Thread: IR Torch recommendation

Hi all,
Lately I have been doing a bit of night shooting for Fallow deer. The country is mainly quite open, so some longer range shooting. I have tried a few gear options along the way. On the last trip I took a newly acquired Thermal imager, A Hik Vision 25mm Lynx Pro. this was a game changer. In conjunction with this I was using a rifle mounted Maxtoch M pro Archer, this is a great light with plenty of range. We shot a few deer.
However I also have a Pard NV007 which I would like to use. So far this has not been very successful, it is great in low light condition with the IR turned off but the moment I turn on The IR in B/W mode the image completely washes out. I was ready to get rid of it when it suddenly occurred to me that the problem is most likely being caused by the built in IR light being reflected off the suppressor. I have tried a neoprene suppressor cover to no avail. Still I am convinced that the issue is light glare off the suppressor, I say this because I have experienced the same problem with the LED torch being scope mounted, this was slightly mitigated by moving the light well back on the scope and adding a neoprene suppressor cover, it is still there but not too bad. I guess I didn't think about this possibly being an issue with the IR light because it is not actually visible.
I have just made up a new setup to mount the torch under the front of the rifle stock, setup but not yet tested. I am considering buying an aftermarket IR torch and setting it up on this stock mount. Does anyone have experience with IR torches, both mounting them on the rifle and effectiveness out to say 250m. There are a couple of models out there like Nitecore and Nite Sabre which offer both IR and LED all in the same torch, sounds like a good idea. Then there's the IRLB Laser iluminators from Owl optics, we actually have one of these mounted on another rifle with a Pard NV008, its a great unit but $550 is getting up there. Any thoughts would be appreciated.