Thermal scanner

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drsquall

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Jul 22, 2022
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Good morning,
I am looking for an affordable thermal handheld scanner for using around the barn and chicken coop when I am pesting at night. I use a Pard nightstalker on rifle but want a thermal scanner to scan around the place I'm hunting. Now I don't need a 640 I could probably get away with a 256. Just trying to save battery on pard and don't want to keep it on at all times. I currently use red/green lights but want something better. I don't need to be able to really need to go past 100yds because most of my pesting is at 50yds or less. This is for coons and rats, skunks. Trying not go over 500-600 cost

Thanks
Jon
 
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drsquall said:
Good morning,
I am looking for an affordable thermal handheld scanner for using around the barn and chicken coop when I am pesting at night. I use a Pard nightstalker on rifle but want a thermal scanner to scan around the place I'm hunting. Now I don't need a 640 I could probably get away with a 256. Just trying to save battery on pard and don't want to keep it on at all times. I currently use red/green lights but want something better. I don't need to be able to really need to go past 100yds because most of my pesting is at 50yds or less. This is for coons and rats, skunks. Trying not go over 500-600 cost

Thanks
Jon
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type in "thermal scanner hunting " Amazon has a few around $300 , just did a quick look .
Also thermal scanner for Iphone .
 
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drsquall said:
Good morning,
I am looking for an affordable thermal handheld scanner for using around the barn and chicken coop when I am pesting at night. I use a Pard nightstalker on rifle but want a thermal scanner to scan around the place I'm hunting. Now I don't need a 640 I could probably get away with a 256. Just trying to save battery on pard and don't want to keep it on at all times. I currently use red/green lights but want something better. I don't need to be able to really need to go past 100yds because most of my pesting is at 50yds or less. This is for coons and rats, skunks. Trying not go over 500-600 cost

Thanks
Jon
Click to expand...
@drsquall For close range hunting that won't break the bank check out an AGM Asp Micro-160. It was my entry level thermal optic and I still use it. I've seen mice running around and in trees while out night hunting. The display isn't crystal clear at 160 but, you'll know when some rat sized animals show up within range then you can switch to night vision to dispatch them. I can't say what a rat will look like at 50 yards because I don't hunt rats. I've used mine for beaver and coyotes. I think it works best for close-range hunting as you described, but larger animals are not difficult to detect at further distances (beyond 50 yards). To ID animals with the 160 at a distance I relied upon looking at how they move. I think you can purchase one for around $300. If you want to spend a little more try a AGM 256 handheld scanner.
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@drsquall For close range hunting that won't break the bank check out an AGM Asp Micro-160. It was my entry level thermal optic and I still use it. I've seen mice winning around and in trees while out night hunting. The display isn't crystal clear at 160 but, you'll know when something rat sized animals show up within range then you can switch to night vision to dispatch them. I can't say what a rat will look like at 50 yards because I don't hunt rats. I've used mine for beaver and coyotes. I think it works best for close-range hunting as you described, but larger animals are not difficult to detect at further distances (beyond 50 yards). To ID animals with the 160 at a distance I relied upon looking at how they move. I think you can purchase one for around $300. If you want to spend a little more try a AGM 256 handheld scanner.
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Ok, I called and talked to outdoor legacy guys who sell thermals and they said the Asp was ok but said they 256 was a better investment. But for me the asp I think would be okay just wanting to know something there and that pard can take over from there.
 
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drsquall said:
Ok, I called and talked to outdoor legacy guys who sell thermals and they said the Asp was ok but said they 256 was a better investment. But for me the asp I think would be okay just wanting to know something there and that pard can take over from there.
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@drsquall I paired mine with a Pard NV008 LRF and they work well together. I also used the scanner with a spotlight. Worked ok there as well.
 
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@drsquall - My first monocular was the AGM Taipan TM10-256 - right at your $500 price level. I now have a lot better thermal scopes, but I still use it for night rat spotting and when I walk the dog to look for rabbits and the like. 50 yards and under you can spot any of the pests you want to shoot. That being said I agree with @Hal4son but it will work for exactly what you want to use it for!

​

 
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drsquall said:
That's where I'm at I don't do it enough maybe once a month and I don't hunt anything else but just pest around the farm so I'm just not gonna invest in one and just continue to use my lights and my night vision and be happy. I'd rather throw that money at pellets or upgrades to Airgun or another Airgun.
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I get it. There is a reason that Outdoor Legacy is trying to steer you to better stuff and it's not about upselling. I doubt there is anyone that has taken the thermal plunge that hasn't upgraded at some point. A better unit upfront just puts that second unit off longer.

