Night Vision Trail XQ50 LRF Expectations?

[Ksracer]

I'm brand new to thermals and am having some issues with the Pulsar I bought new last week and put on my .223 bolt rifle.
I'm happy with the image it provides, but the first problem I noticed is that it won't detect shots being fired and trigger the auto record feature. I called the service center and they said I could send it in, but if they found a problem, it could be several weeks before they could get it replaced. The screen has also frozen a few times after it did it its auto recalibrate thing. I either had to shut it off, or switch it to manual to get it back

The more serious problem occurred when I zero'd it in one evening, and then missed multiple easy shots the first time I took it out at night. I re-checked the zero that night and it had shifted over 3" high @100yds. Temps were 40-60 degrees both times. The rifle never had a zero problem with any of the other day scopes I've had on it, and it has always consistently shot groups under 1/2". The techs response to that was to remount it using all 4 screws, instead of the 3 that the directions told me to use to obtain the eye releif I needed. It seems to be mounted solidly, and I'm having a hard time believing I had a mechanical shift that could account for that large of movement.

Now for my question. I realize there are far more expensive scopes out there. Is this just the nature of mid-priced thermals, or should I realistically expect better?

 

[Killswitch Engage]

this is not a unknown issue with some pulsar thermals bud. there my be a firmware update that may help the zero shift but in my experience the shift has been physical and within the housing itself during ambient temp swings.

 

[Ksracer]

this is not a unknown issue with some pulsar thermals bud. there my be a firmware update that may help the zero shift but in my experience the shift has been physical and within the housing itself during ambient temp swings.

Ya, I found others who mentioned it after I experienced it for myself. I wish I had known enough about thermals to research that issue before I bought one. Everybody I talked to said this was the one to buy, so I took their word.
Is there anyway to mitigate it? Will letting the scope warm up for 20min and zeroing in the dark help? Do I simply need to spend more money? Because if this is normal, it's not going to serve the purpose I needed it for.

 

[shoots100]

Send it in for a checkup. Crap Happens.
While I only have a couple of months time spent with my XQ50, it's been holding it's own against my pricier thermals.
I've been switching it from a large bore semi auto AR, to a 308 bolt and a 9mm PCP air rifle, and it's still holding Coyote MOA out to 100 yards.
The three firearm zero capability was the main reason why I bought it.
QD mount works great for that purpose.
I hunt in weather conditions that are very temp variable and it's held up well.
Something is out of wack and it isn't going to magically get better, so ship it out now and you'll get it back before you know it.

SJC

 

[Ksracer]

Send it in for a checkup. Crap Happens.
While I only have a couple of months time spent with my XQ50, it's been holding it's own against my pricier thermals.
I've been switching it from a large bore semi auto AR, to a 308 bolt and a 9mm PCP air rifle, and it's still holding Coyote MOA out to 100 yards.
The three firearm zero capability was the main reason why I bought it.
QD mount works great for that purpose.
I hunt in weather conditions that are very temp variable and it's held up well.
Something is out of wack and it isn't going to magically get better, so ship it out now and you'll get it back before you know it.

SJC

I get what you're saying, and I appreciate the input. I'm sure MOA of Coyote at 100yds was just a metaphore, but its pretty crappy performance and isn't going to cut it for what I need. I can take one of my regular bolt guns, completely disassemble it, including removal of barrel, and have it return to zero within 1" at 100yds.
I understand theres allot more going on inside a thermal, so I'm not expecting perfection, but a 3" shift is useless to me if that's what normal is.
How close do you think your zero would stay if you weren't swapping it between rifles?

 

[ballistic1]

That is unfortunate that you have had issues with yours

If it were mine, I would send it in.. something is not right with it.


I run a Xp50 Trail .. summer, winter.. 90 F, below zero.. I've never had my zero lost, shift
or be anything different than where I set it. Maybe Im just lucky.

On occassion, the auto shutter on the NUC will stick.. I just hit NUC again, it
resets. A couple of times, the screen has frozen , where I had to power off
or pull battery. I don't know at what frequency Pulsar considers this acceptable
/ normal behavior.. but it does happen.

Rebooting your Software/ Firmware may indeed provide a solution.

 

[Killswitch Engage]

Send it in for a checkup. Crap Happens.
While I only have a couple of months time spent with my XQ50, it's been holding it's own against my pricier thermals.
I've been switching it from a large bore semi auto AR, to a 308 bolt and a 9mm PCP air rifle, and it's still holding Coyote MOA out to 100 yards.
The three firearm zero capability was the main reason why I bought it.
QD mount works great for that purpose.
I hunt in weather conditions that are very temp variable and it's held up well.
Something is out of wack and it isn't going to magically get better, so ship it out now and you'll get it back before you know it.

SJC

i hope that's tongue in cheek because moa of coyote at 100 isn't worth a fuck. I was on the pulsar prostaff for 2 years. I will tell you that the main element of folks claiming there was no zero shift issue were dudes shooting hogs at 50yd and saying their shit never lost zero and they've been killing with it for a year without zeroing.

that don't work on coyotes at 200-300yd and it damn sure don't work on movers at that distance.

op...I cant tell you what to do with your money. you can play the send it back game with pulsar and see what they say. if I were going to have to run one I would zero it at ambient temp and leave it outside in my truck or something along those lines. at very least let it sit outside and acclimate to ambient temp and check your zero before each hunt.

if you don't wanna fuck around then sell it and stick some coin out and buy a trijicon or a nvision. the flir pt series are decent but I have seen a handful of issues with them here and there.

 

[Ksracer]

i hope that's tongue in cheek because moa of coyote at 100 isn't worth a fuck. I was on the pulsar prostaff for 2 years. I will tell you that the main element of folks claiming there was no zero shift issue were dudes shooting hogs at 50yd and saying their shit never lost zero and they've been killing with it for a year without zeroing.

that don't work on coyotes at 200-300yd and it damn sure don't work on movers at that distance.

op...I cant tell you what to do with your money. you can play the send it back game with pulsar and see what they say. if I were going to have to run one I would zero it at ambient temp and leave it outside in my truck or something along those lines. at very least let it sit outside and acclimate to ambient temp and check your zero before each hunt.

if you don't wanna fuck around then sell it and stick some coin out and buy a trijicon or a nvision. the flir pt series are decent but I have seen a handful of issues with them here and there.

Thank you. That is the answer I needed, and I suspect it's damn close to the truth. Coyotes of opportunity within a 300 yard perimeter of my house was the main reason I purchased it.
I checked it again last night, and the first group was 3" low. 2 days ago it was 3" high, so i rezero'd. I let it sit in my truck for a few hours, and the first shot after turning it on went 4" low, then the next three walked their way back up to the Bullseye.
From what I've read and gathered from talking to Pulsar, this sounds like a flaw with the design that they're trying to fix with software. I'm going to put a regular scope back on to confirm they're aren't any issues with the rifle itself, then It's probably going bye-bye.