Night Vision Help with thermal for budget short range hog rifle.

[brix8984]

I am putting together a Ruger American 450 bm to do a little close range hog hunting at night (20-150yds) absolute max range would be 200. I don’t have a very big budget but can spare about $1500 right now I am looking at the ATN ThOR 4 384 1.25-5 and the soon to be released Thor 4 lt 3-6. I like the better resolution and fov of the 384 but like the weight and the price of the lt. anyone have any suggestions I’m very new to thermal scopes and could be missing something comepletely! Thanks in advance for your help!!!
Brix

I am military if someone knows something I am missing that has a military discount that would put it down into my price range.

 

[wigwamitus]

I had the ATN 1.25-5 myself and reviewed it in my "practicing" thread several years back. I cannot recommend it. It is awful. No image at all on black out, among the problems. ATN told me to send it back and I did. Maybe it was a lemon, but that's not the only ATN lemon I've had. They seem to be good at lemons. Though I have an older ODIN and it works fine. But it is a monocular, not a hunting scope.

The lowest end thermal scope I can recommend for hunting is the pulsar Apex 38mm (or 50mm) ... street price for these is around $2,250, though with military discount, that can be brought down a bit.

Call Optics Planet, Ultimate Night Vision and Huey Outdoors and see who can get you the best price. I mean call them on the phone and talk with them on voice.

 

[wigwamitus]

As far as using bolt guns for hogs ... that's almost the only hunting I do where I would rather use a stoner than a bolt gun. And that's because if you are facing a field of multiple sounders ... then the ones you don't get in the first volley will scatter in all directions (more so, if your team is shooting suppressed) and they might run in on you. Not that they are charging you. They are running from the sound of the bullet that passed by them. But having a number of shots you can make quickly is more important in this situation. Now if you are wilth team and some team members have stoners then it is fine for some team members to have bolt guns. But if you are alone, I would take a stoner.

 

[atepointer]

I am putting together a Ruger American 450 bm to do a little close range hog hunting at night (20-150yds) absolute max range would be 200. I don’t have a very big budget but can spare about $1500 right now I am looking at the ATN ThOR 4 384 1.25-5 and the soon to be released Thor 4 lt 3-6. I like the better resolution and fov of the 384 but like the weight and the price of the lt. anyone have any suggestions I’m very new to thermal scopes and could be missing something comepletely! Thanks in advance for your help!!!
Brix

I am military if someone knows something I am missing that has a military discount that would put it down into my price range.

I'm going to go against the grain a bit with Wigwam on lowest acceptable level of thermal, but tkae this with a grain of salt I have a fraction of his experience with thermal I've only been at it 3 years now. He gives great advice he's one of the posters I read the most.

There are 2 Pulsar RXQ30's on our lease and this is the entry Pulsar which has piled up trailers full of hogs and coyotes on the ranch since it came out got mine for $1,800 one of the first to get hands on one. I've rolled a couple of hogs right at 200, but most of our shooting is much closer. I can pick up thermal signatures at 1000 no problem. My very first night out with it I spotted a signature at maybe 800 yards, drove up to maybe 300 and knew for sure it was hogs and closed in to 50 yards and took 2 out of maybe 5.

I'm going Friday night with one of the guys who has an Armasight 640 and after he shot my RXQ30 about a year ago he said dang it's not as crisp, but I wish I'd of waited and bought this instead. Super small, super light and enough to get it done. His Armasight was right at 3x the cost of mine, but doesn't help him kill any more game than mine to put it in simplest terms. We also hunt in some of the worst conditions for thermal with super high humidity and tons of rain.

If by chance you are near Tampa FL you are more than welcome to come take a look through mine. Night Vision Outfitters is a great place to start as well call Myron Morrow he's a great pal and will answer any questions and he's treated all my friends I've sent his way like royalty($$).

 

[wigwamitus]

Aye, the reason I don't recommend either the FLIR or the Pulsar really low end scopes for hunting is they are both "fixed focus" at 50yds. So beyond 100yds things get real fuzzy. And it isn't just about how far you will shoot, It is also about spotting and PID. PIDing a critter at 250yds might tell you whether you want to stalk in or not. So manual focus like the Apex 38mm (or 50mm) give you a much clearer image out several hundred yards, for PID.

