Thread: Handheld Thermal for the Bush

Yeah mate …would agree totally… but to pontificate that you lose yr edge is BS!!!….. it’s just another format in the hunting regime that you adjust too…

Iron sites..to scopes … to nicer scopes …to thermal … to better thermal .. to red dots ……. Too WHATEVER!!!!

If you used nothing else in yr life but thermal and never transitioned back to all the other… then sure,you may never have an edge… but cmon….

Originally Posted by Yesmate

it will work but will also de skill you as a hunter.youll get addicted to it and lose your hunting edge.

Hah. I had no hunting edge to lose. Except my knife’s edge. I’ve always used aids. Binos, dogs, mates, luck. Hearing aids. Walking aids. Carrying aids. Thermal is just another tool. Bring it on.

Just one more thing to carry and not lose or wreck. Whatever spins your wheels I guess but the cost of them would be a fair few chopper trips in the bush.

I have used mine in the bush quite a bit (25mm lens/640 sensor). Bloody effective. I stalk just as I normally would but every now and then scan with the thermal, just as I would with binos. Amazing what I have picked up that I'm sure I wouldn't have detected without it.
The thermal doesn't know if it is daylight or dark. It senses difference in temperature. A warm body in the cool bush stands out just fine but they really come into their own in winter when an animal will stand out like a light bulb in a dark room. The biggest problem I then have is seeing the bloody thing without it, even though I know exactly where it is.

Originally Posted by A330driver

Yeah mate …would agree totally… but to pontificate that you lose yr edge is BS!!!….. it’s just another format in the hunting regime that you adjust too…

Iron sites..to scopes … to nicer scopes …to thermal … to better thermal .. to red dots ……. Too WHATEVER!!!!

If you used nothing else in yr life but thermal and never transitioned back to all the other… then sure,you may never have an edge… but cmon….

yep just it is just another tech tool to improve chances of going home with the goods,nothing wrong with that but they definitely make hunting easy.i find myself reaching for the thermal on private land to get straight to the point rather than scanning with the binos for an animal which in itself is a bit of a skill,i refuse to take it into the sticks as I reckon bush hunting is at the very top tier of hunting skill.going into the bush without a dog or thermal and consistently succeeding is a massive buzz for me that I dont want to lose,Using a thermal would just make it easy.

One of the best tools around d to increase the chance of getting an animal, recon I see three times as many deer with one that without. And in a shorter time

Upgraded to a Pulsar Axion 2 XG35 from a Pulsar Axion Key and that was a big jump up in resolution and usefulness during the day. Good for spotting deer on or in the edge of bush and finding downed aminals.

Is anyone using the little T2's that attach to your phone in the bush?

I'm not sure I want another bit of kit to try and look after when in the bush, however I always have my phone with me so I see it as a good compromise.

Would like to get feedback on real world experience before I go through the drama of explaining my latest purchase

Originally Posted by Tahr

Hah. I had no hunting edge to lose. Except my knife’s edge. I’ve always used aids. Binos, dogs, mates, luck. Hearing aids. Walking aids. Carrying aids. Thermal is just another tool. Bring it on.

Is that why you use a 80ltr pack to carry all your goodies. LOL. You must split the pack... 40ltr for projectiles [39 different makes ] and 40 ltrs for hunting goodies. Too much.*

Originally Posted by Yesmate

yep just it is just another tech tool to improve chances of going home with the goods,nothing wrong with that but they definitely make hunting easy.i find myself reaching for the thermal on private land to get straight to the point rather than scanning with the binos for an animal which in itself is a bit of a skill,i refuse to take it into the sticks as I reckon bush hunting is at the very top tier of hunting skill.going into the bush without a dog or thermal and consistently succeeding is a massive buzz for me that I dont want to lose,Using a thermal would just make it easy.

Ditto on that mate… totally agree …. I don’t think there would be many on here that disagree and I reckon we’ve all been there….,, years have taken there toll ,no issues there , but doing the hard yards on many hunts.. Yes .. I’ve been there with an old.303 with iron sights and still relish those days…… what makes me now laugh is I have nephews in their 20,s who use Helicopters to get into the bush where we once tramped!!….. with heavy packs!!!!…… different strokes for different folks!

Originally Posted by TeRei

Is that why you use a 80ltr pack to carry all your goodies. LOL. You must split the pack... 40ltr for projectiles [39 different makes ] and 40 ltrs for hunting goodies. Too much.*

All true. But at least life is never boring

Originally Posted by 7mm tragic

Is anyone using the little T2's that attach to your phone in the bush?

I'm not sure I want another bit of kit to try and look after when in the bush, however I always have my phone with me so I see it as a good compromise.

Would like to get feedback on real world experience before I go through the drama of explaining my latest purchase

Son bought a rugged phone, military specs, with thermal & night vision, less than $1k.
Ulefone Armor 25T Pro

Originally Posted by luckey

Son bought a rugged phone, military specs, with thermal & night vision, less than $1k.
Ulefone Armor 25T Pro

Ulefone is much lower spec than the T2 Pro.
We have some samples of the new T2 Pro Max just landed with a bigger lens. Will do some testing in the new year.

I can understand that thermal can be a crutch, but people rarely mention the skills and knowledge using thermal helps develop.

Thermal has been amazing at showing me what I was missing, and animal behavior when I couldn't see then. It has really helped me piece together their behavior and what I was doing wrong, and my spotting rate without thermal has gone way up. Thermal is kind of like having an experienced hunter teach you to spot animals.

As far as a bush monocular, if you know you won't go long distance, lowest resolution possible is the thing. I'd personally say that thermal in its current form isn't capable of multitasking well (ie being used for close and long range) so buy the optics suited for the main use and understand it'll have limitations for other use. Trying to get a generalist thermal optic when you know you're going to use it in the bush will just lead to frustration.

Do yourself a favor and try a bunch of them before buying. There is a lot of variety and their spec sheet only tells you half the story.

Originally Posted by canross

I can understand that thermal can be a crutch, but people rarely mention the skills and knowledge using thermal helps develop.

Thermal has been amazing at showing me what I was missing, and animal behavior when I couldn't see then. It has really helped me piece together their behavior and what I was doing wrong, and my spotting rate without thermal has gone way up. Thermal is kind of like having an experienced hunter teach you to spot animals.

As far as a bush monocular, if you know you won't go long distance, lowest resolution possible is the thing. I'd personally say that thermal in its current form isn't capable of multitasking well (ie being used for close and long range) so buy the optics suited for the main use and understand it'll have limitations for other use. Trying to get a generalist thermal optic when you know you're going to use it in the bush will just lead to frustration.

Do yourself a favor and try a bunch of them before buying. There is a lot of variety and their spec sheet only tells you half the story.

Well i think you are completely of the mark, my first hand held was a pulsar XP50, made for long range spotting , i was seeing deer up to 2 km away in tussock country. and when i was in the bush, down to about 15 yards,
all you had to do was alter your focus dial on thermal unit, easy peasy.
When i got my XP50, the shop owner got me to walk around the shop carpet with my shoes ON, He focused the thermal to 3-4 meters and i then had a squizz through the thermal and i could see my footprints on the carpet glowing bright as.
i now have a 35mm set of bino's just as good in the bush, but no where as much definition of target or vegetation once you are over 500 yards as the xp50.

,

I'm considering buying another thermal now after reading all of this. Thanks, bastards!