Thermal

finnbear270

Well-Known Member
Anyone using thermal rifle scopes for a good while on here?, looking to thin out the products available, cutting to the chase, NOT required: Video output,or any other encumbrances not connected to target acquisition/recognition, should range out to fox id @ 350 yards minimum,High refresh rate, weight is an issue, colour pallettes a bonus but not a must, what are the options?:tiphat:
 
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after 14,870 posts on the SD finnbear270 one would think that you would be well versed in all things thermal as you must have spent an extraordinary amount of dedication on here.. lol!
 
after 14,870 posts on the SD finnbear270 one would think that you would be well versed in all things thermal as you must have spent an extraordinary amount of dedication on here.. lol!

Only recently decided to follow the trend for thermal equipment, I have been using a Ward monocular for a while, very pleased with it, so going to make the move in full soon.
 
I've been using what is effecitvely a Ward 75-6 (I bought mine direct from China) for the best part of 2 years now.
My experience is very, very positive.
I've shot foxes out to 320 yards with it although most are between 80-150 yards.
It's possible to spot foxes much, much further away than that, but, as you'll know from using a thermal spotter, identification comes largely from how the potential target is moving and behaving.
Most foxes simply don't know you're anywhere near them and that definitely improves the numbers shot
Go for the biggest lensed scope you can afford, and at the moment, that means 75mm - Pulsar don't do anything bigger than 50mm in their current range, their only 75mm thermal scope uses an older, larger sensor which results in lower magnification
The WT1-75-3 is definitely the best bang for your buck, the 75-6 is significantly more expensive, but has no more resolution than the 75-3.
With the 75-3 you get more magnification and a narrow field of view. In the 75-6 you get less magnification, but a wider field of view. In terms of the smallest thing that each can detect, both are the same.
The Ward scopes don't have a shutter for re calibration so there is no annoying loss of picture just at the moment you want to take the shot.
They have f 1.0 lenses (better than the Pulsars)and 800x600 OLED near eye displays (again, better than the Pulsars)
Since I started using a thermal scope I've never once been in a situation where I would have preferred to use digital or tubed NV or a normal scope and lamp instead of the thermal scope.

Cheers

Bruce
 
ID-ing animals depends a good deal on how good you are identifying species by behaviour, gait, etc. and not just by shape, etc. It doesn't take long to be able reliably to tell a roe deer from a muntjac in TI (though sexing either may be another matter) [I'm not imagining any sort of night-shooting scenario here, BTW], but it can be surprisingly hard to tell a fox from a badger: a running badger can look a lot like a fox, and a fox mooching about after worms can look very "badgery". The more you use the gear, the better you get at species identification, but rock-solid, 100%, shoot/no-shoot ID at 350m and beyond is at the edge of what accessibly-priced, consumer oriented TI can currently deliver.

My recommendation -if price is most important- would be a S/H Pulsar Apex 75, followed by a Trail XP50 -more expensive, but more features (a good battery for starters). I admit I've only used the Pulsars, though, not the models sold by Clive Ward.
 
The latest Apex is very good, however personally I don't think thermal is yet good enough to guarantee positive ID every time at greater ranges than about 150 yards. A lot depends on atmospheric conditions on the night. Spotting is one thing shooting is another I know of one or two mistakes that have been made when the shooter was positive he was sure of what he was looking at!
 
I am seriously considering the ward add on, I can't justify the cost of a dedicated nv and I use the rifle for day work too. I'm hijacking the thread here but does anyone with the ward have any good or bad points to impart? I have a 6-18 leupold vx6 on the vartarg and I'm hoping that I won't have to move the scope forward, the recoil on the VT is very light so this shouldn't be a problem? Right? Also I have a night master lamp which I believe can take an IR LED, would this be man enough for 2-300yd work?
cheers
 
I am seriously considering the ward add on, I can't justify the cost of a dedicated nv and I use the rifle for day work too. I'm hijacking the thread here but does anyone with the ward have any good or bad points to impart? I have a 6-18 leupold vx6 on the vartarg and I'm hoping that I won't have to move the scope forward, the recoil on the VT is very light so this shouldn't be a problem? Right? Also I have a night master lamp which I believe can take an IR LED, would this be man enough for 2-300yd work?
cheers

NM800 - Get Clive Ward's Oslon Black Sun pill and you should be OK at that range. Or spend £80 more and get a complete SunnRanger or Solaris complete. Unit is uglier than an ugly thing, but does the job you would want it to do.
 
I am seriously considering the ward add on, I can't justify the cost of a dedicated nv and I use the rifle for day work too. I'm hijacking the thread here but does anyone with the ward have any good or bad points to impart? I have a 6-18 leupold vx6 on the vartarg and I'm hoping that I won't have to move the scope forward, the recoil on the VT is very light so this shouldn't be a problem? Right? Also I have a night master lamp which I believe can take an IR LED, would this be man enough for 2-300yd work?
cheers

Correct, you're highjacking the thread.
Please start a new thread with your question about the Ward and I'm sure you'll get lots of useful replies - including from me

Cheers

Bruce
 
Only recently decided to follow the trend for thermal equipment, I have been using a Ward monocular for a while, very pleased with it, so going to make the move in full soon.

As you have noted I was having a laugh..I myself am in the same predicament,wanting to know more and its all been said previously but finding it again is the problem.

I will follow this thread with interest also,there have been a few times that I could have done with thermal in wispy fog when sneaking up to a dead cow for wild dogs.
 
Suggest you contact sussex fallow on here as he using the latest ward Thermal. Lots of dead fox, so he is your man

D
 
I've used both pulsar xp38 and xp50 and own the ward. It's like comparing a Rolex with a timex. Ward wins hands down.
 
Time to refresh a thread methinks, I let the Ward spotter go after much enjoyment and success on the Foxes, After plenty of squinting thru different stuff & ummi'n & arri'n,:lol:, I was lucky enough to latch onto a year old (As new condition) Pulsar Helion XP50 at an unrealistic knockdown price of £2500 :shock: complete with all the bits & bobs papers box etc ... used it to spot a fortnight ago in very very prolonged 18 hours rainstorm, consequently the Roe were never going to venture out, It was so bad the rain, that a Barn owl had dropped out of flight so badly was it soaked, into the centre of the lane I was using on the way to the ground, poor beggar never stood a chance, Apart from no deer seen, I was able to observe squirrels moving around in the trees to quite a depth, other raptors also that were more sheltered at times, ... the following weekend I returned, out at 4 am, well before 7 am first light, A revelation it was !! .. two portions of the forest lease were as far as I could check devoid of life, no mice , no birds, no squirrels NOTHING, a trek over to the opposite boundary revealed six doe's very relaxed feeding & moving about, & on leaving that boundary on the reverse side of the block a further two doe's in company with a smallish buck, the light was now up enough to make final checks but no shot as they were now threading in & out of the timber. Very impressed with the TI unit. As to TI scopes, I think I would maybe when affordable, mount one for fox permanently on the .243, I sourced for other work that I did not in the end take up.
 
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