Night Vision Bering Optics - "Hogster"

[wigwamitus]

@ballistic1 and I spoke to "Boris" yesterday at SHOT, Ballistics was on sight, I was dialed in on the phone.

We were specifically talking about the "Hogster" units, which include a dedicated thermal scope as well as a clipon version.

That 1280x960 display sure sounds AWESOME ... and at close distances with low magnification I'm sure it will look great. We are trying to get one to test. Hopefully the clipon version.

Like the older ATN PS-22 I used to have, this clipon can be mounted with an objective mount or a rail mount. I'd be willing to test both, but based on my experience, the objective mount came loose on 762 or above if you didn't torque it down and if you did ... it broke the mount
So, in general I would expect to be using the rail mount.

Here's a piece of data I got from LSB member Robert H ... "thanks Robert H" !!!

So, sounds like they're going to a lot of lengths to say the hogster is "nada chinese thermal" ... and hecque, they might even be talkin' about me when they say "some have been so bold as to call it a Chinese Built Scope" ... I actually never used the word "built" in that context, but I might have called it a "chinese thermal"

So, its "nada chinese thermal" ... but it has a chinese core from IRAY ... well for me ... the proof will be in the eating ... does it hold up in the field ... the ATN Thor HD unit (chinese thermal) did not hold up in the field ... the PRG/AGM TC-50 (chinese thermal) did not hold up in the field, so I'm 0 for 2 so far on chinese units holding up in the field.

And I'm glad they warned us about the FLIR cores in the "Beast-R" ... so I can avoid those ... don't want to throw up before breakfast. I enjoyed that when I was a kid, but enuff was enuff, try not to throw up before breakfast any more

So, if we're gonna become a chinese colony, we might as well dive in a give them a third chance with these IRAY cores, eh !!??

And so, how much recoil can it take? If I shoot maybe 30 rds per night with it for 10 days, is that enuff to shake out most issues ? I did ask where they would be fixing them if they break and Boris said they have facilities in Texas and California. So, I don't actually mind breaking new sh^t, I'm an engineer and have run a bunch of large projects as well and testing sh^t is about trying to break it. I broke the Thor HD, I broke the TC-50, so I hope I can break the hogster-c as well ... BUT I hope they can fix it fast and get it back out to us for a retest. Testing their support, would be a good thing too IMHO. So, I wouldn't mind it at all.

How far can we push it in terms of shooting distance and magnification on the day scope ? Boris said 6x. He said the "sweet spot" is 4x to 6x .. but with the 1280x960 display, I'll be trying for more.

And how good is the mount ? The mount on the TC-50 was pretty flimsy. A one screw mount similar to the DLOC but with only one cross bar on the rail and no spring to help with the mounting process. So how repeatable is the mount ? We will be testing for that as well.

Anyway, at least we are getting some data trickling in. Thanks to @ballistic1 for setting this up !!!

 

[wigwamitus]

Here's the spec sheet

 

[WhereNow&How]

@wigwamitus Man, I am glad you are on it. I have been watching that clip on scope for a while and hoping that it would be solid. I need one or have been considering a Flir T50 but with the latest Flir fiasco, well you guys understand.

Bering would be smart to go on and send it too you. If it passes your testing and evaluation that would really help them with sales.

Thanks Wig.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Wig, I forgot to ask. Did they say anything about it being able to be digitally zoomed while in clip on mode or is it a 1x only in clip on mode.

 

[wigwamitus]

... able to be digitally zoomed while in clip on mode ...

I didn't ask about that BECAUSE you don't want to digitally zoom.

01 - If you digitally zoom you loose the ability to use the sub-tensions on your reticle. Yes, hopefully the center of the reticle is still valid (which might be strickly what you are asking) but non of the dashes or dots would be. You just "shrank" your SPF reticle, so you can't hold with it any more.

02 - Your image will be better anyway, if you dial more magnification on the day scope.

