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Night Vision A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

the impactzone

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 5, 2011
200
0
64
texas
First off I will say the Wild River Ranch is a man cave dream!

Where else will you look for a coffee cup in a kitchen cabinet only to find ammo and mags!, sit on the front porch to watch Trophy Deer and the occasional coyote or hog cross the rifle range out to 900 yard as you drink your morning coffee?
They herd me barking inside trying to get a coyote on the 300 yard line to stop as I went for my rifle. I’m sure they were wondering if I was on the porch chasing my tail. LOL

I’m impressed with the M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro, My observations are

1. M845 Dot recital is nice and small, it is a small 2moa, which is great for precision shot placement yet in a dark contrast as in night hunting it is plenty large for sight/target acquisition, and you can up the brightness level of the dot from, off/ high/med/low/no dot

2. With the Troch Pro IR I could not tell any difference in performance between it and the gen 3 D760 6X other than the 6x power out to 200 yards this was under overcast and no moon! Clear and sharp image! The M845 made use of the extra light from the torch pro taking the performance to well above Gen 2 and beyond gen 3 without additional IR


3. The M845 is an ideal entry level NV scope for someone who is limited to shots under 200 yards, put a Torch pro IR on it and 300 yards is not out of reason, I was making 300 yards shots on a steel hog target at night then again during the day with the day cover on it, as long as the target contrast is there you can make the hits during the day. The question is how comfortable are you with a dot recital at longer ranges This was with a stock Colt Car-15 223 1/7 shooting 77 gr SMK.

4. Torch Pro, what can I say but it rules! The speed that adjustment can be made with the beam is great! I found this to be ideal when changing stands and the field of view changed, I could adjust the bean to just fill the field of view or smaller so as to not get a blooming effect off of brush or close cover. I will order another, and have one on all my NV equipped rifles !

Wild River Ranch
Good guys, they know Hogs, Deer, NV and Hunting! They have a sound management program in place and it shows in the property and the lay out. We spent more time on the patio talking than hunting, as is often with new friends) but the time in the field was as fun as any I have ever spent. The last stand we called in a coyote and spent 20 minutes back and forth with challenge barks and howls with the coyote only giving us one chance at a shot, that Chris passed on wanting more film, yet I could hear him whispering under his breath “just give me one more piece of flesh you dirty dog and I’ll give you some suppressed 6.8 in the face” . The first stand we called one in that Chris spotted with the thermal out at 300 + yards, I watch in the M845 as he came charging in, pushing a large doe out of the way, only to stop for a brief instant before heading into the thick brush, he showed himself one more time before getting our scent and bugging out. 3 stands 2 dogs called in both came in downwind from 200 yards out. My thought was that a lot of the property is thick brush with sendero’s 50-100 yards wide they tend to rely on scent more than visuals, and this will be a classic place for some of Tony Tebbe’s secret sauce to bring them out into the open and a slight change in tactics for coyotes .

So in closeing,
Torch Pro A+
M845 gen 2 SHP A+
Wild River Ranch A+ can’t wait to go back
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Man, that is a great report and nice to hear you have more secret sauce left in reserve for future outings.

Sometimes calling them in and working them good without ultimately making a kill ends up being a first class exciting hunt, besides they will be back again and even more difficult to take down next time making it even more of a challenge.

That M-845 sounds like an excellent introductory NV scope for newbies that want to get into NV gear.
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

For those of you who do not know Wild River Ranch, you can scope it out here:

http://www.wildriverranch.net/

Nice to know they are getting a good education in NV coyote hunting....
wink.gif
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Great report, I think I need to get a Torch Pro. Be nice to have a handheld when I am scanning. I have a PEQ-2 on the gun so I am covered.

Standing by for pics!
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: the impactzone</div><div class="ubbcode-body">First off I will say the Wild River Ranch is a man cave dream!

