NV for hunting in woods - some basic questions

Best bet to get out to 150 yards and stay around that price range is to go with a digital unit. That will also allow you to have it turned on in daylight and not hurt the tube if exposed to light. Realistically 100 yards, but digital can be used further. A great unit is the [url=http://www.opticsplanet.com/pulsar-recon-550-digital-night-vision-scope.html]Recon 550[/url] by Pulsar. 100-125 yards is very possible, but after that it will be harder. To guarantee 150 yards you are looking at a Gen 2 unit, then you jump to over $1000. the Pulsar would be a good choice for you though and a black and white image will be great for contrast for the animal and the background.

I hunt every year for whitetail deer. The most frustrating thing is to sit out in a deer stand an hour before sunrise, freezing your butt off, and have no idea if there is anything actually near you. It is not legal to shoot before sunrise, but I would just like to identify what I might be hearing.

My needs are as follows:

- out to 150 yards visibility
- ability to maybe zoom in a little to identify if it's a buck (antlers) - this may be a bit of a stretch, so not an absolute necessity
- ability to still use during twilight to zoom in a little.
- I don't want a [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/riflescopes.html]rifle scope[/link], so whatever is the most cost effective way of getting what I want is the way to go.
- would like to stay under $4-500 if I can.

The most important thing is to identify what it is out there. In most cases, I am deep in the woods, so light from moon or stars is minimal.

One more thing, I am envisioning that looking through a [link=http://www.opticsplanet.com/nightvision.html]night vision[/link] lens will almost make the deer glow in the night. Can anyone tell me what is realistic in thie price range I am looking at and if there is a big jump in technology by going up in price?

Thanks so much for the help.
Jeff