budget $4000 give or take
used mostly for scan tool out to 400ish yrds, as a rifle sight occasionally for that 100 yrd non open field hunts.
was leaning clipon for the size, for ease of carrying around in the field, but some stand alone scope seem small enough to not be to cumbersome to carry around with rifle and tripod if needed.
quality picture, quality components, durability are most important, video recording are just bonuses but not necessary.
what would you buy?

My only experience is from my Pulsar Trail XP50. Man, I love that thing. Easy to identify animals a long way off. Great scope but use it as a scanner often. Would love to get the one with the laser ranger finder built in.

That takes away ATN.

If you can take care of your stuff, I would say a Super Hogster is your best option for the money.



Not sure what you mean here. Clip-ons, that go in front of daylight optics, generally result in a combination that is heavier than a dedicated thermal and that are much more cumbersome to use and carry. These are just a couple of the reason why clip-ons are not popular.

Appreciate all the feedback.

i dont mind shooting behind my DNV ( its an ATN and ive never had any issues, but dont wanna press my luck either haha). So if im walking fields and i have my tripod, rifle and dnv i just dont want to have to lug around something the size of a thermion for the purpose of a scan tool, that were the cumbersome part came into my thoughts. only time a clip on would be used in front of a day scope would be the rare occasion of still hunting a feeder or creek bottom etc.

Bering optics have always been high on my list, but the Burris scopes look they maybe nice a quality products, then i read post about the Iray Rico and i think hmm maybe i need to dig just a little deeper and splurge cause the image quality on that is outstanding.

With the price of these things i just wanna make sure i get it right, might be the only time im in a position to make this kind of investment on something like this.

If you're viewing this as an investment (which is a horrible one, guaranteed to lose money ) then stick with something that's proven...hard to go wrong with any of the Pulsar scopes. Find the one that has the correct magnification and FOV you want...example, if you are a spot and stalker (which by your tripod comment above I'd say you are but don't want to assume) you want the biggest FOV and lowest magnification...if you are a stand and feeder hunter then higher magnification would be more beneficial.

Good luck, it's a lot of money to spend on a scope that in 3 years won't be worth much. These things are just like buying any other electronics...the day after you buy it, it'll be outdated.

Hogster's are pretty dang good bang for the buck right now.

Save more money for a Hogster or even better a Pulsar......

Pulsar Trail 2 XQ50LRF is $4300, well worth the money. I hunt with mine during the day, never a problem unless it’s 95 degrees. Buy a quality QD mount from Bobro or ZroDelta and use for spotting/scanning and shooting.