Night Vision or Thermal Add On??

[Uncle Norm]

One of our DMG members has been having some success on Muntjac in that period, after one-hour-before sunrise and about 30 minutes before sunrise, when normal good quality optics enable shooting.
Now he has one of the latest devices that costs around £4K. I did a bit of tyre kicking whilst visiting Marcus at Simpson Bothers, the other day and had a look at the very latest model. I must say I was seriously impressed by it.

I have never had a night vision/thermal rifle scope. However, I seem to recall a box of tricks that could be attached to the normal scope.

I couldn't consider anything that adds much weight, nor do I wish to change my Swaro 3-9x scope, nor Sako 75 .243 Finlight rifle. I'm definitely not parting with £4 or £5K either.

Do those 'add-ons' exist or did I dream it?

Just 'tyre-kicking' curious really.

 

[Eric the Red]

How much do you want to spend? They exist, sure. Out of interest how much space between your barrel and the objective bell of your scope?

 

[jthyttin]

Based on your description, you'll be seriously unimpressed with (rear) add-ons or (front) clip-ons.

Get thermal spotter and spot with non-shooting eye. Something with widish FOV, I'd say there's something for you around £1000-1500.

 

[EssexBigMac]

@SussexSteve has a great Zeiss setup although it’s definitely above your budget, but worth asking the question and his thoughts.

 

[Tikka595]

Hi Uncle Norm,
Just back in from stalking this morning
I use a Hik15 thermal spotter very handy piece of kit,even on a misty morning it will pick out all deer that early morning light, Mist and woodland might mean you could miss though your binos ..
but once you know they are there a good quality scope will let you get a shot off..
the Hik 15 was my first introduction to thermal and its simple to use and small to carry..
I paid around £950 but you could probably pick one up for £500 S/H.
Tikka595

 

[SussexSteve]

Pulsar c50 perfect for that job around 900-1100

 

[Uncle Norm]

I have an excellent Pulsar thermal spotter that I use a lot. My question is whether there is an add-on for my normal rifle scope, not a spotter.

 

[Uncle Norm]

Based on your description, you'll be seriously unimpressed with (rear) add-ons or (front) clip-ons.

Get thermal spotter and spot with non-shooting eye. Something with widish FOV, I'd say there's something for you around £1000-1500.

I have a thermal spotter, that I use exactly as you suggest thanks.
What are the clip-ons etc. that you refer to?

 

[BenBhoy]

The ultimate thunder front clip be worth a look. Think the pulsar one (krypton?) is pushing the £4k boundaries a bit

 

[jthyttin]

Add-on is something you put behind dayscope and clip-on something you put in front of it. Add-on (that suits the budget you implied) would be digital NV, since regular glass does not let thermal radiation through. Clip-on could be either digital NV or thermal.

Your dayscope is not suitable for add-on, and you don't want to change it. Clip-ons add considerable weight (the ones that give you reasonable detail, anyway) in a location that affects the rifle balance even more. Furthermore, they require constant attendance (that is ergonomic nightmare) if you use them at shortish distances. Mainly changing the clip-on focus since the depth of field is narrow due to fast lenses that are used (to aid in light/radiation gathering).

There's people that question the zero holding capability of clip-ons, I'm not one of them but the ergonomics alone put me off.

If you want better answers you should describe what you want to achieve and how much exactly you're willing to spend. Quite frankly I don't know what you will gain during civil twilight with NV of thermal sight. And fumbling with when to take it off will probly cause extra problems (quality glass is way better when the sunrise gets closer).

 

[Uncle Norm]

Add-on is something you put behind dayscope and clip-on something you put in front of it. Add-on (that suits the budget you implied) would be digital NV, since regular glass does not let thermal radiation through. Clip-on could be either digital NV or thermal.

Your dayscope is not suitable for add-on, and you don't want to change it. Clip-ons add considerable weight (the ones that give you reasonable detail, anyway) in a location that affects the rifle balance even more. Furthermore, they require constant attendance (that is ergonomic nightmare) if you use them at shortish distances. Mainly changing the clip-on focus since the depth of field is narrow due to fast lenses that are used (to aid in light/radiation gathering).

There's people that question the zero holding capability of clip-ons, I'm not one of them but the ergonomics alone put me off.

If you want better answers you should describe what you want to achieve and how much exactly you're willing to spend. Quite frankly I don't know what you will gain during civil twilight with NV of thermal sight. And fumbling with when to take it off will probly cause extra problems (quality glass is way better when the sunrise gets closer).

Thank you that's very helpful. I think I will stop 'tyre kicking' and abandon the notion. Just curious.
Thanks again.