Inital Review of the Pulsar Core RXQ30V Thermal Riflescope

Hey guys I've fielded a lot of questions in the last few months about the all new entry level Pulsar Core RXQ30V thermal rifle scope, since we got our initial hands-on experience at SHOT in January. For those that don't know, this is the least expensive thermal rifle scope to hit the market at $1,899. The very first production units shipped into the US last week and while it was a very small quantity of scopes, I was able to get one of them and spend some time with it this weekend.

This is not a full review, which I plan on doing later, but hopefully this will be a good starting place and answer a lot of the questions that people are asking. (A couple pics of the scope I took are down below)

My very first reaction was noticing how light weight the Core feels. With the Pulsar QD mount and the 2 CR123A batteries in the scope it weighs about 1lb 8oz. It's a little over 11 oz without batteries or the mount. It's also a noticeably smaller housing than what I'm used to with most thermals. The whole scope is 9" from the objective to the back of the rubber eye cup. If you take the eye cup off, the scope is only about 6.75" long. I know this is going to sound crazy, but because it's so small and lightweight, especially without the mount, I can seem some guys on a budget buying it to use as a monocular, as well as a rifle scope.

I'll list a few of the specs of the RXQ30V for the guys who are unfamiliar with it. This is not a cheaply made, low end toy. Pulsar was not afraid to put their name on this scope and for good reason. It feels and functions just as well as you'd expect from any Pulsar scope. The RXQ30V has a 384x288 core at 17 microns, 50 Hz refresh rate, AMOLED display, 1.6x-6.4x magnification, Picture in Picture zooming and a 985 yard detection range on a human sized target. Those are the same exact specs that are in the $2,799 Pulsar Trail XQ30, so as you can see, Pulsar did not cut corners on this scope. The AMOLED display is tinted green which is marketed as a feature causing less strain on the eye. While I've only used it for a few days, my initial reaction is that I agree. I actually think I really like the green tint.

Since I mentioned all the positives, let's go ahead and get the obvious negatives out of the way right up front. The unit has a fixed focus, there is no manual focus at all. There is no video out port, so there is NO way to record video or still images from this scope. Other than that, I can't think of any major feature hindrances the scope has compared to the $2,500-$2,800 Pulsar Apex models. I will go ahead and note that I found no issues at all with the fixed focus. The image always appears to be in focus, even objects at 10 yards. I honestly don't see this as a negative at all and several of the new higher end Pulsars are fixed focus as well.

Let's quickly talk about the overall use and performance of the RXQ30V. I have to admit that I've been using the top of the line Pulsar Trail XP50 every day for 2 months now and it's amazing. So going directly from that to the Core RXQ30V was not really fair to the Core. Those two scopes are apples and oranges and their cost is over $3,000 apart; you can almost buy 3 Core's for the cost of 1 XP50. Judging the Core on its own merits, it is a really nice scope. The clarity is really good under 150 yards. Being a 384x288 resolution, you really start to wish you had more pixels for those longer distances, which is to be expected but I really started to notice it at 200-250 yards. As mentioned the scope has an optical magnification of 1.6x and a digital zoom all the way up to a max 6.4x. In my opinion, the 6.4x is nearly unusable because you've just lost too much resolution at that point for the image to be of much use. There just aren't enough pixels there when you are starting at 384. 3.2x looks decent and is definitely usable and helpful in many situations. I spotted deer at 400 yards in 2'-2.5' tall grass and with a little time of watching them, I was able to identify them as deer. I could clearly see their head/neck profile enough to confirm they were deer but with their head down, it was impossible to know if they were hogs or deer. *Quick note: anyone who has used thermal much can attest, ID'ing an animal with thermal in tall grass at 400 yards can be very difficult, if not impossible sometimes and this includes even the top of the line optics. The complaints about the digital zoom and 384x288 resolution are also true of other more expensive thermals with the same specs.

