Very new to calling at night but gonna get started. Very intrigued with the clip on ones. Only one I have ever had in my hands was a Burris BTC-50 and was fairly impressed. Seemed easy enough to use and did pick up animals very well, but the distance was only around 200 yards. Any information from experienced night hunters would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
What's the best clip on thermal out there?
- Thread starter jheilman
- Start date
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Personally if you are going to get into night hunting go with a real good thermal or if you want NV get a real good NV Scope. We use a handheld Scout III for Thermal detection and then have a NV D-760 Gen 3, Hand Select, 6 X, Auto Gated, Manual Gain, With IR Light.
I like Thermal for detection and then NV to see what is out there.
If you go with less expensive to start out with you are always going to want something better. The new Thermals that are out now give you a NV appearance with Thermal and ability to record Audio & Video.
If I was going to start all over again, I would go with this Thermal:
InfiRay RS75 RICO HD 1280 12um 2x-16x 75mm 30HzThermal IRAY-RS75 | NightVision4Less
InfiRay RS75 RICO HD 1280 12um 2x-16x 75mm 30HzThermal
I've used an ATN clip on thermal for a number of years. ATN's customer service sucks #*!, but my unit has served me well. I'm impressed with the Pulsar clip on my friend uses (I forget the model) but don't have any experience with other brands.
Double Naught Spy posts videos on here from time to time and post lots of videos on YouTube. He is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Try watching some of his videos for more info.
Double Naught Spy posts videos on here from time to time and post lots of videos on YouTube. He is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Try watching some of his videos for more info.
Bucklowery
Well-Known Member
Pulsar for the win in that price range
Thanks
Buck
Thanks
Buck
waspocrew
Well-Known Member
I’d suggest looking to see if you can find a local dealer so you can look through units yourself. I went with a dedicated thermal rather than a clip on. Iray Rico Mk1 640 works very well. I’ve had it about 18 months and really enjoy it.
I also have a Pulsar Telos scanner and the image quality is fantastic. I think you can do very well in the 4-5k range.
I also have a Pulsar Telos scanner and the image quality is fantastic. I think you can do very well in the 4-5k range.
There are some very up to date night hunters on here and lead you in the right way for $K or less. To have video audio and good optics!
Good luck and you will be hooked hunting anything in the DARK!!!!
If we can help you out in any way let us know
Len & Jill
dirtytough
Well-Known Member
It is hard to suggest anything without knowing distance you will be shooting, type of terrain, vegetation, animal, etc.
Mainly shooting hogs vs calling coyotes in Nebraska is completely different.
Mainly shooting hogs vs calling coyotes in Nebraska is completely different.
BrentM
Well-Known Member
I have a pulsar clip on and a pulsar scanner. I’ve not used other clip on’s but I can say the pulsar is pretty dang good, expensive. It can double as a scanner with the mono attachment.
HuntingBronco
Well-Known Member
If you can spend some timd in the field hunting with someones gear, do it.
1. Unlike conventional optics, I am constantly pushing buttons on my thermal and NV. The clip on models place those buttons further forward than the old adjustable objective.
2. If you can dedicate a rifle to night hunting, just commit and buy thermal or NV. Strongly recommend the integrated rangefinder and now they have internal ballistic. Slick. If clip-ons don’t have this, think hard about it.
3. Getting out will help with decisions. For instance, I could be persuaded that a handheld thermal for scanning paired with a high-end NV would be the way to go. A thermal scanner is a great tool to have in your kit. Plus, it is so much easier to scan with a handheld than trying to ride a tripod mounted gun with thermal.
4. Biggest downfall to NV I have seen is they don’t work well at night in any kind of cover.
5. Identification with thermal is a learned game.
6. Thermal is thermal day and night. NV is actually pretty useful as a daylight scope in a manner very different from night hunting. (No illumination-so you don’t have the issues with cover)
Hope this helps.
1. Unlike conventional optics, I am constantly pushing buttons on my thermal and NV. The clip on models place those buttons further forward than the old adjustable objective.
2. If you can dedicate a rifle to night hunting, just commit and buy thermal or NV. Strongly recommend the integrated rangefinder and now they have internal ballistic. Slick. If clip-ons don’t have this, think hard about it.
3. Getting out will help with decisions. For instance, I could be persuaded that a handheld thermal for scanning paired with a high-end NV would be the way to go. A thermal scanner is a great tool to have in your kit. Plus, it is so much easier to scan with a handheld than trying to ride a tripod mounted gun with thermal.
4. Biggest downfall to NV I have seen is they don’t work well at night in any kind of cover.
5. Identification with thermal is a learned game.
6. Thermal is thermal day and night. NV is actually pretty useful as a daylight scope in a manner very different from night hunting. (No illumination-so you don’t have the issues with cover)
Hope this helps.
i would agree with #2 above. I’m new to nv and it’s amazing what you can see but now I want a thermal to scan with. I have it on a dedicated rifle for pest control so it’s not super critical as I’m mostly concerned with around the house/barn.
Our NV D760 in .223 Rem also have an IR Light to BRITEN up the night. We use a FLIR SCOUT III Hand Held Thermal for Detection.
