couple of daytime hogs with the X320 and XPS2-Z

[Guess]

Got a new EOTech XPS2-Z site in on Thursday, I had time to sight it in between jobs on Friday. That evening, the last day of February I had a bit of time to hunt. I carried the X320 thermal device with me. A lot of people think of thermal devices as night vision for night hunting, which is not correct. We use them during the day as well, especially in thick timber. Thermal can be very helpful spotting bedded animals or animals in brush before you get close enough to spook them. That was the case on this hunt. I spotted a big hog in the brush with many young ones with her of all sizes, indicating that they were not all hers. Just about the time I would get a clear shot the little pigs would run towards her and she would try to get away from them. This cat and mouse game led me to more bedded hogs and I noticed a young spotted boar. I squeezed a .223 round through the brush and dropped the hog right there. I got it set up, took pics and moved on. I moved on and got on hogs again dropping a small for the smoker!

I was standing about 60 yards in the direction the hog is facing when I made the shot.

 

[FrankT]

Good going Glenn!

 

[Wassman]

Umm you only susposto shoot zombies with that sight. Lol

 

[Guess]

hog zombies!

 

[Wassman]

hog zombies!

Zombie 101 go for the brain. LOL

Nice work by the way. That thermal is next on my list, but probably by time I am ready to buy there will be something new on the market.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Nice job! Would love to have one of the little ones for the smoker. Funny thing, you wouldn't be wearing that short sleeve T-shirt today.

 

[Afalex1]

Good going Glen. I just picked up an X320 from Ident. I used it over the weekend and it made spotting hogs and finding thenlm after the shot easy.

 

[Guess]

they are awesome!

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

I saw a pair of zombie engraved 1911's today thought of you guys.

 

[pruhdlr]

I have been experimenting with my thermal in the fairly open (what I call)'river backwater bottoms. It is mostly hardwoods with some tall/old plantation pines,sweet gum,juniper,cypress,wild pecan,and oaks. These areas are fairly dark because of the thickness of the tree tops however fairly open(except for the cypress and juniper knees)because the areas stay pretty wet.

The hogs are in there looking for the pecans and acorns. I have walked the edges of these bottoms looking into them. Problem is....the edges are thick and it is very hard to move thru the areas quietly. I have seen hogs bedded and moving out of the area before I could position for a shot. (My thermal is mounted on a weapon.)

As it starts to get warmer,these bottoms stay cooler and hopefully will hold more hogs. Will see how the thermal works under those conditions. I will also be using my FoxPro with the new hog calling sounds inserted.

And.......I would think that some high quality,black spray paint would work on that EOTech. --- pruhdlr

 

[Guess]

heck I'm thinking of dipping the whole gun to match.

as for the thermal... I'm a white hot guy. I always leave it set to white hot. As temps climb you have to pay attention when set on white hot for Black objects moving. The first time I noticed this[at night}, it was in the 90's and I saw what looked like a white object the size of a basketball moving in a field. On second look I noticed several big black objects following it. It was a group of hogs that had all just came out of a water hole, so they were cooler than the air around them. The one white object was a hogs head that wasn't wet.

 

[BigRedDog]

What does the x320 go for these days?

 

[Guess]

check with ident marking they are a dealer on this site. I'm not sure what they go for.

 

[pruhdlr]

There IS a learning curve using thermal. Everything does not look shades of green. My thermal has 5(IIRC)different settings. It also has the norm white hot and black hot. Under different conditions I use different settings. Also when viewing different animals at different ranges.

One of my choices is a bright green background with a red hot setting. This is used for the smaller animals in the tall grass or during the hot nights when the ground fog sets in. I normally scan using white hot unless I am hunting just after sunset,in the planted pines. Then,all the tree trunks glow white due to the sun heating them up. Red hot with a black background seems to work best during these conditions. Luckily it is easy to switch between these settings,and has gotten even easier over time with use.

The big factor in using my thermal is the temp,or better said,the temp differential. I have hunted hot(85deg) summer nights on the edge of the river swamps when the ground fog sets in right at sunset. I have also hunted my food plots at midnight when the temp is 35deg with 40% humidity. I have had the opportunity to watch different animals at different distances under different temp differences. This has helped me know what choices to make with my thermal unit.

I am thoroughly convinced that I have made the right decision in choosing the right thermal FOR ME. Now...I am hoping that the longevity is there. ---- pruhdlr