 

[atepointer]

SEe Wiggy knows! That's true I've stalked in on some thermal hits and arrived and said 'oh well just does laying down in the grass' that's for sure, but it's not made me want to throw it out yet. I guess at the end of the day it will get you in the game and if the budget is limited like mine was at the time it's better than no thermal at all. If there were no such thing as adjustable focus there would still be a ton of varmints slaughtered!

 

[bman940]

It always comes down to $ with a thermal scope. I haven't looked at ATN's ThOR LT line but I have heard some good things about it. I personally have two ThOR's. One 4 and one 6 years old. Both run great and I couldn't be happier with the 30mm tube and light weight of the 4. Price wasn't terrible either and if you call and ask some online retailers you can get a% off, plus no tax/shipping. The 4 buddies I night hunt with are all using the older ThOr's and they have not had any issues either.
I got no $ from ATN and I am just passing along info to your question.
My buddy and I double tapped this big dog a few weeks ago.

 

[brix8984]

Thank you both for the reply’s. I really appreciate the help as this week is the first I have even looked into thermal scopes. I’ve never had a need for one until now. The higher dollar pulsar is probably a bit out of my range but I can probably swing the fixed focus one. It does seem to have much better reviews than any of the atns. I went with the bolt gun as this is just something I want to try on a lease I recently picked up in the mountains/hills of northern Arkansas. I might be pushing it saying I will shoot 150 as there are not many spots on my lease to shoot over 50-60 yds so the RXQ30 should work just fine. And as heavily timbered as it is I don’t plan on being able to have any follow up shots thus I went with a bolt gun for better accuracy for the money. I’m really just after a couple big bores I have on camer a and we will see where this new hobby goes from there! Thank you again for the help it sounds like you both may have saved me a lot of headache!

 

[brix8984]

It always comes down to $ with a thermal scope. I haven't looked at ATN's ThOR LT line but I have heard some good things about it. I personally have two ThOR's. One 4 and one 6 years old. Both run great and I couldn't be happier with the 30mm tube and light weight of the 4. Price wasn't terrible either and if you call and ask some online retailers you can get a% off, plus no tax/shipping. The 4 buddies I night hunt with are all using the older ThOr's and they have not had any issues either.
I got no $ from ATN and I am just passing along info to your question.
My buddy and I double tapped this big dog a few weeks ago.

Thanks for input. I was thinking the new lt models might work better since they are simpler but there sensor resolution is not as good but I’m sure they would work adequately well in my situation. That’s an impressive coyote as well!!!

 

[atepointer]

Thank you both for the reply’s. I really appreciate the help as this week is the first I have even looked into thermal scopes. I’ve never had a need for one until now. The higher dollar pulsar is probably a bit out of my range but I can probably swing the fixed focus one. It does seem to have much better reviews than any of the atns. I went with the bolt gun as this is just something I want to try on a lease I recently picked up in the mountains/hills of northern Arkansas. I might be pushing it saying I will shoot 150 as there are not many spots on my lease to shoot over 50-60 yds so the RXQ30 should work just fine. And as heavily timbered as it is I don’t plan on being able to have any follow up shots thus I went with a bolt gun for better accuracy for the money. I’m really just after a couple big bores I have on camer a and we will see where this new hobby goes from there! Thank you again for the help it sounds like you both may have saved me a lot of headache!

Trust me when I tell you the idea around 'just after a few big boars'....that notion is gonna disappear like a fart in the wind about the time you roll a hog on thermal. 'Um, I need to do that again!'. Welcome to Thermafia.....only one way out now.

 

[bman940]

8, Is so right! My ThOR 4 sits on my CMMG 6.5 and is lights out. I have punched TX hogs with .223's in the cranium and they still run. Not so with the 6.5CM. I love the pic and video capabilities as well. I do not think you will be disappointed.
Bart

 

[Rerun7]

If I’m going to spend that mich money on something I don’t want it to be a situation where I want to upgrade a year later.

I started out with some lower end thermal spotters and had enough experience that I knew I wouldn’t be happy with a low end scope.

I say keep saving for a bit, sell some of the gear you don’t use, etc and get something above entry level

 

[bman940]

Agree, Rerun7. I started with an ATN PS22 and like the day-night scope usage and had issues shooting where there was a lot of ambient light. Once I tried a buddies thermal I was ruined. It took me a year to move on and now I have one for my son, he seems to think the ThOR 4 is for him and the older 640, which is slightly more clear but it adds more weight. Both are easy to use and I love the blue tooth capabilities to see on my phone. I have looked at a few other thermal units and I just like what ATN has to offer. This is my own opinion, not a paid endorser. When something works, I stick with it.

