Leave thermal scopes on continuously while calling?

C

cml

New member
Do you guys leave your thermal scopes on continuously while calling or do you turn on once you see a coyote coming in? I always left my Photon off until I saw one coming in because it turned on so quickly. My Zeus turns on pretty quick but not sure whether I should just leave it on so it adjusts to the elements and doesn't nuc right when im getting ready to shoot. I did purchase the extended battery pack that takes 2 18650 rechargables so leaving on won't mean changing out the 123's multiple times a night. Whats your opinion?
 
I turn my scope on when I get out of the truck and dont turn it off until I get back in. You never know when an opportunity will present itself and sometimes things can happen very quickly.
 
I turn mine on for most of the night. I rarely turn it off. Sometimes between stands if it's going to be a longer time in between I'll turn it off
 
Absolutely keep it on. Not sure on other units, but the Pulsar Thermals (Trail and Helion for sure)allow you to turn the display off, so it is a faster start, but I still don't want to be fumbling looking for a power button when coyotes are coming so mine will stay on. There are too many other things to focus on and you are trying to limit movement as well. This is with my thermals, others may be different. If battery life is an issue, see if your thermal allows for an external battery and use a portable battery strapped to your gun.
 
I have a 20 hr extended battery on my IR Hunter so l leave it on all night. My IR Is just too finicky when not warmed up for a good 5 minutes.
 
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I leave mine off. They catch a glimpse of light on you as you bring it up and they stop and usually are gone. That goes for about all night vision stuff. Have to be very careful with the display lights back wash as I call it. Pulsar trails turn the display on within a second. The only issue is the buttons on all these take a little getting use to and aren't the easiest to find due to their design. Top ones aren't bad but I wish the side on one was more pronounced.
 
I leave mine on the whole time. Close the cap on the eyepiece and open it when I'm going to shoot. A lot of my situations don't allow time for a start up.
 
I should have mentioned that I scan with a PVS-7 and use an ir laser for the ones that run in quick and dont give you time to get behind the scope. The ones I see coming in from far away give me time to flip up NV and transition to my scope. I guess thats why I always left my Photon off until I saw one coming in. My ir laser is always on from the time I leave my vehicle to the time I am packing it back into my vehicle so I do have a way to aim without looking through the scope. My ir laser accounted for almost half of my kills last season.
 
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In general, how long does it take for scopes / monoculars to boot up? I'm sure it probably varies from one to another, but is the boot up time so slow as to cause a problem in most cases?
 
My IRD Hunter boots up in 1-2 seconds maybe faster but the menu can freeze up if you spin the knobs too fast before the unit is warmed up. This happens even when it’s 90 degrees outside. I’ve found just leaving it alone for 5 minutes is the ticket
 
HD19 I leave on to scan with. Very seldom turn it off. Pulsar Trail I leave on but you can turn the view finder off and it will come on in about 1 sec. when you turn it on. I leave my D740 or the Nemesis off as they are instant on.
 
I don't think their is a one answer fits all to this question. Some of my scopes turn on instantly. Some have a screen off mode and some I leave on continually.
 


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