# Bering Optics Thermals



## Jabo64 (Jun 1, 2022)

Does anyone have any experience with these thermals specifically their hogster 35 or super hogster?  I’m in the market for a thermal and want to make the right choice.  Thanks in advance!


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## Grunt-n-bleat (Jun 1, 2022)

Bering Optics line is a good choice. AGM Rattlers are another good choice. Main thing to ask is how much you wanna spend, and what is the main use for the thermal scope. Pulsar Thermion is another option, lil bit more pricey. But with thermals, buy once cry once.


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## bassculler (Jun 1, 2022)

I am also in the market and have done a good bit of research. Look up outdoor legacy on you tube. Hans is a great guy. Personally, i am waiting on the super hogster LRF to come out in August. After hunting with friends and their thermals,  i have noticed how important an accurate range finder is, especially with coyotes. During the day, i can get a good idea of distance. At night, its very difficult.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 1, 2022)

I have a hogster vibe 35. A hogster is a few hundred dollars more than the rattler 35 but in my opinion the one extra year of warranty is worth it plus they say it has a little better image than the rattler. Here’s a pic from the weekend. I was around a hundred yds away on a real humid night.


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## Pig Predator (Jun 1, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> I have a hogster vibe 35. A hogster is a few hundred dollars more than the rattler 35 but in my opinion the one extra year of warranty is worth it plus they say it has a little better image than the rattler. Here’s a pic from the weekend. I was around a hundred yds away on a real humid night.


I was able to put my eye on a rattler 25 over the weekend and wasn't impressed compared to my old pulsar rxq30.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 1, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> I was able to put my eye on a rattler 25 over the weekend and wasn't impressed compared to my old pulsar rxq30.




I’ve got the original rxq30 with the green background. Me personally I loved that scope cause it didn’t really mess with my eyes to bad. This Vibe I got now is night and day difference. The only two things that I’m not real crazy about is the field of view is a little narrower than the rxq30 and the battery life sucks on the Hogster.


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## Jabo64 (Jun 2, 2022)

Appreciate the feedback fellas!


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## Jabo64 (Jun 2, 2022)

bassculler said:


> I am also in the market and have done a good bit of research. Look up outdoor legacy on you tube. Hans is a great guy. Personally, i am waiting on the super hogster LRF to come out in August. After hunting with friends and their thermals,  i have noticed how important an accurate range finder is, especially with coyotes. During the day, i can get a good idea of distance. At night, its very difficult.


I’ll check them out - thanks


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## sghoghunter (Jun 2, 2022)

Jabo64 said:


> I’ll check them out - thanks




Look up the Late night vision show on podcast and they review all different kinds of scopes and will help answer any questions you have


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## bighonkinjeep (Jun 7, 2022)

Anything "Bering Optics" comes with a 4 year transferrable warranty. Pretty much unheard of, with most manufacturers offering 3 years or less limited warranty.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 7, 2022)

bighonkinjeep said:


> Anything "Bering Optics" comes with a 4 year transferrable warranty. Pretty much unheard of, with most manufacturers offering 3 years or less limited warranty.




That was the deciding factor when I bought mine


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## Pig Predator (Jun 7, 2022)

I had to send in my pulsar rxq30, they're discontinued. It died memorial day weekend.  It's a year out of warranty. They told me to send it back. Im curious as what will come of it...


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## bighonkinjeep (Jun 8, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> I had to send in my pulsar rxq30, they're discontinued. It died memorial day weekend.  It's a year out of warranty. They told me to send it back. Im curious as what will come of it...


I'd be interested to know how this works out for you. Lotta cash outlayed for an optic if you only get 3 years of service life. Please let us know how they handle it.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 8, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> I had to send in my pulsar rxq30, they're discontinued. It died memorial day weekend.  It's a year out of warranty. They told me to send it back. Im curious as what will come of it...




What happened to it? I’ve sent 30 in twice,both times out of warranty. First time it was cutting off every time I shot and the screen had a bad spot in it. I had to pay for another screen but it was under $200. Second time the screen went black but still a worked. Several days later it returned home with a note saying a wire came loose inside and no charge.


