Looking to get into thermal for coyotes ... I’ve been searching old post on here and was pretty set on a mk2 IR hunter. I was talking to a friend who hunts with thermal and he was stressing a rangefinder is a must here in the Nevada dessert. If I were to go the IR route it seems like I would have to hope to find a radius as the Wilcox is just to much, but then I came across the pulsar trail lrf ? Should I stick with the IR hunter or are the trails pretty good ?
Night Vision Pulsar Trail 1.6-12.8x42 LRF XP50 ?
- Thread starter NVScout
- Start date
I’m sure the Pulsar works great, and Trijicon is tough to beat. I’ve heard some Pulsar units have trouble maintaining zero (second hand info as I’ve never used one). The N-Vision Halo LR is certainly worth a look. Add a radius, and you’re set to start slayin! I’m sure others will weigh in as many here have vast amounts of knowledge on this subject and the associated gear.
I currently use a trijicon mk3 60mm (I've had reap 35mm, mk3 35mm, mk2 35mm, armasight Apollo 100mm, pulsar xq38) ; my brother bought an xp50 and a buddy bought an xp38 a month or so ago. The trijicon is definitely superior in image clarity but the pulsars have a great image as well. The pulsars have more bells and whistles such as picture in picture, LRF, built in recorder, rechargeable batteries, 'one shot zero', and a few other things. If I were buying today and knew for certain pulsar had the zero shift issue cured (they have been known to inexplicably lose their zero) I would buy one of those over the others I've had. The LRF would definitely be a nice feature to have in the desert.
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I would stay away from the Pulsar Trail Line. They have had unfixable problems with POA/POI shifting issues to the point that that line is now discontinued and they are just liquidating out the remaining stock.
You can read in detail about all of the problems over at PredatorMasterforums.com then go to sub forum Night Calling then go to a thread named Latest Coyote and Pulsar Warranty Questions. Their are many other threads over that way where members are reporting a lot of POA/POI issues with the Trail Models as well.
The Trail LRF models are still available, and if I had the coin is get one...judging distance in a 5% illum night is a bastard unless you are on extremely familiar property. I've been way off before, and really the only ways around it are to set the focus at a known range (and use it to determine if you are closer/further), and to only shoot at game within your point blank range.
Up until a year and a half ago Trails did have a problem where some had zero shift in changing temperatures. Mine reset to factory zero once...but that could have been a user error as I was just getting used to it...noticed it on only the third hog I shot.
Since then I've used my Trail an average of three times per week, two hours at a time, for sixteen months...so I have an estimated 400 hours on mine with no issues (knock on wood). The battery life and user-friendliness are really hard to beat...but the native magnification and resuloution of Trijicons blow the Trail out of the water.
Up until a year and a half ago Trails did have a problem where some had zero shift in changing temperatures. Mine reset to factory zero once...but that could have been a user error as I was just getting used to it...noticed it on only the third hog I shot.
Since then I've used my Trail an average of three times per week, two hours at a time, for sixteen months...so I have an estimated 400 hours on mine with no issues (knock on wood). The battery life and user-friendliness are really hard to beat...but the native magnification and resuloution of Trijicons blow the Trail out of the water.
I do ok judgeing distance with a PVS14 and an Illuminator shining out to about 500 yards. Kinda like ones ability to judge distance with their eyes during the daytime. Some people are good at judging distance, others not so much. However, most of what I want to shoot I get within 200 yards or less, which makes it relatively easy. I have a Radius, but hardly ever take it out in the field simply because I like to get close enough to my prey that I really don't need it. For longer range yote hunters I can see the real need for a LRF.
Judging distance looking through a T.V. screen (thermal) is a bit more tricky... I was definitely able to do it better when I was using my issued PVS-14s.
I just try to take the error out by having my setup zeroed for 75 yards. I'm Only about 1" off from 50-150 that way, leaving room for a bad range call when I'm on someone else's property.
I'm not sure if I've ever (initially) shot at a coyote beyond a hundred yards. I know I've picked up a few runners past that, but typically I'm shooting at them when they're inside my herds, pestering my calves. Getting close when you're in cattle isn't hard.
For the money, Trail XP50 isn't too bad. I use MKIII 60mm along with Radius and my hunting partner uses XP38 LRF. The trail line doesn't compare at all for image quality, but I have watched him shoot coyotes past 200 yards. The main thing I'd like to convey is that there is no depth preception in thermal. No matter which sight you go with, I feel you will need a range finder. I personally use a 200 yard zero and can get hits out to ~400 yards without giving up the hair line on the back. However, you really need to know how far a dog is and stay within your abilities, otherwise you are just going to educate dogs.
I will tell you first hand the Trail series will not hold zero. Struggled with mine for two years. My hunting partner recently acquired one and his too is shifting. It's not a rumor, it's a fact. The good folks at Sellmark have told me directly there is a problem and there is no fix.
In addition, they have dropped the Trail series and the Trail LRF will be close behind. That means eventually no parts, no support.
I finally got a refund for my Trail XP50 and went with a Trijicon Hunter Mk III 35mm.
In addition, they have dropped the Trail series and the Trail LRF will be close behind. That means eventually no parts, no support.
I finally got a refund for my Trail XP50 and went with a Trijicon Hunter Mk III 35mm.
This is unfortunate for what they have to offer ... seems like the perfect setup for a reasonable price.
