# Son wants thermal setup for Christmas to night hunt after deer season. Help please



## work2play2 (Oct 1, 2020)

I’m scared to even ask how much this is gonna cost. I don’t want junk. I want something good. He has only shot one hog few months ago and where we are it’s nothing but night pictures. But when they come in I bet there’s 75 different hogs. This land borders cyber.
Anyhow, I don’t even know what’s needed. I assume something to scan infront of us and a thermal scope. I’m open to ideas and pictures. Anyone have a good setup they recommend


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## Railroader (Oct 1, 2020)

Sightmark Wraith...Not thermal, but only $500.

Danged good out to 150 or so, even better if you pop for an aftermarket IR torch...

Check it out.


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## Semi-Pro (Oct 1, 2020)

Set out some bait or a feeder and a solar light in the field. You can see them with ur regular scope.or you can get a hog light to mount on top of ur scope. A whole lot cheaper


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## bluemarlin (Oct 1, 2020)

Check out https://www.atncorp.com


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## ditchdoc24 (Oct 1, 2020)

ATN is less expensive but their customer service is horrible. Pulsar has excellent customer service and their stuff works well. Least expensive in thermal scopes is going to be the Pulsar RXQ30v. Those run about $1900 shipped. If you decide to go night vision, I've heard a lot of good things about the Sightmark Wraith. I've got the RXQ30V and it's great.


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## work2play2 (Oct 1, 2020)

Semi-Pro said:


> Set out some bait or a feeder and a solar light in the field. You can see them with ur regular scope.or you can get a hog light to mount on top of ur scope. A whole lot cheaper


Are hogs weary of solar lights or they will come right into it?


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## antharper (Oct 2, 2020)

work2play2 said:


> Are hogs weary of solar lights or they will come right into it?


I’ve got a feeder set up on my lease with a green motion light that works perfect , they do seem a little spooked at first but it doesn’t take them long to not pay it any attention . It has become my daughter’s favorite thing to do when we are at our lease . Just make sure to steak your feeder down good . I drive a t post down beside each leg and it works pretty good . I use 2 $30 wildgame feeder lights attached to my feeder , they are solar powered . When the light comes on the shooting starts


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## antharper (Oct 2, 2020)

If you look on the barrel of the feeder you can see light , I just screwed them to feeder


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## antharper (Oct 2, 2020)

After a night at feeder


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## shdw633 (Oct 2, 2020)

I just went through all of this and went with an ATN X-Sight 4K Pro night vision scope because I wanted something I could use both day and night and I like the rechargeable battery that comes with it.  I didn't want to be carrying around extra batteries every time I went out on a hunt like I heard about with the Wraith.  I am extremely happy with it and it has done the job I asked of it so far.  That being said you can get an ATN Thor LT THERMAL scope refurbished for under $1000.  I have seen them under $900 on Ebay but ATN has them for around $980 right now.  I would check out the ATN X-Sight Pro 4K as they have refurbs for $539 or you can go new on Ebay for around $450.  I recommend an upgraded IR light with whatever night vision scope you choose, I have a stream light that works great for under $80 I use.  Good luck!!

https://www.atncorp.com/refurbished


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## kmckinnie (Oct 2, 2020)

antharper said:


> If you look on the barrel of the feeder you can see light , I just screwed them to feeder View attachment 1041790



That light is good. Looks like daylight in that pic. ?


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## ddgarcia (Oct 2, 2020)

Railroader said:


> Sightmark Wraith...Not thermal, but only $500.
> 
> Danged good out to 150 or so, even better if you pop for an aftermarket IR torch...
> 
> Check it out.



I'll.second this. It does have a few drawbacks though. One, it's heavy, comparatively speaking. Two, if you're using it "in the bush" you will get a lot of IR refraction from the brush making it difficult to see very far. Three, batteries.

Work arounds are possible though. If you are setting up on a spot and not "stalking" them the weight isn't much of an issue. You will need a rest of some sort, shooting rail, tripod, etc. for better stability though.
As for the refraction of the IR off of the brush, I made a "filter" for my illuminator that reduced that significantly.
And for the battery issue, it uses two different ones. CR123a for the illuminator and AA for the scope itself. No way around the CR123a's that I've yet found, but I bought a 30000mAh battery pack online to power the scope. Again of you are "stalking" them this is not really a good option for the cable running between the battery and scope but if you're setting up on a spot it's great.

PM me if you'd like more info about one.


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## stonecreek (Oct 2, 2020)

X2 onSightmark Wraight ??


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## dfurdennis (Oct 2, 2020)

work2play2 said:


> Are hogs weary of solar lights or they will come right into it?


Not typically shy on an average 100 pounder but the big boys are a little smarter. If you're not hunting thick woods and are on a food plot/feeder set up the sightmark day/night IR scopes are very good....they get a flashback condition in heavy woods. I have had one for 3 years and killed around 50 hogs at night with it very dependable....I hope this helps


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## work2play2 (Oct 2, 2020)

Thanks for all of you that responded guys


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## sghoghunter (Oct 2, 2020)

I will second the pulsar rxq30. Me and my brother both have one mounted on two 300 blackout pistols and we love them. They are basic no extra bells and whistles features to get confused on.


