[legion]

There was a good write-up of the various generations of Night Vision and related technologies (such as infrared) in American Rifleman a few months ago. It explained the pros and cons of each as well as why one costs more than the other.

The bottom line is that you have to pick what works best for your application and that is not necessarily the most expensive option.

As you are looking at hunting something living, the stuff that uses infrared is a good option (though I forget what it is typically called) and IIRC, is much cheaper than the analogue night vision (which amplifies background light).