Originally Posted By: P&YOriginally Posted By: cmateraI'm where P&Y would be if he could have cashed out. I'm out of the thermal game. Too expensive, too unreliable. I said a long time ago, that I felt the technology was just not quite there yet (at least in the commercial market), and my feelings haven't changed. I'm not going to go out and freeze my 66 y/o stones off in the middle of the night to have a scope I can't hit my target with.
Couldn't agree more. I know some have had good luck and I'm glad for them. That said, I really doubt there's a product that can hold up for me. The brands I've tried are not ready for the field. I believe the companies know this and shouldn't be selling them.
I'm going to give everyone on here some advice. My intent is not to be uncongenial, but helpful.
Thermals are electronics, you are looking at a display, there is no mechanical components making adjustments like a day optic, the only thing mechanical on them is the mount and how it is attached to your base.
Secure your mount, torque it to spec, possibly even a bit more, use lock-tite on your bolts/screws, just to eliminate the variable of a possible loose mount, especially when it's being subject to harsh weather swings, and abuse. We just went out last week in some -40, this week it's 60, a 100 degree temp swing can mess with things, but we have had solid luck with our units performing from one extreme to the other.
VERIFY ZERO, Often. I verify zero at least every other night. I learned that a long time ago, with Trijicon. I did it with Pulsar, I did it with old ATN's, I did it with FLIR, IRAY, Armasite, AGM, N-Vision, All of them.
I trust a thermals capability of holding zero, about as much as I trust my 8K dollar computer to save my Premiere Pro Project automatically... I don't.
Get over the mindset of thinking your going to zero you system once, then it's done. There is no easy way of doing things if you want to have repeated success. Heck I verify my brand new Leupold MKV's on our custom rifles every single time before we go make day sets, just to eliminate a costly error that can be avoided. Should I have to? No, but I can guarantee you this, it's saved my a$$ a lot more times than once.
NOW, I'm not saying you should have a blurry image, because you shouldn't, That's wrong, and should be fixed, unless you didn't properly adjust your diopter, followed up with your focus.
AND, I'm not saying you should have a zero shift everytime you power down, then power up.
WHAT, I am saying is pay attention, an optic that doesn't utilize mechanical adjustments is trusted only by digital memory, that I personally think can fail and is less trustworthy than mechanical.
When my autotrac goes down in my JD, I always have my mechanical folding markers.