So, since we don't want to digitally magnify when in clipon more, I didn't ask !!

 

[WhereNow&How]

Roger that. My use would be a little different. Im not shooting that far out like you guys but being able to digitally zoom might help better with PID on critters further out to save walking closer to PID.

Anyways, I know you will run it through its paces if they get one in your hands, so a wealth of real world use and evaluations hopefully will be forthcoming.

Thanks

 

[wigwamitus]

... digitally zoom might help better with PID on critters ...

If more magnification is needed when in clipon mode, and there is time to increase magnification, reach for the power ring on your day optic and use that !!!

 

[WhereNow&How]

If more magnification is needed when in clipon mode, and there is time to increase magnification, reach for the power ring on your day optic and use that !!!

The setup I would have it on would be a Aimpoint T2 with a 3x Magnifier behind it.

So I was hoping for 1 Zoom to get me a little more magnification. But if it doesn't I guess I might have to put a 5x or 6x magnifier behind it to achieve the ultimate magnification I would like to be able to get to.

Max 300 yards on hogs is all I would be really looking for. Most would be say 100 to 200 which I think the Hogster will do great at.

 

[wigwamitus]

Well I will at least try to verify if the center of the reticle is still valid to shoot with if u digitally zoom. I wouldn't count on it. Most of the commerical thermal clipons are not. I never tried the UTC-x. I don't think I ever pushed either 2x or 0.5x on the UTCx

With the SNIPE or the patrol, if you exit clipon mode, then you remove the 0.5x demagnification that was applied when you entered clipon mode. So, I suspect you could at least do that with the hogster, since it has a viewing mode also. But, you wouldn't be able to shoot with it (well not a get within a couple of feet of your target) ... that would be for PID only. Then you have to click back to clipon mode to shoot. And I plan to do that with both the patrol and the SNIPE.

But need to verify the hogster can do that. So, I'll add that to the list.

 

[WhereNow&How]

That would be perfect. Thanks

 

[wigwamitus]

... I might have to put a 5x or 6x magnifier behind it ...

I've thought about doing that with an RDS, but I don't think I will because even a 1 MOA dot, on an RMR becomes a danged 5 moa dot on 5x and that's too much !!

 

[WhereNow&How]

I've thought about doing that with an RDS, but I don't think I will because even a 1 MOA dot, on an RMR becomes a danged 5 moa dot on 5x and that's too much !!

Yep, but I'm minute of HOG.

 

[wigwamitus]

I saw a 2x-5x variable flip magnifier somewhere ... it looked interesting ... you should stumble across it if you look hard enuff. I think I first found it on Amazon.

Oh wait, I managed to stuff the link in my wish list ... here it is ...

https://www.primaryarms.com/lucid-2-5x-variable-magnifier-for-red-dot-sights-l-2x5x

No idea if its any good, but if I wanted to try a 5x, I might start with that one and see if it works.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Funny that you should say that. A few days ago for the first time I looked around at what is out there today regarding variable magnifiers.

I have several of the Primary Arms Branded 3x Long Eye Relief magnifiers and they have performed very well for me. That is a $100 dollar magnifier that gives a very clean view and is waterproof etc etc. Several years ago the Aimpoint 3x magnifiers didn't even have a adjustable diopter on them and they were like $500 ish. I was like, you got to be kidding me.

If the Hogster C pans out that is probably what I will do. Get one and put a variable magnifier behind it.

 

[wigwamitus]

For me, the key to the hogster (and any of the nada/chinese thermals) is, will they stand up in the field. If they approve me shooting it with a .300WM I will. I have about 700 rds of factory ammo remaining I need to shoot up to generate some brass to reload. So, I can "donate" some rds to the testing process. And if I can test for 300-500yds of .300WM that should at least tell us it will really be reliable for 308.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Yes Sir. That ought to do it.

If it passes your testing & approval that will seal the deal for me.

 

[ballistic1]

Sounds good, looking forward to the testing on this also.

