Thread: Thermal Monocular

Mate has a large number of possums that need cleaning up - and is looking for a Thermal to help snot them.

Was looking at something like this
Burris Thermal BTH35 V2 - $1,200 2hnd

or this
Topdon TS004 Thermal Imager Hunting Imaging Monocular - $850

Does the greater collective have thoughts on these things or what he should be looking at> - an area I am totally ignorant on.

Lot of doe to clean up a few coons.
Pretty easy to spot with a decent head torch and then shoot with a light mounted on the 22

I'd go for the Burris out of those two options, the higher resolution will make spotting a bit easier and potentially out to further distances,
looks like the burris has less fov/more zoomed in on the lowest setting,
I'd say anything with a 256x192 resolution probably isn't worth getting these days unless its quite cheap, I've not seen any thermals under $1500 new that I'd bother getting, generally a used thermal that was 2-3k new will offer better specs but you lose out on the warranty aspect,

fwiw I've found a night vision clip on quite good and they normally go for around the $500 range, possums around me seem to be pretty torch shy but with the NV I've had no issues finding them also good for pigs wont be as easy to spot things like a thermal would be but the eyes generally stick out when scanning, still not as obvious as a white blob though.

Hundreds upon thousands of coons were shot using piss weak spotlights and a .22

They still work fine. Especially when the numbers are high.

Sytong thermal scope, cheapest new thermal scope on the market, once you spot them then what? Spotlight?

www.nightvision.co.nz

ok - The boy wants a new toy and clearly has money to burn - and yes the early bolt action .22 did a lot

BUT - if he really does want to spend - it is a case of helping him down the best path - so all comments are of assistance as to which direction to go.

Originally Posted by Doghead

ok - The boy wants a new toy and clearly has money to burn - and yes the early bolt action .22 did a lot

BUT - if he really does want to spend - it is a case of helping him down the best path - so all comments are of assistance as to which direction to go.

I'm not sure what the spotlight enthusiasts' point is. Yes, you can still hunt quite effectively with a spotlight, but it's not more efficient than having some kind of thermal assistance. Anyone who thinks otherwise can insert their own insult here.

I would suggest your friend save up and invest in a dedicated low magnification wide FOV thermal scope when possible. If long-range capability/large game hunting/dusk-dawn spotting isn’t a priority, a wide FOV and low base magnification is more advantageous for critter control, as it makes scanning significantly easier.

As Sika8 alludes, transitioning from a thermal spotter to a scope (whether NV or spotlight) is less efficient, but it’s by no means ineffective. Thermal spotters can track critters into stationary positions, for example following possums into trees. Once cornered, switching to a rifle becomes practical.
Spotting and shooting with a single unit can be more productive, provided it offers enough detail to identify the target and sufficient FOV to reduce excessive scanning. While scanning with a scoped rifle is more challenging than using a standalone thermal spotter, it shouldn't be too troublesome if hes not an old fella.


Ignore the spotlight purists. Definitely encourage the thermal purchase, whatever he chooses will be an upgrade and will undoubtedly help.
I won't suggest a specific model because there are many options on the market right now and it depends if he goes for a monocular, binos, spotter or a scope.

Here's a 'scope that would fit the bill.

https://nightvision.co.nz/product/sy...l-rifle-scope/

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-scope-109926/

It's up to the individual if you are happy waving it around mounted to a rifle as a spotter.