Deciding on a thermal scope

Taco

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Says the guy with a transformer robot toy strapped to the ass end of his gun.
 
D

djones

Guest
not sure if i get your point. are you suggesting that bdubbs is NOT a pillow biter??
 

JPK

LSB Active Member
The pricing I listed is off the Third Coast and UNV websites. Yeah the image of the Reap is better than my 75mm Zeus.....at $2500 more. I'm sure the mk3 60mm has a better image to, but at what cost....$8k (edited to $9k) But you say that's not apples to apples bc the IR has a 60hz option! That's frankly laughable. I'm not arguing with you and I don't need clarification on anything. If I wanted a 384res 23" plastic scope I'd buy a Pulsar lol!!!

You aren't arguing? Really?

Laughable is how significant you find $1,500 going up and how insignificant you find the same $1,500 going down. Marginal value of a $ to you? Or hypocracy?

I suggest you back to the Third Coast or UNV site and compare more similar units rather than more dissimilar units, pricing is much tighter than you pretend. However, performance gaps remain.

What do the PVS 14, PVS 15 and Pulsar Apex have in common? Let me help you out: Plastic bodies.

JPK
 

DarkNight

LSB Member
Hang on, hang on! Don't let the new guy cause you guys to get your panties in a wad! I appreciate all of you guys posting & being willing to help out so for that, thanks!
Here's another question:
For me, I scan with the hd19a to see targets. In a calling scenario where shots are within 200 yds would any of these units have a very limited field of view that would hinder me?
For example, one guy recommended(if I understood him) the Zeus 75 mm because the image is more detailed than the 42 mm or because the magnification is higher than the 42mm zeus allowing for longer shots, I can't remember which.
I'm trying to minimize chances of me accidentally shooting someone's dog is why I ask, however I don't really hunt where this can be an issue either.
 

Curly Shuffle

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Scanning/shooting stuff with any thermal takes practice to identify something in the dark. Critters (hogs, coyoteeees, pelicans or what ever) they all are in the dark and each act different and have different characteristics, so with what ever unit a person gets one must practice 1. with identifying stuff and 2. knowing how the purchased units operates in a given circumstance in the dark! It is not as complicated as one would think or make it out to be. BANG BANG!!
 

Terry

Texas, Land of the Free
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Currently owning and having owned all the major brands of thermal scopes for personal and professional use I will offer my personal thoughts:

IRD MK II/Reap-IR/IR Patrol all produced the best 640 class image of any system/brand I've personally used period. These models just are really sharp and provide awesome contrast. I think they have the best quality OLED screen which has to help on your eyes. Also great housings all feel and look high end construction wise. The negative for me is they are slow to power up and get a shot off 10+ seconds(pulsar like start up time). I leave mine powered on to counter this (powering up "booting up" eats more power than just leaving them on anyway).

Armasight Zeus 42mm/75mm are just pure hunting scopes. I really like the size/weight/construction/controls these are a proven design and have been out in the field for years now. Personally I like these scopes because they do everything you need and do it fast in field conditions. Power up to get shot off these are the fastest scopes I've owned last two years. Image wise they are in the upper class of scopes the ability to adjust contrast and sharpness help you get the best image in bad thermal conditions.

Pulsar scopes provide some of the best bang for the dollar but I'm not a fan of their large scope size myself.

ATN I really like the old THOR line owned a half dozen of them great work horses for me overall. That said the new HD models I'm not sold on yet mainly the cheap eye piece on the rear I'm not a fan of.

Overall a larger lens will always give you more detail, but at closer ranges and running game their narrow FOV can in return be a handicap. Personally in a 640 scope I'm a huge fan of the 2X scopes they have a bigger FOV and work great in timber plus provide 2X and then a good 4X zoom to shoot in open areas for a few hundred yards. Just a good do it all magnification. I had a Zeus 75mm , but it turned out to be more mag than I preferred for the wooded country around these parts so I sold it and kept the 42mm Zeus.