I had a little trouble zeroing the scope but I eventually got it done. I've used Pulsar's one-shot feature many times before and it's really nice but for some reason I had issues this time. I'm willing to say that the root of the problem was my user error and that was me being in too big of a hurry to get it sighted in. Zeroing thermals can be a little tricky anyway and having 2 people would have helped. Either way, I got it and feel like it was my fault, not the scope's. It's worth noting, the menu icons can be really hard to see on the left side of the display and I noticed this while zeoring. I'm not sure if this is because of the green tinted display or if the icon coloring should be a different shade? To really see the menu icons well you need to have that area of the display looking at something with a dark contrast. It's a minor issue but it is something I noticed pretty quickly.

I've been using the new Pulsar Quantum Lite XQ23V thermal monocular ($2,199) daily for a couple months now and I would say the image quality side by side with the Core is nearly identical. I'm not sure why but sometimes I feel like the Quantum Lite has an ever so slightly better image but I'm not really sure if that's true. I need to do some more comparison. I had some guys over last night and I took the Core off my rifle and I was letting them use it as a handheld along with the Quantum Lite and they all preferred the Core. I honestly think it's something about the green tint on the display that attracts people.

I've rambled long enough but in closing for now, what I'd say is, I think for an entry level thermal, at $1,899 it's a real deal and I believe this could be a gateway drug into thermal, just like the Sightmark Photon has been a gateway drug into NV hunting since it was released. Will guys who own last year's Apex, ThOR or Zeus sell their scope for this? Nope. But someone who is currently using a Photon, X-Sight, Gen 1 unit etc and would like to get into thermal on a budget, this is going to be a great option and I don't think they will be disappointed.
I hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer. I've got more Core RXQ30V's on the way soon, so if anyone is interested or wants more info, give me a call or drop me a PM and I'll be glad to help.

- Jason

Thanks for the review. I've been waiting to hear about their performance. I'm one of the guys you mentioned that owns an X-Sight and a Photon. They'll both be up for sale soon so I can buy my first Pulsar thermal.

With this review I think I could get into thermal, being retired and cash shortages.

We're in the same boat. I'll be in the thermal market early next year.

More info to come tomorrow on the real life performance. It's 1AM and I just walked back in the house from giving some hogs a dirt nap with the Core RXQ30V. I'll go ahead and say this.....it performed 3x better than I expected and I already had pretty high hopes. I'm super impressed now, stay tuned for details.

- Jason

Good write up. I'm glad to see them becoming more affordable.

It's been 7 hours, Jason. Time to wake up and give us the details.

Good write up. I got two in yesterday but they were already spoken for. As soon as I get one that I'll hang onto for a couple days, I'll be doing some reviewing as well. It's a great little unit though. Nice size and super light. There's a lot of performance for the money in these.

As MDMORROW said, these scopes are starting to roll in. I just got a call that I should have more here tomorrow and 1 of them isn't spoken for. There will also be some Trails in the box too if anyone is looking for one.

So the story is, I spotted 4 full size hogs (100-200 lbs) at about 400 yards with the Pulsar Quantum Lite XQ23V. I'd had a bunch of fresh and really bad damage to my pasture in the area they were at, so I went into this stalk with a serious vengeance. I made my way to them and when I got about 125-150 yards away I couldn't find a good way to get much closer without taking some risks of them seeing me. It was clear with a partial moon and I'm sure I stood out like a sore thumb standing in the grass. I could have definitely gotten off a good shot at this distance but I'm not shooting these hogs for pure sport, I want to kill as many as possible every single time. I finally decided I'd risk spooking them to close the distance. As I was moving towards them they were slowly rooting and milling away from me a little which was to my advantage because it put their butts to me. I got to within about 75-85 yards of them and decided it was close enough.

I use a monopod on these long stalks because it weighs almost nothing and I leave it extended to the perfect height I need it. I picked out the closest one to me and she was also the closest to the wood line. I used the picture in picture zooming so I was looking at her at 3.2x magnification but I still had the rest of my screen at 1.6x so I still had my full field of view of the other hogs. That is a HUGE benefit of the PiP in my opinion. I shot the first hog and dropped her in her tracks. Now it was just time to start slinging lead. To my surprise the 2nd hog closest to the woods ran about 10 ft and stopped. I shot it and it took off running and stumbled, that's all I needed to see. The other 2 hogs were running to the woods but not near as fast as I expected, probably because the grass was tall and the ground was so wet in places there was standing water. They got about 40 yards from the woods and almost came to a stop. That was a fatal mistake. I hit one good and they took off running again and I shot the other hog and I'm very confident I hit it as well.

