Second hand electronic scopes

[Acm]

About 12 months ago now I sold my trusted leica x56 scope and bought a hik alpex, I paid £800 for it and within the first few nights I’d mopped up all my lamp shy foxes. I keep sheep and cattle and we have a pheasant shoot on the farm. Foxes are always present and sometimes an issue. In the last year I’ve shot 62 foxes with the Hik, I’ve been over the moon with it, and now feel I’m fully to grips with it. I’ve also shot a few corvids, and 10-15 roe with it in day mode.

As we all know, these things move along quickly and I’ve recently found myself hankering after an upgrade although I don’t really know what I’d like to change about my setup, I currently use an axion key as a spotter and feel the same way about that. I’ve also been thinking of selling one of my stalking scopes and fitting a thermal scope on one of the stalking rifles too.

The thing is, the second hand market is absolutely awash with these scopes and spotters, I suspect if I was to sell my alpex today I’d be looking at £300-350. My spotter maybe £100 more. So I’d be looking at £1000 -£2000 to upgrade both the scope and spotter, probably a bit more. And then there’s the thermal, would I see such a huge improvement in my enjoyment with that as I did with the alpex?

The classified are awash with second hand thermal and night vision, but to all the people who are upgrading, are you glad you did?! Is the latest generation a big step forward?
My NV is normally on a tikka t3x varmint in .222, sometimes doing a turn in the 6.5 x55.

Thanks in advance all, and if anyone wants to swap a thermal scope for a nice chapuis shotgun, pm me

 

[Bo Diddley]

My bet is you won't shoot any more foxes than you have with the Hik.
But there are no pockets in a shroud so the mother-in-law keeps telling me.
I upgraded the thermal spotter a year ago from a Pulsar Axion key to the XG35lrf, I'm pleased I did, love the lrf function and the better image, although I looked through a Hik Falcon Fg35 I think the other day and love the image... but I won't be changing.
I use a Pard 007 and love that as well, won't be changing that either. A good friend uses a PVS-14 rear add-on, a lovely bit of kit, and knocks spots off my Pard, but I shoot more foxes than he manages to, and the Pard cost peanuts compared to his PVS.
It's Christmas soon, so treat yourself

 

[Heym SR20]

I rather feel that these electronic scopes are pretty much like any other electronics- quickly outdated and then pretty much worthless.

I suspect most of us have drawer full of old laptops and mobile phones.

And once the electronics fail / become obsolete they really are of very little use.

Good optics on the hand will remain as good optics. I still regularly use a Ross Spotting scope. Good alone knows how old it is - at least 50 I suspect.

 

[Pellet Pinger]

Stick with your Aplex, any other NV you buy wont give you any advantage over what you have.
Upgrading your thermal spotter on the other hand will give you options of better image/detection and LRF.

 

[swatty]

I’ve just upgraded my pard 008 to an alpex soley because the alpex is far superior in day mode but as a dedicated nv the pard was bomb proof I zeroed it once and that was in 2019 since then it accounted for hundreds of foxes but with the alpex being as good as they are in day mode I thought I’d give it a go only because many a time whilst on the way home / wander back to the truck in the dark after being out stalking I’ve spotted a fox when it’s to dark to see with high end optics the alpex is good enough to shoot deer with in day mode at sensible ranges and good in the dark seams a perfect cross over . I don’t know how far these company’s need to push there products good enough is good enough

 

[Beretta V]

I’m a bit the same, had a photon, then the XT, a doubler etc,
Moved to a 007 pard, then a pulsar C50.
I’m still not happy with what I have had and I’m currently looking at replacing my whole outfit.
I’ve actually gone back to a standard 6x40 scope at the moment.
Luckily I have managed to get what I paid for when I have changed things as I usually get s/h items so the value has dropped off a bit already.
I would love a digital day/night scope that meets my needs but I haven’t got what I want yet, maybe a few rifles are required

 

[mealiejimmy]

Upgrading your thermal would be the best move and to stick with the Alpex
Which thermal to go for is not easy, the market is awash with new thermals as well as used thermals
People who are accustomed to Pulsar tend to stick with Pulsar because they are accustomed to the image presentation and the menu and button layout
The next step up in the Pulsar range of thermal monoculars from the Axion key would be the XQ35 or XG35
HIK thermals are very popular with new entrants into the thermal game and also with Pulsar users who are fed up with the Pulsar image presentation that always feels like you're looking at a scene through a thin net curtain
The HIK thermals have a brighter, higher contrast image that allows easier detection of potential targets but give less in target detail than the Pulsar thermals (but you've got an Alpex for target detail)
The HIK thermals are also cheaper on a model for model comparison with Pulsar
For example the HIK Falcon FQ35 and the Pulsar Axion XG35 have essentially the same specifications (12 micron 640 sensor and 35mm lens) but the HIK costs £1800 and the Pulsar costs £2340

