Need some opinions about my plans for NV instead of Thermal gear

hdfireman said:

I believe that helmet mounted NV is a must if you are doing a lot of navigating with thermal being the choice for shooting. A thermal spotter is a good tool as well. Base you purchase on your need, not other people's needs or style. Give me a shout anytime you want and I can help you figure out what your options are.

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Thank you very much... will do

NYCHOGKILLER said:

THanks! Since I'm in NY and probably only hunt boars 2 times a year in trying to not go crazy on a thermal... what's the best one for under $3000?

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Best is a little subjective but if it were me, I'd go for either the Pulsar RXQ30V for 1900 or the new Apex XQ38 for 2500. The apex will be a little better on clarity since it has a manual focus. Go check out our website when you get a chance. The link is in my signature line. I've got the specs on there for each. Also if you want onboard recording, the new Pulsar Trail XQ30 for 2800 is an option towards the top of the budget. ATN makes some choices as well but with the new 17 micron sensor in the Pulsars + their outstanding reputation and customer service, I'd probably go that route.

Let me put it this way. 25 years ago in the 100 hr (1st Gulf) war there was a tank battle called "The Battle of 73 Eastings". It was fought in the dark. Both sides had night vision gear. The Americans had thermal also-and that made all the difference. The loss ratio was about 25,000:1 in favor of the side using thermal instead of just night vision. One corollary conclusion is that thermal is clearly superior to night vision. Weather the improved hunting is worth making your wife mad is another matter. Remember a lot of the people on this board can write off the cost of their thermal gear-so they get less hassles @ home then peole who cant.

Drift said:

Let me put it this way. 25 years ago in the 100 hr (1st Gulf) war there was a tank battle called "The Battle of 73 Eastings". It was fought in the dark. Both sides had night vision gear. The Americans had thermal also-and that made all the difference. The loss ratio was about 25,000:1 in favor of the side using thermal instead of just night vision. One corollary conclusion is that thermal is clearly superior to night vision. Weather the improved hunting is worth making your wife mad is another matter. Remember a lot of the people on this board can write off the cost of their thermal gear-so they get less hassles @ home then peole who cant.

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That depends on how you are using it!!! There are things one technology can do that the other can't and vice versa. At least today! Thermal can not see through glass, you lose depth perception with thermal and you can positively ID targets better with NV. Thermal is much better for spotting/scanning, fast target acquisition and shooting. NV needs a little light depending on the quality of tube but thermal does not. weather conditions don't affect NV like it does thermal. So to say one is superior over the other is subjective to how it's being used.

NYCHOGKILLER said:

I'll be roaming farmland and fields... I wondered if using a Leupold thermal monocular ($700) would help with that... then use NV to get up close

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I have one, my short quick answer would be no. If you have large open areas, as it struggles to make out hot spots past 50, 75 yards unless its resting on a sand bag. My Zues 42 mm scope can however spot live targets out past 1000 yards, and depending on humidity I can identify between a deer and a hog easily at 400 yards. I use my riffle scope to spot. I only use the leupold when I'm sitting in a stand to watch a feeder.

I'd skip on the leupold. If you must get a cheap scanner, get that little flir tk. It works ok for what it is but isn't great by any means. The better choice is the save a bit more or sell a gun you never shoot and put about 1500 towards a base model pulsar scanner. I've got the LD19S for 1595 shipped presently, which is a smoking good deal on it.

When I first got into night time hog hunting thermal was available but choices were limited and cost was even more than it is now. The debate I had with myself was whether to go with a dedicated NV scope or a PVS-14 that could do both. I went with a helmet mounted PVS-14 that I can remove and mount behind a conventional rifle scope and a good IR light. The rifle mounted scopes, either thermal or NV, are great but you will do a lot more looking around than you will shooting, and with the scope you will be pointing a rifle at everything you want to look at. I like your idea of using a lower cost thermal viewer for observation, in fact I may try that myself. I've been thinking about getting a thermal scope but just can't justify the expense on top of what I already have invested. Hope this helps.

SteveR said:

When I first got into night time hog hunting thermal was available but choices were limited and cost was even more than it is now. The debate I had with myself was whether to go with a dedicated NV scope or a PVS-14 that could do both. I went with a helmet mounted PVS-14 that I can remove and mount behind a conventional rifle scope and a good IR light. The rifle mounted scopes, either thermal or NV, are great but you will do a lot more looking around than you will shooting, and with the scope you will be pointing a rifle at everything you want to look at. I like your idea of using a lower cost thermal viewer for observation, in fact I may try that myself. I've been thinking about getting a thermal scope but just can't justify the expense on top of what I already have invested. Hope this helps.