All in all, I shot 9 rounds, I dropped one and 2 more looked to be very solid hits and the 4th hog I feel confident got some lead poisoning as well.

As for the performance of RXQ30V last night, I was extremely impressed. When the shooting stopped and the hogs disappeared I stood there a moment and thought to myself...."A $5,000 thermal wouldn't have helped me hit any more hogs than that." It really did great and I stand by my comment that I think this will be the gateway into thermal for a lot of guys. At this point, I have absolutely no hesitation recommending this scope to guys who want thermal on a budget. Feel free to ask any questions.

- Jason

*Warning*
If you don't like graphic bloody hog images, don't scroll down past the first picture. The 2nd image shows why I'm sold on the Hornady Black .223 75gr Boat Tail Hollow Point ammo. At $14/box and repeat performance like this, I'm sold. I'm not saying there isn't better ammo but for the price it is a real deal, plus it's 75gr, which is hard to find in a .223 round, especially a hollow point. I've been extremely impressed with the results on every hog I've shot with it. Not trying to turn this into an ammo debate, just posting up some results on a very fairly priced ammo.

And yes that is the same hog. It was really strange, her hair looked black on one side and reddish on the other. I'm sure the lightning made it worse.

Thanks for the update. Great shooting.

Using a cash back credit card (new account / application) you can easily save an additional 150.00 off this scope.

That would bring the price down to nearly 1700 for a thermal riflescope !!!

My question is, if the scope is dismounted from the rifle to use as a hand held, how well does it return to zero once remounted to the rifle?

The pulsar mounts haven't lent themselves to quick disconnect in the previous year models , you had to go aftermarket for that - I believe these newer Pulsar scopes will have more options but I'll have to get my hands on one to say for sure

In OP's photo, I see levers on the mount, suggesting QD and tool-less. That's a big deal, if it returns to zero. Everybody knows it's easier to swing the scope by itself than an entire rifle, an no responsible hunter wants to accidentally point a muzzle at a hunting buddy.

I ask, because in my A.O. it's large expanses of plowed ground, skirted by tree line. We have to drive quite a bit. Stop, scan 180 or 360, move again. I'd like the scenario to be a handheld thermal, until we see the sounder, then quickly attach it to the rifle before we stalk closer.

I'm thinking about selling my XSight and hand held NV Monocular and buy one of these. You're welcome to demo it if/when I get it.

All's we gotta do is schedule a night to go stalk around my land.

The RXQ30V is using the same exact mount that the new Pulsar Trails are using. I can only speak from my experience but on both the Trails and the RXQ30V, I've had them off and on my rifles almost constantly and they've returned to zero with no problem at all, every single time. Again that is with multiple Trails and this Core. As I tell everyone when it comes to any QD scope mounts; you need to test it yourself and your mileage may very. I take my NV scopes off multiple times a week to show customers, compare side by side on the bench with other NV units etc and I've had 0 issues with these new mounts returning to zero.

Now I will say that these mounts don't lend themselves to actually re-attaching to the rail very easily. I adjust the allen screw on the opposite side of the QD mounts when I'm first attaching the scope to the rifle and I get a good snug fit, so the scope mount doesn't have any forward or backward wiggle. When doing that it makes for a tight fit when the mount is removed or replaced on the rail and sometimes it takes a little finessing to get the mount back on the rail. This is minor unless you were planning on removing the scope constantly and needing to replace it in under 20 seconds.



Zero Delta has a new high end QD mount for the Pulsars coming out soon and it's going to be really nice. I've got them on order if anyone is looking for one. The issue is, they are going to be $249, so that's a pretty hefty add-on for an $1,899 optic, unless you just really don't like the Pulsar mount. I think it's going to be very popular on the Trails though.



