Handheld thermal monocular advice

[pharmfisher]

Looking for advice on a handheld thermal monocular scanner. I have a box blind overlooking a grassy area. I think it would be fun to sit up there at night and try to spot rodents and shoot them with my .22. I have a NV scope on my gun, so I'm more looking to spot potential targets with a thermal scanner, not identify what they are. How much money do I need to spend to get something that'll work out to 150-200 yards? I was looking at the AGM taipan tm15-256. Would something like that work?

 

[gr8fuldoug]

The AGM Taipan TM15-256 Thermal Imaging Monocular would work just fine. That unit has a detection range of 710 yards so it will be able to detect a heat source and then switch over to your night vision unit.

 

[taskswap]

I got a Pulsar Axion on a deep discount a few years back for coyotes but rarely use it. It's a ton of fun at first but for me ended up being more of a gimmick and I haven't had it out of storage in years. But I can tell you it worked fine if you're looking for brand options. It's twice the price of the TM15 but also twice the resolution if you care about that. I can tell a skunk vs a raccoon several hundred yards away. When we camp the kids would have a good time spotting things to look at around dusk...

 

[pharmfisher]

The AGM Taipan TM15-256 Thermal Imaging Monocular would work just fine. That unit has a detection range of 710 yards so it will be able to detect a heat source and then switch over to your night vision unit.

How good would this unit work at identifying small game inside 150 yards? Like rabbit vs raccoon or a muskrat swimming across a pond?

 

[WCB]

I've used Pulsar Axions for Coyote hunting and would recommend them.

 

[Samson7x]

Detection and identification are two different things so just keep that in mind. With a 384 unit, you should be able to ID rabbit vs raccoon within 100yds or so. Further once you are able to see them move. How an animal moves will be just as useful in determining proper target.

 

[timfresh]

Love my Pulsar axion.

 

[pharmfisher]

Love my Pulsar axion.

That is what I went with. Works for what I need but seems to be pretty weather dependant. If it's a wet day and the sun never came out, it's pretty fuzzy that night.

 

[Boltgun]

Would recommend buying a thermal scope and simply running it as a spotter. That way if (when?) you decide thermal is better than NV, you can drop it on the rifle and go!

 

[Krobe]

If you really want to 'identify' at that range you need to get a 384 unit. If you just want to see heat signatures, that Taipan is a great option.

 

[LA Hunter]

What about use during the day- morning and evening? I'm aware that it's difficult during midday since everything is warm by then and not as distinguishable.

How effective are these thermal monoculars at identifying game in thick brush or trees?

 

[taskswap]

What about use during the day- morning and evening? I'm aware that it's difficult during midday since everything is warm by then and not as distinguishable.

How effective are these thermal monoculars at identifying game in thick brush or trees?

It depends on the brand/quality. Essentially these devices are just low-res CCD sensors tuned to receive IR instead of the visible spectrum. Their resolution is so low to begin with (320x240 is still "high res" and 240x192 is still very common) that it can be hard to grasp how MUCH lower they are. Consider that 240x192 is 46080 pixels total. An iPhone 12 (a fairly old model now) has a 12MP camera (4000x3000) - that's 12 million - just over 260x the resolution.

It's such an insane jump that it's easy to miss side effects. It's not just about image clarity. When the sun hits the "field", almost everything becomes a "rock" - rocks, mud patches, trees, big bushes, etc etc. After a bit you're just looking at polka-dots. They just can't resolve the more subtle temp differences during the daytime.

That doesn't mean they don't work, but their value does go way down.