Looking for some advice on a thermal monocular

CallingArkansas

CallingArkansas

New member
I’m asking for some help deciding on a thermal monocular. I have never as much as looked through a thermal. Totally green on the subject other than lots of looking and reading reviews on line.

I have started calling at night and I want a thermal for scanning. Scope will come later.
I will be hunting in timber and open fields. I would like one that can clearly identify a coyote at at least 300 yards preferably more but I may be asking way to much compared to what I can afford. I don’t want something that’s not dependable.

Can I find what I’m looking for. If not what, do you suggest would be the best options in my price range of around $2500?

Thanks
 
Honestly i would spend the money on a device that would double as a scope, such asflir pts233 or pular core rxqv30. Both of these units are small yet do a good job for what they are. I have a flir pts233 and have no issues.
 
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What kind of optics will you be shooting with? Imo an entry level set up is scanning with enough thermal to pick up critters and then id with you gun mounted optics. I would want 640 core for absolute positive id at 300. 2500 is probably pushing it a bit with your budget unless you incorporate some night vision. 300 is a hella poke with thermal though. High base magnification will help ID at longer distances but the problem with high base magnification thermal is you lose field of view. I would rather not be able to ID a coyote at max shooting distance then miss one slipping past me at a hundred yards.
 
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Whey you say I will be hunting in timber and open fields, this tells me you most likely are looking for something with a wider FOV. A narrow field of view doesn't work well in timber unless you are hunting small clearings, and then it would be OK, and there are more choices in your price range.

A 640x480 resolution scanner isn't absolutely required to ID to 300 yards, but since you probably need a wider field of view, I would recommend it. Devices like the PTS233 and RXQv30 (as mentioned by Zhelton) are OK entry level rifle scopes but they won't ID to 300 and beyond consistently and they struggle in high humidity. Flir just released a FLIR SCION 640 scanner. Skypup has one and it appears to do a good job but beyond your budget.

Pulsar has the most options in the scanner market. They currently make 2 main models: Helions and Axions. The Helion XQs (384x288) are going to be in the low 3K range and will have a little bit too tight of a FOV. The Helion XPs (640x480) are going to be a better option but you are looking at upper 3K range for those. The Axions (1.8K to 2.5K) are in your budget range but the FOV is going to be tight for timber hunting as well.

I will be testing a new monocular from a company hopefully in the next 2 weeks and will be posting a review. It is going to be a 640x480 monocular that may fall into your budget. Another option I would highly recommend is to contact a knowledgeable dealer like Tom Austin from Night Goggles. He has used virtually every thermal on the market. 909-312-5424 X531
 
I thought I may be looking for something more than I was prepared to spend. I like the larger FOV so what would be your advice on identifying a coyote at 150 yards but being able to pick out incoming animals at 300+ yards? I will be shooting with a red light mounted on the rail of my AR. Optics on the AR is a VX 5 HD 3.5 x 15 x 44. I know I need a thermal scope as well, but after reading many post it seems like the monocular should come first. If am incorrect on getting a monocular first I’d welcome everyone’s advice.
 
Imo field of view is a must in an area that is even somewhat tight and I think hunting the woods would be a nightmare with limited fov. The helion xp 28 I just acquired is fabulous. I had been using an xd19a which is now discontinued but it left me wanting more clarity after looking through my 640 core xp50 Trail. If you insist on shooting with a red light then I would either add a few hundred to your budget and look for a deal on a helion xp 28 or add 1k and just buy new. If I could honestly only afford one unit though I would probably look for a deal on a xp38 or xp50 Trail or possibly a new Thermion and scan with the rifle or put cheaper digital night vision on the rifle and go with a scanner such as a xd19a or helion xp28. I personally have had 0 luck with a red light.
I know an xd19a and something like a photon will kill the snot out of coyotes because that's how we started.
Digital night vision and a T20 850 nanometer infrared torch will take you out to about 200 yards for positive ID and effective shooting for under $500. If the coyotes too far to ID with digital night vision he's too far to id because he's too far to see which means he's also too far to shoot so it kind of has a built-in checks and balance on safety there. You can get eye shine well beyond 200 which also picks up a critters presence as well.
 
