Thermal Scopes worth the money?

Softpoint

Softpoint

Active member
I see lots of videos of people shooting with these things now but do you really harvest more coyotes/bobcats?

Deciding on spending that much money is worth it?
 
And how serious you are, before you ever buy any NV equipment you should have killed a whole lot of coyotes in the day, know how they respond, know how they move, and so on..
I can watch a target come in from 800 yards out and can tell if its a dog, fox or coyote..
I may be jaded but only the most experienced hunters should hunt at night, I know a lot of coyote hunters , yet I only know one I will allow to hunt with me at night..
I believe you should start with standard night vision, that way target ID is a lot easier..
I hunted from 2009 with a PVS-14 on the back of a day scope, and spotted with a FLIR PS-32.
In 2017 I went to the IRD MK3 60mm, big money but I specialize in predator removal for farmers..
 
I've been hunting coyotes since 1981 and trapping them from 1985. Most of my hunting has been daylight hours but have done a fair amount of spotlighting.

The reason for switching to a different method is due to all the newbies who have educated most of the coyotes in the area. They are far more skittish these days than when I started.
 
In my experience, here in the South East, if you want to be consistently successful at night thermal or NV is really the only way to go. Yes you can kill coyotes with a light, but when I made the switch to NV/thermal my success went up about 10x. Yes the expense was worth it to me.
Bobcats are a different story around here. Bobcats and grey foxes don't seem to be too bothered by a light.
Reds are a little light shy, not as bad as a coyote though.
 
Then your a perfect candidate for a thermal, I loved my standard NV system it great for years, however I would lose to many dogs coming when they would drop into a swale, or up against a wood line, try and explain to a farmer that you could not shoot his coyote because you lost it coming in, it helped have a thermal for spotting but you lsot time going back and forth. Another problem was ground fog, standard NV gets defeated when the fog rolls in.
With my thermal scope I don't care if its fog or the darkest night, its almost cheating, and if you have multiples come in, its just so much faster getting back on the second or third after you have dumped the first, especially if you hunt alone and have to run your call and shoot.
I love my IRD, it has VID out, four reticle zeros for multiple weapons or different ammo, it also will range, and its so adjustable that any atmospheric condition is not a problem.
Only draw back is the "Nuc" you have to recalibrate every five minutes when its cold, till it warms up. Another draw back is the large objective, the moon light will give you away, if there is any moon at all, I stay home, the darker or foggy I love it!!
I have been out in 15 below weather and not had any problems..
The stuff is expensive, but if you plan on hunting the rest of your life, its a great investment..
Good luck!!! Sky Pup can help pick out a quality unit...
 
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I normally killed maybe three calling all winter here in Illinois and I would normally kill that many while bow hunting deer. We didn't get night vision and thermal until middle of January of 2017. I think we killed 16 or 17 from then to that March 15th. Last year we killed 50 while I was on stand...... you do the math lol.
The worst part about thermal is any idiot can kill coyotes with thermal which means every idiot is out there now due to social media. I assure you it's more than 10 x easier at night.
 
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The short answer is, YES! The reason is because coyotes really let their guard down at night. They'll go places and do things they would NEVER consider during daylight. This applies anywhere coyotes live...
 
It is only natural a lot of people have more success at night because coyotes are more active at night. However, I am not 10x more successful at night versus daytime hunting as I kill a lot of coyotes during the day as well.

If a person wants to get into night hunting coyotes, I would recommend they be comfortable hunting during the day first. You have to be very confident in how you set up, how to use your equipment successfully, etc as these things are more difficult/challenging at night.
 
Originally Posted By: KirschIt is only natural a lot of people have more success at night because coyotes are more active at night. However, I am not 10x more successful at night versus daytime hunting as I kill a lot of coyotes during the day as well.

If a person wants to get into night hunting coyotes, I would recommend they be comfortable hunting during the day first. You have to be very confident in how you set up, how to use your equipment successfully, etc as these things are more difficult/challenging at night. i agree with this.
 
Lemme put it this way.....we mag dumped twenty some rounds and killed a coyote after I blew a gimme.....after we finally dumped him we were laughing and joking that we may as well move on cuz we pretty much blew that spot up.......I scan around and here comes aother. We killed that one too. I am guessing there is a bit more contrast between how coyotes respond at day vs. night here in IL vs out west.
 
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I agree that one needs to get some serious day experience with coyote hunting, any predator for that matter before switching to night. A case of mistaken identity just is not worth it. How an animal moves is part of the deal with thermal and that only comes with plenty of daytime visual experience.

Whether Thermal is worth it will depend on each member’s unique situation.

I recently acquire an ATN Thor gen 2 from a friend in financial distress otherwise I would still not have one.

The Trijicon thermals out now are simply amazing. But at $9k they need to be. If that level of performance gets halved or less in price that would make thermal pretty irrisistable.

Three44s
 
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Originally Posted By: SoftpointBetter be worth it! I just bought a Pulsar Apex qx38!
My bet is that you will like this scope a lot. I like mine very much.

Here is a video I did recently of some rat shooting at the chicken lot. I mounted the scope on a Ruger 10/22 for some fun. Most nights had high humidity,
plus I was just learning how to adjust for brightness and contrast, so some views not as good as others.







 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Originally Posted By: SoftpointBetter be worth it! I just bought a Pulsar Apex qx38!
My bet is that you will like this scope a lot. I like mine very well.

Here is a video I did recently of some rat shooting at the chicken lot. I mounted the scope on a Ruger 10/22 for some fun.











I researched it for sometime before buying it. Your video clarity was definitely a factor I considered before pulling the trigger. It will sit on a 223 Ruger Predator rifle. Looking forward to November!
 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Softpoint, looking forward to your hunting experiences and videos too. Be sure to keep us posted.

What recorder did you buy for it? How much? I'm working on my bait station everyday and plenty of coyotes are visiting. Should have some good stories..


Thanks everyone for your input and perspectives!
 
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