I've probably touched on most of this in the above answers about the mount but I'll try to expand a little further and answer your question about your exact scenario.

While I think the RXQ30V will make a good monocular and still double as a rifle scope, I don't really think trying to use it in both capacities on the same hunt is going to be extremely feasible, especially with the current Pulsar mount. Again, I have no major issues with the mount, but I don't think it's designed to be re-attached while in a big rush, in the dark, while holding your rifle. I'm not saying you can't do it, it just doesn't seem like it would be very handy to plan on repeatedly using it that way. I believe it would be much easier and more likely to work ok when this new Zero Delta mount that's coming out but even then, you'll want to be sure you put the mount back into the same picatinny slots every time and doing all that in the dark in a hurry, won't always be easy.

So at the end of the day, will it work for what you are considering? Sure. Will it be the easiest and best solution? No but then again, if it saves you from having to spend another $2,000 on a thermal monocular, then it might well be worth the hassle.

I hope that answers some questions. Feel free to ask more, I'm always glad to help.

- Jason

You aren't alone. This is going to be what a whole lot of guys do. I talked to a customer yesterday who I sold a Photon XT setup to a couple years ago and he loves it. But the idea of selling that and being able to get into thermal this affordably has him thinking hard about it.

Thank you for the reply. Perfectly answered.

I see a big market for these in lieu of a dedicated handheld. I would imagine a lot of guys will buy this as a spotter that will do double duty as a backup or buddy scope. It's certainly the right size and shape to be a good spotter. Pulsar has really upped their game recently. Everything they've put out has filled a niche of some sort and has been of good quality. I will have a new Helion XP50 in hand this weekend and hope to do a quick video review on it. That's their flagship spotter.

Is there a magnifier lense attachment option for the helion , can you cover that feature in your review? Thx

There is. I'll go over that.

The only thing that keeps me out of this scope is the lack of video. Otherwise I'd be all over it. I'm holding out for the LRF APEX.

That Apex LRF is real cool. I used one when I was at Sellmark headquarters a while back. Simple to operate and worked very well. I think we'll see more thermals with laser incorporated in time. It's a super nice feature.

The lack of video out is a real stickler but Pulsar had no choice. If they put video out on the RXQ30V, they'd kill the Apex sales. The more I use the Core in the field the more I'm thinking this is the thermal game changer. It's just flat out amazing for the money.

The LRF's are ok. I've used them on the new Apex, as well as the new Digisights. I just don't find them extremely handy nor as easy to use as I'd like. Again, I'm not saying not to buy one and if I hunted smaller game like coyotes I can see where it might be more handy. On hogs, I just do my best to get close enough to not have to worry about the distance. All hunting condition are different though, so I know a lot of people will like them.

My biggest issue with the LRF's is the cost. On an Apex, it's a $500 upgrade for the LRF models. The Apex XQ38LRF is $2,999. If you want to record video, you've got to buy an external recorder and cable at a cost close to $250. So now you've got $3,250 in your Apex LRF with a video recorder and you've got to mess with the recorder, cables etc. Not the end of the world but it's no where near as nice as built in recording. For $2,799 you can buy the Trail XQ30 and get the built in video recorder, Stream Vision and the battery packs, which are a huge plus to me. For $3,299 you can get the Trail XQ38. I'm not saying the Apex LRF's are a bad deal if you really need/want the LRF, but otherwise, they aren't the best bang for the buck, in my opinion.

Update

I put the Pulsar Core RXQ30V to good use this weekend and I'm not going to lie, I'm in love with this thing. And as I mentioned before, I've been using the Trail XP50 for over 2 months, so I'm really setting the bar high for the RXQ30V.