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## Pig Predator (Jun 8, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> What happened to it? I’ve sent 30 in twice,both times out of warranty. First time it was cutting off every time I shot and the screen had a bad spot in it. I had to pay for another screen but it was under $200. Second time the screen went black but still a worked. Several days later it returned home with a note saying a wire came loose inside and no charge.


Shot 3 hogs and was just looking around assessing the confirms and it just shut off and wouldn't come back on despite new batteries. First time it has ever gave me any trouble.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 8, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> Shot 3 hogs and was just looking around assessing the confirms and it just shut off and wouldn't come back on despite new batteries. First time it has ever gave me any trouble.




That’s the way mine did the first time but can’t remember what they said caused it.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 8, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> Shot 3 hogs and was just looking around assessing the confirms and it just shut off and wouldn't come back on despite new batteries. First time it has ever gave me any trouble.




That’s the way mine did the first time but can’t remember what they said caused it.


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## Keith Karr (Jun 8, 2022)

Iray has a 5 year warranty. I don’t own any of their stuff but probably will very soon. 

I’m looking at buying the Bolt scope and Cabin scanner. 

They advertise a 5 business day turnaround after receiving something back for warranty.


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## Keith Karr (Jun 9, 2022)

Contact Cameron at 

thermalopticsplus.com

He’s just north of Chattanooga and sells all brands of thermals and is very knowledgeable about the pros and cons of each.


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## Pig Predator (Jun 9, 2022)

bighonkinjeep said:


> I'd be interested to know how this works out for you. Lotta cash outlayed for an optic if you only get 3 years of service life. Please let us know how they handle it.


Sent it last wednesday. They received it monday and called me yesterday. $30 to replace function buttons and battery compartment, will send an email confirming shipping after repair. I think thats awesome service and great price for a discontinued unit one year out of warranty.


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## chase870 (Jun 9, 2022)

If your gonna play with thermal go ahead and spend the serious money and buy high end quality equipment otherwise you will constantly be upgrading


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## sghoghunter (Jun 9, 2022)

Keith Karr said:


> Iray has a 5 year warranty. I don’t own any of their stuff but probably will very soon.
> 
> I’m looking at buying the Bolt scope and Cabin scanner.
> 
> They advertise a 5 business day turnaround after receiving something back for warranty.




Just curious what are you planning on hunting with the bolt thermal? I did look into the Iray scopes when I bought my last one but I couldn’t justify paying an extra $700 for the same specs as the Bering Optics Vibe just to get an extra year of warranty. Also the base mag was more on the Iray than I really wanted. If all I done was shoot yotes and it was a designated to a bolt gun I’d buy one in a minute.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 9, 2022)

chase870 said:


> If your gonna play with thermal go ahead and spend the serious money and buy high end quality equipment otherwise you will constantly be upgrading




I disagree with your comment. Thermal scopes are a day night difference from daytime scopes. For 5 years I killed a pile of hogs with a $1900 scope and neither one could you have killed them any deader with a $7500 Ir reaper. A guy with plenty of money was in our club a few years back and he had a custom made gun topped with a $7500 reaper and would sit 40 yds away from a feeder and shoot hogs. At the same time I would stalk up to a hog across an open field to get within 40 yds of a hog and shoot and have way more satisfaction. The only thing a high dollar scope has that my new $2500 scope don’t have is clarity of image. In my opinion you don’t have to count the hairs on a hog to kill it


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## sghoghunter (Jun 9, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> Sent it last wednesday. They received it monday and called me yesterday. $30 to replace function buttons and battery compartment, will send an email confirming shipping after repair. I think thats awesome service and great price for a discontinued unit one year out of warranty.




After you said that I went back and looked at the repair paper on mine and the on and off button was one of my problems too. One thing I do since I got it back is I use the remote that come with it to turn on/off and to nuc it


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## Pig Predator (Jun 9, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> After you said that I went back and looked at the repair paper on mine and the on and off button was one of my problems too. One thing I do since I got it back is I use the remote that come with it to turn on/off and to nuc it


Thats my plan as well. I never even took my remote out of the packaging.


