which thermal scope

Fredritz

New member
i no this has been asked thousands of times and I've probably read most of them but looking to jump into the thermal game and i can't decide which scope to go with. I've already made up my mind I'm gonna go with a pulsar thermal unit to scan with just not sure which one yet but just can't decide exactly whats best with there being so many options out there right now i like the flir pts233 and pts536 but have looked a little at the pulsar line as well as the armasight predator line. most of my shots have been under 200 yards but wouldn't mind being able to shoot a little farther since i just purchased a rpr rifle in 6mm creed moor which i feel is defiantly capable of further. so all you thermal guys out there help me out whats better and why which customer service is better if something would go bad?
 
There is definitely better stuff out there (at a much higher cost) but I have an older Pulsar XD38A and it has proved to be very reliable and all I need for night hunting. I have made shots out to 350 yards with it. Like I said......there is better stuff out there with more bells and whistles but if they come in, they usually don't get away so I can't justify spending more money. My buddy bought the Trail XP38. He compared them side by side and stated that he didn't see $2000 difference.
 
How much are looking to spend? I currently own the pulsar core RXQ30v and the apex XQ 50. We mainly use the core to scan with, I can't see shooting it much past 75 to 100 yards anyway but it will definitely detect much further than that , with the XQ 50 you should be able to identify and shoot out to 200 yards or better but its rare we have to shoot much past 150 yards. One of my hunting partners has the XQ 38 he really likes it as well, I could have probably gone with that over the 50 but the 50 wasn't that much more. If you look around you can find most of these scopes cheaper than the advertised price
 
i would like to keep each the monocular and scope around 3000 each so 6000 total but thats not set in stone I've been saving for awhile and have some more saving to do but getting anxious to purchase i was leaning towards the hellion xq 50 for scanning and the pts536 for a scope but there is no reviews or videos that i can find and a few have mentioned lack luster customer service from fair compared to no bad reviews on pulsars customer service. in reality i don't see shooting much over 200 yards either we both hunt with photons now and i don't think my partner is going to upgrade any time real soon so for both of us to have shot opportunities we would have to wait for closer range but just incase is the only reason i would wanna shoot farther but its defiantly not a must
 
also bow hunt which scope replaced the XD38A I've read so much i feel like I've forgotten half of what i thought i knew lol
 
Originally Posted By: Fredritzi would like to keep each the monocular and scope around 3000 each so 6000 total but thats not set in stone I've been saving for awhile and have some more saving to do but getting anxious to purchase i was leaning towards the hellion xq 50 for scanning and the pts536 for a scope but there is no reviews or videos that i can find and a few have mentioned lack luster customer service from fair compared to no bad reviews on pulsars customer service. in reality i don't see shooting much over 200 yards either we both hunt with photons now and i don't think my partner is going to upgrade any time real soon so for both of us to have shot opportunities we would have to wait for closer range but just incase is the only reason i would wanna shoot farther but its defiantly not a must

I haven't looked through the hellion X50 but have the xq38 and it is a very nice monocular would love to have one. I have yet to get my hands on any flir thermals so can't comment on those
 
Major differences are onboard recording, WiFi with Stream Vision App and rechargeable battery pack. I know people will say you can get a battery pack for the Apex and get an external DVR but it is so nice not to have extra cables/cords connected. Personally I like the Pulsar Trail XQ38. It is in the sweet spot for Field Of View and decent Base Magnification.
 
We sell a lot of great thermal equipment and I have tried all of it. I still believe that the PULSAR line of thermals, such as the Trail and Helion are the best value in the market today. Value better than ATN, ARMASIGHT, BERING, FLIR and TRIJICON EO. If you'd like to talk specifics, I'm more than happy to do so. Just give me a call. Thanks!
 
