Thermal or NVG for hogs

[jake545]

AGM just announced their 384 and 640 res optics are now coming with 5year TRANSFERABLE warranty. This is the best in the industry and transferable. So buy it and use it for a year or two and sell to your buddy with the remaining warranty.

 

[waspocrew]

Try to look through some units if possible. I just got into the thermal game and picked up an Iray Rico Mk1 640 with LRF. I haven't hunted with it yet, but have been very impressed with the image looking at deer around the neighborhood.

Burris was clearing out their thermals recently and I picked up a BTH 35 scanner for $800. For the money, I'm definitely happy with it.

 

[Scottso]

Yeah, so many choices, don't have access to view through any which is a minus, friend swears by the AGM, went to them from Trijicon. A buddy has a scanner hed let me use, so may make a trip with that and my gear, see what layout is, distances etc. it's a 100 acre ex correctional facility, so buildings, fenced in, have yet to see what is actually what, but probably plan to spend a week or so down their, then decide on which direction and fundage needed

 

[jake545]

Speak to dealers that use them and tell them your budget and what you are looking to do with the scope. Listen to Late Night Vision Podcast as well to hear what they have to say on a particular scope. Or give them a call. No affiliation with them whatso ever, i just emailed them once to bounce an idea off them. They test these optics and review them for hogs a coyotes then make recommendations.

 

[WTOBob]

I have both and use them regularly. Prefer the AGM thermal on most nights.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

I like my tl35 bolt from iray. Hogs eyes don't glow so having NV and any illuminatior is not as good as a thermal for hogs in my opinion. Now for coyotes it's a little different. My next buy will be the tl50 bolt with 640res.

I'm running mine on a 18" 5.56 shooting 75gr bthp box ammo.

 

[jake545]

A digital night vision and a thermal hand held is a pretty good value setup for a lot of users and can be done for 900-1200 and up, depending on the units you get. There are some benefits to this setup if you have neighbors and may want to shoot any coyotes, as you can better identify targets. I'm not talking about detection or locating target, that's what the thermal handheld is for, but digital NV allows you to determine if the coyote is actually the neighbors German shepherd. Thermal is much better for detecting and follow up shots when stalking sounders. If you are stationary hunting from stands, especially over feeders etc., the digital NV and thermal handheld is a good inexpensive option.

 

[NeedForSpeed]

I hunt hogs in central Florida. I use a Pulsar XG 50 I've seen them discounted to 3400 recently though I paid a lot more. I use an AGM Taipan 19 monocular to find them when we stalk them. They both work very well. The Pulsar is awesome

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Hear mixed reviews on the pulsar holding zero, and 2lbs lol

This was an issue on the old Pulsar Trails, only some units. I have not heard of it being an issue on other units. That was some years ago. As for 2 lbs, each model of scope has a different weight. Some are lighter than others. None are lightweight. You have the lens plus all the electronics and the batteries in addition to the mount and housing.

I think that if you delve far enough, you will find issues with just about every brand at some point.

 

[tomt]

I also have the Pulsar XG50, love it. I have a Helion XP38 monocular that is great for scanning. The other day I placed a deposit on the new Pulsar Telos XP50 LRF monocular coming out later this summer.

 

[dug]

If your hunting under 200 yrs about any thermo will foot the bill and most rifles can shoot flat enough for well placed shots.
on the WY prairie i need more range so a big better faster thermo was ideal with a rangefinder built in. Pulsar unit i have works well and ranges stuff so that makes those long shots possible with first shot hits. Hogs are very easy to ID with thermo so less expensive units work well. Thermo scanner and NV would be my choice. Coyotes are hard to ID and i spend a long time studing body language before shooting. Domestic dogs will run in on a caller as well as coyotes. Having both NV and thermo helps a great deal with coyote ID.
if i had one complaint about pulsar is battery life , i mostly use mine for scanning as well so its on most of the time im in the field .
spare battery solves the issue. But it takes 45 secs to change out and some noise,movement to get it done .
i sacrificed not going on a guided hunt last fall so i could spend the 6K for the unit , i used the scope alot over the winter and many coyotes fell to it , no regrets.
if you need to see better with NV scopes. Buy a powerful IR light , its really more about the ir light than the scope itself.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Hogs are very easy to ID with thermo so less expensive units work well.

I wish this statement was as absolute as it sounds.

 

[dug]

I guess i should have clarified, hogs are MUCH EASIER to ID than coyotes in comparison.