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## ditchdoc24 (Jun 9, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> I disagree with your comment. Thermal scopes are a day night difference from daytime scopes. For 5 years I killed a pile of hogs with a $1900 scope and neither one could you have killed them any deader with a $7500 Ir reaper. A guy with plenty of money was in our club a few years back and he had a custom made gun topped with a $7500 reaper and would sit 40 yds away from a feeder and shoot hogs. At the same time I would stalk up to a hog across an open field to get within 40 yds of a hog and shoot and have way more satisfaction. The only thing a high dollar scope has that my new $2500 scope don’t have is clarity of image. In my opinion you don’t have to count the hairs on a hog to kill it



Absolute truth in this post. I went entry level getting into thermal with my RXQ30V. Would it be nice to have better resolution, more magnification and the ability to record video? It sure would and maybe I'll upgrade one day. But for right now, what I have works and I can't justify to myself spending the money it will take to get those features. I'm not trying to knock any other scopes in this. If it works and you're killing hogs then I'm very happy for you. Every hog I've killed with my cheap thermal scope is just as dead as it would be if I'd have used any other scope. I'll keep whacking them and I hope you do the same.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 9, 2022)

ditchdoc24 said:


> Absolute truth in this post. I went entry level getting into thermal with my RXQ30V. Would it be nice to have better resolution, more magnification and the ability to record video? It sure would and maybe I'll upgrade one day. But for right now, what I have works and I can't justify to myself spending the money it will take to get those features. I'm not trying to knock any other scopes in this. If it works and you're killing hogs then I'm very happy for you. Every hog I've killed with my cheap thermal scope is just as dead as it would be if I'd have used any other scope. I'll keep whacking them and I hope you do the same.




I’ve had this Hogster for about two months but haven’t had any luck laying one down since I’ve had it. I changed scope and ammo at the same time and was beginning to think I’d done jinxed my gun. I’ve seen this bunch in a couple different cow pastures and haven’t bothered with them till tonight. Feels good to get that ole monkey off my back


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## Keith Karr (Jun 10, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> Just curious what are you planning on hunting with the bolt thermal? I did look into the Iray scopes when I bought my last one but I couldn’t justify paying an extra $700 for the same specs as the Bering Optics Vibe just to get an extra year of warranty. Also the base mag was more on the Iray than I really wanted. If all I done was shoot yotes and it was a designated to a bolt gun I’d buy one in a minute.



I shoot bolt guns for coyotes only and hunt pastures and hayfields where the shooting can be at greater distance than the typical hog hunting. I’m sure the hog hunting is fun but thankfully we don’t have any here…..yet !


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## sghoghunter (Jun 10, 2022)

Keith Karr said:


> I shoot bolt guns for coyotes only and hunt pastures and hayfields where the shooting can be at greater distance than the typical hog hunting. I’m sure the hog hunting is fun but thankfully we don’t have any here…..yet !




Sounds like that would be perfect for your style of hunting. I was going on my old scope was a 1.6 base mag and the new one is 2 base and that don’t seem like much but it’s a big difference in tight close up places like we hunt


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## Big7 (Jun 10, 2022)

Off topic a little although this build "could" be used as a Hog Popper with 60gr Aguila Sniper boolit. but..

Is there a such thing as an "el cheapo" that would work on a Savage Rascal or the Chipmunk single shots?

BTW- The Rascal is infinitely better than the Chipmunk or. Crickett  and only about 50 bucks more. ?


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## sghoghunter (Jun 10, 2022)

Big7 said:


> Off topic a little although this build "could" be used as a Hog Popper with 60gr Anguilla SST''s but..
> 
> Is there a such thing as an "el cheapo" that would work on a Savage Rascal or the Chipmunk single shots?
> 
> BTW- The Rascal is infinitely better than the Chipmunk or. Crickett  and only about 50 bucks more. ?




