Thread: I've Experienced the Advantage of Hunting with Thermal and Night Vision

Originally Posted by JLF

Beautiful viewers. Too bad in my country they are prohibited.

That is unfortunate JLF.

While these things are interesting and useful, we hunted successfully without them for thousands of years. My first hunt with night gear was just a few months ago. While I've become a little obsessed about experimenting with these new bits of technology, they represent a departure from the way I prefer to live. I don't like to own too much 'stuff', and I value simplicity and self-reliance. I doubt that my greatest hunting memories will involve infra-red technology. Using a range-finder and a hi-tech scope to make a perfect shot at midnight is nothing compared to shooting a pig with a bow made from a branch and an arrow formed from a bracken stem. It would take a lot to make me feel more elated than the time I snared my first rabbit.

I guess you are probably permitted to use game cameras in Argentina. I've enjoyed using these for a long time. The images recorded on my camera have been quite a revelation. The camera is an indirect night-vision hunting tool and a relatively inexpensive bit of technology that helps to make a hunter's life interesting.

Out for a shoot last night using new red torch and syntong NV. Both ran out of power, red torch first.

Reverted to halogen spottie first once red torch stopped. Didn’t seem a noticeable difference in the behaviour of the hares been spotted. To be fair area hadn’t been shot in a while.

Will need to purchase extra batteries to make best use of the investment in tech.

Was pleased to be able to unclip the unit and carry on shooting. Most probably shot just as many.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's quite a pile of hares Tiroahunta. What might you typically do with them?

Also... does your scope have parallax adjustment?.... or do you simply find a focus position on your add-on unit that works for you?

Originally Posted by Coote

That is unfortunate JLF.

While these things are interesting and useful, we hunted successfully without them for thousands of years. My first hunt with night gear was just a few months ago. While I've become a little obsessed about experimenting with these new bits of technology, they represent a departure from the way I prefer to live. I don't like to own too much 'stuff', and I value simplicity and self-reliance. I doubt that my greatest hunting memories will involve infra-red technology. Using a range-finder and a hi-tech scope to make a perfect shot at midnight is nothing compared to shooting a pig with a bow made from a branch and an arrow formed from a bracken stem. It would take a lot to make me feel more elated than the time I snared my first rabbit.

I guess you are probably permitted to use game cameras in Argentina. I've enjoyed using these for a long time. The images recorded on my camera have been quite a revelation. The camera is an indirect night-vision hunting tool and a relatively inexpensive bit of technology that helps to make a hunter's life interesting.

While I like those types of scopes, I would never use one. My rifle does not have any type of scope, I use the metal sights of the rifle. And to hunt at night I painted the front sight and the rear with a luminescent paint. Like you, I like to hunt without so much technology.
But the interesting thing about these scopes is that if they were allowed, in my country many of the deaths by accidental shooting in the hunts would be avoided.

That is interesting thanks @JLF. What sort of rifle do you use? And are the metal sights you refer to open sights (with a 'V' rear sight and a 'l' front sight)? or do you use an aperture sight? And what sort of animals can you hunt over there?

Originally Posted by Coote

That is interesting thanks @JLF. What sort of rifle do you use? And are the metal sights you refer to open sights (with a 'V' rear sight and a 'l' front sight)? or do you use an aperture sight? And what sort of animals can you hunt over there?

The rifle I use is a Remington 700 cal. .338 Winchester Magnum. I hunt wild boars and pumas.
This is my rifle. The front sight modifies it.


upload picture



The reason for removing the sight from my rifle is because I wanted to polish my hunting method.

I apologize for misrepresenting the post.

That's all good @JLF. That front sight looks useful with the paint on it. Thanks for posting the picture. I got some 'glow in the dark' powder today, so I might try Micky Duck's recipe and apply some to a rifle sight with clear nail polish to see how it works.

We don't have pumas here, but we do have feral cats (domestic cats gone wild). Some of them get pretty big. The one in the picture below was huge. it was probably the best part of three feet long when stretched out..... nothing like a puma of course, but it possibly killed a lot of wildlife in its time.

338 magnum,that impresses me.But if a puma is charging you,you want to stop it dead.No second chance there.

I'm with you Trout. I just Googled South American Puma. Evidently a male may grow to 100kg and 2.4 metres from tail tip to nose. That is a big pussy cat. The closest thing I can compare it to is a 100 kg pig with claws and the ability to climb a tree and pounce on you.

The reflective tape I ordered hasn't arrived yet, but the glow in the dark powder and ready-mixed paint arrived this morning. I bought it directly from glowinthedark Dot co Dot NZ instead of through their TradeMe listing. I am mightily impressed with the paint. I don't know how long it will adhere to the plastic magazines and metal torches. I haven't tried the nailpolish and powder mix yet, but I think it should stick well. The ready-mixed paint has a relatively short shelf life, but the powder should be usable for a long time. The clear nail polish only cost $2.50 from the variety store.

I don't want to put too much glowing paint on to my hunting gear as it may catch the attention of the things I'm trying to stalk. I was surprised with how brightly it glows. The reflective tape will be more appropriate for some of my gear.

Below are two photos of the same objects. That is a Ruger .22 magazine at the left, and the wooden object is a home-made friction folding knife.





Thanks, guys, for your suggestions regarding the tape and the glow powder.

just DONT paint your big toe nails........LOL...... funny as heck walking to the john in middle of night with toe nails glowing down on floor...my kids thought it was hilarious painting them...didnt realise how long it was going to last.....and yes it works well on shotgun bead too.

I thought your earlier mention of the toenail painting was a mere joke. Now it seems a bit scary.

I got some of the paint on my hand. And even after I thought I'd washed it off, I could still see a faint glow. Makes me wonder if I shouldn't prepare a nice surprise for bed time.

I put some of the glow paint on the foresight of my old companion... an Anschutz bolt-action .22. This has a foresight that protrudes above the moderator and it is probably the rifle I've used the most in my life.... right from when it was new in the early 1970s. I'm looking forward to trying it.

The reflective tape arrived and it seems to be excellent. It cost a lot to ship it here, but I am glad I have it.

I've stuck it to flashlights, headlamps, rifle magazines, binoculars and my car key. I applied a lot of glow paint to the cord tied to my car key and it glows really well, but I also stuck tiny pieces of tape to the sides of the key and to the key tag. I carry the key on a sturdy cord around my neck when I'm out walking. Currently it looks like it would cost about the same to replace the high-tech key as it would to buy a second-hand rifle.

Below are some images which I hope shows that the tape works well. It shines in a dim light, but it wasn't easy to photograph.

looks great,now lets hope you never have to find out how well it works in long grass across paddock after getting to gate and realising you have dropped "something"