Budget Thermal

alf

alf

Well-known member
After seeing the videos of shooting mice at night, I've been contemplating setting up a gun just for that, & to pull double duty for a night time coon smacker.
Last year, I upgraded my scanner to the Iray micro with the idea to possible use it as a scope on my 22 for those endeavors.

However, when a Wraith Mini night vision popped up on the net for a good price, I scooped it up instead.
Didn't take long to decide it wasn't the way I wanted to go, so I peddled it.

My buddy & I had focused instead to a budget thermal, & the AGM Rattler V2 caught our attention.
He had ordered one a couple days before me, so I decide what the 'ell.....
Cabelas had a 10% off sale, & coupled with a few points to burn, I bought the basic 19-256 model too.

He sent me a couple videos he took right after getting his.





As soon as I got it, I took it out a couple times to play with, then mounted it on my 10/22 & sighted it in w/o any issues.
A couple 3 weeks went by, & I had taken it off, cleaned the gun, & put it away.
Last night I mounted it back up, set the target out, and it printed dead center....impressive.

So far, I'm liking this thermal. I haven't taken it hunting yet, but I believe it's going to fit the bill perfectly for what I bought it for.
If funds were tight, I'd have no problems using this as my #1 thermal for calling.

1754254651827.jpeg



Last night's target with CCI Subsonic 40gr lead HP's.

Groups were spoiled by the vertical, due to the 89fps extreme spread in those 15 shots.

Probably a non issue, as I don't see me shooting beyond 75 anyway.

1754254953658.jpeg
 
Early last winter I shot rats at pig compost piles. I'm watching for a deal on a .22 PCP, I will use my Wraith 2-16. Have a trailer that I'm going to build a hunting blind on, than I can tow it and park it for a couple nights before a shooting night. Rats were a lot of fun.
 
spotstalkshoot said:
Early last winter I shot rats at pig compost piles. I'm watching for a deal on a .22 PCP, I will use my Wraith 2-16. Have a trailer that I'm going to build a hunting blind on, than I can tow it and park it for a couple nights before a shooting night. Rats were a lot of fun.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of the old days when we shot rats in the dump out in the country....good times.

My 1st & biggest complaint of the Wraith Mini I bought was it not having a cantilever mount. You had the crawl the stock something fierce to get a full field of view on the 10/22.
 
Pretty sure this is an AGM Rattler V1 19-256. It was a thermal laying around used as a scanner and my son put it on my 10/22…

 
Those super close shots are tough. I'd look for a scope with a range finder and ballistic calculator. Holdover becomes really critical under ten yards especially when the target critter is that small. Especially exacerbated when the scope is mounted that high over the bore.
 
wildflights said:
Those super close shots are tough. I'd look for a scope with a range finder and ballistic calculator. Holdover becomes really critical under ten yards especially when the target critter is that small. Especially exacerbated when the scope is mounted that high over the bore.
Click to expand...
Not gonna happen, I spent all I wanted to for this application. I have a Rico LRF on my coyote gun.

My 3" sight height does comes into play at super close ranges, but hold under actually.

Drops:
10 -1.5
15 -0.9
20 -0.4
25 + 0.0
30 + 0.3
35 + 0.6
40 + 0.7
45 + 0.8
50 + 0.7
55 + 0.6
60 + 0.4
65 - 0.0
70 - 0.4
75 - 1.0

At a certain point, accuracy comes into play more so than actual drops.....
 
Nice write-up Al. Good info for someone thinking about 'trying this game' w/o diving in. I personally think too much emphasis is on 'resolution' (even though I do shoot a Thermion 640)--you just need to hit center of kill zone, not the X ring.
 
wolverines said:
I think the resolution has a lot more to do with animal ID than ability to shoot accurately.
Click to expand...
Yup, you're both right.

As soon as I got it, I went out before dark to play with it. Waay out there I saw something white, figuring a cat. Looked through the binos & it was. Ranged it at 330, then looked through the AGM, & thought to myself I think I could hit that, or at least scare the beejesus out of it. Probably doubtful of IDing it properly at night. But then that's not why I bought it. If a guy was on a budget, & hunted tighter areas, say 100, maybe150 & in, he'd do just fine.

When I was checking drops, 25,40, & 60 yards were easy to see & center the reticle on the individual squares, The problems started at 80, where the square was too small to aim at on base power, & bumping it up, all the squares almost lined, up looking like a solid vertical wide line. Bigger squares, spread apart more, would have fixed that though. As it was, the groups were decent, & the drops coincided with my drop chart when I input 1020 rather than the 1050 on the box.
 
I thought this post was about a thermal for a .22. Who takes 100+ yard shots with a .22 anyways? A 256 resolution will have you identifying anything 50 yards away. The most we shoot might be 60ish for small critters.
 
Spurchaser said:
I thought this post was about a thermal for a .22. Who takes 100+ yard shots with a .22 anyways? A 256 resolution will have you identifying anything 50 yards away. The most we shoot might be 60ish for small critters.
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Exactly......however.....

I did fart around with one of my 223's, a 9" twist tactical version, thinking of finding a subsonic load for it. It's kinda worthy of it's own thread, but anything, 40, 50, or 55 grain subsonic keyholed. I had to get into the teens before they straightened out.

I do have a fun load with 50gr Ballistic Tips at 1875.

With a 50 yard zero, it's only an inch low at 100, but fades away pretty hard after that.

So with this load, the 256 resolution is still adequate for ID'ing coon within the 100 yard perimeter.

Also, another point missed, I have a 640 scanner, so ID'ing anything is/should be a moot point
 
A thermal on a 10/22 is pretty neat. Currently I have the Gen 1 Rattler TS25 384 on my 10/22. It’s only 1.5x but plenty good enough for rimfire ranges. That little scope is a good one and has done double duty as a scanner and rifle scope. I have mainly used it on a 6x45 AR, took a few coyotes with it, one at 90 yards. I have been very pleased with the Rattler.
 
wolverines said:
I think the resolution has a lot more to do with animal ID than ability to shoot accurately.
Click to expand...
I dont disagree wolve about ID being better as the res goes up but that is range dependent. I had no trouble with IDing at 400ish with my 384 Berings (1.4x Hogster and 2.9x Super Hogster) when I ran them but will admit that I have never looked through a 256.
 
Refurbished but the price is right.
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ATN Thor-HD640 2.5-25x 640x480 50mm - Refurbished

The Refurbished ATN ThOR-HD 640 2.5-25x thermal riflescope delivers exceptional clarity, extended detection range, and advanced shooting technology in a durable, weather-resistant optic. Featuring a 640480 high-resolution thermal sensor, 50mm objective lens, and 2.525x smooth zoom, this scope is...
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ATN Thor-HD640 5-50x 640x480 100mm - Refurbished

The Refurbished ATN ThOR-HD 640 5-50x is a long-range thermal riflescope designed for maximum detection and precision. Equipped with a 640480 high-resolution thermal sensor, a massive 100mm objective lens, and an impressive 550x smooth zoom, it delivers extreme-range performance and exceptional...
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I just picked up a 1022 to mount under my trail xq38 for racoon work. Just gonna haft experiment with the bdc type reticles to figure trajectory out with the optics that far over the bore.
 
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