Thermal in woods

In my experience thermal does not work very well in the woods. Way too many warm tree trunks, stumps, etc. for me to distinguish a target from the background clutter.
 
Originally Posted By: 1trkyhntrIn my experience thermal does not work very well in the woods. Way too many warm tree trunks, stumps, etc. for me to distinguish a target from the background clutter.

I often wondered about that. I have limited field experience with my thermal and just getting comfortable with it now. I have worn it to check my trail cam at the bait pile at night and caught a opossum coming through the woods rather easily.

The thought has crossed my mind to set up a shotgun and try it in the woods. It might get pretty fast and furious making the switch to shotgun mounted with a light once one gets into range.
 
I thought my HD19A did very well in the woods. I was looking for a wounded hog and could see mice running through the woods, I spotted live pigs 100 yds through the woods. Later got a pic of the wounded hog at a feeder so the hog survived for another day or 10. I was impressed with the thermal.
 
I would believe it's easy to spot movement.

I knew I need to flip the pulsar out of the way on rifle hunts and was hoping to be able to shoulder the shotgun without flipping it but that won't work either.

I'm thinking laser and shoot from the hip
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I always thought if you had a light with reasonably tight beam you could center target in the spot
of the beam with a shotgun as long as you aren't shooting a super tight pattern.

Just got thermal and am learning how to use it effectively.
Been an eye opener out with it 3 times and seen 5 animals would not have even know were there with out it. One I spotted as we approached calling location was mousing in field about 300 yd out as soon as the call started it turn an ran.
 
I will add this based on my experience. On sunny days the trees/stumps/rocks absorb heat and retain it for a while after dark. Maybe after they have cooled off it won't be so bad. I don't know because I don't hunt much past 9:00pm. On cloudy days the trees don't absorb as much heat and don't glow as much. So I guess that it depends a lot on daytime sun as to how much problem that you will have with thermal in the woods. I have tried numerous times to find a shot animal that ran into the woods and I have not had a lot of success with the thermal. Too much clutter.
 
I use mine around wooded areas, thick shrubs & yuccas, those things hold heat just about all night long, even wood fence posts. The main thing is movement on a horizontal front and they will stick out. I have lost coyotes waling along creek bottoms full of thick trees as white as a body, but just figuring where they are walking you can pick them up.
 
i'll be up north next weekend. im curious of this myself, and was planning to head back in the woods and see how things looked from one of our elevated box blinds.

its not super thick back in that area, i'd call it mature hardwoods with not a lot of ground clutter in close.

i'll try to get some video from the FLIR while i'm there.
 
Originally Posted By: weekenderI thought my HD19A did very well in the woods.

Same here, especially if your out with snow on the ground and theirs good contrast between the environment and something with body heat. I've seen a fox a good ways in the hardwoods entangled with brush and mice/rabbits at far distances, regardless it needs some clear path to see the heat... it's not xray vision.
 

This could not and would not have ever happened without thermal in the heavy timber. We made a late evening stand, edge of dark in a Pine cutover where the pines had grown back to about 15-20 feet tall and had been thinned once already, you can imagine how thick that is. We hunted till total darkness fell, no use to scan with a red light in cover, but Cooper had his thermal and picked this gal up sneaking in through the pines. He made a real nice shot as she stepped into a narrow opening.


 
I actually sit in my tree stand in the timber all the time hunting with mine. I will say an open fields are "easier", but I have no issues seeing animals or anything like that. Nothing blends in. An animals temperature is much greater then a tree's.
 
I use mine in the woods for some stands but you need a fairly open woods and it depends on the temperature of things. It will work so use it when you can. If you can see good durn the day you can see good with the thermal.
 
I would say all depends on the woods really. Just remember thermal vision doesn't equal xray vision.

If you are hunting high pines or hard woods with little under brush they work very well especially if u can get elevated some.

If you are hunting some high brushy or high grass areas you most likely wont see them before they wind you. It insulates their heat sig.
 
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Originally Posted By: JMAHow well does it work hunting in the woods at night using thermal?
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I used mine in the woods every single day that I hunted deer this past year (45 days). Incredibly useful and really helps keep the board on away. You would not believe the deer you spot that you would have never noticed before. At night it is super easy to distinguish an animal from a tree. At least it is with an IR Patrol.
 
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