G’day fellas. Have recently purchased a thermal scope which I intend to use on pigs, dogs, and cats. Haven’t had the opportunity to use it as of yet though.
Any of you blokes use it yourself? Will be after a few hot tips when I finally get the chance to use it.
I got an IR scope recently, obviously worlds apart from thermal. But now I’m stuck at home, so can’t really test it out properly.
Yes definitely frustrating mate, I feel your pain.
I thought long and hard about the whole Night Vision Vs Thermal. Price is obviously well in the favour of Night Vision.
I use Night Vision occupationally so am aware of its limitations, in saying that, thermal has its drawbacks also.
It was a big outlay but I figured I will pay once and get what I wanted without the want to upgrade to something better in the future.
I have fantasies of thermal scopes but unfortunately cost prohibitive for me!
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Yeah mate I can fully appreciate that. Entry level is circa 3k from memory when I did my research. I could have purchased several rifles for the price of mine. 6.5k was a tough pill to swallow however I am hoping it will be worth it.
What’s the intended use?
I’m sitting here joking with my wife that i can justify 7k on a thermal scope and another 14k on an electric utv for silent vermin control! LOL
She’s not buying it and we don’t have the money anyway…
Mate I do a fair bit of pig hunting, and also shoot every cat I see. Just looking to move into night ops to hopefully help reduce the pig and cat population.
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Nice… should work a treat. Biggest problem I have is the grass thieves get light shy pretty quick so a thermal would be very useful.
I’m pretty sure @Brett is your man to talk all things thermal…
I got mates with, but my opinion is buy a thermal monocular and day/night vision scope. That’s a good option so u can scope around easily with a hand held monocular find your prey then use your firearm to shoot it. Mates tried thermal scopes and sold em as all variables need to be right to use them effectively. In qld stuff stays hot for hours after sunset out west.
Yes for sure mate, thermal technology definitely has its limitations. Much the same, night vision needs the right conditions to work properly also.
What limitations can you name for thermal?
As justice eluded to, thermal works on temperature differential so if the ground and rocks are still hot, then it is going to be harder to identify targets. The actual outline of the animal isn’t as clear as what Night vision is on a good night. Thermal can’t see through glass, not that I would expect that to be an issue. I am far from the expert mate however have used both systems occupationally, so have witnessed the limitations of both.
Given my past experience, and the research I have done, I am pretty confident that thermal is better. Wouldn’t have laid out 6.5k if I didn’t think so. Looking forward to getting out with it after this bat virus has passed and we are back to normal. 
I use my pulsar XQ50 all the time. The amount of farmers ive shown can’t believe the amount of roos they have. They use a spotlight and see 5 and then i show them the tablet connected to the scope and there are 30 in the one paddock.
I find it’s safer than spotlights because you get the full view. You can see tanks, sheds and stock behind the target.
I have never regretted buying mine. Finding animals is easy and shooting by yourself is very successful.
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Nice mate. I got the XP38. May pick your brains at certain times for a few tips.
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This is a shot of a fox in the top right of the reticle. As you can see there is good visibility of the area.
Obviously not a crisp image like you get from optics so aiming between the eyes doesn’t work but i use a round that if it hits a fox or a cat anywhere it will pin it to the ground.
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I like the PIP function on the Pulsars too mate. Do you normally shoot with it on?
I got the chance to have a look around my place at night with @Brett s thermal scope. I dont know exactly what one it was but it was a pretty high end one I believe. It was amazing the amount of nightlife that could be seen and really without disturbing them was fantastic. It would take winning one of the big Powerball jackpots to ever have enough money to be comfortable forking out that much money for a non essential type device but it truly would be a game changer.
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Which one did you buy? $6500 seems to be at the upper end of the spectrum. I’ve hunted a lot with my Pulsar XD50 and never had issues with hot rocks when setup for auto calibrate. They don’t see through glass as stated but that’s not an issue out hunting, Identifying targets has never been an issue out to 500yds and I’ve even seen turds fall from a mates ass at >200yds out bush one night. These things are so sensitive to temp differentials that foot prints on carpet remain visible for several seconds. There’s better microbolometer technology on the way and wont be long before HD is affordable although the current 640x480 17um coupled with the right software a human sized object is identifiable out past a km. The only limitation is how much $$ you have rather then the technology itself. Here’s an old clip of the kitten being stalked where you can see her foot prints on the carpet. Excuse the focus as it needs a min of 10m which wasn’t possible inside and the quality is poor due to the recording device used but the reticle image was sharp as hell. https://youtu.be/9dZ9uOBWiNs
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Pulsar XP38 mate. Circa 6.5k from memory.
Helion XP38 or the Trail LRF XP38? Both are great units. I’m an agent for Pulsar and thinking to upgrade when the aussie $ improves and after I pay for the new press.
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