OLED vs LCD? Well I've yet to see a LCD in a thermal scope that looked as good to my eye as the OLED models. Feel free to argue away, but the LCD's I've seen just don't have the contrast the OLED's have.

Thermal scopes come in many models and lens sizes for a reason. There isn't a one size fits all for everyone. A lot of the guys here hunt larger open ares and perfer a big 75mm or 100mm lens. Some of us hunt more brushy/wooded country and perfer 35mm to 50mm lens to match that type terrain.

Same goes for size and weight, if you ride around in a truck or ATV maybe walking a few hundred yards to your stands. Well, weight/size isn't a major factor. If you walk miles spotting and stalking in a night carrying all your gear (scope/rifle/pack) then every ounce you can shave off your scope and gear turns into less pounds you have to carry all night.

Power up speed is important to me when a coyote steps out in the open and will disappear back into the timber in seconds. Hunting a large more open area with a lot of time to react, a few extra seconds power up not a huge deal.

My best advice is to match the features that matter most to you to the scope you buy.
 
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Taco

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You aren't arguing? Really?

Laughable is how significant you find $1,500 going up and how insignificant you find the same $1,500 going down. Marginal value of a $ to you? Or hypocracy?

I suggest you back to the Third Coast or UNV site and compare more similar units rather than more dissimilar units, pricing is much tighter than you pretend. However, performance gaps remain.

What do the PVS 14, PVS 15 and Pulsar Apex have in common? Let me help you out: Plastic bodies.

JPK

You're really saying than an average guy is not going to compare a 30hz Zeus 42mm 640 to a 35mm Mk2 bc the IRD scope is 60hz?
 

Taco

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Someone else tell me I'm crazy, other than DJ, and I'll shut up. When looking for a scope are the following comparable? Or, what are better comparisons from each respective line? Should it be IRD VS Pro line? I don't think so.

Zeus 640 42mm 30hz vs. Mk2 35mm
Zeus 640 75mm 30hz vs. Mk3 60mm
 

mdmorrow

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Taco you looked through my pro 50 and you have that reapir. I know it was bad conditions that day you looked through mine but what do you think? I bet they got to at least be comparable in image quality.
 

Taco

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Yes for sure. I guess that's my problem; I think most any 640 with similar lens size are comparable. Yes there are differences. But, going from the Reap to the 42mm to me isn't like going from an Area 51 alien tech image to a '81 Polaroid camera image.
 

theblakester

Got a black belt in keeping it real.
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Taco you looked through my pro 50 and you have that reapir. I know it was bad conditions that day you looked through mine but what do you think? I bet they got to at least be comparable in image quality.
Hoping we can fairly discuss this without acting like libtards towards each other lol. I can't directly chime in on anything armasight image quality wise, but price wise, I don't think that's a fair comparison. The Zeus pro 2x 50mm is more expensive than the Reap IR. Definitely more expensive than the mkii 35mm,but st the end of the day were all pretty like minded on here!
 
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mdmorrow

Night Vision Outfitters
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Oh yeah. Definitely true. We all like to kill stuff in basically the same way and have a lot of fun doing it!

I've got a Zeus Pro 100 coming as soon as Armasight gets around to building it. It's always a next week it'll be shipped kind of deal. I knew it would take a few weeks when I ordered it though so I'm not worried about it. It'll show up when it does. I'll post up a review once I get it going but I know it's going to be awesome.
 

Terry

Texas, Land of the Free
LoneStarBoars Supporter
I also have a Zeus Pro 640 50mm and/or a new FLIR/Armasight ZEUS or RX , whatever it will be called 640 12 micron 25mm lens high on my list for the coming year. Just sitting back to see what 2017 is bringing thermal scope wise.

Thermal monocular wise I haven't seen anything so far that would displace my IR Patrol from it's role as my first choice for scanning duty.
 

Taco

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Yeah if only there was a rich west Texas lawyer that owned eleventy million acres of irrigated land. A guy that could afford to shoot 650 rounds of 6.8 ammo a night at hogs at a 7% hit rate and still consider himself worthy of cyber praise. Surely this tycoon could put on such a get together and shower LSB members with lavish amenities.
 
