Thermal Scope Recommendations

[HKGuns]

I have some yotes messing close to this years three fawns. They were out in force last night at twilight.

They were close to my property, within 25 yards making all sorts of racket. It was just dark enough that I couldn’t see them but knew they were close so I fired a couple 556 rounds into the ground in their direction and it shut them up for the night.

Would like some input on thermal optics for occasional yote eradication and general vermin control.

Not looking to blow 10 grand, but don’t want garbage either. It wil land on top of a 556 rifle of my choosing. Might get frisky and toss it on my 458 Socom if it can handle the recoil but will probably stick with 556 to be safe.

I searched and could find nothing recent or pertinent on the subject.

Thanks in advance for anyone with input to offer.

[MegademiC]

How far? A pvs 14 and a laser would likely work too.

That said, if you go thermal, what range and budget?

If you dont care about us made, the super yoters are $5k and 640 resolution/12 micron cores.

If youre not shooting far, a 320 resolution would be fine.

Nvision has the nox 18 & 35 for 6 & $7k

Pulsar and iray have good value options as well.

[B Cart]

I've spent a lot of time hunting behind thermal, and have used many different units from cheap ATN stuff up to the NVision Halo etc. If you're looking for a scope to use for occasional outings, without breaking the bank, I think it's hard to beat something like the Bering SuperHogster for around $3k. It's a 384 resolution scope, with a surprisingly good picture for the price. If you want to spend a little more and go with the better 640 resolution, you can jump up to the Bering Super Yoter R for $4k, or there are a lot of great options in the $5k price range. Do you have a specific budget? Anything from Bering, Pulsar, AGM, Iray, or Nvision should be good to go. Personally, i'd stay away from ATN.

And just a heads up, thermal is addicting lol.

[Ned Christiansen]

I've been playing around with a clip-on from AccuFire. A pal has multiple thermals that I get to borrow. They are not the "prices start at $5000" kind. I've probably used them more than he has. This AccuFire Incendis is my favorite because it is simple. It plays very well with an LPVO. The beauty of clip-on is, as long as you have the "rail estate" in front, you are using your regular daily scope and when you clip on the thermal, you are already zero'd. Not a ton of experience but it seems to me like a clip on is the best of both worlds-- go from gun to gun, or put it on, take it off, you have changed nothing else WRT zero. The Incendis can be used as a stand-alone sight as it does have a reticle you can turn on and adjust, but-- I don't see the advantage.

His next-newest is the Thermion XM30. It's big like a full-sized rifle scope and honestly-- too complicated. I've long said, on a thermal scope, who needs a compass, an incline-o-meter, a tilt-o-meter, 12 different reticle choices and all that crap. Take all that away and put the money into better resolution. This Incendis has better res, is more compact, and can be moved from rifle to rifle using each rifle's scope. It's small enough (not small mind you, nor light, but small enough--) to use as a hand-held scanner. Scanning with a rifle is a drag so a feller could scan with it hend-held, and clip it onto the rifle to take a shot.

I was surprised honestly that it works well with an LPVO. I don't get how an optic for looking at things ad distance can "see" the thermal display in perfect focus but it definitely works, and LPVO reticle is right there for ya, and reticle illumination if you use it is unchanged. I have not tried it in front a a full-on rifle scope. I tried it a little with an Aimpoint but the height alignment was not great and lack of rail estate meant I could not try different separation distances-- so the field of view was very small. I think closer is better, at least it is with the LPVO. I need to work with that more.

It takes DL123A but they kinda need to be the high-output rechargeable ones.

[HKGuns]

Wow great input so far from experienced folks. I can’t see much past 200 yards so that is prolly the range limit.

Budget is what makes sense for as much as I’ll use it. I could drop 10 grand easy without blinking, but that doesn’t make sense if I use it twice a year.

I’ve got some follow-up to do based on the input above.

[HKGuns]

I’ve looked at some of the recommendations so far and am intrigued by the incendis clip on.

I can put it on any of my existing rifles or use it hand held.

Any drawbacks I am not seeing for occasional use at closer range?

[Defaultmp3]

Steiner C35 is suppose to be a steal of a deal if you can still find it at its marked down price, nothing else comes close it in the price point it was being blown out at a few months ago, is what I'm told, with the main downsides being simple bulk.

[B Cart]

Steiner C35 is suppose to be a steal of a deal if you can still find it at its marked down price, nothing else comes close it in the price point it was being blown out at a few months ago, is what I'm told, with the main downsides being simple bulk.

Optics Planet has the C35 for $3,395, which is about the same price as the Incendis, and the C35 is a 640 resolution vs 384 with the Incendis. I haven't used either, but if it were me, i'd go the Steiner route. I do like the idea of clip on thermal in front of a scope for easy switching between day/night.

[HKGuns]

I went with the incendis for the flexibility. Most of my rifles have LPVO’s which means I could use it on almost any of them.

Unfortunately the only rifle I have with me now is an SBR with EOTech so I’ll prolly pull the EO and install the incendis.

[HKGuns]

The unit arrived today. Surprisingly it works very well with the EOTech.

Thanks for the recommendation Ned. I’ve been watching deer all night with it. No yotes yet.

The only complaint is the lack of a way to record internally, however that is a nit.

I like the red highlight mode best, followed closely by black hot.