I know it's not what you asked but I would recommend one of the small rifle scopes that can be used as a scanner as a first purchase. Something like the Rattler v2. Eventually (likely sooner than later) you'll want one on the rifle. Keeping track of and shooting randomly skittering rodents (especially mice) with a thermal is a multitudes beyond better experience than shooting them with NV.
 
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Hal4son said:
I get it. There is a reason that Outdoor Legacy is trying to steer you to better stuff and it's not about upselling. I doubt there is anyone that has taken the thermal plunge that hasn't upgraded at some point. A better unit upfront just puts that second unit off longer.

I know it's not what you asked but I would recommend one of the small rifle scopes that can be used as a scanner as a first purchase. Something like the Rattler v2. Eventually (likely sooner than later) you'll want one on the rifle. Keeping track of and shooting randomly skittering rodents (especially mice) with a thermal is a multitudes beyond better experience than shooting them with NV.
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Ok, I will look into them
 
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I’ve got 256, 384, and 640 in thermal… the 640 is awesome, but not necessary for simply spotting critters at Airgun ranges.

If you’ve got another source of confirmation (IR, Red Light, etc), and you’re going to use that to shoot with… then 256 is more than adequate. The new DNT has both (256 thermal & IR), and while I probably wouldn’t count on the thermal to show me the difference between a coyote and a Border Collie…. it works very well to show what’s hot and what’s not.

If you’re going to use the thermal as your primary sight to shoot stuff, that’s a little different story.

Maybe grab an inexpensive unit off Amazon that’s returnable. Give it a run, and see if it will suffice for your intended purpose. If it doesn’t, then upgrade or go a different direction.
 
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Coinwa said:
I’ve got 256, 384, and 640 in thermal… the 640 is awesome, but not necessary for simply spotting critters at Airgun ranges.

If you’ve got another source of confirmation (IR, Red Light, etc), and you’re going to use that to shoot with… then 256 is more than adequate. The new DNT has both (256 thermal & IR), and while I probably wouldn’t count on the thermal to show me the difference between a coyote and a Border Collie…. it works very well to show what’s hot and what’s not.

If you’re going to use the thermal as your primary sight to shoot stuff, that’s a little different story.

Maybe grab an inexpensive unit off Amazon that’s returnable. Give it a run, and see if it will suffice for your intended purpose. If it doesn’t, then upgrade or go a different direction.
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My primary scope is the Pard Nightstalker
 
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Coinwa said:
Then a very basic thermal scanner should work fine for your sub-100 yard application.

The FLIR Scout TKx is under $300 on Amazon.
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Exactly. When used in conjunction with a night vision riflescope, the point of a thermal hand scanner in an airgun application is to detect what is in the environment around you. It's convenient to use it to ID animals, but that can be done with a night vision scope. Once IDed with the rifle scope, you're ready to shoot. Best done with an unloaded breech. Once you know what you're looking at and want too shoot, "click, click, POP!"
 
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I would look at a 384 scanner. I think you’ll be happier in the long run. I had a FLIR 160 scanner for about a day. bought it used for a song, was excited, powered it up and learned that it was really good at detecting heat signatures that were very close. Like so close that I felt it didn’t add any utility. Very pixelated, you can pretty much forget about identification.

Sold it the next day for a song.

Between a 160 scanner and a flashlight, I’m choosing the flashlight.
 
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YetiusAmericanus said:
I would look at a 384 scanner. I think you’ll be happier in the long run. I had a FLIR 160 scanner for about a day. bought it used for a song, was excited, powered it up and learned that it was really good at detecting heat signatures that were very close. Like so close that I felt it didn’t add any utility. Very pixelated, you can pretty much forget about identification.

Sold it the next day for a song.

Between a 160 scanner and a flashlight, I’m choosing the flashlight.
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Yeah I'm sticking with the lights for now and when I decided to take the plunge it will be a 384 of some sort.
 
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For scanning I use a Hikmicro cellphone camera, plugging directly into the camera or with the supplied extension cord. It is good for detection at longer distance and identification at short distance. It is 256mp.

Here is a picture from it, stored directly on the phone, of my shooting range at night. The white dot off-centre is a zebra at about 180 meter. On the phone screen while viewing it looks better. But it is still a 256mp.

1720894783831.jpg
 
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