 

[brix8984]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I really appreciate all the help I get here on this forum and always try to listen to everyone’s opinion and take there expertise into account. I know a may get hooked on this more but right now my only intention is to hunt hogs on my lease in Arkansas as this is the only place with pigs I have access too. I will more than likely hunt from a stand baited at night. So my current two options I’ve narrowed it down to considering all opinions and my need is the Thor 4 lt 3-6 roughly $950 or the pulsar core rxq30 for $1650. I have always said spend the money and cry once over buying junk lol but 700 is a big difference if the Thor 4 lt is actually capable of night shooting to 150 yds reliably.

 

[brix8984]

I'm going to go against the grain a bit with Wigwam on lowest acceptable level of thermal, but tkae this with a grain of salt I have a fraction of his experience with thermal I've only been at it 3 years now. He gives great advice he's one of the posters I read the most.

There are 2 Pulsar RXQ30's on our lease and this is the entry Pulsar which has piled up trailers full of hogs and coyotes on the ranch since it came out got mine for $1,800 one of the first to get hands on one. I've rolled a couple of hogs right at 200, but most of our shooting is much closer. I can pick up thermal signatures at 1000 no problem. My very first night out with it I spotted a signature at maybe 800 yards, drove up to maybe 300 and knew for sure it was hogs and closed in to 50 yards and took 2 out of maybe 5.

I'm going Friday night with one of the guys who has an Armasight 640 and after he shot my RXQ30 about a year ago he said dang it's not as crisp, but I wish I'd of waited and bought this instead. Super small, super light and enough to get it done. His Armasight was right at 3x the cost of mine, but doesn't help him kill any more game than mine to put it in simplest terms. We also hunt in some of the worst conditions for thermal with super high humidity and tons of rain.

If by chance you are near Tampa FL you are more than welcome to come take a look through mine. Night Vision Outfitters is a great place to start as well call Myron Morrow he's a great pal and will answer any questions and he's treated all my friends I've sent his way like royalty($$).

Thank you for the offer! I’m interested in the pulsar but am curious as to what the eye relief is? With the 450bm bolt gun I will need a decent eye reliefe lol

 

[brix8984]

If I’m going to spend that mich money on something I don’t want it to be a situation where I want to upgrade a year later.

I started out with some lower end thermal spotters and had enough experience that I knew I wouldn’t be happy with a low end scope.

I say keep saving for a bit, sell some of the gear you don’t use, etc and get something above entry level

Thanks for the advice. That is my usual aproach but this is just a minor hobby for now I hunt way to much out west and whitetail in Arkansas Kansas and Oklahoma along with 2 little girls to have a whole lot of free time for this. I do however appreciate nice things and all the help I get here members help me build this 338 Lapua that is my go to for western hunting!

 

[bman940]

With my ThOR 4 on top of my 6.5 CM I would have zero issues shooting to 400 yards. There is a ballistic app you can use for range and a range finder made by ATN ( I do not have one) that fits right next to the obj lens and sends info to the scope which then adjusts the reticle for your shot. It looks very cool but I haven't used it. Most of my shots are inside of 250 yards and the 6.5 does great with zero adjustments.

 

[generalzip]

Used Pulsar XQ38 or 50. Extremely under-rated and reliable thermal. If new, Trail XQ38.

 

[NukeMan]

I've had my Flir PTS Pro233 now for about a month. I got it for just under 2K. First thermal but I've looked through an entry level pulsar model that was about the same price as my entry level Flir. I have absolutely no complaints with the Flir unit. I can id coyotes easily out to about 250 yds without zooming. For your intended ranges I absolutely wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's light and compact and comes on an ADM quick release mount.

 

[EDELWEISS]

This is my first post so be gentle. I do a lot of Wild Boar hunting and a good bit of that at night. I do see the virtues of thermal; but I still prefer "traditional" NV. I started with a PVS 4. Once I started using "Clip On" NV, I was hooked on the Day/Night simplicity. Ive toyed with thermal viewers and like them in addition to a rifle with a "clip on" NV optic.

Best