I've been contemplating buying a thermal scope for some time and have been impressed by the video output I've seen online from the ATN THOR 640 2.5x and 5x scopes. It looks like they have far better detail than ones by other manufacturers. I've never set eyes on one, let alone used one though. So, I did a quick search for places that rent them and found that the 5x version rents for nearly $500/ weekend!?! Do you guys have any recommendations for places that are more reasonably priced? Or, since my schedule doesn't permit me to use a thermal every weekend (I'm a Realtor, so weekdays are better for me), would it make sense to buy one and offer it out for rent on weekends where I'm not going to use it so often? What's the downside- aside from the obvious potential for theft? I don't have so much money, nor a reliable paycheck, that I can set an $8000 piece of gear in my safe and not want to find a way to have it pay for itself in some fashion. But having that $8000 piece of gear would surely help with what I do for local farmers. Thanks in advance for any insights you all have.
Have you rented thermal scopes?
- Thread starter tarhee
- Start date
Expensive scopes command decent money for rental. UNV rents this one it looks like for 489.00 for 2 to 3 days. Good luck running your own rental business. Have you considered gen 3 NV scopes? About 1/2 the money. You could buy a good thermal scanner like the 19a and still be money ahead. Bet they would give a better deal buying both to.
Shaun Simma
New member
I know that tyler from UNV will let you apply the rental fee towards the cost of purchase if you decide to buy after renting. so if you buy the rental fee is really a down payment.
Like Case said a gen 3 NV scope can be had for half the cost of a really good thermal. No matter what you put on your gun your gonna need something to scan with. Or you could do like I did before I bought a dedicated NV scope, I weapon mounted a 50mm day scope and a kill light and then bought a flir TS24 to scan with. When a coyote was inbound I would wait til it was in gun range and flip on the light, ID the critter and take the shot.
Like Case said a gen 3 NV scope can be had for half the cost of a really good thermal. No matter what you put on your gun your gonna need something to scan with. Or you could do like I did before I bought a dedicated NV scope, I weapon mounted a 50mm day scope and a kill light and then bought a flir TS24 to scan with. When a coyote was inbound I would wait til it was in gun range and flip on the light, ID the critter and take the shot.
I've been using a day scope and one Wicked Lights W401ZF mounted as a kill light and another as a handheld scan light- shooting deer at a large orchard under a deer damage permit. It's hard to line up a tight, clean kill shot at the typical 100-400 yard ranges with just a light. Can really only see eyes and a dim gray blob of a body, so I have to determine the body location by watching movement of the eyes/ head. So, I'd really like to improve my equipment to get a better perspective on the orientation of the deer's body at the shot. Given that deer are so well camouflaged, would the nv rifle scope with a thermal handheld to locate them be a workable combo? Can you really see the deer at those ranges with Gen 3 NV well enough to place a clean shot? Is there enough contrast between the deer and the background with NV?
We walk the property and scan for eyes. The deer get spooked by the light, so we have to shoot pretty quickly after finding eyes. I guess a thermal scanner would let us i.d. them without alerting them, then let us move up into range for an easy shot with the light.
What do you recommend for a thermal scanner that works in that scenario?
And thank you both!
We walk the property and scan for eyes. The deer get spooked by the light, so we have to shoot pretty quickly after finding eyes. I guess a thermal scanner would let us i.d. them without alerting them, then let us move up into range for an easy shot with the light.
What do you recommend for a thermal scanner that works in that scenario?
And thank you both!
You can see and shoot coyotes @ 300 yds with a gen 3 or even a gen 2+ scope especially if you have an IR illuminator. Haven't had to try over that yet. If I can do a coyote you should have no trouble with a deer. I have a D740 and a Armasight Nemesis. The gen 2+ scope is even 1/2 the money of the gen 3 scope. The 740(760) is tops but the Nemesis is really good. I got both of mine from Kevin at Hightechredneck and my pulsar 19a from Tyler at UNV. That 19a is fabulous for scanning. Kevin would be able to give you some good options as would Tyler at UNV. Kevin even has a Gen 1 scope for 795.00 he's saying is up to gen 2+ levels. Not familiar with it though.
skinney
Director
Originally Posted By: tarheeI've been contemplating buying a thermal scope for some time and have been impressed by the video output I've seen online from the ATN THOR 640 2.5x and 5x scopes. It looks like they have far better detail than ones by other manufacturers.
Only thing I would compare the Thor 640 5X to is the MKIII (regarding the quality of sight picture through the scope)... Having ran both and killed numerous Coyotes with both, the MKIII I believe has the edge. However when you upload the recorded footage, the ATN looks to be a better picture using the video out.
Only thing I would compare the Thor 640 5X to is the MKIII (regarding the quality of sight picture through the scope)... Having ran both and killed numerous Coyotes with both, the MKIII I believe has the edge. However when you upload the recorded footage, the ATN looks to be a better picture using the video out.
Pete Robinette
New member
+ 1 for the pulsar 19A and then add the NV Scope and you are in the game as well as anybody. I do have a MK II but realistically if a man has a thermal scanner and a NV scope you have a solid foundation and can put fur on the ground. We all love the toys and most of us spend tons of money on this because this is our thing but if you can purchase a thermal scanner and a "good" NV scope for the price of one thermal scope, I would really look at that. Just my 2 cents. I just like to see others getting into the game also.
The MKIII does look really nice- for $9,000 it should be! I like the Pulsar 19A scanner to start with. I could use that to locate deer without alerting them, then move into range and use the gun mounted light for the shot. The deer don't take off right away when we hit them with the lights, unlike a coyote.
The orchard owner sounds like he may be willing to buy a thermal scope for me- I've shot nearly 100 deer on their property and they're planting 14,000 new trees right now that'll generate a bunch of revenue in 2-3 years. If the deer eat the terminal buds, those trees will never grow. So, this is an important time and we need to get on top of the deer problem. I wanted to rent a scope for a weekend to demo how effective it is, but one rental would pay for 1/4 of a Pulsar. That Pulsar will get us going and if we see that a thermal or NV scope will add value, we can cross that bridge later.
I've looked at some Gen3 NV video of deer and it didn't look much better than I can do right now with the lights. The contrast between the deer and the surrounding cover didn't look too good- the deer don't look like they stand out too much. Is that what you guys are seeing, or is the video just not good? Thanks again, fellas.
The orchard owner sounds like he may be willing to buy a thermal scope for me- I've shot nearly 100 deer on their property and they're planting 14,000 new trees right now that'll generate a bunch of revenue in 2-3 years. If the deer eat the terminal buds, those trees will never grow. So, this is an important time and we need to get on top of the deer problem. I wanted to rent a scope for a weekend to demo how effective it is, but one rental would pay for 1/4 of a Pulsar. That Pulsar will get us going and if we see that a thermal or NV scope will add value, we can cross that bridge later.
I've looked at some Gen3 NV video of deer and it didn't look much better than I can do right now with the lights. The contrast between the deer and the surrounding cover didn't look too good- the deer don't look like they stand out too much. Is that what you guys are seeing, or is the video just not good? Thanks again, fellas.
Put the higher output IR torch on and you will see just fine. Kevin may also suggest a clip on which would cover both bases as well, but I still lean towards the thermal scanner. Picks up anything out there as long as it is not completely behind something. If they want to spring for an expensive thermal scope more power to you. Would have a hard time turning that down. Tell them they can buy the scope and you will buy the scanner.