Question for the more experienced....

[Bonita Chaser]

Here is where i'm at ..I live in virginia where I am mostly calling predators at night. Have a Zeuss 3x12 42mm 60hz scope on a rifle and I really like this unit. This is the only thermal I have so i'm using it to scan with as well. Well I finally saved up a little more money and decided to purchase a thermal monocular. Saw Flir was giving a rebate on the scout 320 so I took the plunge. Not even close to my Zeuss. Unacceptable..You guys know,once you have seen better...Any how, NVG will sell me a prometheus 3x12 42mm 60hz for about 2800.00...then i'll need battery pack.. if I go this route it seems to me this is a scope turned monocular..No neck lanyards?? awkward with battery pack to hold?? for that money any other suggestions?? I know with battery pack exactly what I will be getting.. Any input welcome........Donnie

 

[Bakester]

The Pulsar HD19A is less than $2k and works great for detecting.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

I love my prometheus, but I have the 1x and the 2x versions did not want the magnification for spotting. My 640 1x has killed every other monocular I have looked through, L3 mtm, flir scouts, IRD patrol.

And as Bakester says the pulsar is a good deal but is not even close to the prometheus. Lancer has the pulsar stuff he has looked through both side by side.

And I do agree about the no lanyard thing, but I solved it using a camera strap designed to thread into the tripod attachment on bottom.

 

[keatonskidmore]

First off I would not get 60hz. 60hz eats batteries twice as fast as 30hz and you really don't need 60hz unless its mounted on a helmet or your driving fast and scanning out the window. And even then 30hz works just fine.
Like Todd said, 640 blows 336 away. I used to only have 336 and was happy with it but always wanted to have a little better. So I recently bought a standard zeus 640 2x 42mm 30hz and it has so much better detail and clarity than my 336 unit. But like you said having the prometheus is like having a zeus without the rail and option to zero to a rifle. I got my 640 zeus to use as a spotter/scanner mainly and when I need a second gun with thermal I can stick it on there. For the price being pretty much the same, I'd rather just get the zeus and use it as a spotter and still have the option to mount it on a gun. Having the mount on it makes it slightly more bulky and slightly heavier but to me its worth the trade off. You can make a lanyard using a section of a pic rail you can get online and threading some paracord through it and just clipping the QD mount on the scope to that pic rail.
I would suggest getting the 640 30hz 42mm zeus or prometheus which would be 2x magnification (which is hardly any at all) or even the 640 predator model that is a 1x 25mm lens so just by me guessing is just like Todd's prometheus.

And lastly I know there's a lot of guys here that are Pulsar fans and are happy with them. But to me its worth the little bit extra cash to have aramasight. The overall build is just better and the picture quality is just so much better. But I'm not trying to bash pulsar.

 

[Taco]

Even a 336 predator would probably work. Put one on a pic rail/lanyard and it'd make a nice scanner.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

30hz if 640 60hz if 336. The 60hz actually helps the 336 flir cores image somehow, but it still eats batteries faster.

 

[Lancer]

I love my prometheus, but I have the 1x and the 2x versions did not want the magnification for spotting. My 640 1x has killed every other monocular I have looked through, L3 mtm, flir scouts, IRD patrol.

And as Bakester says the pulsar is a good deal but is not even close to the prometheus. Lancer has the pulsar stuff he has looked through both side by side.

And I do agree about the no lanyard thing, but I solved it using a camera strap designed to thread into the tripod attachment on bottom.

TLM is correct the Prometheus picture is stunning compared to my Pulsar Hd19a ; but I'm a cheapskate, I'm not looking at the hogs to see how many hairs are out of place and I don't think one is going to improve your kill count over the other. That being said if you have the cash and ain't scared to spend it- get the most expensive toy you can afford. Then get out there and give em hell!

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

TLM is correct the Prometheus picture is stunning compared to my Pulsar Hd19a ; but I'm a cheapskate, I'm not looking at the hogs to see how many hairs are out of place and I don't think one is going to improve your kill count over the other. That being said if you have the cash and ain't scared to spend it- get the most expensive toy you can afford. Then get out there and give em hell!

Yes but over time it sure cuts down on wasted stalks and hours of debating on is that a deer, calf, whatever. At 50 yards yea you are just seeing extra hairs, at 500 yards you may be saving a 30 minute walk one way across a muddy field for the new calf.

 

[Terry]

Prometheus 640 is a awesome mono for the money I used one for several months as my main mono before I settled on the IR patrol as my go to mono. There is also a new Prometheus C coming out soon that's alittle cheaper looks a little more like a true mono shape wise.