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PVS-14 plus a thermal spotter is a great combo. You can get into a very useable spotter for less than $2500 these days. In fact I've got the Pulsar LD19S handheld pretty cheap right now since they're being phased out. It's 1595. Was previously a little over 2. The under $1000 stuff is better than nothing but if you can get into the neighborhood of 1500-3000, you have some decent choices in thermal spotters.

I say stop listening to these fools and buy the predator in the classifieds.

Taco Tico, how do you really feel about it?

Taco said:

I say stop listening to these fools and buy the predator in the classifieds.

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Don't make a foolish purchase sir, the predator is outdated low end model. The brand new RXQ30V Pulsar is better and if you thought about spending 2k on an old used low end thermal you might as well just spend $2400 and buy a brand new much better thermal with warranty Apex XQ38. You will thank me later.

SteveR said:

When I first got into night time hog hunting thermal was available but choices were limited and cost was even more than it is now. The debate I had with myself was whether to go with a dedicated NV scope or a PVS-14 that could do both. I went with a helmet mounted PVS-14 that I can remove and mount behind a conventional rifle scope and a good IR light. The rifle mounted scopes, either thermal or NV, are great but you will do a lot more looking around than you will shooting, and with the scope you will be pointing a rifle at everything you want to look at. I like your idea of using a lower cost thermal viewer for observation, in fact I may try that myself. I've been thinking about getting a thermal scope but just can't justify the expense on top of what I already have invested. Hope this helps.

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Thank you for your response... other members have alerted me to the new Pulsar that just came out... it lacks the ability to film but it's a good thermal for under $2000...... I may go with that... I looked at the cost of the PVS-14 Gen 3 NV and when coupled with the thermal monocular it's about the same price if not more.... have you looked at the new Pulsar? I think it's the RCVQ or something like that. Lol

SteveR said:

When I first got into night time hog hunting thermal was available but choices were limited and cost was even more than it is now. The debate I had with myself was whether to go with a dedicated NV scope or a PVS-14 that could do both. I went with a helmet mounted PVS-14 that I can remove and mount behind a conventional rifle scope and a good IR light. The rifle mounted scopes, either thermal or NV, are great but you will do a lot more looking around than you will shooting, and with the scope you will be pointing a rifle at everything you want to look at. I like your idea of using a lower cost thermal viewer for observation, in fact I may try that myself. I've been thinking about getting a thermal scope but just can't justify the expense on top of what I already have invested. Hope this helps.

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Pulsar RXQ30V is the proper model. $1900

I realized rather quickly last winter hog hunting in Florida that I needed some kind of night vision. Keep in mind visibility is limited in the Florida jungle so I have no need for long range equipment. I started out with a Night Owl night vision monocular I purchased from Cabella's for $150. I was able to spot hogs and other critters in the jungle at night but the monocular was useless aiming the AR-15. Next, I purchased a FireField night vision scope. It has a fixed magnification of 3X. The only adjustment is the brightness of the cross hairs. It is stupid simple but it has served me well for $285. It has a range of 75 to 100 yards. The Night Owl monocular and Firefield NV scope make a great team. The monocular is great for scanning the area. When I spot a hog I switch ON the night vision scope and let em have it.

Next, I plan to purchase an Thermo, ATN Thor 384 5X for $1999. The plan is to use it for looking into the jungle, something the NV isn't good at. Again, long range not a priority for me. I'm also considering a thermo monocular, either the FLIR or Leupold. I saw a Leupold Tracker at Cabela's. I liked it because the screen is in color. Unfortunately the FLIR and Leupold Tracker do not receive good reviews.

I'm going to check out the Pulsar though. I have a hunch these thermo imaging manufacturers will have some killer sales in late summer and fall.

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What exactly is the mist you can spend. Whats your budget. I know where there are some great used nv and thermals for sale.

firemedic2000 said:

What exactly is the mist you can spend. Whats your budget. I know where there are some great used nv and thermals for sale.

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I'd love to get a nice used thermal under $2,000

TACO has a great unit right here on this forum for sale. It has just been redone by Armsight so it's basically like new I'd think. Nw software update everything. Here's link and within your price range.

Armasight Predator 336 | Lone Star Boars

But Steve says it's outdated and low end.

Taco said:

But Steve says it's outdated and low end.

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Who's side are you on?

Chopperdrvr said:

Who's side are you on?

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HAHAHA IM JUST HAVING FUN WATCHING THE BACK AND FORTH.....SORRY BRO....