Thermal vs Night vision scopes
- Thread starter Aps_223
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FirstBlood
Active Member
Thermal all day long !
, there’s some decent budget friendly thermals from Pard and other makes however it’s just safer using thermal as anything that’s alive you’ll spot easier , I’ve lost count of how many “walkers “ wonder into fields they shouldn’t at night and with a good field of view on thermal you’ll spot them way before any shots taken , night vision will not give you that .for me That “ back up” is worth any extra money outlay all day long . This may not be to applicable if your only shooting rats but nonetheless safety is key and plus you’ll spot the rats waaay quicker with thermal .
, there’s some decent budget friendly thermals from Pard and other makes however it’s just safer using thermal as anything that’s alive you’ll spot easier , I’ve lost count of how many “walkers “ wonder into fields they shouldn’t at night and with a good field of view on thermal you’ll spot them way before any shots taken , night vision will not give you that .for me That “ back up” is worth any extra money outlay all day long . This may not be to applicable if your only shooting rats but nonetheless safety is key and plus you’ll spot the rats waaay quicker with thermal .
Aps_223
Active Member
Aps_223
Active Member
DNT. That is a multi spectral.
The reason I like it for ratting is that, the thermal picks up the rat heat source, the pip set up as nv identifies that it is definitely a rat, and more importantly, if I am shooting in the barns, that I am not shooting a rat sitting on a hydraulic hose which could cause a lot of monies worth of damage and get me shouted at. Best of both worlds.
The downside, is 2 rings to focus.
The reason I like it for ratting is that, the thermal picks up the rat heat source, the pip set up as nv identifies that it is definitely a rat, and more importantly, if I am shooting in the barns, that I am not shooting a rat sitting on a hydraulic hose which could cause a lot of monies worth of damage and get me shouted at. Best of both worlds.
The downside, is 2 rings to focus.
FirstBlood
Active Member
I always do , I have a pulsar Merger for scanning , and thermion Scope for putting the critter down !.. Best investment I ever made .
Flash G 74
Well-Known Member
Hello, Scan with a Thermal spotter and a use a normal night vision scope, Saves waving your rifle about, I can never see the point on ratting with a thermal scope as all you have is coloured blobs and 30/40 yards maximum, I have shot 10s of 100s over 25 years with ordinary night vision, If rats are in grass/ hedge./ pallets farm junk/ you can see with thermal before taking a shot, For the price of thermal scopes you can get a spotter and night vision scope,, I am still using a 15 year old night scope with separate I/R torch, But then each to their own
FirstBlood
Active Member
My thermal Pulsar merger at the range of 30/40 yards i can count the hairs on his nostrils ..no coloured blobs here 
as you say it’s what you get used to , for me thermal gives me benefit of picking up the target quick , when I’m out foxing many times a second fox has come into the field of view unexpectedly .night vision doesn’t give you that luxury. But as others have said if you can stretch the budget multi-spectral is best of both .
as you say it’s what you get used to , for me thermal gives me benefit of picking up the target quick , when I’m out foxing many times a second fox has come into the field of view unexpectedly .night vision doesn’t give you that luxury. But as others have said if you can stretch the budget multi-spectral is best of both .
One on top of two
Well-Known Member
Spot with thermal ( hik condor V2 )
Shoot with alpex 4K or Drone pro x10
Shoot with alpex 4K or Drone pro x10
Aps_223
Active Member
Aps_223
Active Member
Yes I have noticed they can get spooked by IR sometimes as well.
Aps_223
Active Member
Spot fox, rat etc. with thermal spotter.
Look through N V on rifle only to loose sight of quarry.
Back on thermal, well why couldn't I see it?
Maybe because your target does not stand still while you faf about with the ir and NV, or it's moving through scrub.
Spot with thermal.
Look through thermal on rifle, dead quarry.
As for IDing quarry. If a fox is moving, with experience, it can be identified at great distances with a good thermal scope, see it, move to intercept if required.
Thermal spotter, find it, thermal rifle scope, shoot it.
If you have the budget, thermal should be first choice. Spend as much as you can afford.
With very few exceptions, (identification) of stationary couched up foxes in a field full of lambs for instance.
In the above instance, wait, squeaki, shout, wait some more. When you are 100% sure shoot it.
NV cannot compete with thermal for finding, acquiring and dispatching quarry.
FirstBlood
Active Member
Amen to that
For ratting, I prefer thermal + thermal. The transition is faster, which matters when targets come in and out of view quicker. Also, there's no backscatter issue around buildings, pallets, machinery, etc. Finally, there's no danger of misidentifying a target, other than mistaking mice for young rats, which may or may not matter. If it does, shoot only the bigger animals.
For foxing, thermal + digital is perfectly OK. Multispectral + digital is even better. There's rarely any backscatter in an open field, and there are more potential species to misidentify (I e., lambs, cats, badgers, muntjac). You may think you have made a 100% identification before putting the rifle up to the animal: but if you've got it wrong, digital is more likely to show you.
With multispectral devices, IMO, thermal should always be in the main window (for detection) and day/NV in PiP (for identification), or switch between channels (thermal > digital) entirely.
Take your time to ID your quarry before putting the rifle up, and even then, double-check.
For foxing, thermal + digital is perfectly OK. Multispectral + digital is even better. There's rarely any backscatter in an open field, and there are more potential species to misidentify (I e., lambs, cats, badgers, muntjac). You may think you have made a 100% identification before putting the rifle up to the animal: but if you've got it wrong, digital is more likely to show you.
With multispectral devices, IMO, thermal should always be in the main window (for detection) and day/NV in PiP (for identification), or switch between channels (thermal > digital) entirely.
Take your time to ID your quarry before putting the rifle up, and even then, double-check.
Aps_223
Active Member
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