Thermal and preparedness.

[KIBarrister]

Are any of the sub-$1000 monoculars worth it? My use cases are finding animals in fields and woods in the dark, and potentially tracking wounded game.

What would see a deer or coyote at 300 yards, or a turkey in a tree at half that?

For tracking, YMMV depending on terrain and the like, but the handheld ones should handle a blood trail just fine (last I looked at them they were $800 or so, but that was a couple years ago). The most important thing is to stick to companies that are established in that tech and not chinesium (*cough* ATN *cough*).

But, for 300 yards, to ID you are going to need a proper thermal. Buy once, cry once. Used FLIR's come up often enough, or buy a Pulsar new (or Trijicon if you want really nice). Read up on the tech though: core, resolution, refresh, etc. are all very important.

 

[Michigander08]

Per internet:

One way to hide from thermal imaging is an ordinary ‘space blanket’, ’emergency blanket’ or thermal blanket.
They are made of Mylar foil materials and will block IR imagery.

 

[RRomig]

I’m not worried about anything hiding under a space blanket. It/they cannot be aggressive while hiding their entire body including their eyes.

 

[TrappedinMD]

The top of the line thermals out now are ridiculous! my buddy just got the newest pulsar, you can ID way out there!!!

 

[Ecestu]

I got into the thermal game for predator hunting about 4 years ago and haven't looked back. Nothing compares to thermal for scanning. Right now I run 2 scopes and 1 handheld. I do think that nv has advantages for confirming a target, but put that animal in some brush with it not looking at you and those advantages are gone. my only concern with thermal and prepping would be battery life. I am not a prepper by any means, but I know with running 2 thermal scopes on a good night, I can go thru up to 10 CR123 lith ion batteries, and the rechargables dont seem to last about half of the time.

What brands are you running or would recommend?

 

[Wsanner]

What brands are you running or would recommend?

I got a once in a lifetime deal on 2 Trijicons. A mk3 60 and a reap IR35 is what i have on my 2 guns. They are pretty dam cool. I use a Pulsar axion to scan with. Its not top of the line, but it does pretty good for the price. I already had enough invested is this deal. Trijicon and Halo seem to be on the top end from what I have put my hands on. However Pulsar, Bering, Iray, AGM and some others are putting out some quality products at half the price of the others. Pay attention to the reviews on what the scope does in high humidity. My 35mm is horrible in high humidity while the 60mm isnt bad. There is supposed to be a guy in southern md that actually keeps a bunch in stock. If you are in the market, its worth putting your hands on one before you buy.

 

[Inigoes]

I will not buy another firearm until I some NV or Thermal gear. Those who have both, if you could only afford one, which would be the better option in you opinion.

You are welcome

Thermal Scope | ATN Corp

Buy Thermal Rifle Scope at ATN for hunting. Best price and reviews on Thermal Imaging Scope for sale.

www.atncorp.com

 

[Wsanner]

Here's a 2 screenshots from my scanner at about 100yds, 1 second apart.... That's his head exploding...

 

[Brickman301]

I have a AGM thermal scanner. Love it!

 

[KIBarrister]

Per internet:

One way to hide from thermal imaging is an ordinary ‘space blanket’, ’emergency blanket’ or thermal blanket.
They are made of Mylar foil materials and will block IR imagery.

Except that will stick out like a sore thumb in an outdoor background (and up close anywhere). From ten yards I can count the hairs on my kids head.

You are welcome

Thermal Scope | ATN Corp

Buy Thermal Rifle Scope at ATN for hunting. Best price and reviews on Thermal Imaging Scope for sale.

www.atncorp.com

Danger Will Robinson, Danger. Lone Star Boars has had a couple videos out on why ATN thermals should be avoided like the plague.

