Affordable night vision / thermal....does it exhist

[jrebel]

Say 150 yards or closer shots....don't want to break the bank, but would like to consider predator hunting at night to bring down yote numbers at the property.  It's in the NE and it is super brushy country, furthest shot would be 150 yards...ish.  Thermals really intrigue me but my goodness are they stupid expensive.  It's also my understanding they have a shelf life.....not sure that is true, just what I've been told. 

People that have some of the more affordable models....what do you think?  Would you buy them again?  Which model do you have and how long have you had it? Any other info would be awesome.   

[KFhunter]

Brush and IR don't mix well. (Bloom)

You'll be wanting thermal, I *think* you can rent?

Rental might be good in a baiting situation

[KFhunter]

Ok, nevermind they want way too much for a 3 day rental 

[LongBomb]

What is your range?

[KFhunter]

I run a cheap ATN and it's OK for bait piles and coons getting into the chicken house, but wouldn't be good at all for calling setups where yotes are moving fast and coming in from unknown directions, and it's worthless in brush so you need open areas. 


It's put quite a few yotes in the dirt

[KFhunter]

I read somewhere, perhaps on predator masters:
"friends don't let friends buy ATN"

Lots of truth to that!

[jrebel]

What is your range?

Well, haven’t really considered a range yet.  If it cost as much as a moose hunt, I’ll hunt them in the daylight.  I don’t know….is 2k ish reasonable?  Quick search on the web showed 8-10k.   

[KFhunter]

2k will get you a decent thermal

[Magnum_Willys]

Buddy had a $3k Zeiss Thermal we used last week.  Unreal, Elk at 1000 yards an hour before shooting time.  Works out to 2000 yards.   Kinda hate to see these be legal.  Most of the "hunting" can be done at night then shoot when just legal. 

I had an old cabelas night vision mono that was good for 150 yards.

[KFhunter]

You might check out AGM rattler series, starts about a grand then goes up from there.

Here's a $2k option
https://nightvisionguys.com/home-nvg/agm-rattler-ts25-384-compact-short-medium-range-thermal-imaging-rifle-scope-384x288-50-hz-25-mm-lens

I can't personally vouch for AGM, but there's ton of youtube reviews on them.   I like to shop these night vision stores, find the price point, then search individual units on youtube by model #

[Bushcraft]

I have one of the best available scopes for civilians and when tuned correctly it can "see" the eyelashes on my dog at 100 yards, day or night depending on environmental temperature differentials, but even it is no match for thick brush.  You really need a clear line of sight.

In my opinion, you might be better off in thick brush with a good set of NVGs and a weapon mounted laser.

And yep...that's not going to be cheap either.

[getreal711]

I just picked up the agm rattler ts35-384 on Amazon for $2500. Haven't got a chance to play with it yet but hope to take a few Predators with it soon.

[jrebel]

I just picked up the agm rattler ts35-384 on Amazon for $2500. Haven't got a chance to play with it yet but hope to take a few Predators with it soon.

Would love to hear your review after you get it running.   

[KFhunter]

X2 

[GWP]

I have played with thermal’s, but knew I would not use it much so went with an inexpensive IR set up. Don’t care for the ‘video game’ screen style, but it works well once you are used to it. Your eyeball night vision is compromised as well, which may or may not be an issue. Took out a fair number of rats with it. Pretty happy with the IR out to 100 yds or so.
It attaches to the back of the scope and can be removed/installed in minutes once the initial set up is done.
If you were closer I would let you play with it if you wanted to see how it would work for you. 

Lots of vids using thermal. If I still did yotes I would consider a thermal for the longer ranges it works for, but they can be expensive!