Boris has been involved in this field for 25 yrs plus, he also handles all service as well.

 

[ColoradoShooter]

What’s the price going to be?

 

[The Durk]

Looks like $3700.
https://www.nightvisionguys.com/hogster-c-universal-ultra-compact-thermal-clip-on-attachment

I'm very interested in this unit.

 

[Crews]

Not the clip-on, but I just spent my first weekend shooting hogs with a 25mm Hogster-R. For the price it was a bit of a gamble, but after using it I don’t have any complaints for sure. Only time will tell how well it holds up, but I’m pretty pleased thus far.

 

[wigwamitus]

@ballistic1 any update from good ole Boris !!??

 

[ballistic1]

Sadly after Boris confirmed with me that he would indeed send out a full kit for you to put through the paces.. he didnt deliver on Feb 15th as he said he would.

I intend to call him again and ask again..

Maybe we should make it a conference call the next time.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I used the Bering Optics Hogster-C with their Rapid Acquisition Tactical Riflescope for a couple of weeks and got in some good hunting with it. It was a pretty nifty setup.







Ben of Hunt TXhogs did a more thorough review of the physical aspects of the setup...

 

[WhereNow&How]

@Double Naught Spy That was some excellent footage of the Hogster C. And some good shooting on your part. I am watching the Hogster C. It appears to have a pretty darn good image and pretty good features. Thanks a bunch for posting those. Much appreciated.

 

[Chaps5800]

Bering has my attention now.

 

[shoots100]

DNS, Great video, review and shooting.
One gripe I have with any scope objective mounted NV/thermal unit, is that you still don't trust them enough to not check zero before hunting.
Not to mention always checking the index marks between stands and hoping you don't bump it hard enough to shift it during a stalk.
The attributes of clip ons are so appealing, you'll risk getting bitten in the ass again + again, because you hope this time it'll be different.

SJC

 

[Crews]

Had another great weekend (#2) of hunting with my 25mm Hogster-R. It was cold down here in Texas, and I was very impressed with the battery life as compared to the 3 other Triji units that were in the hunting party. Obviously this isn't in the same ballpark, but this unit is VERY light, very compact, and is an effective tool for hunting with confidence in positive ID out to about 200 yards. I've tested the QD mount for repeatability a couple of times, no issues when swapping back and forth with a day optic. I am a techno-idiot but haven't had a ton of trouble negotiating around the menus, there's only 3 buttons.

This is only the second trip, so I will reserve judgement on dependability until I've got the whole summer behind me. Thus far, I'm very happy with this >$2,500 investment.

 

[ryryu]

Had another great weekend (#2) of hunting with my 25mm Hogster-R. It was cold down here in Texas, and I was very impressed with the battery life as compared to the 3 other Triji units that were in the hunting party. Obviously this isn't in the same ballpark, but this unit is VERY light, very compact, and is an effective tool for hunting with confidence in positive ID out to about 200 yards. I've tested the QD mount for repeatability a couple of times, no issues when swapping back and forth with a day optic. I am a techno-idiot but haven't had a ton of trouble negotiating around the menus, there's only 3 buttons.

This is only the second trip, so I will reserve judgement on dependability until I've got the whole summer behind me. Thus far, I'm very happy with this >$2,500 investment.

Thx for sharing your experience. I have been looking at these too. Can you estimate how much battery time you would have and what type of batteries were you using? Thanks again!

 

[Crews]

Totally guessing because I didn't pay close attention, but a brand new set of batteries lasted all one night (~4hrs) and at least 2 hours into the hunt the next night. So I'll say about 6 hours continuous run time with two separate cold startups. Temperatures were in the low 40's. I"ll have to look and see what kind of batteries they were, I remember they were silver but didn't pay attention to the make.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

DNS, Great video, review and shooting.
One gripe I have with any scope objective mounted NV/thermal unit, is that you still don't trust them enough to not check zero before hunting.
Not to mention always checking the index marks between stands and hoping you don't bump it hard enough to shift it during a stalk.
The attributes of clip ons are so appealing, you'll risk getting bitten in the ass again + again, because you hope this time it'll be different.

