Night Vision Thermal Questions for Beginner

[DarthRader]

A friend and I are heading to South TX tomorrow and hunting coyote and hogs this weekend. We are stopping in Dallas to pick up a Thor 336 that we rented, this will be our first time using thermal optics. We are in the market for a thermal weapon sight and I would like to know your opinions on what we should be looking for. Ideally we would like to be able to take shots on our property over 500 yds, we have steel gongs at 200yds to 2000yds. The rental is just a first step so we can see the capabilities first hand. My questions below are not specifically about the Thor 336, I am curious about all models. We are shooting weapons from .408 to .17 Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

1. What is the realistic yardage we can expect to engage and identify game, please offer models if you know them.
2. Largest caliber practically used
3. Stand alone sight or clip-on with day sight
4. Are there any places in OK or TX where we can see different models in a show room? (I know Shot Show is this week)

Thanks in advance,

 

[Surgeon_Shooter]

The Thor will give you a general idea of how they work and function. The cnvd-t is roughly a $20,000 optic and it is very very good quality for example. It will detect farther than you would need to shoot but even with it target verification is still not great out very far at all. You may shoot the neighbors dog at 500yrds thinking it was a hog...

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have long range in mind at night you need a clip on night vision unit way more than thermal. Pvs-27 or cnvd-lr. Personally I wouldn't have a pvs-27 but it works. The cnvd-lr is IMO the best clip on made!

Get you a flir around your neck to spot em with and kill with NV!

 

[DarthRader]

Thanks for the input, we had a hell of a time. 2 hogs, 11 Javelina, 1 coyote & 1 rabbit. Probably could of had a lot more, but we are getting old and had to get some sleep. The 336 was cool, but we are probably going after a 640. Most of the shots were 100-200 yds, a couple confirmed past 400. What we figured out is, you need a spotter with a hand held so you don't swing a rifle and make too much noise. Thermal coupled with suppressor at night is unreal, hearing the round go out and in a split second hearing hit the target get hit, those without thermal vision can hear the round hit, it's a whole new level... Proud to be American!

 

[DarthRader]

I don't know how to post pics from a iPad. BTW there were 5 of us taking turns, in case TX game wardens are curious.