Where else will you look for a coffee cup in a kitchen cabinet only to find ammo and mags!, sit on the front porch to watch Trophy Deer and the occasional coyote or hog cross the rifle range out to 900 yard as you drink your morning coffee?
They herd me barking inside trying to get a coyote on the 300 yard line to stop as I went for my rifle. I’m sure they were wondering if I was on the porch chasing my tail. LOL

I’m impressed with the M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro, My observations are

1. M845 Dot recital is nice and small, it is a small 2moa, which is great for precision shot placement yet in a dark contrast as in night hunting it is plenty large for sight/target acquisition, and you can up the brightness level of the dot from, off/ high/med/low/no dot

2. With the Troch Pro IR I could not tell any difference in performance between it and the gen 3 D760 6X other than the 6x power out to 200 yards this was under overcast and no moon! Clear and sharp image! The M845 made use of the extra light from the torch pro taking the performance to well above Gen 2 and beyond gen 3 without additional IR


3. The M845 is an ideal entry level NV scope for someone who is limited to shots under 200 yards, put a Torch pro IR on it and 300 yards is not out of reason, I was making 300 yards shots on a steel hog target at night then again during the day with the day cover on it, as long as the target contrast is there you can make the hits during the day. The question is how comfortable are you with a dot recital at longer ranges This was with a stock Colt Car-15 223 1/7 shooting 77 gr SMK.

4. Torch Pro, what can I say but it rules! The speed that adjustment can be made with the beam is great! I found this to be ideal when changing stands and the field of view changed, I could adjust the bean to just fill the field of view or smaller so as to not get a blooming effect off of brush or close cover. I will order another, and have one on all my NV equipped rifles !

Wild River Ranch
Good guys, they know Hogs, Deer, NV and Hunting! They have a sound management program in place and it shows in the property and the lay out. We spent more time on the patio talking than hunting, as is often with new friends) but the time in the field was as fun as any I have ever spent. The last stand we called in a coyote and spent 20 minutes back and forth with challenge barks and howls with the coyote only giving us one chance at a shot, that Chris passed on wanting more film, yet I could hear him whispering under his breath “just give me one more piece of flesh you dirty dog and I’ll give you some suppressed 6.8 in the face” . The first stand we called one in that Chris spotted with the thermal out at 300 + yards, I watch in the M845 as he came charging in, pushing a large doe out of the way, only to stop for a brief instant before heading into the thick brush, he showed himself one more time before getting our scent and bugging out. 3 stands 2 dogs called in both came in downwind from 200 yards out. My thought was that a lot of the property is thick brush with sendero’s 50-100 yards wide they tend to rely on scent more than visuals, and this will be a classic place for some of Tony Tebbe’s secret sauce to bring them out into the open and a slight change in tactics for coyotes .

So in closing,
Torch Pro A+
M845 gen 2 SHP A+
Wild River Ranch A+ can’t wait to go back
</div></div>

Great report! Your opening paragraph said it so well...It's an amazing place with a cigar too!

Seriously though, Chris and the staff there know hog, deer and fowl hunting like no others and they teach that art in an amazing way. It looks as you brought a lot to the Yote hunting table yourself which is well known, and I wish I could have been there!

It was good to see you talk about he M845's. When I first got one in my hands a few years back, I was pretty darn shocked how good the image was. I still own one today and this unit with it's 2 MOA dot and gobs of FOV is the quickest dedicated NV scope out there I can shoot on the move with.

I've said it for years now, the M845 is the best bang for your resolution dollar. Coupled with the new Torch Pro you were using, is a pretty impressive package for under 2K.

Looking forward to the pics and love Chris's quote, <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">“Just give me one more piece of flesh you dirty dog and I’ll give you some suppressed 6.8 in the face”.</span> </span> LoL, sounds like a new Sig line!

Thanks again for the report and the gear review. A lot of time and effort went into the Torch Pro to perform the way it does.

Vic
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Thank you, Phil! We really enjoyed the outing, too.

We will continue to hone our skills with varmints, and your expertise is obvious with these tough to hunt critters. High quality NV and thermal sure helps!
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Well your dogs gave me a test thats for sure, I was thinking in property that has not been called they would charge right in, but thinking back to my PHD with Tony Tebbe a coyote does two things survive & eat and will forgo eating, inorder to survive! allways! in your country they use smell more because of the brush and its a added safety factor for them. the second thought was if they are going to downwind you make them come into the open to do so, we pooched it a bit on that last stand, had we been on the other side of the dry lake bed he may have hung up in the open instead of 50 yards in the brush behind us, another reason to scout in the day before your hunt at night.