D

djones

Guest
the next best thing is a humble starving pilgram who only fires a couple shots now and then, but has had the opportunity to test and evaluate butt stocks. these are far and away the finest stock by any measure.

stocks.JPG

such a stock should be complemented with a skeleton grip, whether it is functional or not, or even makes sense. i will begin an evaluation immediately.

grips.JPG
 

DarkNight

LSB Member
Currently owning and having owned all the major brands of thermal scopes for personal and professional use I will offer my personal thoughts:

IRD MK II/Reap-IR/IR Patrol all produced the best 640 class image of any system/brand I've personally used period. These models just are really sharp and provide awesome contrast. I think they have the best quality OLED screen which has to help on your eyes. Also great housings all feel and look high end construction wise. The negative for me is they are slow to power up and get a shot off 10+ seconds(pulsar like start up time). I leave mine powered on to counter this (powering up "booting up" eats more power than just leaving them on anyway).

Armasight Zeus 42mm/75mm are just pure hunting scopes. I really like the size/weight/construction/controls these are a proven design and have been out in the field for years now. Personally I like these scopes because they do everything you need and do it fast in field conditions. Power up to get shot off these are the fastest scopes I've owned last two years. Image wise they are in the upper class of scopes the ability to adjust contrast and sharpness help you get the best image in bad thermal conditions.

Pulsar scopes provide some of the best bang for the dollar but I'm not a fan of their large scope size myself.

ATN I really like the old THOR line owned a half dozen of them great work horses for me overall. That said the new HD models I'm not sold on yet mainly the cheap eye piece on the rear I'm not a fan of.

Overall a larger lens will always give you more detail, but at closer ranges and running game their narrow FOV can in return be a handicap. Personally in a 640 scope I'm a huge fan of the 2X scopes they have a bigger FOV and work great in timber plus provide 2X and then a good 4X zoom to shoot in open areas for a few hundred yards. Just a good do it all magnification. I had a Zeus 75mm , but it turned out to be more mag than I preferred for the wooded country around these parts so I sold it and kept the 42mm Zeus.

OLED vs LCD? Well I've yet to see a LCD in a thermal scope that looked as good to my eye as the OLED models. Feel free to argue away, but the LCD's I've seen just don't have the contrast the OLED's have.

Thermal scopes come in many models and lens sizes for a reason. There isn't a one size fits all for everyone. A lot of the guys here hunt larger open ares and perfer a big 75mm or 100mm lens. Some of us hunt more brushy/wooded country and perfer 35mm to 50mm lens to match that type terrain.

Same goes for size and weight, if you ride around in a truck or ATV maybe walking a few hundred yards to your stands. Well, weight/size isn't a major factor. If you walk miles spotting and stalking in a night carrying all your gear (scope/rifle/pack) then every ounce you can shave off your scope and gear turns into less pounds you have to carry all night.

Power up speed is important to me when a coyote steps out in the open and will disappear back into the timber in seconds. Hunting a large more open area with a lot of time to react, a few extra seconds power up not a huge deal.

My best advice is to match the features that matter most to you to the scope you buy.
Thanks for the input to Terry & everyone else. A question about terrain y'all hunt. Here in Yankee-land I usually call just inside timbers, waterways or narrow tree shelterbelts with open soybean/corn/pasture to my downwind side. Sometimes the coyote come in through the thick timber/cover but typically they are in an open field between 50 & 100 yds when I shoot em.
What is your terrain like where you guys hunt? I spent a little time near Quanah, TX & saw a variety of open pasture lands, thick, brushy ravines & steep rocky ground.
Where I'm headed with this is trying to get an idea of what size objective you guys use depending on the terrain you hunt? Oh, and Terry, if you have your choice of all the brands you've owned/used, which model scope do you find yourself reaching for the most?
Thanks again guys & have a Happy New Year!
 
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