SJC

Despite all the claims of clip-ons having consistent RTZ (which the Hogster/RATR did each time I checked before hunts), I don't trust any of them without verification. I have had issues using a Snipe IR. I have had folks have troubles with L3 LWTS on hunts. I have seen issues twice with NV clip-ons (no clue as to make and model). In the cases where folks were using them and had issues, it was always without verification before hunting and then expressing shock and surprise when they could not hit a hog at 70 yards, only to later learn they were off by 8 or 10" at 100 yards because somehow something wasn't mounted corrected. Chalk it up to user-error, equipment, I don't care. Triggers were pulled without knowing where bullets were going to go and people were surprised...and not in a good way.

My belief is that they work very well, until they don't.

I feel the same way about RTZ mounts on scopes and taking off and remounting them without verification. I know people have excellent luck with the process working...until they are surprised when it doesn't.

 

[wigwamitus]

Clipon RTZ is influenced by three factors, that I can think of:

01 - Collimation of the clipon
02 - Mounting within the collimation tolerance
03 - Consistent mounting process

Most commercial thermal clipons, have no collimation, even if they say they do. When I say "collimation", I mean an optical wedge (risley prism) set that was collimated on a collimating table. The SNIPE says it has a collimating lens, but per my testing this is not the case. It is certainly not detectable.
Such a collimated device will have "mounting tolerance". So +/- so many hundredths of an inch higher or lower than the day scope and the full optical train will be collimated, outside that tolerance and the optical train will not be collimated (aligned). Realistically, this casues most of us to need to swap out the mounts/rings of our day scopes that we will use with such clipons, to get the optical train within the collimation tolerance of the clipon. Most of the people I speak to about clipons don't realize this, because the marketing hype assures them that RTZ is automatic and magical. Just "mount and shoot". Unfortunately, the devil is in the details.

In my experience the military clipons (both NV and thermal) with list prices over $10k do have sufficient collimation to be useful, to at least approach the ideal of "mount and shoot". The PVS-30 for instance is very tolerant. I've used rings down to 1.3 and up to 1.525 with no detectable POI shift and have shot the PVS-30 on beacon illum targets out to 900yds.
The BAE UTC/x/xii has a more narrow collimation tolerance, but I've used 1.3 up to 1.4 with no issues. I did hit low with a 1.525 mount.

Mounting within the collimation tolerance also includes the question of whether an NV saddle mount is in the same plane as the scope base. For instance a scope base might be 30 MOA but the saddle mount might be 0 moa. I would certainly make these the same if desiring RTZ. I have heard reliable folks say they had no issue with PVS-30 with a 20 MOA base and a 0 MOA mount with the PVS-30. But again, the PVS-30 might be the most forgiving out there. For me, I'm now using same plane setups across the board.

Consistency of mounting process, and I saw this even recently when (re) testing the SNIPE. Mark the rail section with a Larue rail clip, so you can unquestionably find the right mount spot with your eyes closed. Press forward on the clipon when mounting. I even consistently push to one side on the other (I push left) ... and good mount will squeeze out most of this ... but consistent mounting process matters based on multiple remount/shooting tests. There is no magic.

With the exception of the UTC/x/xii, the vast bulk of clipons want to be in the 1.5-ish center height space. So if planning a clipon purchase, make sure to allow budget for replacing all relevant mounts/rings, with 1.5-ish center items (38mm). If desiring to use rifle mounted range finders, the Spuhrs and Badgers can get you there.

==
Clipons with no collimation, such as the SIMRADs, can be used on a given rifle scope combination. And with consistent remount process will RTZ, but moving them to another rifle/scope combination will require checking/adjusting.

