Low cost thermal

Chaney2169

New member
hey guys I was hoping that someone would have some insight on the low cost thermal scopes and scanning units. i am thinkin about ordering a LD19a but i keep looking at the flir scouts and also the seek xr handhelds. im pretty green when it comes to thermal units so im trying to learn a little before i purchase one of these. is there a huge difference between the handheld seek xr units and the pulsar Ld19a? i dont want to spend the extra 900 dollars on the pulsar if its not necessary. I will be using it to scan while coyote hunting and possibly using it to scan before walking into the woods to deer hunt. Hopefully it will keep from scaring deer while walking into my stand. thanks in advance!
 
When looking at specs, check the detector resolution. A 336x256 detector of the FLIR Scout or 19a will provide higher resolution at distance than Scout TK 160x120 detector. In the end, you get what you pay for. The higher end detectors, 640x320, will command the highest prices, but provide the best resolution.

I bought a Scout 320 and look at it as, for my application it was a "buy once, cry once" and I am still happy with my purchase.
 
I ended up with the xd19a and after having it I am glad I didn't go with a lesser model. I can't ever see needing to upgrade as long as it keeps working.
 
thank you for the responses, i agree with both of you and i am leaning towards the ld19a because i dont want to always be wanting more out of it but i didnt know if it was overkill for what i need. for a low price thermal what do you guys suggest? pulsar? flir? armasight?
 
it seems like a lot of people here are loyal to pulsar so that is why i have been leaning towards them but as i stated earlier, i am still new to the whole thermal thing so im trying to learn what i can
 
I started with the flir scout tk. It's junk for scanning. It strains your eyes trying to determine if the heat source is a water puddle, creek or animal. The resolution is just not good enough for hunting or viewing over 50 yards or so . I tried 2 and returned them both to amazon.

The seek XR has better resolution than the flir and it works ok. But still junk for scanning because the backlight from the reveal or your phone is too bright even on the lowest setting. Returned it for a refund.

I really didn't have the funds to buy my LD19a. Had to sell some of my rifle scopes and come up with the extra cash. But it's the BEST purchase I've made. The resolution is just incredible and you can't beat it with any other cheap units just trying to get by on the cheap. Plus the controls are simple and user friendly. You can't be fiddling with cell phone attachments while trying to hunt. It's just too complicated and your self esteem will suffer when you get skunked a few nights with it and don't see anything or miss an opportunity.
Trust me I wasted three good coyote hunts trying to experiment and save money.

There's a reason why the pulsar units are so well preferred in the night hunting world. If you find one for a decent price, buy it and you won't regret it. High tech red neck has a thread on this forum and last week I got my LD19a for a deal at $1,399 shipped. Check it out and see if he still has any.

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/for...0681&page=1

YOU WILL REGRET GOING CHEAP IN THE THERMAL GAME.

 
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You won't really be happy with anything less than one of the entry level pulsars. The image is really pretty good and in comparison the scout tk is frustrating at best. The cell phone thermals throw light back on you and spook coyotes. Its a get what you pay for situation.
 
I appreciate all the input, I'm open to all suggestions at this point but I am very close on pulling the trigger on the pulsar unit. I will likely go with higher Greene like site unless I can find a used one cheaper soon. Would using the ld19a to scan and photon to shoot be a good combo? That's kind of what I'm leaning towards at this point. Thanks
 
In my opinion that is the cheapest really honest to goodness way to get into night hunting with thermal and nv that will actually work. While it is entry level, it is adequate for the task. The Pulsar will pick up targets to over 500 yds. to let you know something is there. The Photon will positive ID and shoot to over 200 yds. with an adequate 850nm IR add-on light.

You may have some degree of difficulty going from thermal scan to Photon shooting, but it will work with practice. I killed quite a few coyotes with that combination and my hunting partner is still using it very successfully.
 
LD19 to scan an photon to shoot is an excellent solution. I used that same setup for a good long time and killed tons of stuff.
 
I just got in this game a month ago and researched it until my wife was ready to smash my phone and I nearly forgot what my kids looked like.
They key is having good thermal to scan with. The best hunting is when it is very dark and when it is you have ample time to find the coyote and you can get away with some movement so you can switch from hand held to scope etc. It really is ridiculous what you can get a way with standing in the middle of an open field on a dark night. As stated before I use the xd19a and the 4.6x photon with a 40 dollar evolva torch. It flat out works! My buddy has an xd38a and I think the photon has killed more than his xd38a. 95% of the time is spent with the hand held scanning.
If I had to start over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I will be adding a Pulsar thermal scope next fall but the photon will stay on something for back up or another shooter.
I have no experience with the 9 hz. unit but I could tell a difference between 30 and 50hz. I am sure the image will be as good, but it will just blur if you scan too fast.
IMO the photon is worthless over 200 yards on a dark night with my torch though. With that said I would not shoot over that distance with the xd38a either because it is tough to ID past that. This is a 175 yard and under game. After all the idea is to call them in.
You are 100% on the right track.
I also have learned to switch from thermal to NV with no problem.
If you decide to upgrade to thermal for shooting later you will loose very little money on the photon if you decide to sell it.
 