Saturday night we had a big storm system come through and dump over 2.5" of rain on us in just a few hours. During a break from the storm, before another line of storms rolled in, I scanned my pasture I can see from my house and I saw 15+ hogs at 250 yards. I quickly geared up and grabbed the Core again because I wanted to see it perform again in a fast shooting, multiple hog situation. I stalked to within about 75 yards of the hogs and was sloshing through 2-4" of water the whole time. Thunder was rolling all over and lightning was dancing across the sky in every direction, so my goal was to get this deed done and get back to safety.lol

Again I used the picture in picture function for the first shot. I dropped a 200lb sow dead in her tracks and most everything else in the bunch was 40-75lb shoats. They started running around like chickens with their heads cut off and I started the follow up shots. I dropped at least 2 more in their tracks and I'm pretty confident I winged 1, if not 2 more. I used my Pulsar Quantum Lite monocular to find the downed hogs and the grass was so tall I barely found the 2 smaller hogs; another reason I can't be sure I didn't hit another hog or two. I drug the 2 shoats, about 45-50lbs each over to the sow and snapped some pictures before it started flooding again. By the time I got back up to the barn, I was soaked, as was the Core. I take good care of gear but it's nice to know you've got something that's waterproof and isn't going to get hurt. I dried it all off back at the house and it's 100% good to go.

Once again, I've got to give some props to Hornandy on this ammo. I'm not a sharpshooter by any stretch of the imagination but this ammo seems to be making up for my weaknesses.lol

I've got the Core RXQ30V's on the shelf if anyone is looking for one.

- Jason

Well sure. It is a bare bones, get the job done, nothing fancy, very affordable scope. Everybody would like to get all the good features for the no feature price.

I recieved my Core today and my scale is either off or not calibrated the same as yours

The pulsar website shows 17.6 ounces w/o batteries

I assumed this weight included the factory mount...

My scale shows 17.0 ounces w/o batteries AND w/o mount

The mount alone is 6.5 ounces

So total weight without batteries of my core is 23.5

Our total weights match but not the weight of the scope only and our total weights are above Pulsars spec

Total weight of the rifle without mag or ammo is 7lbs 8oz - 450 Bushmaster

Went to the range today - Core was easy to zero, the PIP feature is a lifesaver (and money saver) for a thermal riflescope that has a lower native magnification.

Target was a modest design, regular size hot hands hand warmer as the aim point



First shots on target after sighting in at the 25 yard bench



After final adjustments to elevation (I wanted 2 inches high at 100 yards) these were the final 3 shots



Notes:

Easy to zero, 13 shots total to lock it in

One dead pixel in lower left area of screen

Mount isn't really designed for easy on/off of rifle for scanning vs shooting

Load is 225 grain FTX bullet (recoil is moderate like a 20 gauge shotgun)

Great review and pics, thanks for sharing, I absolutely agree about the PiP. I think it's a lifesaver on getting the best possible first shot off a hog but still having the full field of view for the follow up running shots. I noticed 2 dead pixels on my Core but I used the pixel repair feature and it worked great.

About the weights. You made me start questioning myself and I figured I'd made a mistake somewhere. We have a brand new digital kitchen scale, so I busted it out and grabbed my Core out of the safe. Here are the weights.

Core RXQ30V: 16.08oz
Pulsar QD Mount: 6.9oz
CR123A Batteries: 1.2oz

So a grand total is 24.18oz or 1.5lbs. It looks like our scales differ by a very slight amount. I obviously just misread my scales when I made that first post. I apologize about the error and I appreicate you correcting me. I'm glad you are enjoying the Core. Now let's see some dead hogs!

Speaking of hogs, right before I posted this, when I grabbed my Core out of the safe, I stepped on the back porch and looked through the scope and watched four small hogs walk into the woods at about 125 yards. I don't have the Core mounted on a rifle right now or I'd have shot them. I've got a Trail mounted up but I knew by the time I grabbed it they'd be in the woods, so I just watched and gritted my teeth. Another night, hopefully they won't be so lucky.


- Jason

I popped a sow on Friday night , here are a couple of screen shots through the Core that represent its detection and ID capabilities :

350 yards - a sounder of hogs - the Core can detect at this range



At 150 yards the Core can ID and detect



I'd have no issues hunting this scope 150 yards and in

Thanks for the update and review. In the right conditions, I've been able to ID hogs at 250 yards. I just need short grass and to be able to watch them move a little. But I agree that safely ID'ing at 150 yards is very reasonable, again in the right conditions.

