Minefield. I have tested and used everything from add ons to thermals , here is what you need to consider.
What are you intending to shoot and how far?
What is you budget?
Are you going to run it alongside a lamp or spotter?
Are you willing to use a dedicated rifle or do you need a dat rifle too?
All valid questions. Here is some things I know, and you will get those that will argue but this is from personal experience.
1. Nothing beats having a spotter, thermal or NV, doesn’t need to be the best on the market because you will work it out , I still use an older xq38f. The spotter is a far better investment than any NV or thermal scope.
2. DO NOT forget common sense or expect the world from any NV product, it takes practice and time, and if you can’t work out what your looking at don’t shoot it, thermals can make you think your looking at a fox when it’s a hare or you can see something that you want to shoot but miss seeing what’s in front or behind it.
3. Thermal scopes are not necessarily better than NV scopes, there are pros and cons with both, identifying what your shooting at is often far clearer than even top end thermals.
4. All of them have pros and cons, do your research and if you can try before you buy or get out with a mate and use theirs.
Here is pros and cons on scopes
Thermal: pros, fantastic for spotting and tracking very long range, no additional light needed and usually very good at holding zero, lightweight and can see through light cover meaning you can track better.
Cons: cost is well in the thousands, species and identification is harder , periodic picture refreshing or nuking, thermal bleed means you often cannot see cover in front of a target, hard to judge range on non life versions and finally lures you into to taking shots that you wouldn’t normally take.
NV: pros. Usually good clear image, identification is very good making you see all the surrounding cover and terrain, price is usually far more reasonable and very easy to set up
Cons: can be too sensitive to if and wash out the picture, additional torch makes it heavy, can be too bright on the eyes.
Both dedicated devices will most likely need a dedicated rifle.
Add ons: pros: come in thermal and NV, allows you the need to only need one rifle, easy to store and charge off the rifle when not in use,
Cons: accuracy is limited to version and current scope. Can be fiddly to calibrate and more parts to deal with like shims etc. Also can put unnecessary weight on the front of scope if it is front mounted or give you an awkward shooting position if rear mounted.
Either way it’s a minefield hope this helps