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Maybe wait for the review on the new monocular Kirsch will be testing. I would agree with him. It's easy to get caught up in the wow factor of the 640 scanners when you don't need it to DETECT objects, and detection is the most important thing a scanner should give you as well as the widest FOV it can have. I have 2 XD19a's and a Helion XP28. I use the 19a's over 90% of the time easily unless I have a very open long area I'm calling from; which is hardly ever, in the areas here in eastern Iowa I hunt. I keep it on next to me and use it if something is out there farther taking it's time and allowing me to take the time to use it. You can pick up an object easily at well over 300 yds. with the 19a's. They come up occasionally and are the best cost effective scanner out there. The only reason I got the 28 is I got a great deal on it and it has the widest FOV or the Helion line. I find it to restrictive to use as long as I have the 19a in most area's I hunt. I don't have to swivel my head near as much with them and coyotes show up pretty fast from the sides plenty of times allowing me to get on the gun quicker. Maybe this new scanner Kirsch will test might be what I had hoped they would do with the 19s and give it a 640 core. It makes it tough on a lot of guys with these new scanners being so expensive and then trying to buy a decent scope as Kirsch pointed out. You could buy the 19a's for around 1800 + or - thus allowing you to put the extra 1 to 2 grand into a better scope. All you need is detection to see something coming in. The more you hunt the more you will pretty much know if it is a coyote. Use your scope to ID it. Just remember; you are IDing an image and it's not as positive as using NV. I'm lucky enough to have both and really enjoy using both. Trail XP50 and D740 gen 3 scope. I've given this advice many times on this forum. This of course is my opinion. Hope it helps.
 
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Originally Posted By: KirschI will be testing a new monocular from a company hopefully in the next 2 weeks and will be posting a review. It is going to be a 640x480 monocular that may fall into your budget. I apologize but the company providing the monocular to test sold out before they sent my test unit. I have to wait for the next batch. It will probably be 1-2 months.
 
One thing I will comment that is different than some of the other users, is for me there is such a thing as too much FOV and/or too low of base magnification. When your base mag is 1x, everything looks so far away from a viewfinder perspective. My XP38 is 1.9x and from my perspective, it isn't too much. I have used other 1x scanners and everything looks so very far away and distant. Not only couldn't I tell if it was a coyote, rabbit, etc but it was even hard to tell rocks from animals but it was just these small, little glowing objects. I think the thing that was really hard was I couldn't really get a grasp on distance. I would look at an animal and it seemed like it was way too far to consider a shot, then pull up my Flir to realize the coyote was inside of 200.

It is really what you get used to but I personally like a scanner between 1.5x and 2x. Keep in mind, I am hunting fairly wide open plains. If my site was limited to a few hundred yards due to trees, etc, my answer or comments would probably be very different. Just my .02.
 
I agree with Kirsch on the fact that the xd19a is really hard to tell distance and to id with hence why I stressed having some night vision or better thermal on you gun to id and shoot with. However I dont think we ever missed a critter sneaking in on us. Most of time the guy scanning with the xd19a picked up the coyote before the helion xp 50 simply because of the huge fov combined with the fact it isn't anchored to a tripod. I've use a helion xq38 and it was way to much mag for me. I think my new xp28 is gonna be the berries.
 
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Thanks for all of the advice. I may be more confused than I was. Lol.
I already have the red light so that was my reason for saying I would use it for shooting until I can get a good thermal scope. I live in SW Arkansas and have permission to hunt a lot of big hay meadows, bean fields, corn fields and cattle fields. But most of the fields are leased to deer hunters and I can’t hunt during deer season which is mid October - December 31st. I also have timber land to hunt and also a lot of lumber company roads behind locked gates. The lumber company roads, is where I kill a lot of coyotes, fox, and bobcat and would be fine with just the scope, and the fields would work ok, other than all the movement with just a scope, but I figure the woods would require a monocular. I just received my permit, which is required in to night hunt in Arkansas. I’ve been out three times with my red lights and called in 3 the first two outings, but they got in my scent cone just about the time I saw them. With everyone help I’ll get it figured out as to what I need eventually.
 