Thanks for the screenshots too. I can definitely attest that they don't do the image quality and clarity justice. It's just hard to get much better than that without a real video out port.

Hey y'all I finally got my video review of the Core RXQ30V completed and uploaded to Youtube. There are two versions. One is a full version that's long but I explain in depth a little more about the features and specs. The other is a "quick" version, which is more of me hitting the highlights and bullet points. I hope these help for anyone who'd like to see the scope and hear a little more about the features.

- Jason

[video:youtube]wjY9GAusn1w[/video]

[video:youtube]aprix2HXGI4[/video]

I have searched for and not found an answer to my question/problem and you seem to be the most knowledgeable person I have found, so:

I have purchased a Pulsar Core RXQ30Va and have it installed on an AR-10 Creedmoor.

I have shot it quite a few times with widely varying success. A few shots will be dead on at 100 yards and then one will be so wild that it misses the B-27 I use for a backup behind the target to record any wild errors.

I have shot it only, this far, with the calibration feature on automatic and I believe that is the problem.

I have noticed that with the rifle stable on the sandbag and with the cross hairs centered on the target, the crosshairs will move more than 12" when calibrating and do not return to the original point of aim.

So must I set calibration to manual?

If so, how do I know when the scope needs calibration?

How do I know whether the crosshairs have shifted?

One can't make verification shots while hunting.....

As for seeing coyotes and identifying them, I am very satisfied. I can identify a coyote at 140 yards with no problem.

By the way, I am not a Texan nor do we have hogs in this immediate area.

I am located in the South East.

However I found this message board to be very interesting.

Thanks for any info you can share regarding my questions.

By the way, the scope is securely mounted.....Loctight where required and a torque wrench where that is applicable so whatever is happening is happening inside the scope.

If the shot is while the rxq30v is nucing / calibrating, it freezes the screen, so if there is any movement of the rifle, it will not "be on target". Set it to manual to get away from this type of problem when shooting. You will recognize when you need to nuc / calibrate by the quality of your sight picture. In manual all you do is quick press the power button. Doesn't take long, and you will be aware of the calibration and can choose when to do it - not when taking a shot.

I've enjoyed mine since they first came out. On an AR-308. Always on manual calibration, and no problems. Hope this helps.

Jack

Thank you.

Much appreciated.

I was worried that the scope might have sight picture creep and that calibration was meant to bring the aim point back to position but from your reply I see that it has to do only with adjusting the sensitivity to the various temperature areas in the sight picture.

Thanks again.

Actually Jack, "manual" calibration or NUCing is when you have to both close the lens cap (rotation of the diaphragm, in this case) and push the button. That is a specific setting on the Pulsar thermal scopes. What you are talking about is not manual, but "semiautomatic calibration." In semi auto, you do a quick press of the button with no need to close the lens cap. See page 10, here...
https://assets.tequipment.net/assets/1/26/Pulsar_Core_RXQ30V_Thermal_Imaging_Sight_Manual.pdf

DNS you are correct, didn't have the manual with me. Semi auto is my setting and has been easy from the start.....

The manual does not state what a number change equals in MOA.

In other words changing -5 y to -6y will move the point of impact at 100 yards what distance?

I now have mine set dead on at 100 yards and wish to raise the impact point 1.3".

And i wish to avoid the "hunt and peck" method.

Usually 1 value equals .75 MOA in adjustment

It varies by model and depends on pixel size of display and sensor but without getting all technical I find that all pulsar thermals are .75 per click.

Thank you.

I have a couple more questions.

I have hunted a few nights and shot a couple of coyotes. I have watched several more but did not shoot at them as I am still being very careful that I know what I am shooting. There are a lot of coon hunters, rabbit hunters and a fox hunter or two so caution is number one.

On that subject, I have no problem identifying an adult coyote. Nothing moves like an adult coyote but the 6 month old does not have that distinctive gait yet. At least not those in my area.
Unless they are running scared or showing the typical coyote wariness, they could be taken for a short eared dog, a German Shepard puppy for instance.