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Bo Diddley]

Upgrading your thermal would be the best move and to stick with the Alpex
Which thermal to go for is not easy, the market is awash with new thermals as well as used thermals
People who are accustomed to Pulsar tend to stick with Pulsar because they are accustomed to the image presentation and the menu and button layout
The next step up in the Pulsar range of thermal monoculars from the Axion key would be the XQ35 or XG35
HIK thermals are very popular with new entrants into the thermal game and also with Pulsar users who are fed up with the Pulsar image presentation that always feels like you're looking at a scene through a thin net curtain
The HIK thermals have a brighter, higher contrast image that allows easier detection of potential targets but give less in target detail than the Pulsar thermals (but you've got an Alpex for target detail)
The HIK thermals are also cheaper on a model for model comparison with Pulsar
For example the HIK Falcon FQ35 and the Pulsar Axion XG35 have essentially the same specifications (12 micron 640 sensor and 35mm lens) but the HIK costs £1800 and the Pulsar costs £2340

Cheers

Bruce

Hi Bruce,
My local shop told me they are selling roughly 3 Hiks to every one Pulsar, spotter do you think this is a realistic estimate?

 

[mealiejimmy]

It probably is
HIK have a much wider range of thermal products than Pulsar and are significantly cheaper on a like for like comparison.
Also, for new entrants to thermal imaging the much brighter "punchier" image on the HIK is more appealing than the duller, lower contrast image on the Pulsars - even although there is more overall information in the Pulsar image

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Acm]

Upgrading your thermal would be the best move and to stick with the Alpex
Which thermal to go for is not easy, the market is awash with new thermals as well as used thermals
People who are accustomed to Pulsar tend to stick with Pulsar because they are accustomed to the image presentation and the menu and button layout
The next step up in the Pulsar range of thermal monoculars from the Axion key would be the XQ35 or XG35
HIK thermals are very popular with new entrants into the thermal game and also with Pulsar users who are fed up with the Pulsar image presentation that always feels like you're looking at a scene through a thin net curtain
The HIK thermals have a brighter, higher contrast image that allows easier detection of potential targets but give less in target detail than the Pulsar thermals (but you've got an Alpex for target detail)
The HIK thermals are also cheaper on a model for model comparison with Pulsar
For example the HIK Falcon FQ35 and the Pulsar Axion XG35 have essentially the same specifications (12 micron 640 sensor and 35mm lens) but the HIK costs £1800 and the Pulsar costs £2340

Cheers

Bruce

How do you rate the Hik stellar scope Bruce?

 

[mealiejimmy]

It's the last of the "first generation" of HIK thermal scopes still being sold, and is due for an upgrade any time
The Thunder and Panther were the other "first generation" thermal scopes from HIK and they have been upgraded to V2.0 with sensors that supposedly are more sensitive to temperature differences, some signal processing tweaks to improve the image and a newer version of the firmware.
That all means that immediately prior to the release of the new Stellar, there will likely be price reductions to get rid of stocks of the existing model and prices for used Stellars will also drop
As for the scope itself, it's an excellent product and a very good thermal scope.
A pal of mine just bought a used SQ50 from another forum member for £1900 and both parties are very happy with the deal they got

Cheers

Bruce

 

[Cyres]

I am using 3x Photons and a Yukon N470s.
All do the job.
Am thinking of upgrading my thermal to one with a range finder. Condor is 1st option but not until they get the battery issues sorted.
Suggest you stick with your scope but consider a thermal spotter upgrade.
D

 

[2704deer]

I rather feel that these electronic scopes are pretty much like any other electronics- quickly outdated and then pretty much worthless.

I suspect most of us have drawer full of old laptops and mobile phones.

And once the electronics fail / become obsolete they really are of very little use.

Good optics on the hand will remain as good optics. I still regularly use a Ross Spotting scope. Good alone knows how old it is - at least 50 I suspect.

I think they have their place , as they are not expensive ,they may fail at some stage .but hey people have spent more money on laptops and phones but still keep upgrading . my optical scopes will e be sold and will out last me