==
In theory, the objective mountables should be pretty consistent ... but again .. mounting process matters ... and being off just a little matters a lot. But for me, the main issue with the object mount has been either I twist down hand tight and the mount comes loose (on 308+) or I twist down too much and break the mount. That's the reason I gave up on objective mounts, eons ago. Once when I broke my mount, I called the manuf to complain and their response was "You are still using our crappy objective mount !!?? We recommend using our much better rail mount" ... and so I switched to rail and have never looked back

In summary, I don't think RTZ is a random event. I think the collimation on the rear end of the clipon matters. Mounting within the tolerance of that collimation matters, consistency of remount process matters. If there are factors outside of those, they will still remain, but by minimizing the error factors, you will definitely improve RTZ on average (and median).

 

[Drago6]

I've been shopping around for my first thermal clip on, this ones looks pretty awesome and so far the #1 option

 

[KYAggie]

Wigwamitus, do you have any updates on the Hogster? I have a friend who asked me for a recommendation for a thermal scope in the $1500 range. I told him I didn’t have any recommendations near that and to save an additional $5500 and buy something decent in the $7000 range. Then I stumbled on the Hogster. I understand they are chicom internals assembled in the US, they seem like decent units, but how are they holding up to use?

 

[wigwamitus]

@KYAggie I've moved on to the Genesis A55 ... similar in that probably chicom parts ... assembled in Eastern Europe ? But has a rock solid metal housing ...

There's a rambling review starting with this post and continuing thru present time ...

Night Shooting Report ...

It's not so much a return to zero test. In the same temperature range i could remove my Trial (with QD mount) multiple times and it would return to zero. I started to become suspicious when reviewing video that i missed easy shots. Initially i thought it was the QD mount as it has only 1 cross...

www.snipershide.com

 

[kirsch]

Wigwamitus, do you have any updates on the Hogster? I have a friend who asked me for a recommendation for a thermal scope in the $1500 range. I told him I didn’t have any recommendations near that and to save an additional $5500 and buy something decent in the $7000 range. Then I stumbled on the Hogster. I understand they are chicom internals assembled in the US, they seem like decent units, but how are they holding up to use?

They are a great value. I've been using a Hogster-R 35 going on 1 year, and it hasn't glitched once. I am prostaff for Night Goggles, and customer comments have been extremely positive on the Hogster.

Here is a video of some of the coyote hunts I used it on:

 

[slkzic]

Always enjoy watching your videos.

 

[Crews]

Wigwamitus, do you have any updates on the Hogster? I understand they are chicom internals assembled in the US, they seem like decent units, but how are they holding up to use?

I’ve got the 25mm version, been hunting with it since February. With all this quarantine nonsense I’ve used it more in 3 months than I would in 3 years of normal life. I’ve got 50+ night hunts on this unit, all driving around in a UTV on bumpy ass roads. In addition, it’s been on a 308 bolt gun with hot loads for the last 200 rounds. It’s held up well and I don’t have a single complaint. It was a gamble when I bought it, but so far I’m really glad I took that gamble and I’m really happy with the functionality and real world results I’m getting for a $2300 investment. Would I still love to have a Reap? Yes absolutely. But I only own things I can write checks for, and I like this Hogster a lot more than it’s Pulsar contemporaries.

 

[KYAggie]

Crews thanks for the information! What range is your typical shot and do you find the 25mm good or do you wish you had the 35mm version? How much can you digitally zoom before pixilation is a problem?

I may actually buy one for myself, I literally didn’t know they existed until my friend asked me what thermal I would recommend. I thought this level of performance started with Halo or Tijicon units costing more than twice this amount. I know the screen resolution is not as as good, the cores are from China, it’s a 17 mu core instead of 12, but for most of us, it could work just dandy. If it’s reliable, I’m in.

 

[kirsch]

Hopefully, Crews will answer but I will give my opinions on these questions as well:

Range: The 25mm has a comfortable shooting range of around 150 yards while the 35 is around 250 yards. I have made shots to 400 with the 35, but they were not comfortable shots. The 25 is a better scanner than scope, but it does both well. The 35 is a better scope than scanner but it does both well. Night Goggles sells more 35s than 25s.