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## sleepr71 (Oct 2, 2020)

I think that IF you want THERMAL...that Pulsar ^^^ is about the best bang for the buck..that is a legit Hunting/Rifle caliber durable thermal. Maybe some of the Coyote hunting guys will chime in about their set-ups. I do think most SCAN with some sort of hand held monocular,then shoot with the Rifle. Unfortunately most NV/Thermal scopes are around 2-2.5 lbs so they make the rifle a little harder to free-hand. Most hunt from a stand,or using a tri-pod set up to steady up & make their shots count. I’d post this in the Varmint/Predator forum also


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## buckmanmike (Oct 8, 2020)

How about your son getting a job or doing chores to earn the night vision.


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## antharper (Oct 8, 2020)

buckmanmike said:


> How about your son getting a job or doing chores to earn the night vision.


Earn a Christmas gift ? I love it when my kid wants a new gun or something (we) can use , for Christmas or birthday gift


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## work2play2 (Oct 9, 2020)

buckmanmike said:


> How about your son getting a job or doing chores to earn the night vision.


Thank you dr. Phil


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## jlfreshb (Oct 13, 2020)

i agree about atn customer service is trash. it took almost two months to get my lt thermal repaired. no updates provided at all. because of that reason i won't take a chance on their high end models. if you can afford it go with pulsar.


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## sleepr71 (Oct 13, 2020)

ATN’s cust. service must be (consistently) poor. I see it every time I read reviews on their products. That’s a shame, because they DO have some cool,innovative NV products


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## sghoghunter (Oct 14, 2020)

sleepr71 said:


> ATN’s cust. service must be (consistently) poor. I see it every time I read reviews on their products. That’s a shame, because they DO have some cool,innovative NV products




I think ATN and SPYPOINT is the same company. If not theY handle their customers the same way


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## scottja (Oct 14, 2020)

I have owned a Pulsar Trail and currently run a Pulsar Thermion XP 38.  I also run a Pulsar Axion monocular for scanning.  Hands down there is nothing that comes close in quality and customer service for the price.  They are spendy, but have been flawless for me with clear, crisp image, reliability, and great customer service.

I ran the XP38 on a deer control permit this summer and saw deer that buddies with NV simply could not see, even after I pointed to their location.  I can tell a deer from a pig at around 450 yards by body shape and about 700 by behavior (mostly how they move/walk/interact).  That said, I won't take a 'thermal' shot over 250 yds though I'm willing to take a daytime shot to 450 under the right conditions.  sub 10k thermal simply is not as accurate as optical scopes...around 2 MOA or so. 

Hogs and deer can spot the IR light on NV scopes and will spook whereas I've had them walk within 20 yards of me with the thermal since it's passive and does not emit any wavelength of light.

I've said to other prospective buyers that going from quality daytime glass (Leupold and Meopta for me) to NV is like going from irons to a scope.  Going from NV to thermal is even more of a game changer.  One warning, it's less hunting and more shooting.  If you play the wind and are relatively quiet, the pigs/deer never have a chance.


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## Jethro8410 (Nov 12, 2020)

I have a pulsar XD50A that I've had for several years and I like it but my buddy has they newest pulsar model and it is way better


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## Jethro8410 (Nov 12, 2020)

We hog hunt ALLOT.  Several people have been with us with night vision and the I/R stuff and they can't see near what we do.  Also when shooting in fields and dry dirt conditions there is no visibility lost with the thermal due to dust from when they start running.  I can't say that for the nv and i/r cause I've had folks with me that couldn't see once the hogs started to run


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## sleepr71 (Nov 12, 2020)

Jethro..what model Pulsar is your buddy running?? Thanks!


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## chase870 (Nov 13, 2020)

If your destined to end up in the Thermal don't be afraid to spend some decent money on a scope. The Pulsar is as cheap as I would go. I hunt a lot at night and am very fortunate to have places to hunt yotes and hogs. I also have 2 guys that I hunt with who  are able to hunt a lot and have thermal as well. I shoot the IR Hunter Mk II Trijacon bought this company and has different thermal scopes and optics. The IR Hunter has served me well in all weather conditions and several years of regular and hard use in the field. ATN did not stand up to hard use, and multiple rounds being fired and image quality was fair with room for improvement. The pulsar was a much better scope and it had the image in image to aid in shooting, not a real big fan of it but my buddie was deadly with that scope. 
All that said the issue is what you really want to buy, you get what you pay for. The biggest challenge in Thermal Hunting is depth perception in the dark and learning to shoot in it. A steady rest is key. I have a bipod on my rifle and usually carry a tripod with me to shoot off of, it makes a tremendous difference. Don't get in a hurry it will take awhile to recognize the image each animal makes but it will come to you. Practice shooting with it some its different


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## Jethro8410 (Nov 14, 2020)

sleepr71 said:


> Jethro..what model Pulsar is your buddy running?? Thanks!


He has a thermion XP50


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