Yes sir there’s a couple in the range that I’m sure would fit that small of a gun but as far as “el Chepo” it all depends on your el chepo. There’s a few sub $2000 that’ll work


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## Todd E (Jun 10, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> I disagree with your comment. Thermal scopes are a day night difference from daytime scopes. For 5 years I killed a pile of hogs with a $1900 scope and neither one could you have killed them any deader with a $7500 Ir reaper. A guy with plenty of money was in our club a few years back and he had a custom made gun topped with a $7500 reaper and would sit 40 yds away from a feeder and shoot hogs. At the same time I would stalk up to a hog across an open field to get within 40 yds of a hog and shoot and have way more satisfaction. The only thing a high dollar scope has that my new $2500 scope don’t have is clarity of image. In my opinion you don’t have to count the hairs on a hog to kill it




Exactly. I shoot pigs anywhere from 30 yards to 275 yards with an ATN Thor 4. I'm not paying to upgrade to a $9k thermal just so my YouTube vids show clarity at 275. My investment kills em dead at 275 yards DRT just fine.


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## Big7 (Jun 10, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> Yes sir there’s a couple in the range that I’m sure would fit that small of a gun but as far as “el Chepo” it all depends on your el chepo. There’s a few sub $2000 that’ll work


We must be talking about something different.

I keep seeing pop- up for the ATN Brand and IDK if they are any count or not. Some of theirs, you could get 4 for 2 grand.

I'm thinking 2 or 3 hundred, not thousand. ?

I'd just like to see good enough to make a 40- 50 yard shot at night with a 60gr Aguila Sniper boolit.

Not brand specific at all. Just for fun. Not going to lay out a bunch of cash for this little idea. ?

Thanks for the reply tho.
Much appreciated.


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## sghoghunter (Jun 10, 2022)

Big7 said:


> We must be talking about something different.
> 
> I keep seeing pop- up for the ATN Brand and IDK if they are any count or not. Some of theirs, you could get 4 for 2 grand.
> 
> ...




You could get something like an ATN Xsight for around $500 but their a waste  of money in my opinion


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## Todd E (Jun 10, 2022)

Big7 said:


> We must be talking about something different.
> 
> I keep seeing pop- up for the ATN Brand and IDK if they are any count or not. Some of theirs, you could get 4 for 2 grand.
> 
> ...



Google something like the night vision guys or some site like that. I saw a night vision set up on there for $499 on sale. It would suit you well. It's not thermal. It uses an ir illuminator so it's NV.


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## Todd E (Jun 10, 2022)




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## sleepr71 (Jun 10, 2022)

Sightmark Wraith Mini 4K. It’s compact,and WORKS.! With the factory illuminator,you can see to 200 yds easily. Works in daytime also..just gets “grainy” at high magnification(above 12X). To do better..you will need to move into the $2,000-2,500 Thermal scopes?


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## Big7 (Jun 11, 2022)

Todd E said:


> Google something like the night vision guys or some site like that. I saw a night vision set up on there for $499 on sale. It would suit you well. It's not thermal. It uses an ir illuminator so it's NV.


Thanks. I'll have to study the difference and look at the cost of each.

Thanks for the reply
 ?


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## ditchdoc24 (Jun 11, 2022)

sleepr71 said:


> Sightmark Wraith Mini 4K. It’s compact,and WORKS.! With the factory illuminator,you can see to 200 yds easily. Works in daytime also..just gets “grainy” at high magnification(above 12X). To do better..you will need to move into the $2,000-2,500 Thermal scopes?



I've never used a Wraith but I've heard a lot of positive reviews of them. I used to have an ATN X-sight but it was nothing but a problem and I got rid of it pretty quickly. ATN does not have much in the way of customer service and a lot of people recommend staying away from ATN products simply because you can't get any help if you have a problem. Night vision works fine but what I noticed was that the IR light tends to reflect off any grasses, bushes or trees in the area. If you're strictly hunting in fields, then I don't think NV would be a problem. I really didn't like using NV in the woods simply because the IR kept washing out the images in the scope. I went thermal and never looked back. It works in all kinds of terrain although hot and humid air may degrade the image quality slightly.


