Night Vision Burris thermals

[Adam B]

Has anyone had any experience with the thermals from Burris?

Thermal | Burris Optics

www.burrisoptics.com

 

[koshkin]

I have one coming that is supposed to land here today. If all goes well, I'll shoot a pig with it this coming weekend.

I also have Leica's Calonox here, so it will be interesting to see them side-by-side.

ILya

 

[Rancid Coolaid]

I have one coming that is supposed to land here today. If all goes well, I'll shoot a pig with it this coming weekend.

I also have Leica's Calonox here, so it will be interesting to see them side-by-side.

ILya

Let me know.

And this is kinda important, so...

 

[Old Man with Gun]

I looked at the link and can't find the sensor listed. I also can't find any reviews from the internet people that hunt and post videos that I trust. I'm curious to hear more knowledge people chim in.

 

[kirsch]

I do not know this 100%, but believe they are using a Chinese company called "Guide" for their sensor.

 

[koshkin]

I do not know this 100%, but believe they are using a Chinese company called "Guide" for their sensor.

Correct. They build a ton of microbolometers at Guide Infrared.

ILya

 

[koshkin]

Let me know.

And this is kinda important, so...

Well, since this is kinda important...

ILya

 

[srt-4_uk]

I have the BTS 50. I like it from playing with it. No real trigger time behind it yet.
If putting it on a bolt gun, you need a different mount. If putting it on an AR, it sits pretty low for me. I bought a rail riser/extender to try to solve it both issues at once.

*Edit*
I had an email out to Burris about buying the rear cantilever mount. It's only available for euro market. Riser/extender seems like only option now

 

[jwramp]

Let me know.

And this is kinda important, so...

Just received one of their BTS 50s from a recent DVOR/OP sale that dropped them to a pretty compelling price. Only had a few minutes with it, but happy to look at anything closer for you. What do you want to know?

 

[jstokes1]

We need pictures through it

 

[srt-4_uk]

Thermal mounted on gun, camera held in hand. Image is much better through scope.
Water tower at 550yds. House in foreground is 175yds.

550yd water tower on 2x digital

Hand holding thermal and hand holding phone to take pics. Not exactly ideal for a still image.
Puppy at 10 yards. Hot track is on for the picture.

 

[jstokes1]

Thats actually not bad at all

 

[jwramp]

Couple quick phone shots in the back yard. I really like the control knob, makes it real quick to hop through menus versus arrow buttons. Pretty impressed with the 400px sensor compared to the 640 that I have.

 

[Old Man with Gun]

Anyone out there who has experience with this and any of the other brands? Really curious how it would stack up to a Hogster, Pulsar or AGM.

 

[Adam B]

is that the 2.3-9.2 or the 3.3-13.2? I am interested in the 3.3-13.2

 

[jwramp]

is that the 2.3-9.2 or the 3.3-13.2? I am interested in the 3.3-13.2

I posted shots from the BTS 50, which has a 3.3x native magnification. Their BTS 35 is 2.3x

 

[Adam B]

ahh, thanks for the clarificaiton

 

[srt-4_uk]

I posted shots from the BTS 50, which has a 3.3x native magnification. Their BTS 35 is 2.3x

Depends on what literature you like at. Owners manual shows the 35 is 1.7-6.8 and the 50 is 2.3-9.2

 

[jwramp]

Depends on what literature you like at. Owners manual shows the 35 is 1.7-6.8 and the 50 is 2.3-9.2

LOL guess you're right - their website doesn't match what's in the manual.

 

[jwramp]

Soooo much lighter than my PVS-30/mk12 setup…

 

[346ci]

Are these made in china?

 

[TheHebrewHammer]

Yes, Steiner and Burris are essentially the same company, Steiner is releasing their line which will essentially be this scope with a 640, steiner is also releasing a clip on. They are all Chinese.

 

[346ci]

That sucks, thanks.

 

[Adam B]

at that pricepoint I would expect them to be Chinese

 

[346ci]

Thermal tech has been out for long time, don't see why we could not get something made here at a decent price. The 3 year warranty is good though.

The XTR3 is amazing for the price and it's USA.

 

[Adam B]

I have a BTS 50 on the way, I will report back when I get it

 

[Devildog]

Bump, curious to hear some reports back from users. I’m eyeballing the BTC 50, looks pretty slick.

 

[Adam B]

Ok, took it out last night for a quick hunt. I didn't get any shots off but it was fun using it. I traded into a Pulsar XP50 LRF a few years back and just couldn't justify a $6k scope sitting around. I really feel like the Burris gives very little up to the Pulsar. Now I am not a thermal expert but for the money, I think it was a very good buy. I really love the control and options available with the Burris. The 1 knob/button control is awesome. Everything is self explanatory and very easy to use.

 

[pabrousseau]

Adam is it difficult to sight in?

 

[Adam B]

Not at all, I used the hand warmer packets in the middle of the day. Shoot 1 shot and then moved the crosshairs to where your point of impact was.

