Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Member |
I want to start doing some night hunting for hogs .I want to use my Bushmaster AR-15..I have little knowledge of thermal and night vision scopes/monocular..I know I want a thermal for scanning but may or may not want to use thermal for shooting..If I had $3500.00 to spend should I buy one thermal scope that is detachable and use it for both scanning and shooting or should I purchase a cheaper thermal for scanning and a night vision scope that remains fixed on my rifle? Pros and cons and suggestions??? | ||
|
semi-reformed sailor |
Recently Mars Attacks posted about shooting rats at a friend's chicken coop. I beleive he was using some kinda night vision... Have you seen that thread ?? And, Welcome aboard! "Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein “You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020 “A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker | |||
|
| Member |
I believe a lot will depend on what type of area are you going to be hunting. The two systems complement each other. The night vision is better suited for open areas and longer range shooting. The thermal system is better in brush and dense foliage. I have a night vision setup and the friend I usually hunt with has a thermal system. I can see hogs, coyotes, etc., twice as far away as him, but if there is brush or vegetation his thermal setup allows him to see the heat source. All I see is the brush. YMMV | |||
|
| No ethanol! |
I'll offer a third possibility. I have a Laser Genetics green laser light which mounts on a scope. The light can be collimated for the field of view in your optic, and in my case a 3.5 x 10 with the light on and I can see clearly thru the scope at over 100yds in pitch black. The light points both ways of course, but the hogs don't shoot back. Not the best option, but inexpensive to get started. Works better than a flashlight IMO. Not sure if but think it was around $200, vs 6K for thermal. ------------------ The plural of anecdote is not data. -Frank Kotsonis | |||
|
Funny Man |
None of that is really necessary if you just want to hunt hogs at night. If you want to hunt hogs specifically with night vision that's ok, and fun, but certainly not necessary. We run green kill lights in the area we night hunt. A couple of hundred dollars will get you set up well for night hunting. https://elusivewildlife.com/sh...kage-pro-hunter.html ______________________________ “I'd like to know why well-educated idiots keep apologizing for lazy and complaining people who think the world owes them a living.” ― John Wayne | |||
|
Member |
I'd rather use an AR10 vs an AR15. | |||
|
| Member |
Thanks guys..A lot of helpful info here..This is the first I've read that says Night vision provides longer distance viewing than thermal..I was under the impression just the opposite was true..Therefore I was leaning toward getting thermal for scanning and night vision for shooting but if I cannot see as far with thermal I will reconsider..thaks | |||
|
| Member |
My experience is Army Infantry - not hunting. But your ideal set-up would be head-mounted 3rd gen night vision coupled with an IR laser zeroed on your rifle. I say head-mounted because the utility of that is for everything other than shooting. Driving your ATV, walking / stalking, general observation etc. Rifle-mounted limits the usefulness of the tool. Whether you go helmet-mounted or head-mounted may be personal preference. I liked head-mounted because I felt I could get a better fit. Plus I still had my NODs on even if I removed my helmet for whatever reason. This is basically a similar version to what I used extensively: https://tnvc.com/shop/pvs-7b-gen3-litton-auto-gated/ Add an IR laser to your rifle and you are good-to-go. Wearing night vision changes the game entirely. Darkness becomes - almost - a 'non-factor'. Agree the thermal would be great for scanning and 'acquiring' targets. Keep us posted as to your experiences. The equipment is pricey but it's a 'buy once - cry once' type deal. Really opens up some fun possibilities. And if you have a bunch of guns - it might make sense to downsize on that a bit to fund the NV... ---------------------------------- Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. | |||
|
| Middle children of history  |
I agree with TXJim. I have hunted hogs at night in GA with great success using just the XLR-100 green LED light. With a decent illuminated scope shots out to 150 yards are easily doable assuming you don't have a lot of brush in the way. Some states like TN do not allow lights or hunting at night. Thermal or night vision is allowed, but not really useful since you can't hunt at night anyway. So in TN you just have to rely on getting a clean shot at dusk before it gets too dark, and in that case a decent illuminated scope (Trijicon or Nightforce for example) works just fine. | |||
|
| Member |
I used thermal sights on tanks. They work quite well but are crazy expensive. https://www.opticsplanet.com/n...ion-riflescopes.html Prices are challenging. Thermal sights! https://www.opticsplanet.com/h...-termal-imagers.html Leupold LTO Tracker Thermal Imaging Monocular Sight https://www.opticsplanet.com/r...aging-monocular.html $700 | |||
|
| Member |
| |||
|
| If you see me running try to keep up  |
I would agree with this but if have just gotten into night hog hunting. After hunting with a night vision scope I realize how difficult it is transitioning to and from night vision (even looking at the green light on NV will render your vision useless for a while). I bought a low end scope, the Armasight Vampire (which I am pleased with for the price) but it would have been better to have something that could be used for glassing and shooting. Going back and forth to NV is hard and even harder on nights with no money in blight (autocorrect and posting from cell phones don’t work well. It should read “moon light”.). It does depend on how you are hunting too, if you hunt a feeder you could light it up with green led’s. I just bought the new Umarex/Optical Dynamics illuminator that is supposed to be the cats meow so I’ll see how that works out.This message has been edited. Last edited by: mrvmax, | |||
|
| Member |
Man this looks like fun! But how well and at what distance would I be able to see a pig in high grass? I'm guessing head mounted thermals like this would be crazy expensive huh?? | |||
|
Chip away the stone |
Whatever you do, just be sure you have a 10mm handy, incase you run in to Hogzilla. | |||
|
Caribou gorn |
thermal looks so fun I'm gonna vote for the funniest frog with the loudest croak on the highest log. | |||
|
| Member |
This is a very good point and another reason head-mounted works so well. You put them on and leave them on... Obviously NV is not going to help much if they are hidden in brush and obscured from vision. Thats where the thermal would shine I am thinking. (I don't have personal experience with thermal sights). Maybe the technique 'find with thermal / shoot with NV' is appropriate.  But third gen NV is amazing crisp / clear in detail. You could identify targets a long way off. --------------------- Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. | |||
|
| Member |
good video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvsdpaiN1eI -------------------------- Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. | |||
|
| Member |
I think the night vision goggles would be a blast but maybe not work so well for my application. Hunting in tall grass it sounds like a monocular thermal for locating game and 3rd generation night vision mounted scope for shooting might be just the ticket..I don't really know what Infra red is or how it works on a scope.. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
© SIGforum 2024