Hey we called in two on three stands that to me said we did something right, and we didn't shoot a deer or any unitended target, yes we both could have shot them but caution and the thought they would come in just a bit closer was in order!
with Coyotes thats a win, and they left un-educated, no shots fired.
with that said i'm going down the street to try a stand or two with the M845 and torch pro.

and yes if i'd have had thsi equipment 10 years ago man would i have killed some predators
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

That truly is what coyote hunting is all about, well said.
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Our lease is a couple of hours south of Chris's place between san diego and benavides. I have to say those dam dogs are tough tough to call in. We have a huge population of them on the place, seeing several on each stand during day hunts crossing sanderos. At night there very vocal all around you in every direction. 3 years ago I heard a doe in distress while hunting. Saw 8-10 dogs crossing my sandero's from every direction.

However, they have so much cover when calling they work up to you in the brush, and catch your wind. You'll see them cross a sandero 400 yards out then into the brush. If they do come out you better be fast because there not sticking around very long. I to thought it would be easy hunting due to nobody hunting them. Ha! Never been more wrong!
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

km2006dmax, some of the most intense night hunting experiences I've ever had have been with coyotes on a red hot stand lasting 20-30-40 minutes of very exciting non-stop adrenaline pumping hunting, almost like a nice spring gobbler hunt but even better.

Like impactzone said, their #1 thing is survival and they are well equipped with their senses to attain that goal....

Dead%20Dog.jpg

NV%20Coyote%202.jpg
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

I've really enjoyed hunting the yotes here lately. I am one of those hunters that has shot deer from a stand for 30+ years. That pursuit has now become more about harvest management and meat than anything else, so hunting hogs really got my hunting instincts back up and running 10 years ago.

Hunting coyotes with a call is just as exciting. Calling in any kind of animal is a skill that many hunters will sadly never experience...you actually become involved in that animals mindset. Pretty cool!

Whether its Ducks & geese, hogs or yotes, that is the true essence of hunting.

You guys are spot on. My terrain is mixed river bottom, riparian forest, and upland prairie. These dogs do use the cover, and attempt to "see" with their noses, as they approach. Hogs do this, too, which is why its easier to sneak up on them, rather than to try to get them to come into where you are sitting.
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

Great stuff guys I would rather be hunting coyotes or pigs than deer now-a-days myself. I just enjoy the faster pace and more shooting vs sitting for months waiting to shoot a buck or two. On the M845 scopes I have had the 1.5X and 2.5X models I have always loved them and remember looking at pictures many years ago from Israel with M845's on rifles thinking one day I will own my own m845. Overall they just are a cool piece of history and a damm good scope for the money!
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

HTR707, I'm working on a soultion for my next trip down, got the mice in the blender, a dipper on the bitch in heat and a cathader in the coyote as we speak. LOL I may have to market it as coyote crack.
The big thing I get out of predator hunting over all other types of hunitng is the fact that you are now the hunted not the hunter and the change in tactics is way cool, often times your just lulling them into a false sence of security, hunger or greed, reguardless if your a two or four legged predator the tactics work wonders, LOL
really if you ever hear a kitten in distress under your front pourch,,,, go out the back door
 
Re: A night at WRR with M845 gen2 SHP and Torch Pro

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: the impactzone</div><div class="ubbcode-body">HTR707, I'm working on a soultion for my next trip down, got the mice in the blender, a dipper on the bitch in heat and a cathader in the coyote as we speak. LOL I may have to market it as coyote crack.
The big thing I get out of predator hunting over all other types of hunitng is the fact that you are now the hunted not the hunter and the change in tactics is way cool, often times your just lulling them into a false sence of security, hunger or greed, reguardless if your a two or four legged predator the tactics work wonders, LOL
really if you ever hear a kitten in distress under your front pourch,,,, go out the back door </div></div>

LOL, I'm liking that way that attractant sounds!! Stay in touch.