Thermal Scopes

[2ADMNLOVER]

Anyone know where to get one for $1,ooo or less ? Any brand to look for or avoid ?

 

[42769vette]

Anyone know where to get one for $1,ooo or less ? Any brand to look for or avoid ?

There is no real good way to say this, but any thermal scope you find less than 1k is something you should avoid like the plague. Thermal is more expensive than NV, and decent NV is more than 1k. Usable (not good but usable) hand held non mountable thermal's are more than 1k.

A very basic entry level thermal rifle scope is going to start at 3k-3500. Keep in mind, that is not for top of the line, its for entry level. Top of the line can easily get north of 20k which is crazy, but thats what it costs.

 

[IndyDave1776]

When you say entry level, is that as in something analogous with those really crappy Russian NV devices that flooded the market in the 90's?

 

[vitamink]

There are those Torrey Pines (sp?) ones. I haven't heard reviews.

 

[mammynun]

There is no real good way to say this, but any thermal scope you find less than 1k is something you should avoid like the plague. Thermal is more expensive than NV, and decent NV is more than 1k. Usable (not good but usable) hand held non mountable thermal's are more than 1k.

A very basic entry level thermal rifle scope is going to start at 3k-3500. Keep in mind, that is not for top of the line, its for entry level. Top of the line can easily get north of 20k which is crazy, but thats what it costs.

^Truth
https://tnvc.com/shop/category/thermal-scopes/?sort=lowprice

 

[T.Lex]

A buddy of mine got something like this:
Pulsar Apex XD50A Thermal Rifle Scope 2-8x 42mm Matte

I can't remember if it was that exact model, but that was the feature set and price he settled at after researching the snot out of it. He was looking for a good entry-level. There were some setup/familiarization issues, but once those got worked out, it was really pretty amazing.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

There is no real good way to say this, but any thermal scope you find less than 1k is something you should avoid like the plague. Thermal is more expensive than NV, and decent NV is more than 1k. Usable (not good but usable) hand held non mountable thermal's are more than 1k. A very basic entry level thermal rifle scope is going to start at 3k-3500. Keep in mind, that is not for top of the line, its for entry level. Top of the line can easily get north of 20k which is crazy, but thats what it costs.

Sportsmans Guide has reconditioned PVS-4 , gen 2 4x (NV) for $1,400 that that I'm looking at but I'd prefer thermal if I could get one for around the same price . So is the lower end ATN stuff junk ?

 

[42769vette]

Sportsmans Guide has reconditioned PVS-4 , gen 2 4x (NV) for $1,400 that that I'm looking at but I'd prefer thermal if I could get one for around the same price . So is the lower end ATN stuff junk ?

ATN is the Highpoint of the NV/thermal world.

So imagine a pistol that Highpoint would consider lower quality than the rest of their line, and thats the bottom of ATN's line. I havent looked, but I dont think they even sell them that cheap.

Put it this way, 3 years ago I bought 5 ATN x-sights (I bit on the hype, knowing better). I still have some because Im to ashamed to sell them. Every single one Ive sold came after my opening line "this thing is a piece of ___", and every one Ive sold cheaper than dealer price.

NV is just flat out cheaper than thermal's. Sportsman's guide is known for selling chinese knockoff's a lot more than quality stuff. Ive never known of a company to "recondition" a NV unit, especially a new 2. Tubes are typically what go on NV, and the tube is the expensive part. Normally if the tube goes, its pitched.

I would most definitely check the warranty out before I even considered a referb, ESPECIALLY on a gen 2.

 

[42769vette]

With a very quick search, the cheapest I even found ATN thermal was 2k.

 

[Vamptepes]

I'm glad you said something about the atn. Everyone seems to rave about them and I was just looking at them. I need a coyote setup and was looking at thermal and I figure 5k would be sufficient to shoot no more then 200 yards. But pricing varies so drastically from company to company. Wanted to stay away from night vision due to issues in fog or new moon scenario. But I don't know enough about them to know if that really affects it or not.

 

[42769vette]

I'm glad you said something about the atn. Everyone seems to rave about them and I was just looking at them. I need a coyote setup and was looking at thermal and I figure 5k would be sufficient to shoot no more then 200 yards. But pricing varies so drastically from company to company. Wanted to stay away from night vision due to issues in fog or new moon scenario. But I don't know enough about them to know if that really affects it or not.

Im not hoing to say I've tried them all, and I'm no where near the expert on this that I am on "normal" optics, but you are so close to what I consider a great option at 5k in the IR Hunter. I personally run the mk2 640x480 35mm. They run 6500, but there are cheaper less capable versions of my scope. I have identified yotes with mine a long ways off. Ranging with thermals is dificult (unless i upgrade to the mk3) but i know these yotes were behind the power line that sits 800 yds from my deck where i was standing.

The great think about the IR hunter line is you never waste your money wishing you bought the next level up. At any point you wsnt to upgrade, pay the new price diffrence between what you have, and what you want, send it to IR Defense, and they will upgrade it.

For instance, the IR Hunter line starts at roughly 5500. I bought the 6500 dollar version (best when i bought) since then they came out with a better (mk3) version. It runs 7700. If i send my scope back with 1200 bucks IR defense will upgrade me.

Im a Thermal dealer for most companies. As much as your spending, you really should come play with my perdonal stuff, figure out the right product, and i will order it for you at the cheapest price you csn find on the net.

Sorry for the bad typing, Im on my phone, and am not trying to edit this book of a post. I think you will catch tge drift.

 

[Vamptepes]

Man why does it have to cost so much.. I appreciate the info. And I can see why the mkiii is tempting with the rangefinder addition. Currently I'm just using a ar in 5.56 with it sighted in about a 50-200 zero so I can just point and shoot and not really worry about compensation.

5K was my limit I really wanted to spend. But that seems impossible if you want more clarity. The ir hunter seems to be a great price point but still bit out of my range at the moment. Maybe at the start of the new year. (Getting married next month so that has tapped us out)

And no apologies needed for grammer. I mainly post from my phone so I know it gets atrocious.

 

[42769vette]

Man why does it have to cost so much.. I appreciate the info. And I can see why the mkiii is tempting with the rangefinder addition. Currently I'm just using a ar in 5.56 with it sighted in about a 50-200 zero so I can just point and shoot and not really worry about compensation.

5K was my limit I really wanted to spend. But that seems impossible if you want more clarity. The ir hunter seems to be a great price point but still bit out of my range at the moment. Maybe at the start of the new year. (Getting married next month so that has tapped us out)

And no apologies needed for grammer. I mainly post from my phone so I know it gets atrocious.

Clarity would be the same on the 5500 dollar unit. The detection range would be shorter which wouldn't really matter to you. If your needs change a few years down the line, sent it back for an upgrade, and only pay the 1k.