Originally posted by Jethro
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI have read this whole thread, but there is so much information, and I get confused easy.
So. Thermal handheld scanners. At the bottom end the is the Leopold Tracker. I think I kind of have a handle on its capabilities and limitations. What would be the next step up from that? How much money would it take to get something significantly better, and what would it be?
You're not going to be able to see much with a leupold tracker. I'd look at the pulsar helion line or the armasight Prometheus C as far as scanners go.
If I were you I'd get a decent thermal scope and use it as both until you can get both.
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I appreciate the input 35 remington and Keaton. It will probably be a little while before I do anything on thermal, kind of trying to wrap my head around it and figure out where the best bang for the buck level is. Well, at least at a level I can afford.
I have a Photon 6.5x50 on the way, it should be here later this week. That should take care of the shooting part for a while. I know I can use it to scan with for now, even though it will be a pain. I can't get everything all at once though and have to work into it slow. I got the Photon for hunting coyotes over bait sites and dead cows at night. I would like to call with it too, but for that I need something easier to scan with.
I'll be honest, I just don't know if I can jump into that $2500+ range or not. Probably not.
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI appreciate the input 35 remington and Keaton. It will probably be a little while before I do anything on thermal, kind of trying to wrap my head around it and figure out where the best bang for the buck level is. Well, at least at a level I can afford.
I have a Photon 6.5x50 on the way, it should be here later this week. That should take care of the shooting part for a while. I know I can use it to scan with for now, even though it will be a pain. I can't get everything all at once though and have to work into it slow. I got the Photon for hunting coyotes over bait sites and dead cows at night. I would like to call with it too, but for that I need something easier to scan with.
I'll be honest, I just don't know if I can jump into that $2500+ range or not. Probably not.
That's what I thought at first..then when you use them you start making any kind of excuse you can to justify it. I started with a photon as well. Now I have a Armasight Zeus 640 42mm and a Zeus 640 75mm HD and a Armasight CO-X gen 3 alpha clip on night vision. It's kinda like tax stamps..being addictive and such.
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I hear you on that Keaton. I have 7 stamps on my trust. If I had the hog hunting opportunities you have I could put a whole lot more justification (and money) in on the night hunting thing.
Every time you post it makes me think of my middle son, his name is Keedon. He graduated from WTAMU this spring with a bachelors in Ag Business.
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI appreciate the input 35 remington and Keaton.
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI hear you on that Keaton. I have 7 stamps on my trust. If I had the hog hunting opportunities you have I could put a whole lot more justification (and money) in on the night hunting thing.
Every time you post it makes me think of my middle son, his name is Keedon. He graduated from WTAMU this spring with a bachelors in Ag Business.
Yeah I'm very fortunate to have the hunting opportunities I have. But hey thermal is good for other things too! Predator hunting, locating wounded game, locating lost cattle, or pets even, home security, you can check feeder levels or tank battery levels, really it can be used for so much more.
Plus with most of them they can store multiple zeros. So my Zeus scopes are zeroed on 3 different rifles. Makes it a little more justifiable. Lol
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI appreciate the input 35 remington and Keaton. It will probably be a little while before I do anything on thermal, kind of trying to wrap my head around it and figure out where the best bang for the buck level is. Well, at least at a level I can afford.
I have a Photon 6.5x50 on the way, it should be here later this week. That should take care of the shooting part for a while. I know I can use it to scan with for now, even though it will be a pain. I can't get everything all at once though and have to work into it slow. I got the Photon for hunting coyotes over bait sites and dead cows at night. I would like to call with it too, but for that I need something easier to scan with.
I'll be honest, I just don't know if I can jump into that $2500+ range or not. Probably not.
You've got to decide what you want to do. If you just want know that "something" is out there, out to about 200 yards, the Leupold LTO Tracker will work for that. The FLIR TK Scout will as well, however, I'm less of a fan of the TK Scout for a few reasons, including an embarrassingly slow refresh rate and an internal rechargeable battery. For the Photon user on a budget who is sitting in a stand and wanting to know that something is walking by at 125 yards, the LTO is a good option. It's also awesome for tracking downed animals...hence the name.lol
The problem is, if you want something better, the price and quality jump is huge. There is not a lot of options in between the LTO Tracker and something like the Pulsar Quantums. I would definitely shy away from buying one of the older discontinued Pulsar monoculars unless you get it brand new in the box from an authorized dealer (only way you will get a Pulsar warranty) as a close out and you buy it cheap. Don't get me wrong, these are great monoculars but unless you buy it below dealer cost, you'd be better off buying one of the new Pulsar Quantum Lite monoculars. 35Rem mentioned this above.
