Is anyone using a thermal scope for general stalking?

[kingstonandy]

I switched from a S&B to an Alpex a year ago, and I'm definitely shooting more deer than I was. There are still times though when deer are in deep shadow when I can see them clearly through a thermal spotter but not through the scope, so I'm wondering about going all thermal.
What concerns me is that when the sun is shining on restock areas the thermal wouldn't work. My spotter is pretty useless in that situation. Would I be solving one problem and creating another, or does a £6k riflescope perform well enough to cope?

I'm not concerned by tradition, I have a larder to fill.

 

[Tim.243]

I switched from a S&B to an Alpex a year ago, and I'm definitely shooting more deer than I was. There are still times though when deer are in deep shadow when I can see them clearly through a thermal spotter but not through the scope, so I'm wondering about going all thermal.
What concerns me is that when the sun is shining on restock areas the thermal wouldn't work. My spotter is pretty useless in that situation. Would I be solving one problem and creating another, or does a £6k riflescope perform well enough to cope?

I'm not concerned by tradition, I have a larder to fill.

Have you added a IR to the Alpex
Both examples
off-on

 

[kingstonandy]

Have you added a IR to the Alpex
Both examples
off-on

Surely that would be illegal for deer?

 

[Tim.243]

Surely that would be illegal for deer?

Are you shooting between 1hr before and 1 hr after sunrise sunset?
Today is
Sunrise07:09Sunset17:15

 

[kingstonandy]

Are you shooting between 1hr before and 1 hr after sunrise sunset?

Within legal hours, yes. I always though light emitting devices were illegal for deer.

 

[Mungo]

I switched from a S&B to an Alpex a year ago, and I'm definitely shooting more deer than I was. There are still times though when deer are in deep shadow when I can see them clearly through a thermal spotter but not through the scope, so I'm wondering about going all thermal.
What concerns me is that when the sun is shining on restock areas the thermal wouldn't work. My spotter is pretty useless in that situation. Would I be solving one problem and creating another, or does a £6k riflescope perform well enough to cope?

I'm not concerned by tradition, I have a larder to fill.

Yes, I use a thermal scope for daytime shooting.

Not exclusively, but at this time of year (with more darkness than daylight), the thermal lives on my lighter rifle, and I generally can’t be bothered to switch it for the glass scope.

It is absolutely fine for roe out to about 200m, and bigger deer to 300, once you learn the holds (you can’t easily ‘dial’ the drop).

I have shot in daylight with it in woodland, clear fell, mature forestry, open hill and pasture. Once you’re used to using the scope at night, using it by day is more or less the same.

I don’t particularly like it for all the reasons I don’t particularly like using a thermal scope at all: judging range and angle is tricky, edges are poorly defined, it can be hard to see obstructions, and you have less awareness of the ground.

But it works, and can be a way to maximise efficiency when light is limited.

 

[kingstonandy]

Yes, I use a thermal scope for daytime shooting.

Not exclusively, but at this time of year (with more darkness than daylight), the thermal lives on my lighter rifle, and I generally can’t be bothered to switch it for the glass scope.

It is absolutely fine for roe out to about 200m, and bigger deer to 300, once you learn the holds (you can’t easily ‘dial’ the drop).

I have shot in daylight with it in woodland, clear fell, mature forestry, open hill and pasture. Once you’re used to using the scope at night, using it by day is more or less the same.

I don’t particularly like it for all the reasons I don’t particularly like using a thermal scope at all: judging range and angle is tricky, edges are poorly defined, it can be hard to see obstructions, and you have less awareness of the ground.

But it works, and can be a way to maximise efficiency when light is limited.

Thanks for the reply.

When you have strong sunlight on stony clearfell/restock and everything is hot, can you still see deer clearly enough?

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

I'm sure I will be corrected, but there are many times I can see a perfect outline of a deer through my spotter but looking through the glass scope it completely obstructed by brush and I can't see any of it.

 

[Tim.243]

Within legal hours, yes. I always though light emitting devices were illegal for deer.

Ok not to be flippant the legal time to shoot deer is what we understand, say today Sunrise07:09Sunset17:15
So if you had you IR switched on a 8.15am that is still in the 1hr before threshold!

 

[kenbro]

Ok not to be flippant the legal time to shoot deer is what we understand, say today Sunrise07:09Sunset17:15
So if you had you IR switched on a 8.15am that is still in the 1hr before threshold!

