The Pulsar Digex N450 is Pulsar’s newest night vision riflescope. The Digex N450 is a 4-16X digital night vision riflescope that gives you the best digital night vision technology on the market in a standard size 30mm tube. All those problems of mounting a night vision scope on your non-AR type rifle have gone away, plus you get a host of features formally reserved for Pulsar’s thermal scopes. And my biggest surprises were long battery life and the quality of the included IR light.
Digex Premier Features
- 1280×720 HD imaging sensor
- 1024×768 HD AMOLED display screen
- Sumlight Software Enhancement
- A selection of 10 reticle shapes in 8 color modes
- Instant start-up & standby mode
- Integrated video and sound recorder
- Picture in Picture Aiming
- 1-shot zeroing
- Rechargeable Battery System
- 5 individual shooting profiles/50 zeroing distances
- Software sensitivity enhancement algorithm SumLight
- Customizable automatic shutdown
- Stadiametric rangefinder
- Side incline indication
- IPX7 Weather Rated
The Pulsar 850nm detachable IR Illuminator that comes with the Digex N450 is a very good light for hunting out to at least 200 yards. It has an easy-to-reach power button and a rheostat knob to increase the power from low to high. It did not seem to increase power gradually but just went from a low setting to high very quickly. I turned it to the highest setting and left it there. There is a warning light in the power button that turns red when only 30 minutes of power remains in the battery.
The Digex IR is not permanently mounted to the scope. It clamps on and can be rotated around the tube or taken off completely. The light has adjustments for aiming the beam and can then be locked into place. A key feature the Digex IR illuminator that is missing is the ability to focus the beam from wide cone to narrow beam of light for long shots. If you decide to use an aftermarket IR, you can remove the Pulsar Illuminator to save weight and have a spare battery for your scope.
There are two Pulsar IR Illuminators that can be used with the Digex. The Digex N450 uses the 850nm illuminator and the Digex 455 uses the 940nm illuminator. The 850nm IR gives you longer range but gives off a red glow. The 940nm IR is totally invisible but has a shorter range. Most people choose the 850nm illuminator because they can see farther and wild game pays little attention to the soft red glow.
Pulsar Digex Scope Controls
Other controls like adjustments for brightness, reticle changes, and contrast are accessed through the controller knob on the left side of the scope. All menu functions must be accessed through the controller knob. There are four quick functions that can be accessed through the controller while hunting; brightness, contrast, range profile & range estimation functions. The static range estimation function uses a pair of lines to bracket the target and estimate range, not a laser range finder. If you have more than one distance saved in a rifle profile, it can also be accessed and changed in the quick functions.
The new Pulsar Digex N450 controls are easy to use and conveniently located. If you are familiar with the Pulsar Thermion, the controls are basically the same. The controls used most often during a hunt are the power, record and magnification buttons which are located on the top of the scope above the eyepiece. The power/record/magnification buttons are laid out in a triangle grid within a small circle that makes it easy to operate at night for most users. Even if you are wearing gloves, they are pretty easy to use.
The focus ring is in the same place as a regular riflescope with an adjustable objective on the front of the scope. It has a wide rubber-covered adjustment ring that is easy to access with the non-shooting hand and has a firm, but smooth rotation. The flip-up lens cover is made of hard plastic and does a good job of keeping dust off the lens. Be careful not to let the opened cover block the IR light.
Hunting With The Digex N450 Riflescope
Hunting with the Pulsar Digex N450 is an exciting experience. It is quite a thrill to break through the darkness with the Digex’s sharp digital image and see how much wildlife is roaming the night. For my review, I wanted to use the Pulsar illuminator and I was not disappointed. The Pulsar IR illuminator was adequate for my hunting situations within 200 yards. Of course, more light is better, and to get the full potential of the Digex, an illuminator like the Sniper Hog Light is a must.
The Digex Does Everything Right
If you are looking for a great digital night vision scope, look no farther. The Pulsar Digex N450 has a great image, generous field of view, and adequate IR illuminator. It may not be the best choice if you want to use it a lot for daytime hunting, but for night hunting, it can not be beaten.
The Pulsar APS2/3 battery system is sufficient for 4-5 hours of hunting time which is enough for most hunters, and a couple of spare batteries or power bank will get you through a longer hunt. The IR light is adequate for most hunting situations, but can only be powered with APS2 batteries. The scope is much better than the included light if you are hunting large open fields. I would recommend adding a Sniper Hog Light 66LRX (that uses inexpensive rechargeable 18650 batteries) to your purchase and use the extra Pulsar APS2 battery for your scope.
I have no dislikes about the Pulsar N450 night vision scope. The controls used most often during a hunt are conveniently located and easy to operate. It powers up in 5 seconds and has a power-saving standby mode. It did everything well, functioned perfectly, and I highly recommend it.
Pulsar Digisight Ultra Night Vision Scope
The Pulsar Digex N450 is a great digital night vision scope, but there is another great Pulsar night vision option, as well. Pulsar also offers the Digisight Ultra and the Digisight Ultra LRF night vision scopes based on their popular Trail Series of scopes.
The Pulsar Digisight Ultra 4.5×18 offers all the features of the Digex, except it is housed in the Trail body instead of the Thermion body and uses the IPS 5/10 battery packs. If you are a fan of the Pulsar Trail series or want the much longer-lasting IPS battery packs, you may want to consider the Digisight.
The controls are different and it is more difficult to mount on a bolt action rifle, but if you use any other Pulsar units with IPS battery packs, it may be the best option for you. The Digisight battery packs will run 2-3 times longer than APS2/3 series batteries on a charge.
Visit Outdoor Legacy to purchase the Digex N450, Digisight Ultra, Sniper Hog Light, or other quality thermal optics. If you have questions, please call Jason Robertson at (877)350-1818.
Also please visit Outdoor Legacy on Youtube and HansETX for great hunting videos and thermal optic reviews.
If you’re looking for great reviews and commentary on the latest in the night vision and thermal industry be sure to tune into The Late Night Vision Show, a weekly podcast hosted by Jason Robertson and HansETX.