Screen Resolution: Actually the screen resolution of the Hogsters is 1280x960 so very good. However, the sensor/core resolution is 384x288 and 17 micron where the Trijicon and NVision are 12 micron 640x480. I know you probably meant sensor resolution, but I just wanted to clarify the display is actually very nice on the Hogster units.

Zoom: All thermals suffer dramatically from digital zoom. The Hogster is no exception and maybe even more so. The image is very good at base mag but as soon as you digitally zoom, it degrades very quickly. However, the Hogsters all have PIP, which is 2x whatever the mag of the main screen is. On the 25, the base window is 1.4x and the PIP would be at 2.8x and on the 35, it is at 2x base and 4x in the PIP. This extends the range and really helps negate the need to digitally zoom the thermal often, if at all.

 

[Crews]

Crews thanks for the information! What range is your typical shot and do you find the 25mm good or do you wish you had the 35mm version? How much can you digitally zoom before pixilation is a problem?

I may actually buy one for myself, I literally didn’t know they existed until my friend asked me what thermal I would recommend. I thought this level of performance started with Halo or Tijicon units costing more than twice this amount. I know the screen resolution is not as as good, the cores are from China, it’s a 17 mu core instead of 12, but for most of us, it could work just dandy. If it’s reliable, I’m in.

I’m typically shooting around a 100 with 200 being the longest. But that’s limited more by the unknown distance factor than the scope capability. I can positive ID animals to twice that range, and detect that something is out there much further than that. Of course it’s environment and animal dependent, and some of it is just understanding the context and how different animals move, etc.

I’m happy with the 25mm for the lower native magnification, and wider FOV. My shooting is always dynamic and never static, so low mag/wide FOV is most important to me. Plus I leave the unit mounted on the rifle and scan while we’re riding around, so I prefer the smaller size since I’m holding the rifle up all night.

Pixilation is an issue no matter what unit. In my opinion it’s absolutely useless for ID, but it is useful to make a longer shot once you know what you’re shooting at. That’s where the PIP IS nice. If you zoom in to make that first shot the FOV is very limiting for all the follow up shots on those running hogs.

Kirsch is dead on, the much higher screen resolution does make up the difference from the lower core resolution quite nicely (for the price.) I hunted with a couple of borrowed Trijicon units (Reap & Hunter) for many years before I invested in my own thermal. So the decision to buy something a third of the price was really agonizing for me. I really don’t want to be the “my Bushnell is almost as good as your Swaro” guy here.... but I haven’t noticed a metric fuck-ton of difference in my ability to kill hogs between those Triji units and my Hogster-R.

As a straight up civi with no inside connections I would still really like to see larger sample sets and a few good examples of warranty work done right before I give it a 100% endorsement. But I’m really happy with my investment thus far and I’d buy another one in a heartbeat.

Edit: I see you’re an Aggie. I live in Houston and hunt up on the Red River. If you’re still close to the fatherland I’d be happy to give you a chance to check it out first hand.

 

[KYAggie]

Kirsch and Crews thanks for the wealth of information, it’s very helpful. I’m guessing my friend will gravitate towards the 25 and I’ll likely go for the 35 since I already have a gen 3 pvs-14. I’m glad he asked me about thermals, I had no idea this product was on the market and for now the Halo units price was keeping me on the sidelines wishing.

Crews, yes I am indeed a displaced Aggie who grew up in Cut-n-Shoot just north of Houston; I still have family there. If I go for a visit before I make a purchase, I’ll definitely PM you and have a look at your Hogster. Lots of hogs around there. Here’s a couple I shot outside Centerville in 2018 with a 6.5 cm I built. Kentucky is not bad, but I wish I could get back to the fatherland, sadly I’m actually headed behind the lines to Chiraq next year and could be stuck there for 12 more years.......we shall see........the concessions we make to have a stunningly wonderful woman to journey with through life.

