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Thread: Let’s talk thermal scopes

  1. #1
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    Let’s talk thermal scopes

    These seem to really be picking up in popularity and options. It used to be FLIR (no longer selling weapon optics to civilians and non-LE) and ATN (ew)

    Now there is Trijicon (IR Defense) and NOX. NOX is new. Like they started shipping a few weeks ago new.

    What’s the 2021 consensus on a quality thermal scope?
    Why do the loudest do the least?

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    The big names now are pulsar, nvision (which makes the NOX), trijicon, and i suppose you could add iRay since they will be releasing their weapon mounted optics soon.

    What’s your intended use? Are you looking for weapon mounted or scanner/head mounted?

    Oops, just saw you said “scope”. I think N-Vision and Trijicon provide what most believe to be the most robust and reliable optics. Pulsar and iRay are more budget friendly in some respects, but may not be as durable as other optics. I have no experience with Pulsar optics but I have been really impressed with the image from my iRay MH25. I run it on a KAC bridge with a WP PVS-14 and its wicked awesome when searching for critters.

    I would strongly recommend you look into getting a thermal scanner before a weapon mounted optic. Scanning with your rifle will get old quick. .
    Last edited by lahunter57; 01-24-21 at 19:52.

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    Quote Originally Posted by lahunter57 View Post
    The big names now are pulsar, nvision (which makes the NOX), trijicon, and i suppose you could add iRay since they will be releasing their weapon mounted optics soon.

    What’s your intended use? Are you looking for weapon mounted or scanner/head mounted?
    Weapon mounted. Hunting deer, pigs, coyotes and general screwing around.

    I’d never heard of Nvision until like 2 weeks ago. Are they a decent brand? $6000+ is a lot of coin to try on a company with no street rep.

    Trijicon has been used to kill Hajis for over 2 decades.

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    See my above edited post*

    N-Vision is a very reputable company. I think they represent a better value than trijicon at the same performance level. They are using the same BAE cores in their optics.

    What’s your price range?

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    I've been on the fence and been keeping up with the market and people using them for a few years.

    Pulsar and n-vision seem to be the best for the money, with n-vision being higher-end.

    What you need depend on how you hunt. How close will you be, are you relying on this to PID targets? What's the highest base mag you can use(distance)? Once you answer those, some research will point you in the right direction.

    Stay away from atn. I find their marketing misleading and people don't seem to consider their products competitive.
    Last edited by MegademiC; 01-25-21 at 09:15.

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    I've been running a Pulsar XP50 Thermion for about a year now. Killing pigs and Nilgai with it. Works great, reasonably priced for what it is......

    The Secondary Battery is somewhat expensive at $125. So, I 3d printed a holder for a small Anker storage battery and have that secured to the AR10 rail system. It's a little heavy but cheap and holds a much larger lasting charge.
    Last edited by Esq.; 01-25-21 at 10:33.
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    N-Vision has been around a long while, and they offer a better warranty.

    We got some Nox 18mm units in. It's everything my IR Patrol M300 was just smaller, cheaper and newer. We now see a 20 to 1 order volume Nox to IR Patrol.

    The 35mm Nox units haven't started shipping yet (1/25) but they will be soon so I'm told. If your principal use was weapons mounting I would say the 35mm would be the better choice of the two.

    There is also the HALO LR which is larger but if you were mainly looking at shooting farther distances I would go with that.
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    [QUOTE=Lowdown3;2923580]
    Are all of those stand alone optics?

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    [QUOTE=CRAMBONE;2923594]
    Quote Originally Posted by Lowdown3 View Post
    Are all of those stand alone optics?
    Yes. The Nox 18 and 35mm can be used as weapon sights or handheld or helmet mounted.

    The HALO LR is also weapons mounted, couldn't really be helmet mount (big) but could be used as a handheld as well.

    Let me know if that didn't answer your question. Thanks
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eurodriver View Post
    Weapon mounted. Hunting deer, pigs, coyotes and general screwing around.

    I’d never heard of Nvision until like 2 weeks ago. Are they a decent brand? $6000+ is a lot of coin to try on a company with no street rep.

    Trijicon has been used to kill Hajis for over 2 decades.
    I've been spending a lot of time behind thermal scopes lately (just got back from hog hunting in Texas last night). If you want the best image quality, go with the Halo-LR, or other NVision options. I have a Halo-LR and it's awesome, and I think the NVision scopes are a better value than the Trijicon offerings.

    If you don't want to spend that much, and want a great mid-priced thermal scope in the $3k range, i would take a hard look at the Bering Optics options. I have a Bering Super Hogster, and the image quality is really good for the money, and it's much smaller than a lot of thermal scopes out there, so you can easily take it off and use it as a scanner. It comes with a quick detach mount, and they run $3,200. I use it for Scanning and Search and Rescue a lot, because i can wear it on a lanyard around my neck for night ops.

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