640 Armasight or Pulsar

kickerz24

New member

I am looking to purchase my first thermal for coyote hunting in the mountains of western md. I have decided on a 640 from watching videos and need some recommendations. I was looking at the Pulsars XP and ran into a buddy who will sell me a Armasight Zeus 640 2-16x42mm, never mounted for $3500. How does this Zeus compare to the Xp 38/50? Is it worth the extra $1500 for the trail? It’s hard to tell from the videos because the you tube video clarity is all over the place when comparing any particular model.

Thanks
 
Originally Posted By: kickerz24
I am looking to purchase my first thermal for coyote hunting in the mountains of western md. I have decided on a 640 from watching videos and need some recommendations. I was looking at the Pulsars XP and ran into a buddy who will sell me a Armasight Zeus 640 2-16x42mm, never mounted for $3500. How does this Zeus compare to the Xp 38/50? Is it worth the extra $1500 for the trail? It’s hard to tell from the videos because the you tube video clarity is all over the place when comparing any particular model.

Thanks both are excellent models. Imo, it comes down to features to me. They both are going to have a great resolution and picture quaility. The view thru either one will be really similar.
 
For the short time I had my XP50 I was extremely pleased with the picture, options, and ease of use. Within an hour of hunting with it I was quite pleased with making the jump to a thermal. After using other more expensive ones, I thought skeptical as to whether I was going to be pleased... I sure was, no doubt. I have the standard battery and hunted for about six hours with still half charge left to go. I found the factory supplied mount to be rather long but quite secure.

With that said, I had to send my XP50 back as mine would not hold zero. It seems not every XP50 owner is having the same problem, but enough to have caught the attention of Pulsar and Sellmark, both who have "so far" been receptive to helping me. Which leads me to another important consideration... custom service.

Pulsar/Sellmark appear to have excellent CS. I had to pay to insure my thermal as the return label did not cover it. Due to a week long trip I felt I had no choice but to pony up the cash to ship it insured without first giving Pulsar/Sellmark a chance to cover insurance, I will be calling them today to ask for my money back, we will see. I may have jumped the gun as I could have just waited, but I've got ants in my pants to get back to hunting with thermal.
 
For what it’s worth, my hunting partner and I both have xp50’s and have had zero issues. I’m using the 40$ pulsar mount and it holds zero just fine.
 
Originally Posted By: reaper4For what it’s worth, my hunting partner and I both have xp50’s and have had zero issues. I’m using the 40$ pulsar mount and it holds zero just fine.

That's good to know... I hope soon I can say the same.
 
I've never used the Pulsar, so I can't comment between the two, but I have used that exact Zeus a lot. Great thermal....but, be prepared to buy stock in CR123's, or figure out a rechargeable battery pack from the start.

People warned me of that before I got mine, and I had the mentality of "how bad could it be"....well its bad. The Zeus chews through batteries and spits them out. On cold day's in Iowa, before I built a "coat" for my thermal and shoved a bunch of hand warmers in it, I would go through a fresh set of batteries in 15 minutes. That got expensive quickly.

Again, great thermal, and great price you have listed, just figure out a battery solution before hand.
 
Originally Posted By: BocephussI've never used the Pulsar, so I can't comment between the two, but I have used that exact Zeus a lot. Great thermal....but, be prepared to buy stock in CR123's, or figure out a rechargeable battery pack from the start.

People warned me of that before I got mine, and I had the mentality of "how bad could it be"....well its bad. The Zeus chews through batteries and spits them out. On cold day's in Iowa, before I built a "coat" for my thermal and shoved a bunch of hand warmers in it, I would go through a fresh set of batteries in 15 minutes. That got expensive quickly.

Again, great thermal, and great price you have listed, just figure out a battery solution before hand. i agree with this, actually every thermal i have had i ended up going to an external battery pack. That's why I'm so impressed with Pulsar's new clip on battery.
 
The scope would come with the factory battery pack, how long would you get using this in 30-40 deg. weather? Also with the battery plug sticking up like that, I would assume it would easily become damaged at night, is this a problem?

Another question, concerning the 640, for hunting coyotes I assume the 1.5 power would be worthless and I would want to leave the scope at 2x (being 3power) at least to allow aiming at 100-200 yds. This would drop the scope to 320 resolution, so why would the 640 be worth the extra money. I could see if I was up close on hogs, but for coyotes would a 320 be just as good?

I keep telling myself to go with the pulsar due to the PIP, but this is the best deal I have found on a 640 and I’m trying to talk myself into it. I also have not seen any videos where the quality is better than the pulsars so I am not sure how the scope compares. I’m really not concerned with recording, I just want a scope that will last all night on chargeable batteries and give me a clear picture at 100-200yds.

Thanks
 
All good questions and concerns. I don't know of any Zeus that will last all night long, but, Its been a while since I've researched what battery packs are available for them these days. And if by factory battery pack, you mean it just takes the CR123's, you might get an hour or less in 30 degree weather. This also depends if the scope is 30hz or 60hz. 60 obviously eats through the batteries a lot more. And I'm not sure what you mean by battery plug sticking up in the air.

As far as the extra coin for the 640 over 320, I would do that all day long if your budget allows for it. While you may go to 2x zoom for shooting, you will spend most all your time at 1.5 power looking at 640 resolution while scanning and waiting.
 
I can tell you this much if you buy the Zeus 640x75mm you will be extremely happy, but you must buy a battery pack. I can see a deer's or cow's eye at 200 yards or more.
 
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