rails on ARs took a while to gain popularity. Even an aluminum national match handguard would have been a better option to mount stuff on.

@zstewart Жыл бұрын

It kind of looks like the Opsyn makes better use of the IR flashlight, but the PVS-14 does a bit better when the light is off.

@revvyishonisd5027 Жыл бұрын

With that specific oddball IR light* The filter is probably emitting higher up in the NIR spectrum where the opsin is more sensitive. But don’t take that to mean the opsin makes better use of IR light in general. As basically all IR weapon lights and lasers that are made for consumption are tailored to the spectrum of NIR that gen 3 performs best with.

@twelvepercentitalian2511 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for going there with this equipment. You gave us something we have never seen before but have only read about.

@deltatwoniner96 Жыл бұрын

I was in Bco 3/505 pir 82nd Abn, 2nd platoon, in Desert Storm. We got issued the an/paq-4 while we where there and continued to use them when we got back to brag. You mentioned the laser flashed. I remember it flashed like three time, but I only remember it being ir, and only able to be seen with our pvs-7 nvgs. It came in a case with the manual, and it attached to the carry handle, we didn't have the red dots on our a2 rifles. Pretty cool and brought back some memories. Side note our pl was a e7 in A squadron before going to ocs, and becoming our pl. Thank you for the walk down memory lane.

@deltatwoniner96 Жыл бұрын

Sorry for the typo Ft.Bragg

@tsechejak7598 Жыл бұрын

everyone’s favorite SF carbine, the 723 a1 fixed carryhandle and a1 carbine collapseble buttstock with m4 govt notch barrel!

@SoMDHarleyRider Жыл бұрын

Great information! Thanks, as always, Ian!

@lawrence3242 Жыл бұрын

I carried a CAR15 third tour in RVN. Worked well for me.

@wwclay86 Жыл бұрын

The gun wasn't the problem. And the fancy old optics. Didn't work well for him. Sad 😢.

@davejob630 Жыл бұрын

Very entertaining episode, and thanks TNVC , they did a great job illuminating how much better todays tech is.

@vhscopyofseinfeld Жыл бұрын

Saving up for my Colt XM-177e2 retro carbine. Can’t wait; don’t tell the wife.

@ScottKenny1978 Жыл бұрын

Unless you gotta have the Colt roll-mark, get the Troy.

@BerndFelsche Жыл бұрын

Imagine ordinary grunts struggling without any night vision aids.

@LD-Orbs Жыл бұрын

Not much fun in 1983. But at least Americans have more than the other guy. Near suicide in 2023, as the Russian mobiks could tell you... ... a generation after the Americans began working out the bugs in night vision. Believe it or not, many highly intelligent and informed people referred to the Russian Federation as a "near-peer competitor" to the United States as late as February, 2022.

@LibertysetsquareJack Жыл бұрын

That's why night fighting wasn't really much of a thing prior to about twenty years ago. The U.S. sof really developed (and capitalized on) the idea of infantry combat at night.

@ab5olut3zero95 Жыл бұрын

I served with Augee for a few years in 118IN. Good dude. I thought I was a GearDo til I met him, oh boy… Glad he’s doin well!

@dj1NM3 Жыл бұрын

Maybe the output frequency of the flashlight w/IR filter isn't really compatible with modern NODs? That could explain why it "lights up the night" for an IR sensitive CMOS-based camera (Sionyx Opsin), but not so dramatically light things up for a microchannel plate based night vision device (PVS-14).

@CypherAod Жыл бұрын

The more modern IITs can intensify a wider range of wavelengths, I have some 70s-80s Soviet goggles that can't see 940+nm IR but more modern Gen2/3 equipment that can see 1064nm with ease. I'm very surprised that Ians PVS-14s performed so poorly with the Surefire+IR filter

@Sterlingcape Жыл бұрын

Great video, thank you Ian!

@Truminashadepressure Жыл бұрын

Awesome video. It was probably more educational (and entertaining too) to showcase the gear’s shortcomings. Thank you for posting Ian🙏👌🤙

@NodoudtYT Жыл бұрын

Such a cool event you guys put on, can't wait for the next!

@davidc8527 Жыл бұрын

We had those exact same Paq-4a plus the ground command pointer in conjuction with the PVS-5 and pvs-4 in the weapons squad, we used them for C2 of fires etc....well that was back in 1986 and served 28 years so got to see those devices and technology evolve nice to see a video on it most excellent.

@wacojones8062 Жыл бұрын

Good try. I have used 2nd gen Starlight scopes in the Army reserve as a 19D scout trainer. The fun system was the TOW system with AN-TAS 4A thermal 4X and 12X with the ability to see a 1 degree change in temperature at 3,000 meters. I did a double rotation at Ft. Bliss and Donna Anna Range camp. From the training area at Logan Heights at Ft. Bliss I was able to count rivets on the B-52Ds landing after their last training flight before being taken to the Bone Yard at DM. Red black view fully adjustable and for the time very expensive at around $40,00.00. Donna Anna range was our regular summer camp with standard M113A1 APC with M2 Brownings mounted we did 50 mile drives at night and plenty of range time.

@parrotraiser6541 Жыл бұрын

Respect Ian for willingness to document failure.

@Mr.T711 Жыл бұрын

Fun to see how difficult some of the first generation equipment is to use. Looks like a great time.

