Thermal

[98ag]

For those that use a thermal to find down deer at night. Can you see a deer in brush or is it line of sight? How much brush or high grass can it see in? How long after the shot will the body be visible in the thermal before it is cold? Thanks for the help, I am thinking about getting one.

[Middy53]

Thermals aren't going to help you see a blood trail on a deer and depending on how thick the brush is will impact how useful one is. I use mine in conjunction with a light to follow a blood trail. I will follow blood with a light for a few yards then scan with the thermal then use the light to follow the trail more.

[AntlerCollector]

Much of your answers will depend on how much you're willing to pay for one.

[Pushbutton2]

That's a great question.
In for the learning.

I pm'd this thread to Outdoor Legacy. He's one of our Sponsors and Thermal guru :-)

[roughneck266]

I have a Leupold. It works as long as there is blood to trail and you haven't waited till the blood has reached ambient temperature. How long it takes for it to reach ambient is dependent on how much blood there is and how low the temperature is. As far as seeing deer behind other objects, not really sure, the only ones I have used it for weren't really hidden in grass or anything, it was just getting dark, and it worked really well for that.

[Slicefixer]

I have a Leupold. It works as long as there is blood to trail and you haven't waited till the blood has reached ambient temperature. How long it takes for it to reach ambient is dependent on how much blood there is and how low the temperature is. As far as seeing deer behind other objects, not really sure, the only ones I have used it for weren't really hidden in grass or anything, it was just getting dark, and it worked really well for that.

I have a thermal scope that I use like a monocular early and late....amazing technology....you can "see" animals through brush.... if there are enough holes through the brush you can make out a pretty distinct outline....works really well for me when determining if a shape is an animal.....no more imagining a 180" out of a bush....😉

I've never used it on a blood trail, but, there is no doubt in my mind that under most circumstances it would be a great help....

[98ag]

Thanks for the help. I was more interested in how well you can see deer in brush. Both alive and dead.

[Slicefixer]

Thanks for the help. I was more interested in how well you can see deer in brush. Both alive and dead.

If there's a heat signature you'll see em....at least with mine it'd be no problem.....unless they're big buried in the brush.

[Big pig]

Fun to watch bedded deer let you walk by.
And all the other nocturnal animals
They are great for finding dead black pigs after dark!

[Draco]

My friend has a Caterpillar phone with Flir thermal built into the phone. It allows him to never lose a dove and has helped finding several deer.

[Paycheck]

In for this. I was also wondering how it would work on pigs in the summer time when temps are up?

[dustoffer]

Thermals aren't going to help you see a blood trail on a deer and depending on how thick the brush is will impact how useful one is. I use mine in conjunction with a light to follow a blood trail. I will follow blood with a light for a few yards then scan with the thermal then use the light to follow the trail more.

/\/\/\
This---never used it for a deer but works great for hogs I've shot at night with the thermal-scoped rifle.

[MUZZYSLINGR]

Besides the Leupold, what are some of the brands/ type thermal devices y’all are using? Scopes , monocular, both?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Outdoor Legacy]

Pushbutton asked me to chime in here because I'm the TBH thermal/NV dealer.

You've gotten some good advice so far. Forget seeing blood with a thermal. If it's only been there a few minutes and there is a lot of it, you'll probably see it but if you've waited 15+ minutes, I'd be blow away if you can still see blood unless there is copious amounts of it and then...well you don't need a thermal.lol

As for seeing deer in the brush....I won't go hunting without a thermal. Seriously, I went this evening and was packing light for a shorter sit and I didn't even take my binos, just a thermal monocular. I'll trade my Zeiss binoculars for a thermal any day for deer hunting. Now yes, I know I can't see the horns etc with a thermal but I can do that with my scope if I have to. You will spot deer with a thermal that you'd never have seen with your naked eyes or binoculars. This evening on my hunt I watched 8 does at 45-50 yards away in the woods that I literally could not see with my naked eye. It's really crazy. And yes you'll find dead deer laying in the brush where you'd have walked right by them otherwise. They will still show up as hog for several hours.

I hope this helps a little, like I said the other advice you got was good. If you have questions, feel free to holler at me.

(877)350-1818
Outdoor Legacy

Jason

[Middy53]

I use a Trijicon Reap Ir as a monocular and always have it with me when deer hunting. I helmet mount it while hog hunting and use an Armasight Zeus Pro on my rifle.