?

 

[kingstonandy]

Ok not to be flippant the legal time to shoot deer is what we understand, say today Sunrise07:09Sunset17:15
So if you had you IR switched on a 8.15am that is still in the 1hr before threshold!

Sorry, I've read this several times and I haven't a clue what you mean.

 

[Daisymay]

Why would you need an ir at 8.15 when as Tim.243 states sunrise is 7.09. ????

 

[Mungo]

Thanks for the reply.

When you have strong sunlight on stony clearfell/restock and everything is hot, can you still see deer clearly enough?

Yes. Once you’ve got the deer in the scope, there’s no problem.

 

[Mungo]

I'm sure I will be corrected, but there are many times I can see a perfect outline of a deer through my spotter but looking through the glass scope it completely obstructed by brush and I can't see any of it.

Yes - this is the real limitation with thermal scopes, and needs real care.

 

[wytonpjs]

Back to the OP’s original question, I have a Pular Thermion 2 XP50 on my .243 full time. Principally used in woodland and for roe/muntjac, it works exceptionally well for me but as it’s a shortened 75, I’m never pushing the range and most shots are comfortably below 100. Never used it on clearfell but if you are used to spotting animals amongst the numerous heat sources from stumps, etc, I see no problems. It’s like everything with thermal spotting - you get used to observing the animal, recognising it’s movement characteristics and behaviours. On clear-fell I have principally used glass (Z6i and dS) but having used an Alpex for a year now, I’m be happy to use that too.

 

[Donkey Basher]

I'm sure I will be corrected, but there are many times I can see a perfect outline of a deer through my spotter but looking through the glass scope it completely obstructed by brush and I can't see any of it.

This has been my experience, the thermal spotter shows a very clear picture of a deer from which I can readily differentiate between muntjac, roe & fallow. I then put the thermal down & pick up either the binos, rifle with Alpex or normal scope & either find I can only see part of the deer in the undergrowth, or often no deer at all! One evening I had 6 fallow clear as day in the thermal & looking like they were literally just the other side of the fence in the very edge of a wood. Turned out they were behind so much vegetation I couldn’t actually see any of them apart from the odd movement through the brambles. I certainly wouldn’t want to rely on a thermal scope that made vegetation between me & the deer invisible.

 

[Mr. Gain]

1. CLEARFELL: On hot days, rocks and stumps show as hot as deer, so you need to watch for movement. It is probably easier to see in thermal, but not by much, IME.
2. BRUSH: it depends on the quality of the thermal image. With a decent unit you can learn the difference between a screen of branches, very light twigs and leaves, and a clear shot. You can also see deer that would be screened by cover in normal vision approaching a gap in the cover and be ready for them there. I shoot mainly with conventional optics, but use a front-mounted thermal (Krypton) when conditions require it.

 

[BLUEROLL]

I switched from a S&B to an Alpex a year ago, and I'm definitely shooting more deer than I was. There are still times though when deer are in deep shadow when I can see them clearly through a thermal spotter but not through the scope, so I'm wondering about going all thermal.
What concerns me is that when the sun is shining on restock areas the thermal wouldn't work. My spotter is pretty useless in that situation. Would I be solving one problem and creating another, or does a £6k riflescope perform well enough to cope?

I'm not concerned by tradition, I have a larder to fill.

Pulsar Thermion Duo may be what you need.

 

[Mungo]

1. CLEARFELL: On hot days, rocks and stumps show as hot as deer, so you need to watch for movement. It is probably easier to see in thermal, but not by much, IME.
2. BRUSH: it depends on the quality of the thermal image. With a decent unit you can learn the difference between a screen of branches, very light twigs and leaves, and a clear shot. You can also see deer that would be screened by cover in normal vision approaching a gap in the cover and be ready for them there. I shoot mainly with conventional optics, but use a front-mounted thermal (Krypton) when conditions require it.

I have shot through brush/thicket stage restock several times when I thought the target was in the clear (early on, before I learned the limitations of the scope).

I actually got away with it, but I’ve learned to be much more careful.

 

[kingstonandy]

Pulsar Thermion Duo may be what you need.

If it had an LRF I would have bought one already. Once you've got used to automatic drop compensation there's no going back.