@thomasrussell4674 Жыл бұрын

How is Ian ageing backwards. It's so unfair this guy somehow looks younger now, there's no justice!!!

@spinnirack3645 Жыл бұрын

A good diet and exercise work wonders

@gregorsamsomeone1184 Жыл бұрын

He's doing what he loves. Makes a big difference.

@greengoblin876 Жыл бұрын

@@spinnirack3645 he is Gun Jesus .. his diet of Cordite , whisky and Tacos is the real elixir of life.

@thatguybrody4819 Жыл бұрын

Well he recently found a new gun to shoot French long out of and a good cartridge to reload with.

@Scruffy-LookingNerfHerder Жыл бұрын

@@thatguybrody4819 haha I was on his squad and he told me about the new French precision rifle he got. I was like, of course you did lol.

@reddeltaone Жыл бұрын

It looked like someone said screw it and called in an airstrike on the shoot house.

@BASE5NYC Жыл бұрын

TNVC is my favorite site to browse for shit I can't afford but desperately need.

@TheArmourersBench Жыл бұрын

Really interesting to see the early iterations of the laser and other kit. Aesthetically those carbines look very cool.

@SpiralOverlord Жыл бұрын

Love your content, Ian. I can't wait to see more brutality content!

@hoppinggnomethe4154 Ай бұрын

That Weaver style rail mount for the optic is the best. Most retro builder can hardly find one like that.

@Rocketsong Жыл бұрын

Last time I did a night shoot, I was using an AR-15 carbine, with a L3 ATPIAL, and PVS-15s. That worked really well. That was up at GUNSITE. Wish this shoot was closer.

@thekilomike6012 Жыл бұрын

The lens cap with only tiny hole is to protect the image intensifier in bright light---take it off at night !

@thomasbecker9676 Жыл бұрын

I'd agree with the pulsing being a duty-cycle thing primarily, but given how inefficient lasers were back then, it also has the benefit of longer battery life.

@billmccrackin8825 Жыл бұрын

Delta must have practiced an insane amount to be confident in their success with this early equipment. Would a starlight type scope with an external illuminator have been any better?

@randomidiot8142 Жыл бұрын

Starlight's used visible light. Any illumination would be very visible in ir. In theory it could be ok. But, an ir optic also works with very faint visible light too.

@woodsghost9088 Жыл бұрын

A gen1 starlight scope would have had some serious struggles. Hitting targets you could see might have been easier because of a finer aiming point. Finding targets would have been tougher. Due to the Gen1 tech vs what Ian was using.

@codyishman1848 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for an interesting look at the gear that ushered in the modern Era.

@warrenharrison9490 Жыл бұрын

Made for a very entertaining and informative episode 👍

@pnastysavage5510 Жыл бұрын

Still awsome to see you run what is now an ancient tactical set up !

@sarahshowalter9539 Жыл бұрын

Very well done as usual!

@Seth-hf2rq Жыл бұрын

Nice looking kit👍

@StorminNormanTheMormon Жыл бұрын

Would love to see you have a conversation with Vickers about this

@nicholsliwilson Жыл бұрын

A pulsing laser easier to spot when you’re using it off the shoulder, especially at (relatively) longer ranges. Obviously you don’t use a laser at the ranges they do in the movies but you know what I mean @Forgotten Weapons

@richb313 Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ian

@loupiscanis9449 Жыл бұрын

Thank you , Ian . 🐺

@thomashyler6174 Жыл бұрын

I love watching these matches. I wish I could I could go, but alas I'm too old and feeble to do these kind of things anymore.

@highdesertdrew1844 8 ай бұрын

Watching this the Sunday after the time change. Night vision season is truly upon us.

@giuseppe4909 8 ай бұрын

👍 Ahhh…this episode brought back some memories ! I give you high marks for your efforts !

@DoingitWrong Жыл бұрын

Ian, you have provided an excellent demonstration of the challenges faced by troops of the past on the modern battlefield. It also shows the importance of a military providing proper equipment.

@Front-Toward-Enemy Жыл бұрын

In order to properly appreciate where we are technology wise, you have to understand where we started.

@DecSteele Жыл бұрын

I’m from Scotland so my firearm knowledge is so basic, but I have an unhealthy obsession with the M4. That car rifle looks so badass kitted out and the “blackhawkdown” clothing gear looks quality

@Argentum88 Жыл бұрын

Laser tech has come a long long way since then. I cannot believe the divergences on that old IR Laser unit, massive!

@alexandrevelhinho2327 Жыл бұрын

So, an excellent acquisition by Elbonia in persperctive!

@TerzaGuardia Жыл бұрын

When my dad was trialing some pistol lasers in the late 90s they did this pulsing thing, and notably the two different lasers pulsed at different rates. The sales guy said it was for differentiating between different beans, but that always sounded like baloney to me. The idea of it being for reducing strain on the device makes more sense to me.

@bryanmcdermott4204 Жыл бұрын

Well done. That does indeed look brutal.

@mobilegamersunite Жыл бұрын

Laser pulse is for battery life and duty cycle longevity. My laser has the same feature (double tap)

@JamesKintner Жыл бұрын

I remember my dad bringing home the AP 2000 and my mom having a medium sized cow over the price. Late 80's magnaport N frame 44 mag. His bear upgrade "back in the day". Brought me back Ian. Thanks!