Hello, all, first post here. I have stalked for a while and much of my studying has arisen from reading conversations on here. Great place!
Did a few night hunts with a buddy last year and loved it. Loved the tech. We scanned with an old FLIR 64 LS and shot with a Gen 2+ clipon, in tandem with a 5x optic. Naturally, from there I started to learn what I could about NV and thermal, leading me reach out here.
I'm pretty excited about where digital NV is heading and the much-reduced price of entry. So I'm pretty sold on the forthcoming Wraith 4k as a weapons sight and have my deposit placed. I feel like they will be arriving in the next couple months. Sightmark has finally just put out a teaser vid. My real focus is a thermal scanner, with the 35 mm Hogster being the absolute upper price limit.
So I have the opportunity to purchase either....
- That old FLIR 64 LS for $2,000 (it IS a 640 sensor and was a $6,000 unit back in the day, but does the rest of the older tech in it make it inferior to the others here?)
- Axion XM38 (Discontinued, so now available for just $2,200. I understand the native mag gives this guy a terrible FOV. But... the 12 micron sensor/pixel pitch surely results in a sweet picture for a lower res unit. And detection range is twice what the Hogster is).
- Hogster 35 mm (I think I've watched every vid Kirsch and others have put out there and listened to other angles on this one. A local dealer has a 35mm in stock. This one will give me the option to mount on a second rifle, which is a bonus, but not a deciding factor. Mounted sight and hunt recording are already covered with that 4k.
- Helion XQ38 (I know I said $2,600 was my limit, but this one warrants consideration. I have only seen Kirsch's video comparison. From THAT, I cannot justify an additional $400. Am I wrong, and detection range/clarity are much better through the eyepiece than that of the Hogster?)
I will probably get the Hogster today. But this is a lot of $$ to me and perhaps someone has one more to consider? Just want to make the best choice possible.
What are thoughts on the LS64? It looked fantastic and beats the crap out of my Scout TK
I hunt thousands of acres here, among several locations and have a variety of field sizes. Some are 500 and 600 yard areas in a couple directions, and for those, the narrower FOV of Axion would be fine. Not so fine for the smaller areas. I'd say half the areas are 200 and under, but I'd like good detection 600 yards.
Did a few night hunts with a buddy last year and loved it. Loved the tech. We scanned with an old FLIR 64 LS and shot with a Gen 2+ clipon, in tandem with a 5x optic. Naturally, from there I started to learn what I could about NV and thermal, leading me reach out here.
I'm pretty excited about where digital NV is heading and the much-reduced price of entry. So I'm pretty sold on the forthcoming Wraith 4k as a weapons sight and have my deposit placed. I feel like they will be arriving in the next couple months. Sightmark has finally just put out a teaser vid. My real focus is a thermal scanner, with the 35 mm Hogster being the absolute upper price limit.
So I have the opportunity to purchase either....
- That old FLIR 64 LS for $2,000 (it IS a 640 sensor and was a $6,000 unit back in the day, but does the rest of the older tech in it make it inferior to the others here?)
- Axion XM38 (Discontinued, so now available for just $2,200. I understand the native mag gives this guy a terrible FOV. But... the 12 micron sensor/pixel pitch surely results in a sweet picture for a lower res unit. And detection range is twice what the Hogster is).
- Hogster 35 mm (I think I've watched every vid Kirsch and others have put out there and listened to other angles on this one. A local dealer has a 35mm in stock. This one will give me the option to mount on a second rifle, which is a bonus, but not a deciding factor. Mounted sight and hunt recording are already covered with that 4k.
- Helion XQ38 (I know I said $2,600 was my limit, but this one warrants consideration. I have only seen Kirsch's video comparison. From THAT, I cannot justify an additional $400. Am I wrong, and detection range/clarity are much better through the eyepiece than that of the Hogster?)
I will probably get the Hogster today. But this is a lot of $$ to me and perhaps someone has one more to consider? Just want to make the best choice possible.
What are thoughts on the LS64? It looked fantastic and beats the crap out of my Scout TK
I hunt thousands of acres here, among several locations and have a variety of field sizes. Some are 500 and 600 yard areas in a couple directions, and for those, the narrower FOV of Axion would be fine. Not so fine for the smaller areas. I'd say half the areas are 200 and under, but I'd like good detection 600 yards.
Last edited: