Looking for Help with First Thermal

[Amoozer316]

I'm one of the lucky few in SW GA that gets to hunt deer on a permit in the peanuts and cotton during growing season. I've been doing this for about 4 years now and the deer have gotten so used to that flashlight coming on that as soon as I hit it they take off. This year I've decided to go the thermal route and THINK I know what I want but would be open to suggestion. I've watched about as many LSB videos as I can so I THINK I know what I want but, I'm definitely brand new to this side of the game so help is appreciated.

Shooting conditions are as follows:

- Most shots are between 200-250 yards
- Open field
- Stable rest (fence post)
- Southern Whitetail from between 80-200lbs
- Shooting to recover and process as well as pest control (would like to save as much meat as possible) so accuracy matters.
- No need at all for video recording capabilities or range finding as I know them all ahead of time

I was initially thinking Pulsar XQ50 for the native 2.8 zoom, however the display resolution is only 640x480.

I'm thinking for what I need the Armasight Zeus 336 3-12x50 60hz is the better option due to having both better base magnification and and 800x600 display.

Looking through a few different regular scopes I would probably run both at 2x zoom which would give me half resolution. So is the Zeus (or something else) the better choice for me here?

While I do realize the 5x20x75 is probably better, it's out of reach for me price range this season when I factor in other expenses.

 

[Rookie]

What's your budget?

 

[Amoozer316]

3Kish hence I could get away with 3.3 for the Zues.

 

[Mattg1500]

I was looking at the same scopes. Im going with the XQ50. PiP, waterproof,384 res compared to 336 of zeus, recording, removable battery pack. Those were some reasons i chose Pulsar. Lots of great info on here and vids of actual use. I hunt Swainsboro,Ga

 

[Amoozer316]

I was looking at the same scopes. Im going with the XQ50. PiP, waterproof,384 res compared to 336 of zeus, recording, removable battery pack. Those were some reasons i chose Pulsar. Lots of great info on here and vids of actual use. I hunt Swainsboro,Ga

I saw your thread, and have been through a ton of videos as well as posts.

My thought was both resolutions are upscaled from their default native of 384 and 336 to their displayed of 640 and 860. I'm assuming the 860 will look a little more pixelated, but may give me better viewing scale, so while it may not be as clear I may get a better picture of my kill zones at my extended range.

 

[Mattg1500]

I saw your thread, and have been through a ton of videos as well as posts.

My thought was both resolutions are upscaled from their default native of 384 and 336 to their displayed of 640 and 860. I'm assuming the 860 will look a little more pixelated, but may give me better viewing scale, so while it may not be as clear I may get a better picture of my kill zones at my extended range.

the only vid i saw from 200yds was JagerPro had one on youtube comparing the xq50 and xp50. Not sure if that will help. Either way its a big purchase so im sure you want the best for your price! Good luck

 

[Whosure]

I would PM TEXASLAWMAN and ask him your question. He has used/reviewed/tested more thermal scopes the probably the rest of us combined. I think he would be able to answer all your questions and give you a option of scopes that would meet your needs within your budget.

 

[Amoozer316]

Alright, I'm fixin to tell a story here, cause, well it's kinda my thread, so here goes.

I started this thread with the hopes of getting some feedback from some folks. If any of you are like me, there about about a dozen or so youtube channels you enjoy and they all have their different means of "communicating" with their audience. I didn't exactly come here to communicate with LSB or even TexasLawMan himself, I just saw this as a great resource for night vision, so I joined up.

So here I go and I make probably the 3000th thread comparing a few different scope and somebody tells me "Oh hit up TLM". I'm sitting here thinking, "Yeah right, like this guy is going to give me the time of day, or at least even get back to me in a timely manner."

Against my better judgement I shot TLM a pm. Talk about egg on my face. I'm just a good ole boy down here in Georgia tryin to get into night vision for deer eradication and TLM takes the time to send me a good response, then a second response of some info he felt he left out the first time.

So he answered my question, moved on, then came back and answered it in even more detail as I can only assume he got to thinking about it and wanted to provide a better answer. I had talked to a sales rep on the phone from where I'm buying about the two units and he tried to steer me one direction. I got back with TLM afterwards and told him what was said, and he gave me a straight up answer as to why he disagreed.