I've had the pulsar Hd19S and 38A the OLED screen on the HD's 19S was better contrast wise and bigger looking to my eye.That said the 38mm lens (2X) on the Hd38S was preferable to me for scanning open areas just much better ID range with the 384 core.i guess the HD38S would be the best off both worlds.

With the 336/384 core I perfer a 2X lens for better ID.

With 640 core I like the 1X to 1.5X for scanning because you still have a clear 2X zoom with the 640 cores if looking longer range.

Personally, if Flir reworks the q14 with new 12 micron core I'm buying one asap. The 12 micron core will up the true magnification to above 1X like the IR patrol and have improved battery life. I really liked the Q14 tiny housing but the Prometheus just had better performance at the time.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

What makes the prometheus better than the rest is the true f 1:1 lense. I prefer the rounded body of the mtm, scout, and patrol but the prometheus just killed them all image wise. I currently have 7 thermal monoculars from quality manufacturers, I loan those out to people hunting with me I always use the 640 prometheus

P.S. I've been using this one pretty much every week now for two years leaving it on for 4-8 hours a night still running strong.

 

[Terry]

Personally, I like the IR patrol image a touch better overall than the Prometheus I had. Just goes to show beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think the difference for me was the OLED on the Patrol looked a touch higher end to me., but the Prometheus is a much better deal price wise. Both are super nice anyway just different features to each model kind of a personal like/dislike more than ones better than the other.

Also the FLIR core seems to make targets pop more while the BAE core seems to really get that second level of detail. Again a personal choice to which one a guy prefers.

 

[Bonita Chaser]

Guys i really appreciate the replies. Time for me to start crunching the numbers. Your knowledge on this subject is very valuable to a guy like me still getting my feet wet. I really have no dislikes with my current unit Zeuss 336 3x12 42mm 60hz. I know my limitations and have had success. So i'm probably leaning towards the best armasight I can afford.

 

[znztivguy]

Can I throw in another suggestion? Been seeing cheap Insight MTM's...as a monocular, they are tough and hard to beat in terms of quality and detection.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Can I throw in another suggestion? Been seeing cheap Insight MTM's...as a monocular, they are tough and hard to beat in terms of quality and detection.

Only bad thing about the mtm is they all have that tine ribbon cable that will break at some point. Mine did it was a couple of grand to get it fixed. I have mine full restored that I need to sell.

 

[keatonskidmore]

Yes but over time it sure cuts down on wasted stalks and hours of debating on is that a deer, calf, whatever. At 50 yards yea you are just seeing extra hairs, at 500 yards you may be saving a 30 minute walk one way across a muddy field for the new calf.

This exactly. It's so much better being able to distinguish the difference between a group of hogs and a few deer or cows. It sucks walking across a muddy field. But it sucks 10x worse when you have to walk back after walking 500 yards to a few deer or jack rabbits.

 

[znztivguy]

Only bad thing about the mtm is they all have that tine ribbon cable that will break at some point. Mine did it was a couple of grand to get it fixed. I have mine full restored that I need to sell.

Tiny ribbon cable that willl cost 2000 to fix? You lost me... what tiny ribbon cable? please advise.

 

[Lancer]

Yes but over time it sure cuts down on wasted stalks and hours of debating on is that a deer, calf, whatever. At 50 yards yea you are just seeing extra hairs, at 500 yards you may be saving a 30 minute walk one way across a muddy field for the new calf.

I agree that it certainly cuts down the need to pull out your scope and verify especially on lone targets, but it doesn't eliminate it. A better image will certainly save you some time over the long haul.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

I agree that it certainly cuts down the need to pull out your scope and verify especially on lone targets, but it doesn't eliminate it. A better image will certainly save you some time over the long haul.

I know the Helios was worth it just to keep from hearing you say what do you think that is over there? Always interupting my naps, if I wanted to stay up all night I would drive!

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Tiny ribbon cable that willl cost 2000 to fix? You lost me... what tiny ribbon cable? please advise.

Yea there is a tiny ribbon cable that is understress at a sharp angle in them. When it goes your unit goes. The wires are so small they have to replace the whole board. It's a fairly common issue with them from what I hear. I know a certain person that has a whole drawer filled with broken mtm's.

 

[Lancer]

I know the Helios was worth it just to keep from hearing you say what do you think that is over there? Always interupting my naps, if I wanted to stay up all night I would drive!

I always assumed you had carried the Helios as an overcompensation for some masculine deficiency. But yes it's pretty cool to be able to look 2 counties over at a target. And I'll give credit where it's due on the naps- you're the only person that I know that can be snoring for 30 min then suddenly jolt to life, point and say "hogs" and there they are. I have suspected you just carry the thermal to cover-up an unnatural ability to smell hogs at any distance, which may or may not result from a childhood swine molestation incident you mumbled about during one of your naps.