Question #1. I have fiddled with brightness and contrast but have not decided on what combination works best on coyote. What combination do you suggest?

#2: I note your posted images show the reticle with the large circle rather than the crosshairs and center dot. Is that reticle accurate enough for coyote at 100 yards>? I am well familiar with peep sights but that circle is so large I am wary of trying it on a coyote. However I find that the crosshairs and center dot tend to be hard to see against a bright return from the target.

#3: Which of the three modes do you use for hunting coyote? Why not use the ID mode all the time? If it matters, my farm has very small fields by your Texas standard. I am calling and baiting in 2 acre and 3 acre fields with heavy timber or dense underbrush on the field boundaries. Ranges are from 50 to 140 yards.

I find that the coyotes show up as a very small return at 100 yards with the magnification at 3.2.
That is making me wonder if I am using the proper contrast/brightness settings.

I know I could shoot at several coyote and resolve this for myself, but shooting and missing just educates them and makes them much harder to kill. Besides, it is embarrassing.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi old curmudgeon ,

I’ve long since departed from the Pulsar Core, I can’t give you the answers your looking for at this point as it’s been quite awhile since I used a Core.

Hopefully someone who has one and is using it for coyotes will chime in on your request.

I ended up getting an Apex XQ50 which had higher Magnification , sharper image and is all around a better unit.

I’ve seen a few for sale recently (used) for around $ 2500

Might be a good upgrade for you ?

Best of luck !

#1 Weather conditions, location, and personal preference will/should rule your settings. I believe my starting brightness (on the thermal) is usually 10 or so.
#2 I use crosshair ret.
#3 Mine is on ID mode all the time. I don't believe there is anything magical about the modes - IMO they give you a starting point for settings.

White or black hot may make a difference to you also. I vary between them depending on conditions and target. I have the "green" version. Hope something in this helps.
Good hunting,
Jack

Thank you.

It does help.

I have not tried black on white. I will.

Thank you.

Maybe later but not just yet.

Still, good to know as you are obviously knowledgeable.

But also remember that I am shooting at very short distances compared to what I would need to shoot at in Texas. So image quality is much more important to you. It is obviously important to anyone, but it is relative.

I might upgrade and use this one for a scanner. Something to think about.

This is an excellent answer.

1) Having used identical thermal scopes next to each other many times, I've never seen two that produced a 100% identical image quality on the same settings. Every thermal core is different, every display screen is different and I'm sure there are other minor variations within the scope that play a role in this. My point is, we can take 2 identical scopes out of the box and set them both to 5 on the contrast and 5 on the brightness and they may look very different. Also, what I like and think looks good, you might think looks terrible. Some people like a very soft image (low contrast) and some like a very hard sharp image (high contrast), some people's eye are very sensitive to bright screens and they will lower their brightness or again, they might like the opposite. It's really a user choice. As Pootie said, this is also something that changes with the weather conditions. I will adjust the brightness and contrast to what looks good for the night I'm hunting and pay no attention to what the numbers say because it's really doesn't matter because next week it might be cooler with lower humidity and I'll need to adjust again then. Generally speaking this is something I set at the beginning of a hunt and I don't mess with again unless there are weather changes.

2) Again personal preference. I suggest using the crosshairs that you're most comfortable with.

3) This is a very common question and guess what I'm going to say....chose the one you like!haha! But seriously, I have 4 Pulsar thermals sitting out here right now and I can't tell you what ID mode they are on. They could very well all be on the same mode, but I don't know. Every time I pick up a Pulsar thermal optic for the first time, I scroll through the 3 modes, not paying attention to which is which and see which I think looks the best. I set it and forget it and never got back to look again.

I know none of these are the specific answers you're looking for but it's all very subjective for each user and every thermal optic is a little different. I suggest playing with it and finding what YOU like and sticking with that.

Good luck!

Jason

I appreciate the time you took to go through all of that.

And I want to make it clear that it does help and I appreciate it.

Thanks.

Now I am on the way out of town and will disappear for a couple of days.