[KFhunter]

I replaced the cheap low power IR immiter for a high power coyote spotting light with an 1850? IR bulb it came with

I can see out 7-800 yards out, eyeballs further than that 


but the screen resolution is such that I don't shoot anything past 100 just to make sure

[GWP]

I replaced the cheap low power IR immiter for a high power coyote spotting light with an 1850? IR bulb it came with
I can see out 7-800 yards out, eyeballs further than that 
but the screen resolution is such that I don't shoot anything past 100 just to make sure

Shooting on the farm we had enough property we could shoot pretty much any which way and not worry about where the bullet came down.
Had a very high powered spotlight on a jeep PU. Saw eyeballs at night way over in a field and figured yote. The guy I was with pulled his Blackhawk 44 Mag and popped one off ‘in the general direction’ and high. Next morning we found a dead buck. Had to have been at least 200 yard ‘accident’ head shot. Cold enough out we still processed it.
Back then (mid 70’s) there really was not much in the way of private thermal optics. With our set ups back then (custom built 22-250 for me) we did pretty good pelting coyotes, I am thinking we could have made a bunch with a thermal scope!

[jrebel]

Just found the sig sauer echo 3.....looks pretty legit.  3K is more than I would like to spend, but it's better then 6-10K. 

[carpsniperg2]

I've been running the atn thor 4 and selling some to.

Look into them if they might be of interest for you send me a PM. I will hook ya up.

[KFhunter]

Just found the sig sauer echo 3.....looks pretty legit.  3K is more than I would like to spend, but it's better then 6-10K.

I like the small size, watched some youtube and not sure I prefer that over the agm for a grand less

can't ever be sure until it's in your hands though, I did like the SIG name on it though 

[KFhunter]

skip to 3:18

This would be impossible with thermal ir night vision

[KFhunter]

Pulsar Talion XQ38 looks very promising

[Lucky1]

I have one of these Thor LT thermal scopes. I think I spent less than $1000.00 for it. I don’t remember and don’t have the receipt. It worked good for 2 or 3 years. I shot a bunch of coyotes using it. Not a bad scope. Then it wouldn’t start up. Sent it in to get it fixed. It must have still been under warranty. They sent it back to me and didn’t send me a repair invoice. The scope would start up and be on for a couple minutes and then stop working. I could send it in again but decided to move on. I bought a Armasight Contractor 320 to try. Haven’t had a opportunity to set it up yet.

[Thermal Predator Control]

Don’t waste your time with night vision scopes.   Definitely go thermal.  I work for Night Vision Outfitters and can answer any questions and get you hooked up fast with whatever you need.  There are a lot of options out there.  With most things you get what you pay for.  Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything under a 35mm lens.  But for your budget,   Check this one out
https://www.nightvisionoutfitters.com/products/agm-rattler-ts25-256-thermal-scope?_pos=14&_sid=3422febc2&_ss=r

[broadhead]

I recommend a thermal monocular for scanning targets. Then using the IR scope for the shot. Unfortunately a lot of people cannot afford some of the higher powered thermal scopes. If you're shooting over 75 yards I'd get something higher than 12 x magnification

BTW have heard good things about the Rattler

Thermal technology will start to see challenges in high humidity situations. Part of the reason why I mix it up.

[jrebel]

Life has stopped me from dropping money on one right now...but I am still dreaming and researching. 

What about the Burris BTS50???  Especially if a guy can get it for 52% off retail. 

[bearhunter99]

Don’t waste your time with night vision scopes.   Definitely go thermal.  I work for Night Vision Outfitters and can answer any questions and get you hooked up fast with whatever you need.  There are a lot of options out there.  With most things you get what you pay for.  Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything under a 35mm lens.  But for your budget,   Check this one out
https://www.nightvisionoutfitters.com/products/agm-rattler-ts25-256-thermal-scope?_pos=14&_sid=3422febc2&_ss=r

What is the range on that scope?  Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hilltop123]

Don’t waste your time with night vision scopes.   Definitely go thermal.  I work for Night Vision Outfitters and can answer any questions and get you hooked up fast with whatever you need.  There are a lot of options out there.  With most things you get what you pay for.  Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything under a 35mm lens.  But for your budget,   Check this one out
https://www.nightvisionoutfitters.com/products/agm-rattler-ts25-256-thermal-scope?_pos=14&_sid=3422febc2&_ss=r

Don’t waste your time with night vision scopes.   Definitely go thermal.  I work for Night Vision Outfitters and can answer any questions and get you hooked up fast with whatever you need.  There are a lot of options out there.  With most things you get what you pay for.  Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything under a 35mm lens.  But for your budget,   Check this one out
https://www.nightvisionoutfitters.com/products/agm-rattler-ts25-256-thermal-scope?_pos=14&_sid=3422febc2&_ss=r

What is the range on that scope?  Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have the same question, what is the real-world range for this scope? I understand that heat signatures can be seen at great distance, but for the purposes of night shooting what is the effective/useable range, of this scope? Not sure, I phrased the question correctly, hopefully good enough for an answer.

