Thermals allowed? ?

[AppalachiaVol]

Copy and pasted straight from the TN Hunting guide:
"Any electronic light amplifying night vision scope, thermal imaging device, or device while in possession of a firearm or archery tackle between sunset and sunrise."

SO if i am reading this correctly, i can use thermal spotting scopes as long as it is during the day time? I will need to enter the woods after sunrise?
Will this also apply to public lands?

 

[Carlos Viagra]

That's listed under the 'prohibited/illegal' section in the TN guide.

(They may be legal to use along with a hog eradication permit.)

 

[AppalachiaVol]

@Carlos thanks, mostly wondering if i can use one in National forest or WMA land during the day to spot bedding hogs in thick cover

 

[Atchman2]

@Carlos thanks, mostly wondering if i can use one in National forest or WMA land during the day to spot bedding hogs in thick cover

Dude, I don't know. Someone smarter than me would have to answer that. I just know that they don't work as well during the daytime because everything in the woods is hot during the day. I was looking in Kansas and you could barely see a deer right in front of you because the wheat field was as hot as the deer!

A few weeks back it was kinda foggy and I couldn't tell if it was a hog I was looking at or not at night. I do have a hog permit for that land. I didn't shoot because I couldn't tell what it was. I grabbed my trusty .308 with the Night Vision and looked down and it wasn't loaded. I just zipped it back up.

My issue with a lot of Night Vision devices is they have TOO much magnification. When you are seeing a hog at 20 yards in the woods, they fill up the entire scope! In the open fields I can snipe better with a Night Vision than I can with a Thermal. In the woods though the Thermal is without peer. There is a place on the property that I can see 210 yards like daylight with a Night Vision. That is where the low zoom of my Thermal is an issue.

The other problem is with the Thermal it seems like sighting it in isn't a precise. I can tell zero difference in accuracy with my Night Vision and my day scope. I have one of those new ones that you can use day or night and I love it! During the day it is a nice color scope, flip a switch and it is a Night Vision. I would never take that on public land though! That is why I'm telling you that someone smarter than me needs to answer this. I am actually thinking about mounting that scope on my PCP air rifle for squirrel hunting so I can record the shots.

 

[AppalachiaVol]

Dude, I don't know. Someone smarter than me would have to answer that. I just know that they don't work as well during the daytime because everything in the woods is hot during the day. I was looking in Kansas and you could barely see a deer right in front of you because the wheat field was as hot as the deer!

A few weeks back it was kinda foggy and I couldn't tell if it was a hog I was looking at or not at night. I do have a hog permit for that land. I didn't shoot because I couldn't tell what it was. I grabbed my trusty .308 with the Night Vision and looked down and it wasn't loaded. I just zipped it back up.

My issue with a lot of Night Vision devices is they have TOO much magnification. When you are seeing a hog at 20 yards in the woods, they fill up the entire scope! In the open fields I can snipe better with a Night Vision than I can with a Thermal. In the woods though the Thermal is without peer. There is a place on the property that I can see 210 yards like daylight with a Night Vision. That is where the low zoom of my Thermal is an issue.

The other problem is with the Thermal it seems like sighting it in isn't a precise. I can tell zero difference in accuracy with my Night Vision and my day scope. I have one of those new ones that you can use day or night and I love it! During the day it is a nice color scope, flip a switch and it is a Night Vision. I would never take that on public land though! That is why I'm telling you that someone smarter than me needs to answer this. I am actually thinking about mounting that scope on my PCP air rifle for squirrel hunting so I can record the shots.

Thanks for the input! yes i need to call TWRA. and actually i was just thinking of keeping a hand held thermal device to glass some hillsides for bedded hogs in the winter. then use my conventional rifle scope to shoot it. more of a locating device. just wanna make sure im in the clear if i were to possess one on public lands

 

[Antler Daddy]

Copy and pasted straight from the TN Hunting guide:
"Any electronic light amplifying night vision scope, thermal imaging device, or device while in possession of a firearm or archery tackle between sunset and sunrise."

SO if i am reading this correctly, i can use thermal spotting scopes as long as it is during the day time? I will need to enter the woods after sunrise?
Will this also apply to public lands?

It appears that you can use it all you want as long as not in possession of a firearm.