Night Vision Entry Level Thermal Scope

[skatz11]

Asking for a friend (seriously)

What’s the best value for a thermal scope right now? I know nothing about NV and Thermal, but I know a lot of you guys have some serious setups.

My buddy is looking at the ATN Thor in the $2K range. He just wants something decent for blasting raccoons that are trashing his deer feeder.

I was under the impression that good scopes started in the 5K range.

 

[TampaBud]

I'm on my 4th thermal now and can say the best entry scope for midrange usage and identification is probably the Pulsar RXQ30v. Now, the caveat you'll find is that there seems to be a few loyal camps out there: Pulsar, Thermosight and ATN. My biased towards Pulsar is based on distributor I trust, warranty and response time. It tends to vary with each person. You can easily get into a Pulsar RXQ for about $1750-1800. Glad to help any way that I can.

 

[wigwamitus]

The problem with the lowest end pulsars and flirs is they are fixed focus at 50yds ... which means things get really fuzzy beyond 100yds. They cost less, because the manual focus feature, adds cost.

The ATNs are unreliable chinese units and ATN customer service is the worst of the bunch, even worse than FLIR

==
I've had an ATN Thor HD 19mm scope and the review is in my night shooting thread. The biggest problem was on black hot, the display was 100% white ... all pixels were white and no adjustments could correct it. The best ATN CS experience I had was when they told me to send it back, which I did.

==
Right now the lowest priced (new with warranty) thermal with a manual focus is the XQ38mm ... shown price $3,300

https://www.opticsplanet.com/pulsar-pl76501q-trail-xq38-therml-scp.html

Now, OP is in the business of sending out coupons. The 10% coupons get sent out to everyone that buys anything substantial. So, if you call them up and say "I will buy today for 10% more discount" I predict they will say yes. And if they don't, then just say, "Ok thanks, I will think about it" and hang up. I've had them call me back in 5m with a lower offer.

OP does have an issue in terms of stock and it doesn't look like they have these in stock. And well, neither do most dealers. With OP, you might have to wait a month.

If you have to have it ASAP, I'd call Huey Outdoors. Of all the dealers I know, he tries the hardest to have the Pulsars in stock.

And he shows one in stock!

https://www.hueyoutdoors.com/product/xq38-trail-2-1-8-4x32-thermal-riflescope/ But you would have to call and ask for discount.

 

[DownRangeThermal]

I have a single XQ38 in stock as well....besides Huey is dove hunting today...

 

[Steel+Killer]

The problem with the lowest end pulsars and flirs is they are fixed focus at 50yds ... which means things get really fuzzy beyond 100yds. They cost less, because the manual focus feature, adds cost.

The ATNs are unreliable chinese units and ATN customer service is the worst of the bunch, even worse than FLIR

==
I've had an ATN Thor HD 19mm scope and the review is in my night shooting thread. The biggest problem was on black hot, the display was 100% white ... all pixels were white and no adjustments could correct it. The best ATN CS experience I had was when they told me to send it back, which I did.

==
Right now the lowest priced (new with warranty) thermal with a manual focus is the XQ38mm ... shown price $3,300

https://www.opticsplanet.com/pulsar-pl76501q-trail-xq38-therml-scp.html

Now, OP is in the business of sending out coupons. The 10% coupons get sent out to everyone that buys anything substantial. So, if you call them up and say "I will buy today for 10% more discount" I predict they will say yes. And if they don't, then just say, "Ok thanks, I will think about it" and hang up. I've had them call me back in 5m with a lower offer.

OP does have an issue in terms of stock and it doesn't look like they have these in stock. And well, neither do most dealers. With OP, you might have to wait a month.

If you have to have it ASAP, I'd call Huey Outdoors. Of all the dealers I know, he tries the hardest to have the Pulsars in stock.

And he shows one in stock!

https://www.hueyoutdoors.com/product/xq38-trail-2-1-8-4x32-thermal-riflescope/ But you would have to call and ask for discount.

I just bought a new FLIR ThermoSight Pro PTS 536 4-16x50 has manual focus with a 10 year warranty for $3200 so far it has performed great. I got about 100 rounds from a AR10 308 on it so far so good.

 

[jwhjwh54]

Been using my dads pulsar apex 50 and I just got a trail (xm or q can’t remember what’s after the x)30 .

Side by side the apex X something 50 is better. The extra focus is nice. He was able to see the ears on a rabbit about 100 yards away where I couldn’t see as clear. For my use I think the 30 will work since my shots are all 100 and in and we’ll identify hogs with a handheld and the apex 50. At 100 yards zeroing the x30, I got 3 shots on the hand warmer so it’s good enough for that.

I think if we only had one, the xm30 would get the job done but it wouldn’t be as easy. I got mine for $2300.For shooting raccoons or occasional use, I’d go with the pulsar x30 or a flashlight. If you are going out every weekend, then I wouldn’t go with the 30 and I’d save for a 38 at minimum

 

[Chevoke]

PTS 233 hard to beat. I’ve not tried the extra zoom of the 536. But at sub 2k it’s got a decent image and features. I could spot and stalk with it with ease. The size is a big plus in my books. About the size of a PVS14. I’ve been ruined by the Trijicon IR Hunter. Don’t look through one if money is your deciding factor.

 

[TampaBud]

Xq38 was my first thermal.....killed a whole lot of hogs and rabbits with that thermal. The onboard video / shot detection always made for day after laughs because it picks up audio as well. I used it to hand scan and attached a ZRODelta QD. I could literally mount that sucker in 5-10 seconds and it was game on.

 

[fanninland]

....I’ve been ruined by the Trijicon IR Hunter. Don’t look through one if money is your deciding factor.

^^This!^^

 

[tlsmith22]

The problem with the lowest end pulsars and flirs is they are fixed focus at 50yds ... which means things get really fuzzy beyond 100yds. They cost less, because the manual focus feature, adds cost.

The ATNs are unreliable chinese units and ATN customer service is the worst of the bunch, even worse than FLIR

==
I've had an ATN Thor HD 19mm scope and the review is in my night shooting thread. The biggest problem was on black hot, the display was 100% white ... all pixels were white and no adjustments could correct it. The best ATN CS experience I had was when they told me to send it back, which I did.

==
Right now the lowest priced (new with warranty) thermal with a manual focus is the XQ38mm ... shown price $3,300

https://www.opticsplanet.com/pulsar-pl76501q-trail-xq38-therml-scp.html

Now, OP is in the business of sending out coupons. The 10% coupons get sent out to everyone that buys anything substantial. So, if you call them up and say "I will buy today for 10% more discount" I predict they will say yes. And if they don't, then just say, "Ok thanks, I will think about it" and hang up. I've had them call me back in 5m with a lower offer.

OP does have an issue in terms of stock and it doesn't look like they have these in stock. And well, neither do most dealers. With OP, you might have to wait a month.

If you have to have it ASAP, I'd call Huey Outdoors. Of all the dealers I know, he tries the hardest to have the Pulsars in stock.

And he shows one in stock!

https://www.hueyoutdoors.com/product/xq38-trail-2-1-8-4x32-thermal-riflescope/ But you would have to call and ask for discount.

Wigwamitus steered me towards the same scope when I was in the market. His reviews were spot on and I am very pleased with the scope. Trust his judgement!