 

[pabrousseau]

Thank you. I have a hard time with the pulsar getting zeroed.

 

[ccoker]

thread bump.. I got the BTS35 in to test.. I am pleasantly surprised.. will take it out hunting the next few days but just using it as a handheld spotter in the neighborhood I am confident I could easily make 150 yard clean shots. It is A LOT better than the Flir PTS233 I had for a while. It isn't Nvision image quality but for a sub 3k thermal it is pretty damned good.

 

[koshkin]

thread bump.. I got the BTS35 in to test.. I am pleasantly surprised.. will take it out hunting the next few days but just using it as a handheld spotter in the neighborhood I am confident I could easily make 150 yard clean shots. It is A LOT better than the Flir PTS233 I had for a while. It isn't Nvision image quality but for a sub 3k thermal it is pretty damned good.

I've been spending a lot of time with BTH50 and BTC 50 (monocular and clip-on) and I really like them. Given the price, I can not think of anything better for similar money.

ILya

 

[aslrookie]

I've been spending a lot of time with BTH50 and BTC 50 (monocular and clip-on) and I really like them. Given the price, I can not think of anything better for similar money.

ILya

What optic are you using with the BTC50? What is the min and max magnification range you would use with this clip-on?

 

[koshkin]

What optic are you using with the BTC50? What is the min and max magnification range you would use with this clip-on?

The scope is a 1-8x24 March Shorty. The clip-on seemed to be at its best around 2.5x-3x where you get more or less the full FOV of the thermal. It worked fine at higher mag, but you start seeing pixellation pretty quickly. Since you are essentially limited by the resolution of the thermal imager, increasing the magnification of the day scope does not give you more detail.

ILya

 

[DIBBS]

I've been spending a lot of time with BTH50 and BTC 50 (monocular and clip-on) and I really like them. Given the price, I can not think of anything better for similar money.

ILya

Any idea what the street price would be... or inkling of any Black Friday cyber monday deals coming up on same. I really want to jump into this... for night time predator hunting, but also don't want to buy something I won't be happy with. Please keep posting your feedback on these models and PM me if you know of any smoking deals on the products. TIA

 

[aslrookie]

The scope is a 1-8x24 March Shorty. The clip-on seemed to be at its best around 2.5x-3x where you get more or less the full FOV of the thermal. It worked fine at higher mag, but you start seeing pixellation pretty quickly. Since you are essentially limited by the resolution of the thermal imager, increasing the magnification of the day scope does not give you more detail.

ILya

Ok, so a NF NXS 2.5-10x42 should be compatible with it then?

 

[koshkin]

Ok, so a NF NXS 2.5-10x42 should be compatible with it then?

I would expect so.

ILya

 

[Longshot231]

I took a chance and ordered one from Optics Planet. I could not pass up the 11% Veteran's Day discount.

For those that have one, does the device really sit too low on an AR-15? Burris, supposedly makes the attached mount to fit specifically on the AR-15 but I'm skeptical.

Another person on this thread complained about it sitting to low as well as someone else posting a review on Burris' website. Burris recommended that the reviewer get the 5" riser from YHM.

I will be using it primarily on one AR-15 but have another foolish question. According to Burris and the reviews, you should be able to program the scope for five different models; i.e.., different rifles with different zeros.

I've never seen a daylight scope able to keep the same zero after removing it from the rifle and putting it back on the same, even with the same torque settings. So why would the Burris thermal be any different?

Now to my foolish question; has anyone had any experience using the scope on different rifles? If so, were you able to switch the profiles and retain the zero for that rifle?

 

[Adam B]

I think it sits fine height-wise

 

[srt-4_uk]

It sits right around 1.3" to centerline. That's too low for me.

 

[jwramp]

Perfect height over bore:

 

[Longshot231]

It sits right around 1.3" to centerline. That's too low for me.

Is that from the centerline of the scope to the rail of the receiver or above the bore? Just looking at photos of the scope on AR-15s, it looks like the 1.3 inches is to the top of the receiver; correct?

 

[Adam B]

I will take a pic of mine and post it later. Mine seems fine from a height perspective.

 

[srt-4_uk]

Yes, to top of receiver.

 

[Adam B]

Ok, it is a tad too low. I just took some shots at a coyote and I really had to get low.

 

[Longshot231]

View attachment 7740869
Ok, it is a tad too low. I just took some shots at a coyote and I really had to get low.

Thanks. I just ordered the YHM riser. Let's hope I get it before I get the thermal.

 

[srt-4_uk]

If you get the YHM riser with the extended rail, you can also run it on a bolt gun If you flip it around.

 

[Longshot231]

I got the thermal yesterday but haven’t mounted it yet as I’m still waiting on the riser.

The first photo is of the tree in the front yard viewed through the thermal scope. In the second photo you’ll notice a bright spot where my hand warmed up the bark.

The scope won’t take photos. That’s the best that I could do with the iPhone.

 

[Adam B]

Does anyone know the if the reticles have defined distances betweeen the has marks?