wigwamitus
LSB Active Member
other than rain, almost every single article, if not every single article, says that all users will wind up with either black hot or a white hot and never use color at all.
If they had said "almost all users" they would've allowed for the existence of "wigwamitus" ... I read also ... but I go out to the field and experiement and find out what works for me. And sometimes it agrees with what I read ... and sometimes it doesn't. But ultimately, what works for me in the field is what I go with!
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I have to wonder why it comes with an extra battery holder ...
No matter how many batteries we have connected, there will be that "magic moment" when we have to change them. When in the field, if I think I am low, I change during a lull so I don't have to change during a non-lull ... just like that extra clip
... you walk out to the woods and everything is really dark and hard to see and there's no heat images. So it's really hard to find a point to focus on to begin with. When I walked out into the street in my neighborhood of course it was much easier. So I guess I'm asking myself, if I'm going to the woods hunting, how exactly do I focus this thing, I can't really see anything anyway, because it's all dark?
Out in the woods and pastures where I live, unless it is raining or misting (or snowing etc.) there are hot and cold objects ... and or objects with varying emissivity! Tree trunks and bolders for example. But certainly the thermal is best at detecting critters! That's why many of us here use PVS-14 on helmet to navigate and thermal to detect/engage critters. The two technologies compliment each other well.
If I am using the thermal as a spotter ... then I focus it at about 100yds and leave it there while walking/driving around. If I am shooting, I will adjust the focus if there is time, before the shot.
As to moving targets ... if you ever played football for instance ... throwing a pass is similar to hitting a moving target. We don't have time to "calculate" we just have time to use experience and "throw the lead" at the target. I'd say practice makes one improve - though might not make one perfect . When hog hunting at night ... there might be a group of hogs. They are always moving unless they are dead ... so waiting for them to stop moving is not a good option. Of course they move faster after the initial volley ... and if you are there to help irradicate you need to kill all you see ... so waiting for them to stop moving is not efficient.
If you want to improve your shooting skills ... getting something like a .22LR and practice the FUNDAMENTALS (sight picture, breathing, position, trigger) that never gets old. The only main aspect the .22LR does not simulate is RECOIL ... so you need a 30 cal of some sort to get some recoil management practice.
To learn to shoot moving targets, go after small critters on your land in the day. Squirrels for instance ... a.k.a. tree rats. Or you can set up an inanimate moving target rig ... it can and has been done. Also shooting clays might help.
You don't have to use "red hot" or "sepia" ... you can also just turn down the brightness ... on the Apollo I could not turn the brightness down far enough to mitigate headaches ... hence I started using the "red hot" ... but again these ideas are for detection for when using a thermal as a spotter ... not when shooting. When shooting, you want brightness and you want to flip-flop back and forth between white and black hot and compare those images and help make a target ID decision and decide which to use to shoot. I don't think one white or black is better ... they are 2 sides of a coin. In some circumstances I can see the target clearly on black and not at all on white and in other circumstances I can see the target clearly on white and not on black. Hence for me at least ... switching back and forth is indicated, time permitting (thanks for the tip Aaron ! ).
... I'm not as much a hunter as I am preparing for any tactical situation. I just think for tactical, I want 1.5, as I envision encounters especially indoors of a building or inside of a house. Where if no lights, this thing would have a one up like no other!! But with 3X would make it somewhat difficult to spot close up. I also understand I am not on a tactical website, but one dedicated to shooting wild pigs, Prodominantly in Texas only
Hunting is a great way to improve many skills. It is very challenging as well as a lot of fun! And in Texas night hog hunting is legal! Unlike in KS where I live.
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This is the smallest forum I frequent, but it is by far the best ... the people here are on a scale of 1 to 10 ... on average are 8s on this forum ... whereas on other forums they are somewhere around 4s on average ... and the NV/thermal knowledge on this site ... per person is more like a 9.5 versus a 1.5 elsewhere ... so if you want to learn anything about nv/thermal watch a bunch of the hunting videos ... and spend as much time as you can out in the DARK. It will take you maybe 2 years to get comfortable out there. I love it out at night for me it is very relaxing. Oh, and get a pvs-14 and a helmet to enable you to see better! Thermal might not be enough for navigating ...