Dave, Thanks for the reply and if you see a unit that's a great deal, please let me know.
Right now I'm leaning towards a hand held thermal unit, a tree stand with a day scope and light combo. Call in the dark, scan with thermal and pop them with the light/scope combo. Works ok with using electronic ears in the dark, and light/scope combo, but no telling how many got passed me just listening for sound before turning on the light so thinking thermal scan would be ideal (nothing is fool proof).
One of the biggest issues I face is my eyes. Halo Graphic, Red dot, etc sights bloom out (look like a giant smudge mark) on me even during the day.
Tritruim, etched reticles with fiber optics, lasers, etc do not so I have to chose my system carefully and since I've never looked at a ditigal reticle, not sure how it would work out with my eyesight.
The new Flir ThermoSight RS24 looks interesting
PS: Ok Frank, even though you haven't bought anything my gut says; you have been doing some research, you have to spend your income wisely, and even though your situation or setup may be different than mine, let's hear what you've come up with.