 

[Ecestu]

I got a once in a lifetime deal on 2 Trijicons. A mk3 60 and a reap IR35 is what i have on my 2 guns. They are pretty dam cool. I use a Pulsar axion to scan with. Its not top of the line, but it does pretty good for the price. I already had enough invested is this deal. Trijicon and Halo seem to be on the top end from what I have put my hands on. However Pulsar, Bering, Iray, AGM and some others are putting out some quality products at half the price of the others. Pay attention to the reviews on what the scope does in high humidity. My 35mm is horrible in high humidity while the 60mm isnt bad. There is supposed to be a guy in southern md that actually keeps a bunch in stock. If you are in the market, its worth putting your hands on one before you buy.

Thanks.

 

[Brickman301]

Danger Will Robinson, Danger. Lone Star Boars has had a couple videos out on why ATN thermals should be avoided like the plague.

I’ve heard the same thing about ATN’s thermals. Just curious what do you think about their NV? They get alot of love/hate.

I have a ATN X-Sight 4K Pro Edition 5-20x Smart HD Day/Night Riflescope. I upgraded the IR light to ATN IR850 Pro IR Illuminator, big improvement over the stock light.
At 1st I had issues with it freezing up, after calling customer support they had me downgraded from the newest update, and all the freezing issues went away. The update even lets the scope go to 50x, not really useful, but pretty cool nonetheless. I’m happy with it, it does what I need it to do.
Just wanted your thoughts.

 

[KIBarrister]

I haven’t tried their NV. But tech glitches are frequent complaint (along with durability) across the board, with thermals getting some other complaints added on.

My outlook is if you’re looking at dropping the coin for that kind of tech it is absolutely worth it to abide the buy once, cry once mentality. Before I purchased I did a ton of research (LSB is a great resource), and that put me on to FLIR

 

[RRomig]

A friend and I picked up some Thor 4s a couple years ago. They came with range finders and mounts. Really good price and always worked perfectly. I’ve had their NV for 10+ years with zero problems. I recently sold the Thor and a entry level pulsar to get the newest pulsar. No rounds on the new one yet but both the scopes I sold were very good for the cost. I also use a pulsar monocular for scanning. It’s been great but different price range. I have the leupold monocular that doesn’t really get used but l leave it in my backpack just in case.

 

[Docster]

Three of my neighbors have generators and no guns.

Since I plan to still have sex after the apocalypse, they will be running all my wifes hair dryers.

I'm with ya'!!

Doc, where are you running to?

Not running. My prep philosophy has been stated. I'm 70, partially disabled, fully disabled wife. In an apocalypse setting we'll hunker down and do what we reasonably can. After all I've been through I'm not afraid to die

 

[teratos]

Per internet:

One way to hide from thermal imaging is an ordinary ‘space blanket’, ’emergency blanket’ or thermal blanket.
They are made of Mylar foil materials and will block IR imagery.

Sure, but then you are under a blanket...

It's not impossible

I'm with ya'!!

Not running. My prep philosophy has been stated. I'm 70, partially disabled, fully disabled wife. In an apocalypse setting we'll hunker down and do what we reasonably can. After all I've been through I'm not afraid to die

You gotta plan for what you have. I hope you have some association with others in the area.

 

[Slackdaddy]

any consumer monocular with a 640 sensor ?

 

[RRomig]

I have this one. Sorry mine is before they added the word pro. Same thermal sensor. Works very good.

The HELION 2 XP PRO Thermal Imaging Monoculars | Pulsar

These thermal imaging monoculars feature a digital zoom function of up to 8*, enabling you to increase the overall object recognition from a long distance:

www.pulsar-nv.com

 

[teratos]

I have this one. Sorry mine is before they added the word pro. Same thermal sensor. Works very good.

The HELION 2 XP PRO Thermal Imaging Monoculars | Pulsar

These thermal imaging monoculars feature a digital zoom function of up to 8*, enabling you to increase the overall object recognition from a long distance:

www.pulsar-nv.com

Dammit that is sexy. Are the real images as good as the pics they show? This stuff’s so addictive.

 

[RRomig]

Pretty amazing. I’m a electronic idiot so I’m still getting used to it. That’s also why I sold the other two scopes. Too many different things to remember. I’m heading back to NC next weekend to try out the new rig. I’ll see if I can get in some recording.