This has probably been covered in the past but I am seriously considering purchasing a night vision scope for pig hunting. I haven't been able to justify in the past because I only go once or twice a year. Last year one of the guys I hunt with bought a leupold lto tracker so of course I bought one. I saw more pigs this last time than I have ever seen before because I was able to see them off in the woods. Unfortunately, all I had on my rifle was a scope with a green light. The lights seem to work great if the hog has his head down and eating. Every time I put the light on a hog that wasn't eating, it spooked and ran off. I missed probably a half a dozen opportunities because of this. As a result, I am now convinced myself that I must have a night vision scope on my rifle. I really like thermal after seeing what a relatively cheap thermal can do. Gen 1 is pretty much out of the question. I have only been able to find 3 that are in current production
atn thor 4 384 1.25-5x
atn thor lt 160 3-6x
Pulsar Core RXQ30V
Armasight used to have one in that price range but for some reason have discontinued them.
ATN has the worst CS reputation of all the companies. When their scopes work, they work well. When they don't, it can be a nightmare to get serviced. The Thors have more features than the RXQ30V, however, but Pulsar has a reputation for excellent customer service. The problem with all three is that they are lower resolution and the images typically look perpetually out of focus except at exceptionally short distances, and even then, sometimes.
One of the major problems with using thermal is confusing animals. A deer in belly high grass with its head down can look like a hog. On occasion, a calf can look like a hog. Coyotes can be confused with deer. There is a property we used to hunt where guests commonly confused jackrabbits for coyotes. Distinguishing between the landowner's dog and a coyote can be difficult. You don't want to shoot the wrong animal.
The scopes you have listed are what I call 'barnyard' thermals. When I worked with Third Coast Thermal, we had folks that would buy low end thermal and usually within a few months were looking to sell it off for something better due to frustration of use - except one guy. He needed the cheapest thermal he could get his hands on to shoot varmints raiding his barnyard. He wasn't interested in hunting, but extermination and it was all short range shoot. His farthest shot would only be 75 yards and much of his shooting was inside of 20 yards. He got an RXQ30V and loved it. It did all he needed to do in his barnyard. He could tell the difference between a chicken and a fox/coyote, opossum, and raccoon or any of those vermin and his cattle. If it wasn't cow or chicken, it was getting shot.
My suggestion to you is that if you are only hunting with them only once or twice a year, rent quality, higher end thermal from some place like UNV
https://www.ultimatenightvision.com/Rentals-s/1820.htm You will have the benefit of using a quality product and being able to identify properly and shoot at greater distances.
If you are dead set on buying something at this time, get a Sightmark Wraith night vision scope to hold you over until you save up enough money for a decent thermal scope.
Really, thinking about it, renting sounds like the best idea.
