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seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal #6897617 09/24/17 11:04 PM
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patrick123 Offline OP
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good evening all, i am seeking advice on the best i can get for around 700 to 1700. thanks in advance and if it is a little more than that i may be able to swing it. thanks as i have little to know knowledge on this topic and it would be mounted on an AR.

Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6897878 09/25/17 04:03 AM
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ChadTRG42 Online Happy
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Best= $700-$1700= not much!!! When you go to thermal, it's not cheap. IR will be cheaper, but it's not near as good for night hunting.

Honestly, some of the prices you will be at for thermal will be in the $2000-$2800 area. You can find some good entry units for this.

I'm also thinking about selling my FLIR RS 32 1-5 unit to upgrade.


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Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6897891 09/25/17 04:31 AM
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This is about as good as it gets for the price:

http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbth...-5x#Post6897888


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Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6898240 09/25/17 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted By: patrick123
good evening all, i am seeking advice on the best i can get for around 700 to 1700. thanks in advance and if it is a little more than that i may be able to swing it. thanks as i have little to know knowledge on this topic and it would be mounted on an AR.


Hey Patrick, I'll be glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you want to go with something digital(IR), I'd highly suggest the Sightmark Photon XT. They come in a fixed 4.6x and fixed 6.5x magnification. Generally speaking the 4.6x is my recommendation but without knowing more about your situation and what you want to do with the optic, I wouldn't say for sure. You'd be looking at a price range of $499-$649, plus about $60 for a set of rings. Then, depending on your needs, you might want a really good external IR illuminator that can cost anywhere up to around $200. So you could be looking at anywhere from $560-$900 for a complete setup, ready to roll. The only other option in this price range is the ATN X-Sights and you won't find a whole lot of love for them on this forum. Some guys love them and some guys hate them, it really depends on your personality type in my opinion. The X-Sights have all the bells ans whistles but the trade off is a steep learning curve, a need to be at least somewhat tech savvy, a desire to learn and sometimes a decrease in reliability. Price range would be $599-$699 with no upgraded external IR illuminator.

There are a few really nice Pulsar digital optics in the $1,299 range and they are fantastic but quite honestly, I try to steer guys away from them now days. They are much better than the Photons and X-Sights but often, an external IR illuminator is needed on those scopes as well, so now you are looking at $1,500+ for a digital unit.

At this point, if I wanted to take a step up and spend more than $1,000, I would go with the Pulsar Core RXQ30V thermal. It's $1,899 and it is nothing to throw rocks at. It's a full featured thermal and for the money, you can't beat it. The detection range is going to be close to 1,000 yards for a human sized target and the ID range on a hog, coyote, deer etc is going to be between 200-350 yards depending on the conditions and your abilities. And when I say that is the ID range, that doesn't mean I'd suggest taking shots that far in most normal situations. But I'd say the same thing if you were using a $5,000 thermal. I can't always ID animals that far but it's usually pretty easy to rule out cows and deer and that's step 1 for me. I can then go closer to determine if it's a hog. Here is my initial review of the RXQ30V. http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6829182/1

I really don't think you would be disappointed in any of the optics listed above as long as you have the correct expectations going in. Yes the more money you spend, the better features and image quality you are going to get but that is an almost endless cycle. You've got to decide what your budget is, what your needs/wants are and then get the most bang for your buck within the options.

If you'd like to ask any questions or talk about it, feel free to give me a call. (877)350-1818 No pressure to buy, no sales tactics, that's a promise.

- Jason


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Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6898801 09/26/17 12:46 AM
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If you want to discuss pulsar hit me up. I have some experience with ATN as well but I'm a pulsar guy these days.

Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6901335 09/27/17 10:29 PM
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I'd look hard to try to get close to that $2000 mark. That opens up a couple thermal options. The new Pulsar RXQ30V is dang good for the money at 1899. We've sold tons of them. I've hunted with it a bunch too and been real impressed for the money.


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Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6914782 10/10/17 12:19 AM
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enigmausly Offline
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I believe Armasight has one of their Predator line w/AR mount offered at $1950 right now


Alway's seeking forums where Zero is a positive;
Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6914806 10/10/17 12:35 AM
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Originally Posted By: patrick123
good evening all, i am seeking advice on the best i can get for around 700 to 1700. thanks in advance and if it is a little more than that i may be able to swing it. thanks as i have little to know knowledge on this topic and it would be mounted on an AR.

I'm a total noob on the night vision stuff too. I was thinking $2K max & when I looked into it, I gave up quick. Seems like $5K budget is more appropriate. I'm sure it's great fun, but to each his own. I fell back to looking at feeder lights. $350 will get you the best of the best. I know it's not the same thing, but it depends on what you're after.


"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” - George Orwell
Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: pertnear] #6914913 10/10/17 01:36 AM
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Originally Posted By: pertnear
...I gave up quick. Seems like $5K budget is more appropriate.
Don't know how you arrived at $5k as the minimum, but the Pulsar above is a good unit, this new one from FLIR for a few $ more looks like a really good scope for a entry-level item.

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Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6915092 10/10/17 03:36 AM
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mnsherick Offline
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Call or text me anytime. I've spent a lot of time behind thermals and night vision, I've owned and rented nearly every make and model out there. I just traded up all my units (try to keep them all new every 3 years or so)

There are a few options sub $2k that are worth entertaining.
Let me know if I can help.

-Matt

Re: seeking a reasonably priced IR or thermal [Re: patrick123] #6918472 10/12/17 11:27 PM
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DocHorton Offline
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I have one for sale in the classifieds right now for $1750 obo that is a decent unit.

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