I actually settled on the IR Defense Hunter mk III and saved up the 9k needed but decided to wait until the thermal market settles a bit. I think the IRD (now Trijicon and even higher priced) may be overkill for close up shots and would prefer more fov (at least 18 degrees). I don't really like the joystick controls, I prefer knobs, and with the new Pulsars having built-in recording for a little over half the price, I can wait. With my LS64 and D740, I am not suffering in any way. I could go to the IRD mkII, but the company kind of threw buyers of that model under the bus by not coming up with promised upgrades when the MKIII came out. I don't think for entry level $$ the sightmark photon can be beat. I have a 4.6 on a Savage A17 for shooting critters inside my buildings.
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