Just retired last year and want to get advice / feedback on Thermal Scope(s) for Hog hunting at night in East Texas woods – primarily.

I am looking pretty hard at the Sig Sauer Echo 3 in the 1-6X.

I am 62, wear Trifocals so there is that…

I normally hunt with and shoot 308’s. For the Pigs usually a Saiga vs my Bolt rifles so I can follow up faster.

Normal ranges for me are 150 yards or less, usually much less. All of my rifles will outshoot my abilities - ha !

Longest shot I have ever made on a Deer/Pig was less than 150 yards. I am not looking to shoot game at long distances like what folks do out West or up in the Rockies….

I know you can spend $15K on a fancy Thermal. If necessary and advisable I can spend that much. But for my aging eyes and shooting ability – I wonder if the higher end Thermals would be worthwhile?

Any advice and words of wisdom will be appreciated.

gamboolman…

Feedback on the Sig thermals has been very mixed. While I have shot hogs at night at ranges from 125-175 ( laser ranged), the vast majority have been shot at ranges from 30 to maybe 75 yards, so, while I’d love an n-vision halo, I see no **need** to spend that kind of $$$. Why not look at well reviewed scopes from trusted brands in the $2500-3000 range? While certainly limited compared to the high end units, they are more than capable of zapping hogs at 60 yards. fwiw, my eyesight is a mess too, and I’ve had no particular difficulty using nv optics.

For 15K the nvision NOX18 for helmet scanning and the NOX35 for the gun. Just that simple. Don't settle for anything less, been there have done it. Again don't settle for anything LESS !

I think this guy is serious - his first post in three years to share this $ 15k bit of advice

Good advice from syncerus. I have hunted with a Sig Echo (1). Since you (gamboolman) are talking about faster followup shots, the Sig Echo isn't going to be your friend. You think you have eye issues now, have you seen the image quality of the Sig Echo 3? It isn't very good, not compared to even the likes of of a Super Hogster or Rico Bravo (which are not high end thermals).

What I find for the folks that like Sig Echos are either people reviewing them and who aren't really hunters, vendors selling them, and first time thermal users who are just so gosh darned pleased to be using something better than a red light or Gen 1 night vision. You don't find any experienced thermal hunters that have a choice that choose to hunt with a Sig Echo. Unless you can't use regular optics, I would not suggest you try a Sig Echo 3. Regular thermal optics are far superior.



You don't need 15K of thermal to hunt at the distances you are talking about. You can do extremely well with scopes below $5-6K and fairly well with them in the 2.5-4K range. You can be functional with some that are even less expensive than that and they won't be as challenging to use as a Sig Echo 3 when it comes to image quality.

If you do get a Sig Echo 3, get the 2x version and not the 1x version. Yes, they will zoom to a higher power, but as a neophyte, what you likely don't know is that thermal zoom is digital on most thermal optics including the Sig Echo 3. That means the more you zoom, the less resolution you have, so you end up with a bigger, but less clear image.