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## Kestas69 (Jun 11, 2022)

Big7 said:


> We must be talking about something different.
> 
> I keep seeing pop- up for the ATN Brand and IDK if they are any count or not. Some of theirs, you could get 4 for 2 grand.
> 
> ...



Before I got thermal scope I have used Pard NV007 a lot. You can use it  as a hand held monocular or as a clip on. Attaches to your day scope in a second. Works very well for the money. Good image quality and records audio/video. Killed a lot of hogs under feeder. 
https://www.amazon.com/Pard-monocul...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=


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## Todd E (Jun 11, 2022)

Kestas69 said:


> Before I got thermal scope I have used Pard NV007 a lot. You can use it  as a hand held monocular or as a clip on. Attaches to your day scope in a second. Works very well for the money. Good image quality and records audio/video. Killed a lot of hogs under feeder. View attachment 1156948
> https://www.amazon.com/Pard-monocul...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=



Thanks for sharing. I just may put that on my AR. Is it pretty sturdy once clipped on?


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## Kestas69 (Jun 12, 2022)

Todd E said:


> Thanks for sharing. I just may put that on my AR. Is it pretty sturdy once clipped on?



This type of adapter works best for me. I use electrical tape on the scope before mounting adapter to prevent any possible scratches. Two Allen screws holds adapter in place very firmly and with attached monocular everything is sturdy. I leave adapter on the scope. That doesn’t effect my day shooting at all when I am not using monocular. 
Monocular works best with lower base magnification scopes because monocular already have I think 3 or 4 base magnification. Attach monocular to adapter and mount on the scope. Move forward or back to find the best image quality and secure the adapter to the scope.


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## Kestas69 (Jun 12, 2022)

You can get more universal adapters and  move them from scope to scope without having to mess with Allen screws but they are less sturdy


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## Todd E (Jun 12, 2022)

Thanks !!!


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## Pig Predator (Jun 14, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> Sent it last wednesday. They received it monday and called me yesterday. $30 to replace function buttons and battery compartment, will send an email confirming shipping after repair. I think thats awesome service and great price for a discontinued unit one year out of warranty.


Less than 2 week turnaround with at least 8 of those days in shipping back and forth. I'm impressed to say the least and my thermal is ready to rock again!


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## sghoghunter (Jun 14, 2022)

Pig Predator said:


> Less than 2 week turnaround with at least 8 of those days in shipping back and forth. I'm impressed to say the least and my thermal is ready to rock again!View attachment 1157577




I’ve got one also. They have the best customer support I’ve ever had to deal with hands down.


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## HogKillaDNR (Jul 1, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> I’ve had this Hogster for about two months but haven’t had any luck laying one down since I’ve had it. I changed scope and ammo at the same time and was beginning to think I’d done jinxed my gun. I’ve seen this bunch in a couple different cow pastures and haven’t bothered with them till tonight. Feels good to get that ole monkey off my back


That's a nice hog and are you using the Death Grip Tripod?


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## sghoghunter (Jul 1, 2022)

HogKillaDNR said:


> That's a nice hog and are you using the Death Grip Tripod?



Yes sir


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## HogKillaDNR (Jul 1, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> Yes sir


I purchased one last year to use with my AR10.  Just need a place to utilize it on some hogs now.


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## sghoghunter (Jul 1, 2022)

HogKillaDNR said:


> I purchased one last year to use with my AR10.  Just need a place to utilize it on some hogs now.



I bought mine a couple months ago when Amazon had it for $135. I was just using an adjustable shooting stick I picked up at Wally World and it worked real good. The tripod is real steady to make that first shot count but I’m not use to being held down and not moving as freely as the adjustable stick


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## HogKillaDNR (Jul 1, 2022)

sghoghunter said:


> I bought mine a couple months ago when Amazon had it for $135. I was just using an adjustable shooting stick I picked up at Wally World and it worked real good. The tripod is real steady to make that first shot count but I’m not use to being held down and not moving as freely as the adjustable stick


I completely understand what you mean.  I keep the Death Grip and a set of trigger sticks for mobility.


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