I understand your point Kirsch and I would think that the areas you hunt you have a lot more open areas to scan with and generally greater distances. When by myself I'm trying to cover 180 to 270 degrees most of the times and even 360 in some spots and most of the time I can see out to 300 to 400 yds at the most. I try to keep the greatest most likely areas in front of me but they show up from anywhere around me in most places and having a large FOV is very advantageous. Seems like the distinction I try to make is the difference between DETECTION and IDENTIFICATION. I would agree that at times it is a little difficult to know what it is your trying to ID out there if it is out there a ways and not moving much with the low power 320 resolution 19a. That is when a guy can pull up his scope for a more positive ID. I try to scan the area fully and make note of little "hot spots" out there before I start the call thus eliminating any false positives. Most of those are not a bright as the animals are though. Wouldn't you agree that pretty much you know what is coming as you are calling specifically for coyotes and not much else is going to respond to the call like they do. I have been fooled by an occasional raccoon that charges in or a fox but most don't respond this way but have been able to ID them once I have the scope up. Fox can be challenging though. And I can pretty much rule them out if I have played any howls. I find estimating range challenging even with my XP50 and have been gaining some experience with how much they fill the PIP set on 12.8 or 6.4 that gives me an idea. Am seriously considering selling mine and getting the XP50LRF to give me an accurate measurement but have not had extreme need for it with the round I'm shooting and how I have the gun sighted in. If I think there out at around the 300 mark I just hold at the top of the shoulder or top of head if head on and I have been successful. I totally get your point as I had one area I hunted the other night where it was advantageous to use the XP28 as I had a really long rolling hayfield in front of me rolling up to hills on each side so it was nice to use a 640 resolution scanner with a little more magnification. Coyote still came in from the short side to my left though. Point is kind of moot though as the 19a's are all but gone except for used ones and a guy has to make a choice of more expensive, more magnification scanners unless you want to go ATN. They have some pretty wide FOV 640 scanners and scopes at low base magnifications it looks like by there specs. I guess I would be tempted to by one of the low powers scopes to double as a rifle scope if needed but they are expensive also. I guess I'm disappointed, more so for other guys trying to get into the game. Now they have to spend a lot more for a scanner and maybe then compromise on a scope. Again;for my area's I hunt, I would say the longest distance I can see is out to 600yds. and that is not that often. I've watched a coyote moving along a fence line that was exactly 660 yards away after a missed shot out at 300ish in some fog with my D740. Just a dot but could track him no problem. My main concern is just detecting motion as soon as I can and most of the time I have no problem IDing a coyote at out to 300 with my 19a. I think a guy has to put some thought into what area's he will be mostly hunting to make a wise choice. Generally; IMO, the more closer your surroundings are going to be the more FOV you will want. If you have greater % of open or longer areas than more magnification I would think you would want.
 
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Figure on detecting with your handheld and iding with shooting optics. With that said most of the time you can read their body language even with an xd19a and have a very good idea of what kind of critter you're seeing but obviously 100% id is crucial. Depending on atmospheric conditions a raccoon can look like a coyote but most of the time you can tell a deer because of the long neck. I recommend the Pulsar stuff because that's what I am familiar with and the customer service is top-notch. This night hunting game with thermal is extremely addictive and something that gets in your blood big time. My advice would be to go xp28 since that's what's available now because you won't regret the better image. If you can find a deal on a used xd19a that would also be a viable option and will get you in the game. Try it with the red lights and if it's spooking them I would go with some 500ish dollar digital night vision. If you're in an area with coyotes and you have the ability to kill coyotes you will be killing them with that setup. Then down the road at a quality thermal scope. Don't split the money into two items and go half-azzed on two different thermals. You will end up with two items that nobody wants when you decide to upgrade.

Once again I started with the xd19a and a photon and my buddy had an Apex xq38. The photon shot more coyotes than the Apex.
Anytime there's somebody on stand with us with night vision it's always nice to hear the guy with night vision say yes it is a coyote. The only disadvantage of night vision is it's hard to keep track of multiple Critters if they're spread out a bit and the follow-up shots aren't going to be possible like they are with good thermal.
 
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varminter .223 said:
Don't split the money into two items and go half-azzed on two different thermals. You will end up with two items that nobody wants when you decide to upgrade.

Varminter .223 You hit the nail on the head. That’s exactly what I’m trying not to do.

Thanks
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Hi and sorry for the up! What did you choose finally? Can you recommend the best one due to the $2500 range? I've never ever had an experience with it. I'm familiar only with the usual monocular(here it is)
 
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I can’t believe there has been no mention of the hogster 25. I have used mine as a dedicated scanner for over a year and am tickled pink with it. I use it in timber and pastures/hayfields and believe it would do you excellent.
 
Originally Posted By: jmeddyI can’t believe there has been no mention of the hogster 25. I have used mine as a dedicated scanner for over a year and am tickled pink with it. I use it in timber and pastures/hayfields and believe it would do you excellent. This was a three year old thread so the Hogster was just being designed. Yes the H25 works great as a scanner.
 
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