Need a new digital scope to shoot beavers

gahunter2

New member
My Pulsar N750 just puked and I need a replacement. This will be for a dedicated beaver control rifle to be used only at night. It will probably be mounted on a bolt action (less noise suppressed). Shots are usually about 100 to 150 yards from either a vehicle/UTV or tree stand, so weight isn't an issue. Swimming beavers are a tiny target, so magnification, resolution and focus are important. Also, holding zero is critical. If I'm off a couple of inches at 100yds, it's a miss. Been looking online at the ATN X-Sight 4k Pro. The price is right, but reviews are mixed to say the least. Hopefully, some of you experts can point me in the right direction! (BTW, I already have a thermal scope and it's not ideal for beavers at distance)
 
Another option in a similar price point is the SightMark Wraith. Tom at Night Goggles is getting some in and has one on hold for me. I will let you know how it works out. Some differences from the 4K will be, it is less expensive, does not record audio, and doesn't have as long of battery life. ATN is known for throwing every possible feature on a scope, but I know on my Xsight II, I had to turn some of them off to increase the reliability of the scope.

Early reports by users on the Wraith are it records very nice video. Time will tell. Historically Sightmark is known for better service so that may make a difference. The Wraith or Xsight 4K are nice for the person who wants to use it day or night. If you only want to use it at night, you may want to focus on Night Vision only devices similar to the N750.

On your thermal comments, it depends on the thermal as far as beavers at distance. I own a Flir PTS536, and it can easily reach past 300 yards with a base mag of 4x. I harvested a coyote at 400 yards with it myself. They make a Flir PTS736 with a base mag of 6x which many use to reach targets even farther.

If you look at the new Pulsar Thermion line, they have an XM50 which has a 5.5x base magnification as well. All of these options are 6x more expensive than the Wraith but just throwing it out there if you wish to use thermal.
 
How many hours at at sitting do you hunt? I had a Sightmark Photon XT 4.5. I was lucky to get 2 hours out of the batteries, and don’t expect much more from the Wraith. Fooling around with batteries in the dark is no fun. As Kirsch said, Sightmark’s customer service is excellent.
I also owned the ATN 4K pro (the 3-12 model, but would recommend the 5-20 in your case). The battery lasts like 16-18 hours. Although the 4K pro is advertised as a day/night scope, to me, the daytime view was so poor, I would consider it a night only scope which would meet your needs, but realize the daytime sight picture will not be great.
I know you did not mention whether you wanted to video your hunt or not, but if you do, consider a scope that makes recoding video with sound if you want it. Some scopes record video but no sound. Good luck with your choice.
 
Thanks for the advice. Video recording would be pretty cool but any bells other than that would be wasted. After doing some more research, I'm kind of leaning towards the Pulsar N455. Looks like it uses the same battery pack and controls as my thermal scope. That would make it a lot easier to use.
 
I sure hope the N455 turns out to be better than their N355. My hunting buddy had one and neither of us was impressed. He managed to take a few coyotes with it, but it was a struggle. Evidently Pulsar thought so as well since they dropped it like a hot potato.
 

I occasionally shoot beavers for some of my landowners. I just set up to shoot about 20 yards from the edge of the ponds and shine a steady red light. They are curious and will swim over to check it out......some come right in and some will go back and forth and work their way in fairly close.

I use whatever thermal hog rig I'm out with. Either a 6.8 SPC with a Trijicon 19mm or a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 35mm Trijicon.
 
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Gahunter2, I've had good luck with the 4K Pro for the last year or so. No drift in zero noticed (I check it monthly) and the long battery life is a nice plus. Disabled all the scopes non-essential extras as I don't really want or need them. There's 16 less coyotes around my place over the last year due to acquiring the 4K, so for my mission needs it works good for me. It's been my first night hunting set up on a suppressed SRB AR. It's IR light works well for me too.

Interested in Kirsch' upcoming SightMark Wraith review because I'm building another night hunting rig - Rem 7 223 suppressed and think it might be a good match. Short battery life would require an external battery for my needs, but if the image quality is better than the 4K it might be worth the hassle to rig something up.

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
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Thanks for all the advice. I'm still researching what to get. The problem with my Pulsar N750 was that it shut off every time I shot while mounted on an AR. Experimenting, I mounted it on a 17HMR and there's not enough recoil to shut it off. So, in the meantime that's what I've been using. Got a couple the other night, but could use a little more magnification and a little clearer image. A swimming beaver at night at 100+ yards is really pushing the limits of my shooting ability and the N750. But it sure beats having to check traps every day!
 
Originally Posted By: wildflightsGman- what caliber are you shooting in that video? I thought the shot went low but the results were pretty positive.

6.8SPC

The first shot was low. I spotted this beaver up close and had to move my tripod in some weeds and when I took the shot I did not allow for the POI change at close range.
 

Without waiting for Greg’s response, I already know his answer for hogs. I took his advice and passed that on to my son who is building a 6.8 using the barrel and twist Greg recommended. I will assume it’s good for coyotes too, with the right bullet of course. I see the cartridge as a multi purpose one, hoping it to be that anyway.

 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpGman, don't want to hijack the thread but how do you like the 6.8 for coyotes? I know it is great for hogs.

Originally Posted By: 6mm06Without waiting for Greg’s response, I already know his answer for hogs. I took his advice and passed that on to my son who is building a 6.8 using the barrel and twist Greg recommended. I will assume it’s good for coyotes too, with the right bullet of course. I see the cartridge as a multi purpose one, hoping it to be that anyway.

DoubleUp......David is correct. The 6.8SPC is my favorite hog caliber..... AR15 platform with good downrange energy for hogs. I don't hunt coyotes like I used to but plan to get back after them some this fall. I usually go out for hogs and then shoot coyotes as targets of opportunity if no hogs show so I shoot them with whatever I have with me. I have added a 6.5 Creedmoor rig for open field hunting during the planting season since some shots are 300 yards or more but the the 6.8SPC is used for everything else.

The 6.8SPC will certainly get the job done on the yotes but if I was looking for a coyote rig first with hogs secondary in the AR15 platform I would go with the 6.5 Grendel. I did not care for it with the hogs but I think it would be a good choice for coyotes.

Here is a little vid showing 2 coyotes getting a pass on a hog only night. There were actually 3 of them but one is out of the frame. I had set up before dark and they came into the field and walked right past me.

 
Im selling a photon rt 4.5-9 ×42s on here and ebay. I bought a thermion and have an 4.5xt photon for a few years. Killed many yoties with it. Rt has longer battery life and better illuminator.its nib
 
100-150 yards for beaver?? Why not approach or better trap when the hides are worth something.

Would the owner allow trappers in season?
 
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