Thermal And Night Vision Scopes

[Whisky]

Does anyone on here have any experience with thermal or NV scopes? I am looking into them for nighttime coyote hunting. I have done some research but I'm curious to hear about your real world experiences. Mainly what scope you got and how far can you effectively shoot with it.

Thanks

 

[longrangelead]

Does anyone on here have any experience with thermal or NV scopes? I am looking into them for nighttime coyote hunting. I have done some research but I'm curious to hear about your real world experiences. Mainly what scope you got and how far can you effectively shoot with it.

Thanks

Hi, I have both. I have an Armasight Zeus w/Ultimate Night Vision DVR(thermal). I also have an ATN night vision scope. Both have their strengths and weakness'.
The thermal is awesome! Everything you think thermal is, it is! The biggest limitation to thermal is thick vegetation, it can't see through it. The other is a light rain that makes virtually everything the same temp. This is rare in my neck of woods though.

The DVR I mentioned is a recording device that attaches directly to the scope or rifle using pic. rail or velcro strap, an audio/video cable connects the scope to the DVR. This DVR is the only one I know of with an LCD screen on the unit and I have it set up to use as a "heads up display".

The night vision is cool and has a purpose too. It will see into brush better than thermal in some cases. The biggest pain is illumination. On a full moon night or snow it's great. No moon or snow and it takes a quality IR or red LED light to give enough light to see an effective distance. By effective i mean far enough to shoot and to see critters coming to the call or hung up at the edge of your shooting distance.

I like to see as far as possible and use a red light so i don't have to exclusively see through the scope. I live in the mountains of Montana, calling at night brings anything from fox to bears with lions and wolves in between! Being "blind" unless using the scope is not cool.

I am new to this forum as of this post, I assume there is a PM option. I am interested in selling my thermal unit/DVR, it's awesome but I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I'd like to spend the money on another rifle...

 

[matewbro]

I use ThOR-HD line from ATN. It is the most technologically advanced line of thermal rifle scopes on the market bar none! Smooth Zoom, built in WiFi, Bluetooth, 3D Gyroscope, 3D Accelerometer, 3D Magnetometer are but a few of the features and sensors packed into these incredible systems. More on Thermal Rifle Scope ThOR-HD with Camera for Night hunting

 

[Southtexasboy]

If you are going to spend the money on some thermal then go for the IR hunter, they blow the ATN thermal away.

 

[longrangelead]

Just re-read your question...the second half is how far can you shoot?

With IR it depends on illumination. You can only shoot as far as you can see. 2-300 yds will probably be the average hunters max. range.

With thermal, target quality, skill, caliber, weather, brush, etc. will limit your range since illumination is not needed. You should be able to shoot as far or close to as far as with an ordinary scope once you get the hang of it.

Depending on the heat signature and contrast, you'll be able to identify objects a mile or more away. Don't forget, thermal works day or night too!!

 

[AustinL911]

Don't rule out Pulsar. I run of their thermal scopes (which is actually a handheld monocular) and it's pretty legit. I've been eyeballing one of their new Trail thermal sights (which is actually a rifle scope...), but the $5k pricetag has me hedging on it a bit.

 

[Akicita]

My ACTS-LR T75 mounted in front of my Schmidt and Bender PM II was effective to about 750 meters. . .

 

[Richard Thompson]

As to night vision trail cameras, it is important for them to capture detailed and crisp images and footages at night whether for hunting or surveillance. With this in mind, I choose WingHome trail camera to try, it takes great images at night.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I was able to handle this last week at a trade show: https://www.sionyx.com/

It is a Color night vision camera/monocular that can mount to a helmet or rail of a rifle. Never seen color night vision before, and the camcorder feature has me really intrigued.

 

[HonkeyMcGee88]

My first couple questions would be how far are you wanting to shoot and how much are you willing to spend.

That said I have personally had a cheaper Pulsar Digital NV dedicated scope that was ok at 100 yards but often I needed the IR even at 100. For $1500 it did the job to shoot pigs at a feeder though.

I now have a refurb PVS-30. Boy what a world of difference. I have been out on nights I could clearly make out a 10" target at 1000 yards with no IR. However, I have also been put on nights I needed IR at 100 yards due to weather. The ability to simply clip it on and go with my regular rifle is priceless to me

For pros and cons of each.
Good NV will always be better at animal identification.
Thermal on the other hand will be easier for finding the animal. Even with my good clip on, I always use IR when scanning to pick up reflections on eyes.

Eventually I'll get a hand held thermal spotter which for me is the ideal setup but it all depends on your intended use.

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