 

[Bdm4_21]

I just put a down payment on the 35mm. Kirsch’s review of these talked me into it.

 

[KYAggie]

. Kirsch’s review of these talked me into it.

I hear ya, he’s about got me talked into one and I wasn’t even looking

 

[Bdm4_21]

Yeah over on predator masters he makes these seem awesome for the money

 

[Rerun7]

I didn’t see it called out but from best I can tell it looks like you guys are talking specifically about the dedicated scope.

What’s the latest word on the clip ons?

 

[kirsch]

I didn’t see it called out but from best I can tell it looks like you guys are talking specifically about the dedicated scope.

What’s the latest word on the clip ons?

You are correct, I kind of side-tracked the original thread when KYAuggie asked a question on the Hogsters. I believe all the comments after his question have been on the stand alone -R version.

The R (stand-alone) version has been so popular, we haven't sold many of the Clip Ons. The body, core, etc is all the same, so it should be good, but I can't give a lot of feedback on the clip-on itself. I only sighted it in and used it as a scanner one day/night. You save almost 1K by going with the dedicated thermal and as a scanner it is 2x vs 3x on the clip-on. Hopefully, others who have used the clip-on can chime in. Night Goggles has a 7-day return policy. Buy the clip-on, test it for seven days and if it doesn't meet your needs, send it back for an -R or a different thermal entirely.

However, one comment on the Clip-Ons that I did verify. The Hogster-C needs to be adjusted (as it isn't automatically collimated) to the glass/scope and gun it is on. This is accomplished via a zeroing (adjustment) profile that brings the POI to match where the day scope is. The Hogster-C can save 4 different adjustment profiles allowing the clip-on to be put on other glass scopes. Each scope would need to have an adapter based on the scope's objective size, but it is possible to move the clip-on between guns/scopes by changing to the correct scope profile.

 

[kybeardman]

Super interesting read. Thanks. I'm friends w/ KY Aggie and he and I have together been researching, though he knows much more than I do about setup. I'm a newbie w/ this sort of hunting. I'm wanting to buy the 25mm, just don't know what else I need (if anything). I understand you can remove it and use it as a stand alone, just curious about the accuracy once remounted on the AR. I sent an email to night goggles asking for a phone call to steer me right. Closed on the weekends of course. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Should I go ahead and purchase even though it is on backorder?

 

[Crews]

I’ve had pretty decent return to zero with my 25mm. I can’t say I’ve checked it as thoroughly as I would on a precision rifle, but then again it’s hard to get a real fine aiming point on a target without putting some effort into it (which I don’t). Suffice to say, my mount has definitely been holding “minute of hog” out to 200 yards with ease.

 

[kirsch]

Super interesting read. Thanks. I'm friends w/ KY Aggie and he and I have together been researching, though he knows much more than I do about setup. I'm a newbie w/ this sort of hunting. I'm wanting to buy the 25mm, just don't know what else I need (if anything). I understand you can remove it and use it as a stand alone, just curious about the accuracy once remounted on the AR. I sent an email to night goggles asking for a phone call to steer me right. Closed on the weekends of course. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Should I go ahead and purchase even though it is on backorder?

Check your Sniper's Hide messages. I included my cell number, give me a call to talk about the Hogsters and any other thermal questions you may have.

 

[Smith1]

After using my 35 a few more times, I’m seriously contemplating a 25 as a scanner. My buddy just bought a thermion xp50, and I was super jealous and almost contemplating selling the Hogster, until we did a side by side comparison. The Thermion zoom feature shit on the Hogster but it’s also a 640 core so it should. Other than that, the picture wasn’t insanely clearer like I was thinking it would be. At 700 yards we both identified cows, and at distance I was comfortable taking shots we identified deer/skunks and raccoons about the same. It was a little nicer but I don’t think it was $2500 nicer either.