The HD19A and XD19A are both great monoculars and before all the new models were released this year, they were great deals for the price. Compared to this new model line up, they just can't compete. They both had 25 microns, LCD displays and detection ranges of around 550 yards. The Quantum Lite XQ23V has 17 microns, AMOLED displays and a detection range of 985 yards. It's got a price tag of $2,199. I've been using this model since it was released and it's a really nice, light weight basic function thermal monocular. If you wanted all the bells and whistles like rechargeable battery packs, internal video recording, wi-fi streaming to your phone/tablet etc then the Pulsar Helions are the obvious choice but they start at $2,499.
One last option......the new Pulsar Core RXQ30V thermal rifle scopes are an amazing $1,899. They are small and light weight and there is no reason it can't be used as a monocular, especially if you don't install the rifle mount. The only feature it doesn't have that the monoculars have is the select-able color palettes. I don't see this as an issue because I never use the color palettes anyway. So if you really wanted, you could by the RXQ30V for $1,899 and have both a scope and a monocular, depending on how you wanted to use it at the time. Food for thought.....
At the end of the day, it all comes down to the features/quality you want and your budget. The LTO Tracker is a whole lot better than using your rifle to scan the field all night, no question about it. If you can justify the extra money for higher end thermal mono, then go for it.
I hope this helps.
Jason
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Thanks Jason, I appreciate it. That really does help a bunch, that breaks it down for me real well. I just have to decide where on that line I want to fall. I have time though, because the gun fairy isn't going to drop the cash in my pocket tomorrow.
In the meantime I am going to need to pick up an MDVR for the Photon.
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostThanks Jason, I appreciate it. That really does help a bunch, that breaks it down for me real well. I just have to decide where on that line I want to fall. I have time though, because the gun fairy isn't going to drop the cash in my pocket tomorrow.
In the meantime I am going to need to pick up an MDVR for the Photon.
Yep just let me know if you get ready for an MDVR, I keep them sitting on the shelf.
- Jason
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I poked my toes in the water last night, and it felt good! I'm ready to dive right in now!
I got my 6.5x50L Photon in yesterday and got it mounted up. Put the IR bulb in the W402ZF and mounted it up as well using a 45 degree picatinny rail top cap for the 30 mm SWFA rings. It fits that way, barely, barely. I am probably going to have to swap a few things around up there on top though. I will probably end up going to a T-20 style light of some kind to save some size/weight, even though the Wicked 402 does light things up real well.
We have an open field across the street we own and on the other side of that one of our neighbors has some goats. With the naked eye you could not see a hint of anything over there. With the Photon though, I could have easily shot anything I wanted using just the on board illuminator. I didn't put the rangefinder on it, but distances across over there are in the 150-200 range, just depending.
I am pumped, I love it! I need to get it out in the country and get a feel for how it is really going to work. It feels really good on my tripod setup. That 18" Encore is one short handy little dude too.
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Originally posted by Jethro View PostI poked my toes in the water last night, and it felt good! I'm ready to dive right in now!
I got my 6.5x50L Photon in yesterday and got it mounted up. Put the IR bulb in the W402ZF and mounted it up as well using a 45 degree picatinny rail top cap for the 30 mm SWFA rings. It fits that way, barely, barely. I am probably going to have to swap a few things around up there on top though. I will probably end up going to a T-20 style light of some kind to save some size/weight, even though the Wicked 402 does light things up real well.
We have an open field across the street we own and on the other side of that one of our neighbors has some goats. With the naked eye you could not see a hint of anything over there. With the Photon though, I could have easily shot anything I wanted using just the on board illuminator. I didn't put the rangefinder on it, but distances across over there are in the 150-200 range, just depending.
I am pumped, I love it! I need to get it out in the country and get a feel for how it is really going to work. It feels really good on my tripod setup. That 18" Encore is one short handy little dude too.
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I had to do some work on the rail to get eye relief right. But it is good now. That would have been much simpler with some medium or high rings, but lows were what I had had in the parts bin so that is what I rolled with.
Zeroing in it only took 7 rounds to get it about 1" high at 100. Last 4 rounds went into 3/4" using the Sierra 1365 (55 grain SBT). Then I went to the 8" steel at 200, and was pretty much dead on. Put 3 rounds into about 1.5", I am good with that. That accuracy level with that bullet will pretty much do anything I need it to do. Now I just need a little time to get out and kill something. Probably won't have much time for the next 3-4 weeks though.
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