I got an Apex xq38 for shooting and it does a fine job for the areas I hunt. You can shoot out to 200 yards plus and has a great field of view for the closer shots. No video as others stated, but the extended battery pack attaches to the a picatinny rail on the scope and last a long time. It is very user friendly and so simple to operate and find the controls in the dark, but if video is important you may want to go with the trail. I use a helion xp38 to scan with. I had a xq38 but I did not like the field of view, so I traded it back in for the xp model. I would not go with the 50 for the decreased field of view, unless you hunt more wide open spaces than I do. If you get a helion xp model you can buy any of the lenses for it and swap them out which is a nice option.
The flir pts 536 does look like a nice option, but field of view is a big concern for me. If you hunt more wide open spaces with longer shots it may suit you just fine though.
Field of view and lense size and magnification are always big trade offs. You can't have it all. The pulsar xp models with the picture in picture feature do a good job of trying to get the best of both worlds.
 
I just about went crazy when I was trying to make a decision as 4K-5K is A LOT of cash for a piece of kit.

I initially settled on the XP38 but then changed my order to the XP50 figuring if I'm going to spend over 4K what's a few more bucks...

While I had some zero retaining issues at first, the new firmware seems to be working great.

Glad I had the problem after all because it allowed me to see first hand how good both Sellmark/Pulsar and Nightgoggles customer service was.

Simply put... my worry was all self-induced and unnecessary. The entire time all said I'd be taken care of... and I was. That says a lot... so take it for what it's worth... I'd definitely go with Nightgoggles for what ever you decide.
 
Sounds like most of you are telling me pulsar which is great i was just leaning towards the other brands because they had a lower priced model available but customer service is huge i don't wanna spend all this money and be mad if it needs fixed and I have to struggle to make that happen i just saw last night in some further research that pulsar offers a lower end model in th e rxq30 does anyone have any experience with this scope of seems to have decent reviews on other forums
 
Originally Posted By: FredritzSounds like most of you are telling me pulsar which is great i was just leaning towards the other brands because they had a lower priced model available but customer service is huge i don't wanna spend all this money and be mad if it needs fixed and I have to struggle to make that happen i just saw last night in some further research that pulsar offers a lower end model in th e rxq30 does anyone have any experience with this scope of seems to have decent reviews on other forums

I stated In my earlier post I have the rxq30v but you will not want that for your main shooting scope. The xq 38 or xq 50 is much better
 
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Thanks that would be much appreciated i would love to be able to recognize to around 800 yards and be able to shoot to around 200 and stay in my budget. I no i ask for a lot just i would love to see what the rxq looks like at that distance just gotta dig through some more videos maybe I'll find something. Does the scope allow for a external power source
 
Recognizing anything , other than a blob of a heat signature, at 800, won’t happen . Even at 200 most of your I’d will be off size/movement of the animal. At 800 yds you won’t be positive on view alone with a trijicon, and they cost a whole lot more ...... videos don’t do anything justice. They’re either degraded from transfer, or touched up/edited for sales purposes. Best thing to do is get in front of 10 different ones, on same night, under same conditions. See which one fits you best . Good luck, it’s addictive.....
 
yes I'm sorry i should have clarified that i don't need to no what is there at 800 yards i just want to no that something is there and i say 200 yards but i hope thats once a year or once in awhile shot id rater all my shots be at my feet but realistically most shots are gonna be around the 100 yard mark
 
Originally Posted By: FredritzThanks that would be much appreciated i would love to be able to recognize to around 800 yards and be able to shoot to around 200 and stay in my budget. I no i ask for a lot just i would love to see what the rxq looks like at that distance just gotta dig through some more videos maybe I'll find something. Does the scope allow for a external power source

You will not want to shoot 200 yards with rxq30. 100 yards and in will be about the max for positive id
 
Ok thanks for all your input me and my partner have only been doing this for a couple years with limited success but have had some. A friend and his partner have had very good luck somehow if I could just figure out their tricks. But after looking through their thermals i had to jump ship but they got more of a open budget so I really appreciate all the advice. I'm really leaning towards the trail xq38 or appex xq38 i don't need all the bells and whistles that's what cell phones are for after the kill so I'm thinking apex. Is there any reason to step up to the xq 50
 
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