So, over the years I always wanted to do some Varmint hunting for Coyotes. Never got around to it. There's a couple younger guys in my club now who do it all the time (in season) and said they'd take me. I said, Great! I've got white camo, and a .223 Wylde barrel for my Encore... They then informed me, where they hunt, it's only rimfire, and they hunt at night... Duh! says the guy who never did it before... So I'm in the market for a scope that will:
1) Be useable for Day/Night Vision
2) Be portable from my .22 Mag to my .223 Wylde
3) Hopefully record my shots
4) Give me a nice range on magnification. I think something like a 4 or 6 to 24 would be ideal.
5) Be less than $3,000 (I just sold a couple guns at auction and made 2K, and am putting that towards the scope, but don't have to use the WHOLE thing... leaving some for ammo might be nice...)
So far, the Sightmark Wraith's are in the lead, but I'm not sure which way to go... They have a 4-32X50 for $500, a 3-24X50 "on sale" for $500, or a 2-16X35 Mini that's $2,000.
There's also ATN, and Pulsar... The ATN is about a Grand, and the Pulsar is 5K! All the threads I see on this are from years ago, and Tech has surpassed the old threads, so I'm putting this out there now...
So I'm just wondering what you "night hunters" actually USE and thoughts on how to go.... Cheaper? Middle? Or save up and go top shelf...? I'm not making this part of my lifestyle, just hoping to go a few times before I get too old, and it's always nice to have something to see into the dark with... and it'd be nice to record my kills if I get the opportunity... Thanks in advance...
From a personal perspective, what night hunters use will vary considerably and a lot of us customize our gear to our particular ways of hunting. Certain gear works better in certain areas, conditions, etc. What gear we use is determined by wants, needs, and BUDGET. What I use that works for me may not be ideal for your situation. So knowing what sort of application you have in mind can be helpful in providing folks with the information they need in order to make better buying decisions.
Friends don't let friends buy ATN, plain and simple. Don't do it. Pulsar's digital night vision (DNV) is overpriced. Sightmark, particularly the Wraith 4k Mini is where I would lean. The mini is only 2x, I believe, but it has enough pixels for excellent digital zooming. Here is a video of a buddy of mine, me providing ranges, and coyotes along with the Wraith 4K MAX (not the mini). This will give you some idea of dusk capability.
Rix (for whom I work) has the Tourer T20 @ $699 is a nice scope and with the included IR illuminator, get you out 200-350 yards or so depending on conditions. It is a nicely capable package.
Here is the thing with DNV is that you will have to have an IR illuminator. They all come with one that will get you out 200 yards or more, but if you really want to see with them at night at long ranges, you need a supplemental IR illuminator with more power. Do not but one from Armasight. Get something like a Coyote Cannon. They are large, but phenomenal performers.
PARD has some very interesting offerings that the folks in Europe seem to think are quite excellent, some with laser range finders.
A couple more companies have recently popped up as with with their initial offers. The specs and stuff seem fine, but no clue about the companies themselves at this point.
You asked about what night hunters really use and I am stealing this statement, but NV & DNV is for casual hunters and thermal is for more serious hunters. What does that mean? Overall, thermal has less shortcomings than NV and DNV with the advantage of being able to detect and recognize thermal signatures at night better than NV or DNV will see the critters making them. Now, I have killed a lot of hogs using DNV. You can use it effectively, but you have to work so much harder to do so. The biggest reason why is called "photonic barriers." Basically, it means getting the image washed out by a light source shining toward you or the image getting washed out by reflected light from the IR illuminator you are using to try t see your target. Things in the foreground will overilluminate and so thing in the background will sometimes disappear as a result. This is a particular problem when hunting in busy environment such as woods or where you have anything sticking out that might reflect too much light toward you. However, if you are in nice open plains, well grazed pastures, etc., you can do very well with DNV.
Also, DNV in daylight mode is like a day scope. In this application, and largely because DNV has so much more resolution, it kicks butt on thermal in your price range for seeing targets more clearly at longer distances.
Here is a side by side of using thermal and DNV and you can see how much harder it is to see things with DNV and what gets lost in the background and the fact that the color of the animal can help hide it.
You can use thermal in daylight. You can use DNV in daylight. DNV is better in daylight, especially on days when ambient temps are reaching animal body temps and you have what is called 'thermal crossover' (everything looks to be the same temperature and the image washes out).
I asked a coworker and he said.....thermal is the way to go and good ones are 5k. Tolerable around 3500.
He kills a bunch of yotes
Thermal is the way to go and prices are coming down on thermals as more and more companies are introducing products. There are garbage thermals, budget thermals, middle of the road, and high end stuff. Friends don't let friends buy ATN. Then you have your budget thermals like Rix, AGM, Low end Pulsar, Burris etc. Budget thermals are lower cost but still have excellent warranties and the companies have proven to take care of their customers. A lot of the budget thermals have fewer features than more expensive models but often have some excellent capabilities.
Here is a scope I have been hunting with that is a whopping $1800 and actually does a nice job. The hogs you see passing behind the foliage would have been difficult to impossible to see with DNV and an IR illuminator.
With your budget of $3k, you could do a variety of things.
There are a variety of <$3K thermals out there, but the Storm S3 sort of fits your parameters. It is a 3.5x base magnification scope, 384 resolution (you don't want less than 320 resolution, IMO) that is well within your budget, small and light for a thermal, and very easy to use. For your budget, you could buy this thermal, a Wraith or Tourer and maybe still have money left over for a really good supplemental IR scope and do your own comparison about what you like better.
If you are a more infrequent/casual hunter and don't want to spend too much money on something you do a few times a year or whatever, a lot of folks start off with a DNV rifle scope and then get a small thermal spotter that may not be a great thermal scope, but good enough to tell you something is at your feeder at 150 yards and then you can ID it with your DNV on your rifle. You can find a handheld thermal that will do that for you for the same or less than what you are paying for the DNV, plus get your IR illuminator, AND have plenty left over for a bunch of ammo.
