How much would it cost to build an AR chambered for 308 or 6.5 creedmoore and set it up for night hunting hogs (Thermal scope, Suppressor, bipod)? Would it be possible to make a rifle with all of those attachments for under $2,000?

No
Thermal good one $2000 up
Suppressor $1000 wait year
Rifle $1500 plus

holy moly

This might be a dumb question but here it goes. Would using a normal rifle scope and attaching a thermal monocular in front of the scope or behind the scope work?

You can set up any rifle for night hunting including your current rifle. If you have an AR even better since it makes attachments that much easier.

SO yes for $2000 you can buy some type of Nightvision and attach it to your current rifle.

Or you can go cheaper with something like a green/red hunting light at the end of your rifle. ($150 ish)

But if you need the whole package I recommend an AR in any caliber other than 223 if it truly is a dedicated hunting rifle. 223 will be fine if it will second as a home defense gun also. Get a red dot of some sort be it 1X or 1-8X and attach a green light to it and you have a decent night hunting rifle under $2000

good luck

It could, but you will undoubtedly have consistency issues because of alignment problems with mounting, PLUS given that most monoculars are not designed to handle recoil, you risk killing your thermal if you do find a way to get it mounted.

You can get a PSA 308 for $1000. Digital NV for $550. Suppressor plus stamp is around $1000.

Here’s my setup:

CMMG 308 - $1500

Pulsar XQ50LRF - $4300

SiCo Omega 30 -$800

Tripod w/Reaper Grip - $600

This doesn’t include ammo and various other things I use

If your only able to hunt once or twice a year hire a guide. For $2000 your not going to touch Thermal optics on a AR. However the good news is all the Guides up around Wichita Falls have equipment and ammo and you can blast away all night long.

What you described is not very useful for hunting out of a blind at your deer lease. Now, if your going to be hunting out of your deer blind, you can mount a Pulsar Waith to any gun of your choice. Hang a green light on the side of the feeder and wait for them to come to you.

If you are only hunting a few weekends per year why not rent a thermal unit.
Spend your money on a good rifle and std optics. Rent thermal when you plan to hunt hogs.

I can't afford a deer lease, and my grandpa's property has several sounders of hogs. There is no deer on the property and I know this because I run 4 cameras. I'm ready to kill as many hogs as I can in hopes of getting deer on the property after the hogs population is controlled. What makes you think I will only hunt a few weekends out of the year? Hunting is what preoccupies my thoughts every single day. I was hoping I could build a night hunting rifle for cheap but I guess not. Traps will suffice.

Thank y'all for trying to help.

This is a good idea. I have a PSA in 6.8, my favorite go to rifle. Probably 650 to 750.

I have shot plenty of hogs during the day. Make a circular trap.

Sorry, but this is sort of like saying you don't want to drive because you can't afford a Lexus. Be a little more practical minded and you can do a lot, like getting a Toyota or Chevy.

If you want to go with a larger caliber like .308, go with a bolt gun @ ~$500. Get a Sightmark Wraith HD 2x native for $500. Get the extension rail for the scope to sit farther back, <$50. Get yourself some electronic hearing protection and skip the suppressor $40-80.

The digitial NV Wraith will allow you to hunt in the daytime or the nighttime. On open field at night with the stock illuminator, it will get you out to what ... 150 yards (200 in good conditions). Most people aren't shooting over 100 yards the vast majority of the time, so that should be fine. For hunting feeders, perfect.

You don't need a suppressor to hunt. They sure make things nice, but it is not a necessity. You do need to protect your ears, so the electronic hearing protection will both protect your ears while allowing you to hear, and depending on what you buy, possibly give you slightly better hearing.

Just use the rifle you have and red/green lights. Thermal and a suppressor are not requirements.

Why not start with motion sensor feeder lights? Hogs get used to them quickly enough and it’s a cheap way to get in the game, particularly if you’re on a property of modest size.

You don't need a high dollar setup to hunt hogs at night
I have a Ruger American in .308 with NV scope sitting on top
I have well under 1K in my setup and have taken a bunch of hogs at night with it
I even upgraded the IR on it, and still way under 1K
Just my .02

Digital night vision such as a Sightmark or ATN - $500
AR in 6.5, 6.8, or 300blk - $650
Kill all the pigs you want.
If they are that bad though traps will prob work better.

This is a good idea. Hogs indeed get quickly accustomed to motion sensor lights. White light? No problem. The plus side is that you know when something is there. It may just be a raccoon, but you're not constantly staring into the darkness wondering what's going on.

Night vision and bolt gun and you can do it for that price

You will not get a handle on the hogs by shooting them. All you can accomplish with a rifle is to pressure them off of the place. Turn your back for a few days, a week at most, and they'll be right back. I know, myself and countless others have been fighting this same battle for years now. We're finally going to break down and build a pen trap on our place next year to see if we can have more notable effects on their numbers.

As for setting up a rifle, for casual use a digital NV scope with IR torch is a much more economical option. Not as fancy as thermal but works well within limits.

Build a simple circle trap and start removing more of them than shooting them will ever do. Can build one for $100 and they are very effective.

My suggestion is purchase a Ruger American Predator in 308 cal. Go on Ebay or Amazon and buy a green light. I use versa light. You'll be waiting on the suppressor for at least 9 months unless you choose Form 1 and then it'll be a couple of months. Don't worry about that, go ahead and hunt. Unless your shooting subs a suppressor helps but is not an absolute. Search the property and find a heavily used trail between bedding and feeding areas. Set up a feeder and a hog log. Don't throw a lot of corn just a bit but keep the log full of corn. You'll be surprised how much time a hog will spend at the log. Put some type of light on the feeder that will illuminate the log. Set up stand approximately 100 yds. away. Enjoy.

My setup is 7.62x39 ar (BCA upper $250 & Anderson lower $150) pulsar core rxq30v thermal bought off eBay used for $1,500. So that leaves you with $100 to buy ammo which you can get around rounds for in 7.62x39.

Get some feeder lights for pigs. Cheapest option of all.