Thermal setup

[Mr. Hawk]

I won a little money in a sports pool and was thinking about getting into the thermal game with my winnings. I'd like to maybe be able to shoot varmits, yotes with it. Most of my shots would be 150 or less. I already own a DPMS Ar15 in .223 but am new to the whole thermal and suppression stuff. Would this gun be a good setup to get started and keep my costs down. What exactly do I need and what can I expect to spend to get a good quality setup?

 

[Jcalder]

Ask planking's neighbors. They seem to be efficient and close enough to you they could possibly let you try it out.

 

[ImThere]

Following. I got a canine problem

 

[Smoke]

Your rifle will work fine. I've got both my thermal setups on ARs. I use Pulsar for my rifles and my scanner. Prices have come down with some new brands hitting the market. I've got 2 of the thermion models with 384 resolution and they've worked just fine for me. The 640 will be clearer especially when you start magnifying but it's never been a problem for me. Every time you double base magnification you cut resolution in half making image more pixelated. You can look at HanzETX on YouTube. He demos about everything on the market on his channel and it will give better idea of what you can expect. You can call them at outdoor legacy in texas and talk to them about what you want out of a thermal. I buy mine from Thermal Optics Plus. He's right here in TN and usually throws in some extra stuff for same price others sell for. I'd say either AGM, Rix or Pulsar will be your best bet for what you want.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Ditto what smoke said.

 

[megalomaniac]

Just a heads up before you spend your $$$, you cannot shoot coyotes with a thermal after dark unless it is mounted on a shotgun.

 

[GUNNERX2]

Just a heads up before you spend your $$$, you cannot legally shoot coyotes with a thermal after dark unless it is mounted on a shotgun.

FIFY

 

[scn]

Just a heads up before you spend your $$$, you cannot shoot coyotes with a thermal after dark unless it is mounted on a shotgun.

Correct. The nighttime season for coyotes is shotgun only.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

They just had a thermal coyote competition here, guess how many shotguns were used this is outlaw land though. Sure Planking is dramatic, but he's not wrong. This is just the new way to hunt deer and everything else here.

 

[Jbird22]

For what you're describing, an AGM Rattler V2 25-320 would be ideal. You're looking at spending around $1200 for one. I have been very pleased with mine so far.

 

[Smokyrider]

AGM, Nocpix or DNT make good thermals for the money, I would go for 2-2.5 base magnification and probably a 384.

There is also the Mars MT1000LRF 640 which has been getting good reviews for a budget thermal.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Pulsar or AGM Rattler are both good. My vote is Pulsar

 

[megalomaniac]

For what you're describing, an AGM Rattler V2 25-320 would be ideal. You're looking at spending around $1200 for one. I have been very pleased with mine so far.

Buddy has one and it is really nice.

He called the manufacturer and they say the unit will handle the recoil of a 12g 3in mag load, but have to get the external battery, as the internal battery will blink off at the recoil and you have to repower up the unit.

 

[sneakybow]

I tend to stick with thermals that don't use proprietary batteries. That takes pulsar and agm off the table. Rix and DNT use 18650 batteries, same as everything else in my pack. It simplifies everything for me. Had good luck with Rix, Nocpix, and my hunting partner is getting a DNT from them to do a YouTube review on it for his page.