Night Vision Thermal Rifle Scopes: Comparisons/Reviews...?

[MicanopyMike]

Hello, All--

Please forgive any thread posting protocol errors-- I am new
to this forum and am not sure how to make it all work!

I am a newbie to thermal rifle scopes and am having trouble finding
credible, knowledgeable reviews/comparisons between the various
offerings that are within my available budget of around $12K. I have
decided that a 640X480 sensor is a must and that a magnification
factor of 1.5X is entirely adequate for my application.

My location here in N. Central Florida is over-run with feral hog.
A neighbor is a retired Fla game-officer and we have been
harvesting feral hog and giving them to needy families. Harvest
totals have been running 1 and 3 per week. More could
easily be taken but my available free time to spend in the
field is limited. I had been using a PVS-14 (Pinnacle version)
but have sold it in anticipation of acquiring a thermal rifle
scope to replace it with.

I am new to thermal rifle scopes but I am also a retired TV station
Chief Engineer and have an electrical engineering background so
understanding the technical aspects of thermal rifle scopes is not
an issue for me.

My issue is finding credible comparisons between the several
available choices within my budget limit of around $12K.
Obviously, the "Ford" dealer is going to say that his
product is the way to go and likewise for the "Toyota" dealer.
My problem is finding credible, impartial comparisons between
the various brands & models.

Thanks for any assistance with this!

Any thoughts or suggestions will be very much appreciated.

 

[SkyPup]

Mike, I live in Archer and have a FLIR T-50 and a FLIR T-60 Thermal Weapon Scopes as well as FLIR PS-32 and FLIR LS-64.

Thermal Weapon scopes are ideal for taking out hogs.

We have the hog removal contract on Paynes Prairie State park.

PM me for more information.

Here is some info on FLIR T-50 Thermal scopes here in this thread:

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/showthread.php?t=127470

 

[1whobuys]

I had the ATN Thor 320 4.5X in 60HZ and it was very nice but I figured if I was going to spend the money that I'd go all out and get the 640 5X.
I looked at as going from 2nd gen. NV to gen. Pinnacle, ATN has a deal that you can get the Thor and try it, if you don't like it in 10 days or so you can send it back.
I did this with the 320 and received full credit including shipping. I saved a bit more and about a month later I ordered the 640 5X, it should be here any day.
The Thor is small enough to be hand held and operated, it also comes with the quick release weapons mount.
The 4.5X had a 50mm objective lens and I think the 640 5 power is a 90mm - 95mm lens.
With the 50mm lens the weight is around 2 pounds, the 90mm is closer to 3 pounds.
Check out the specs at ATN.com
And when you are ready for pricing contact Bruce @ bestprice4Uperiod.com
He was great to deal with, my orders went flawlessly and his pricing was great
A 1.5X in 640 will be WAY under your budget from Bruce.
And if down the road if you want to upgrade from a 30hz to a 60hz you can send it back to ATN and just pay the difference, on a 640 5X it is $500.00 for the upgrade.
The main internal processor is from FLIR, the housing is cut from a solid piece of aluminum and I found the unit to be very solid.

With the 320 I could make out Geese at 250+ yards on the lake. People walking down the street were very easy to make out if they had anything in their hands at 450+ yards.
I could make out the 6" boards with ease in my fence at 430' on the back of my property.
All of this was with the standard power of the scope, I didn't need to zoom it.
Day or night didn't make a difference and it is a stand alone Scope, no need to have a day scope or mate it up to any other scope, it does it all in one.

Tell Bruce that Chuck in Normal said to give you a good deal

BTW..I only know Bruce from dealing with him online..he's been good to go with my transactions.

 

[shooter6.5]

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-thermal-weapon-sight-raytheon-w1000-9-a.html


Good thread on a good piece of gear

 

[Doug S]

A buddy of mine just ordered the Thor 640.
I can't wait to look thru it.
It is priceyu compared to night vision but it is in a another class.

 

[1whobuys]

How about an update on the Thermals…I have had the ATN Thor a couple months short of a year, it is a wonderful scope.
In N.M. we could sit and watch Coyotes eating cow paddies at 650 yards and see it on their tongues with ease without any zoom.
Batteries run about 8 hours or so..and I never really use the 10, 20 or 40 zoom, the 5X easily covers 700 yards.
Doing it over I would get the 2.5X instead of the 5X, %X is a bit much up close the the house when you want to pop a Raccoon in the back yard

So what did you guys get and how does it do?