Y'all who have been here a while probably already know this, but damn, it don't get much better than that. I need to figure out now where to go to become a supporter. That kind of service right there is hard to find in this day & age and I got it for free.

For anybody who finds this thread later, I will say I placed an order for a Pulsar and not the Armasight. That don't mean one is necessarily better than the other, but I believe with the info I was given, the Pulsar will be better for the needs described above with my specific situation and budget.

 

[Green Swamp]

Which Pulsar did you go with?

 

[Amoozer316]

Which Pulsar did you go with?

Apex XQ50 with an addon external battery pack.

Still in under the price of the Zues.

 

[Whosure]

Congrats....glad you got your questions answered and made a good for what you wanted and needed. I thought the same about TLM being too busy to talk in a thread, but he is on here alot providing his insight and experience. He is always willing to help.

 

[Amoozer316]

For sure man, seems like a straight up good dude.

The thermal was a really tough choice for me actually. I've wanted a LWRCI Six8 since I learned about them since i have shot .270 for SOOOoooo long. I basically was going to buy a Six8 for hunting this year, but watching how useful a thermal is compared to my light hunting, the thermal just makes meore sense.

 

[witch's wail]

great for spotting game, love watching my English Setter do her rounds in the park on Sepia or white hot. Just have not achieved the reproducible accuracy, using as a sighting optic , stand alone or in front of day optics, especially day optics accessory. Arm a slight Pro Apollo 50 mm 30 hrtz. model, 8 Grand.

 

[Taco]

great for spotting game, love watching my English Setter do her rounds in the park on Sepia or white hot. Just have not achieved the reproducible accuracy, using as a sighting optic , stand alone or in front of day optics, especially day optics accessory. Arm a slight Pro Apollo 50 mm 30 hrtz. model, 8 Grand.

Have you contacted Flir about this? Have you ever gotten it to properly zero with your day optic?

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Alright, I'm fixin to tell a story here, cause, well it's kinda my thread, so here goes.

I started this thread with the hopes of getting some feedback from some folks. If any of you are like me, there about about a dozen or so youtube channels you enjoy and they all have their different means of "communicating" with their audience. I didn't exactly come here to communicate with LSB or even TexasLawMan himself, I just saw this as a great resource for night vision, so I joined up.

So here I go and I make probably the 3000th thread comparing a few different scope and somebody tells me "Oh hit up TLM". I'm sitting here thinking, "Yeah right, like this guy is going to give me the time of day, or at least even get back to me in a timely manner."

Against my better judgement I shot TLM a pm. Talk about egg on my face. I'm just a good ole boy down here in Georgia tryin to get into night vision for deer eradication and TLM takes the time to send me a good response, then a second response of some info he felt he left out the first time.

So he answered my question, moved on, then came back and answered it in even more detail as I can only assume he got to thinking about it and wanted to provide a better answer. I had talked to a sales rep on the phone from where I'm buying about the two units and he tried to steer me one direction. I got back with TLM afterwards and told him what was said, and he gave me a straight up answer as to why he disagreed.

Y'all who have been here a while probably already know this, but damn, it don't get much better than that. I need to figure out now where to go to become a supporter. That kind of service right there is hard to find in this day & age and I got it for free.

For anybody who finds this thread later, I will say I placed an order for a Pulsar and not the Armasight. That don't mean one is necessarily better than the other, but I believe with the info I was given, the Pulsar will be better for the needs described above with my specific situation and budget.

Thanks I try to monitor the threads sometimes I just get overwhelmed, but when someone sends a PM I get a notification.

 

[Amoozer316]

Man I tell y'all what, I got this scope in about 3 days ago, and I couldn't be happier so far. Crops don't go in the ground for another 2-3 weeks so I still got some time, as such I haven't sighted it in yet, but I've spent the last few days just playing around with the settings and getting myself familiar. I spotted a opossum out at 215 yards this evening, and even at native zoom with the PIP open I'm confident I could have taken and made the shot based on the definition I had at that range. Crops aren't even in the ground yet and I already feel like I'm cheating.

The combination of this pulsar and the Leupold LTO tracker I got for Xmas is going to make for a fun season.