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I will add one more thought. Imo a big part of the ID game is watching how they more. Everything kind of looks the same beyond 150 or so when they stand still. Again, I have not used a 9hz. unit and I don't mean to repeatedly beat you over the the 30 and 50 hz. club lol, but I am curious how the movement looks with 9hz. It might be okay and hopefully others will chime in. I just don't want to see a guy sell himself short. The Pulsar units have a non transferable warranty so I am afraid selling one to buy a better unit might result in taking a pretty good hit since every would rather pat a little extra for a warranty. Just my 2 cents!
 
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Thanks again for all the help. I know I'm for sure going to go with the photon scope. I am just trying to decide on that ld 19a or someone on the forums here is selling a used thermal imager for 1000 that seems very nice. Seems like most people go with the 4.6 photon is there a reason for that? I think I would actually prefer the higher magnification are there problems with the higher power model?
 
High powered equals smaller field of view and you need the big view to find them. Trust me at 4.6 they look like they are in your lap. It's all you need. Higher power smaller field of view scopes are for bait pile hunting.
 
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Varminter you have been a huge help thanks again. I'm new to the forum and idk if there is a way to give you credit or anything but if there is let me know and I'll gladly do whatever I need. One more question if you don't mind, is the stock or light not very good a lot of people use add on lights? I have some wicked lights and stuff should I buy the ir bulb for it or will the one on the scope get me by? I think I am going to start off with the night vision scope and if I enjoy it I'll buy the thermal scanner next. I'm kind of scared to buy it all at once because I'm sure it would be hard to return a thermal if I don't like it.

Edit, also I haven't decided if it's worth a divorce yet or not lol
 
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The onboard IR is pretty weak. You definitely need another IR to put on the rail on the right side of the photon. The other thing is the onboard IR drains the batteries quick.The bigger rechargeable batteries last a lot longer. I keep 4 in the truck and change it out every couple stands and rotate them out of the charger . I keep a spare in my pocket at all times. I don't use the one board IR because it really extends battery life and does nothing when used with the big IR. I use the 4.99 per 20 exide batteries and change them every 2 or 3 stands. Dont waste money on enegizers they gain you nothing. When u get to one bar left....pull em out and save them for flashlights and the kids games because they are still good. These scopes must be very sensitive to any voltage drop below peak. Don't try to use every last bit of battery or your scope will shut off when you are trying to shoot. My buddy tried that Monday night and the scope shut off when the gun went off. He did get the yote though.
 
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I would suggest you rent a thermal handheld from one of the sponsors here and they will let you put the rental fee against the purchase if you decide to buy it. I will be brutally honest and tell you that you will be very disappointed to attempt calling and killing coyotes without a good thermal hand held. You gotta have it with the weaker digital nv scope. The thermal absolutely make this game absolutely awesome. You will miss most of the coyotes without it. It is a must have and it will only take a few minutes in the field to realize it. When I'm scanning and shooting I don't even bother looking through the photon until the coyote is getting in range. The scanner is everything except for the seconds before you shoot. If you think your wife gets pizzed at you for spending the money just wait until you are gone every night hanging out with a bunch of stinky yotes........believe me I know lol.
 
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One more thing.....get a good tripod. We use the caldwell deadshot magnum field pod. Doesn't do any good to call em in if you can't hit em. We found this out the first night we went. My field pods hadn't come in yet and we had one sitting at 60 yards and my buddies couldn't even get steady enough to to shoot him.
That haunted them for sometime lol.

I just went through this and a few guys here took the time to help me so I'm just paying that forward.
 
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I'm not at all new to coyote hunting I'm just new to the night vision and thermal part of it. She already deals with me going out all night huntinf I'm just getting sick of dogs coming in and getting spooked by lights. I think the thermal/nv combo will completely change my success rate. I called in 3 or 4 in the last week but I heard a few come in and could not see them or pinpoint where they were because I was in the woods and it was too thick to see the way they came in. They answered me and then I heard them coming from where they answered and it's just eating at me that I could not see them. That is what started all this lol
 
I read that the photons have this problem because the battery caps are stronger than the batteries. I think they replace them. You may want to look into this m.
 
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