The problem with nightvision and thermal is that there is a threshold of money that you have to spend for it to be actually usable. What I’m getting at is you say “I don’t want to spend 3k and not like it” and I would reply “if you don’t spend 2-3k, you won’t like it”
In nightvision/thermal you have to pay to play, that’s just how it is. If you’re only going to make a single purchase and budget is a large concern, something like the AGM rattlers and the Hogsters seem to be super popular and they look more than functional for 100-200 yard shooting. If you’re only NOD is going to be weapon mounted, a tripod will greatly help with scanning. Holding a rifle up to your eye starts to suck after a few scans. Tripod doesn’t have to be super light, just something with a “hog saddle” type of clamp on the top will work great.
The main thing that’s positive about a thermal scope is you can shoot and scan with one device. You don’t need a laser or IR illum device like you typically do with helmet mounted night vision. The negative is that it’s heavy to scan with and if you’re hunting with other people you will have to be careful to not flag your buddies with your “scanning” scope lol. The main things you’ll need to figure out is your purpose for the device. If you’re shooting yotes at 200 you’ll need to spend a little more and may want a better base magnification. If you’re shooting hogs at 100 yards and closer, you can get away a little cheaper with a lower base magnification.
I would say for strictly hunting, nightvision leaves things to be desired over thermal. First off, the absolute minimum night vision device that I could recommend is a Gen 3 PVS-14 with something like and Omni 7 or 8 contract tube that you might be able to get in for around 2-3k plus a cheap bump helmet to mount it on. The main benefit to this is that it’s like wearing a hat that you can just walk around and look around with worrying about flagging your buddies. It’s much easier to navigate terrain with a helmet mounted NV than any kind of thermal wether handheld or helmet mounted. Other cheaper/older generation night vision requires a metric ass ton of IR illum to work properly and have proven to be gimmicky. When people look through Gen 3 night vision they are blown away. In summary, night vision is best suited for general navigation and movement, thermal is great for scanning (handheld or weapon mounted), identification, and shooting critters.
This is long winded, and I don’t meant to speak in absolutes, I have just wasted a lot of money on stuff that doesn’t work. Best thing to do is figure out exactly what you need, and then call a thermal/nightvision company and ask them if they have something that works well for your needs. I really like Outdoor Legacy Gear here in Texas, they can help you find something in your budget. Though I will say I have purchased my nightvision devices from Steele Ind and they have done me well, but they’re more tactical centered where as outdoor legacy gear is more hunting focused. Feel free to shoot me a PM as well.
The dream setup for us down here in Texas is a helmet mounted Gen 3 night vision device, a weapon mounted IR pointer/illum device, and a weapon mounted thermal and a tripod.
The photo attached is a clear night with a Gen 3 white phosphor elbit tube ($3k)with above average specifications. The beam is a full power laser unit ($1.5-2k) used for shooting and illumination in dark spots.