[fly-by]

Don’t waste your time with night vision scopes.   Definitely go thermal.  I work for Night Vision Outfitters and can answer any questions and get you hooked up fast with whatever you need.  There are a lot of options out there.  With most things you get what you pay for.  Personally I wouldn’t recommend anything under a 35mm lens.  But for your budget,   Check this one out
https://www.nightvisionoutfitters.com/products/agm-rattler-ts25-256-thermal-scope?_pos=14&_sid=3422febc2&_ss=r

What are your thoughts on a clip on / 1x thermal?  I like the idea of moving it between rifles given the expense.

[KFhunter]

Life has stopped me from dropping money on one right now...but I am still dreaming and researching. 

What about the Burris BTS50???  Especially if a guy can get it for 52% off retail.

That Burris looks good on youtube reviews, very nice image.
Deer at 350 yards wasn't bad at all.

Shorter battery life, didn't see what batteries it took

[birdshooter1189]

Say 150 yards or closer shots....don't want to break the bank, but would like to consider predator hunting at night to bring down yote numbers at the property.  It's in the NE and it is super brushy country, furthest shot would be 150 yards...ish.  Thermals really intrigue me but my goodness are they stupid expensive.  It's also my understanding they have a shelf life.....not sure that is true, just what I've been told. 

People that have some of the more affordable models....what do you think?  Would you buy them again?  Which model do you have and how long have you had it? Any other info would be awesome.

Most people have focused on the fancy thermal options.  I can provide a little input on much cheaper alternatives....

I've been using ~$150 digital night vision setups on a couple rifles for about 3 years now. Killed about 50 coyotes on my property. All 50-100 yd shots.  I also have the same system on an air rifle and have shot many rats with it.  I'm happy with what I have and yes I would buy it again.  Combined with motion alarms to let you know when the animals are entering the property, or standing at a bait station, this type of night vision is very effective.  It is cumbersome if you are out in the open and scanning large areas. It still works, but not as ideal.  The LCD screen lights up my face in the dark. I haven't noticed it to be an issue yet, but I suppose it could be in some situations.

Here's an old thread I made sharing details of the system i'm using. 

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,246847.msg3316213/topicseen.html#new

If you are hunting your own property, and shooting them from your house, in my opinion, a good motion alarm is more important than a fancy optic.  Toss some dog or cat food on the ground in a spot where you think the coyotes will come to it, around 75 yds from a window or door you can shoot from. Put a motion alarm nearby pointed at the bait.  Then have a gun ready with a light, nightvision, thermal, etc.  When the alarm goes off you grab your gun and see what it is. Then shoot or don't shoot, put the gun down and keep going about your business. Most people don't have time to sit out scanning the dark for hours on end night after night wondering when the coyotes will come through. Motion alarms are a good way to integrate constant property patrol with daily life.

https://www.amazon.com/Driveway-Wireless-Detector-Rechargeable-Weatherproof/dp/B07VLXGWVX/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3DTEJ2VQC3DKS&keywords=driveway+alarm+wuloo&qid=1668805178&sprefix=driveway+alarm+wuloo%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-3

[KFhunter]

Scheels sent me sales book

[Hilltop123]

Scheels sent me sales book

Well I don't know much, but that seems like a great deal. Time to research.

[zwickeyman]

My son put one on his 300 Blkout about a month ago and loves it. Been whacking pigs at night with it

He picked up an AGM Adder for 2200.00. He did a ton of research and is really happy

[Hilltop123]

Ended up pulling the switch on a Infiray Bolt TL35. Just starting to play with it. This thing is cool. In the black hot mode, the 3 elk are in the bottom of the frame. Distance one mile. In the other color mode elk are same distance, just more focused on the.

[Hilltop123]

Hummmm, didn't post the other pic?? Anyways. Wow really grainy on the big screen.