Thermal scopes comparison thread - what do you have and what do you like/dislike?

[Shearer]

I have spotted a lot of game during the day with mine that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

[woods223]

I have spotted a lot of game during the day with mine that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Once you get used to using one in daylight it’s surprising what you see, good for spotting animals in fringe bush areas and scrub. Useful when pest shooting, still have philosophical problem with using one for recreational game shooting though. Like to give animals a chance.

[Trout]

Yes they are handy in the day as long as there not too many rocky faces .Good for those last 2 hrs of day light when the deers start to get hungry and you can still use yr day scope for shooting them.

[duckndeer]

They sure work during the day tho… don’t do the NV use a thermal scope

[Trout]

Had a NVpulsa 38 clip on,Guide 35mm and now Infiray chv2 50.
Monoculars, Pulsa XQ 38(2016),Conotech 50 and now Infiray 35.

[XR500]

I'm in the market for one( not just yet).

Thinking monocular to scan treeline/trees or paddock for small game. Distances be 200m max. Plan woyls be to go to the where seen with thermal n use a night vision scope

Sent from my SM-T225 using Tapatalk

Last night the negatives of a digital night vision scope kicked in: The hand held thermal showed up 3 bunnies within easy shooting range. Turn on the pard 008 and hit the IR illuminator and its white rabbit in a snow storm stuff. The mist had rolled in. Didn't bother the thermal at all, but the digital night vision with illuminator is identical to spotlighting in misty conditions. All you get in the scope is the IR backscatter off the water droplets.

Tonight though, no mist, and the bunnies are down

[KiwiinSeattle]

@Shearer What would the realistic range on deer be with the fh25? Like 100%, yip thats a deer. Im on the fence with one but with no one local with one im nervous about dropping the cash and then being disappointed.

https://thermalbase.com/brands/infiray/finder-fh25r

[Fat ninja]

That unit must be crap, 46m to identify a rabbit. Have a look at other units if this is true

[Shearer]

https://thermalbase.com/brands/infiray/finder-fh25r

See post #5.
I think the figures given on that site are pretty realistic.

[Fat ninja]

If your not doing it all the time 500m would be acceptable

[Trout]

I think with all thermal gear,its important not to have too higher base magnifation.It gives you a false view of the size of the animal you are looking at.When animal is in too close 100yds-50yds,yr pixels start to get big n blurry.Lower base magnifation gives you a wider fov and better judgment of size, distant of animal and nice picture.Remember most of yr shooting is inside 300yds.

[Shearer]

That unit must be crap, 46m to identify a rabbit. Have a look at other units if this is true

Identify, in that case is being able to see their nose twitch and when they blink.

[Fat ninja]

If that’s what you need to see to identify a rabbit, so be it.

[Jukes]

Reviving an oldy here.. Tech has come a fair way in the last year with the TNC635R – DNT ThermNight Thermal & Night Vision & Pard TD32.

Any one had any hands on experience with these types of scope? Keen to hear your thoughts

[Tahr]

Ive got a Sytong XS06-50 hand held. And it's good. Fantastic picking up wallaby night and day. Exceptional detail. You get to figure it all out through experience for daytime hunting. No range finder but that doesn't bother me. The 35mm and down Sytongs have range finders. I had a Guide 50 before that and it was good but not a patch on the XS06. Ive tried a XS06-35 and it was perfect for deer but the 50 had better definition for the wallaby.

A couple of days ago in the evening I asked an experienced mate of mine how many deer he could see through his binos in a pine block about 700 yards away. He scanned for a few minutes and said "2". I ran my Sytong over the block for about 30 seconds and said "17". True story.

Ive also got a Sytong XM03-50LRF thermal scope. Now thats just plain cheating. It's got a range finder tied to the ballistics. I have no problem using it on wallaby during the day (best if it's a bit cooler or overcast) but certainly a few hours before dark in almost any conditions it works. On deer for "meat collecting" and culling it is next level. In fact it scares me a bit it's so efficient. It's not something you would pick up if you want to have a sporting evening pitting yourself against the deer. But it has its place.

Don't buy a thermal without talking to someone who knows about sensor size and focal length and a bit of the techo stuff. Its complicated. Thats why I went to Sytong 'cos I got what seemed like good advice. Im sure there are others' too.

@Jukes These new combo night vision/thermal things look like a compromise to me. Not going to excel at anything??