Which thermal is best for longer range coyote/hog hunts?

Y

yotecowboy

New member
Hey everyone! I've got a Pulsar Thermion Duo which works well but was incredibly expensive for what it is. Seems like anything past 200 yards is very hard to identify so not ideal for longer ranges. Any thoughts on a good thermal that can actually pick up past that with good identifiers? I've seen some in the 17k range so maybe that's the cost if you want longer range but I'm hoping I just missed some good options out there.

As a reference I'm looking for something that I can sit on hills etc overlooking valleys and actually see whats running vs. dark spots that could be deer vs. predators.
 
Thermal isn’t very good at identifying critters out at 200 yards, but once you use it a bit you can start to tell the difference between a rabbit and a coyote.

With that said, I think N-Visions XRF with a base mag of 3.5 is a nice “long range” thermal.
 
capitol said:
Thermal isn’t very good at identifying critters out at 200 yards, but once you use it a bit you can start to tell the difference between a rabbit and a coyote.

With that said, I think N-Visions XRF with a base mag of 3.5 is a nice “long range” thermal.
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Yikes just googled it and 10k whew although I did ask lol
 
What you will be looking for to satisfy the criteria that you listed is something with at least a 640 core and a base magnification of 3X or higher.
 
Lots of guys use thermal monoculars to scan and use IR scopes to shoot.

It makes sense. Use thermal to spot your critter and IR to id it before you take the shot.

Your difficulty comes from your 200 yard requirement. It’s not that it can’t be done. It just won’t be done on a tight budget.
 
Bowhunt said:
What you will be looking for to satisfy the criteria that you listed is something with at least a 640 core and a base magnification of 3X or higher.
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Could you explain more on the 640 core and what that means? I'm a bit of a newbie on some of the terms. magnification I'm good on.
 
capitol said:
Lots of guys use thermal monoculars to scan and use IR scopes to shoot.

It makes sense. Use thermal to spot your critter and IR to id it before you take the shot.

Your difficulty comes from your 200 yard requirement. It’s not that it can’t be done. It just won’t be done on a tight budget.
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10-4... man if I was a millionaire just to have cools scopes LOL
 
Just a reminder that when you use NV or digital NV to shoot, there may be only one shot available. The smoke from the shot will be illuminated by the IR and cause a whiteout blindness (photonic barrier). If it is windy, that might not be a problem, and shooting suppressed helps somewhat to mitigate the effect. Also setups have to be more carefully considered because any bushes, limbs, etc. between you and your targeted animal will also tend to cause that same blindness from the IR reflecting off them.
 
it all boils down how much money you have. but what good is it identify a coyote at 800 yrds if your not going to shoot it that far. most of coyote i see at that distance i can usualy tell how they are acting or moving and reacting to the call. by the time they get in range you will know most of the time
 
duck said:
it all boils down how much money you have. but what good is it identify a coyote at 800 yrds if your not going to shoot it that far. most of coyote i see at that distance i can usualy tell how they are acting or moving and reacting to the call. by the time they get in range you will know most of the time
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Very solid point. So i should clarify I guess I'm looking more for spotting on one end to scout out possible good stands and separately for my rifle in the stands.
 
yotecowboy said:
Could you explain more on the 640 core and what that means? I'm a bit of a newbie on some of the terms. magnification I'm good on.
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I could fumble through a long explanation that may not he adequate and may contain some things that are just plain wrong. LOL. In short...........the 640 core provides a higher resolution more defined image. 384 core will get you by. 640 core is great with very good image quality. 1280 cores are showing up and are the highest definition available to the civilian market (that I know of), but are extremely expensive......at least by my standards. You can call and talk to some guys that are well versed in this stuff and they can explain it much better than I. They live and breathe this stuff. Try calling Hans or Jason with Outdoor Legacy Gear. I hear they are awesome and very knowledgeable guys to deal with, and all of their videos I have watched lead me to believe that is true.
 
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Had taken many dogs 300 to 500 with a n vision halo lr a couple years ago, trying the iray bolt th50c v2 now, it is decent and probably need to play with settings more, but that halo lr seemed easier to hold on longer targets.

Get 640 minimum base 3x or more if open country and practice. I used to shoot frozen water balloons and milk jugs at distance with my set up for practice. Learn the reticle and your load

Dogs are pretty easy to i.d. if moving much at all. Just bee 100% on those long shots
 


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