Thermal under 2k recommendation. Day and night hunting
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Wraith is a basic thermal. No extra features like the other brands. Its cheap if you look around you can find it for 1499. Mine works well but some of the other features would be nice. I helped the neighbor sight in his top of the line thor 640x480 and I was not all that impressed. I did like the fact that it had a BDC built in to it. But your talking 4k verse 1500 bucks. I am happy with the sightmark wraith so far but I am also basing off the money spent on it.
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I'd be looking into a AMG rattler if that was my budget. They have 2 models that would be better than either of the listed options under or at $2k price point, as long as you don't need built in ballistics.
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While it's not a thermal, the Pulsar Digex C50 daytime/nightvision scope is probably underrated. I borrowed a friend's C50 and was amazed. The stock illuminator that comes with the unit is very adequate and to me, no other IR source is necessary. I think it runs about $1300..may be found for less.
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i like the Thor4, couple things - you wont need high power for airgunning, and the thor is awesome in the focus dept, down to like 10 'feet' .. also to throw it in there, if you have 'no' night vision, a thermal is not usually the most ideal or 'best' to use most of the time. resolution on any thermal you can afford will be less than half of a 4kpro infrared .. 'alot' less detailed, and not near as good of a picture ...so is it worth 3X as much as a 4kpro just because its thermal? not even if it was the same price .. thermal isnt all that and a bag of tater chips imo .. in 'some' situations, very few, its a slight advantage, but only you know that ... the 4k has a color normal day mode to, which makes it a viable option in the day with all the bells and whistles, nice recording, active ballistics and ranging etc
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Totally underrated...I guess because it's cost is much less. I'm waiting to see if Pulsar updates it with announcement at Shot show Jan 23rd. I kinda think they won't because it would undercut their thermal sales. Are you using the standard IR illuminator? Do you like the daytime feature? The twilight abilities were very impressive. Thank you for the pics!
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The C50 is a decent night scope. It really shines at twilight when things are too dark to see with the naked eye but enough ambient light that you don't need an illuminator. If you're hunting somewhere that doesn't allow artificial light, the C50 is a fantastic option. However if you're shots are stretching range the C50 image gets grainy fast. I don't believe it's the best option for night hunting compared to thermal or even other cheaper NV units.
The downside with a $2000 thermal budget is it puts you in the top end of the lowest tier of thermals. Another 500-1k will get you into a much better class of starter scopes. Buying thermal is kind of like buying a boat. Every 4 feet of length puts you into an exponentially nicer yacht.
ETA- If I was looking at a $2500 budget, I'd be looking hard at that PARD TS36 25mm with LRF. It's a 640 unit priced right at 2400. Really wide FOV at 13 degrees and has the ballistic calculator. Both are features that would be high on my list for a close range airgun thermal with longer range potential.
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@AirGunShooter How close was that B&W buck? That one in particular is a really sharp and crisp looking pic. They're all good pics.
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Here goes. Wraith has video and sound recording. Also has picture taking. If I am being honest I forget to start recording before I blast whatever.
I want to show a picture I took out of the scope in a foggy night at 55 yards. Remember the data is compressed more than 4 times to get to this page. It always looks worlds better in the view finder screen. If you look you can see my wife is holding a flashlight. Snow on the ground while light rain. Not the best night for a picture. Not sure how to put it but I have had real night vision and well on white hot or black hot when you use the scope in good weather its like daytime in black and white. The scope is not on a gun in any of the pics.
I want to show a picture I took out of the scope in a foggy night at 55 yards. Remember the data is compressed more than 4 times to get to this page. It always looks worlds better in the view finder screen. If you look you can see my wife is holding a flashlight. Snow on the ground while light rain. Not the best night for a picture. Not sure how to put it but I have had real night vision and well on white hot or black hot when you use the scope in good weather its like daytime in black and white. The scope is not on a gun in any of the pics.
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50 yrds give or take a few. I have help many others set up much nicer units and I will tell you what gets better with more resolution is not really the animal but the details around it. Like the bark on the tree and so on. I wish I had taken a picture of the mouse I shot at 107 yards. It was on white hot and so easy to see. I am working to upload a video but I have to compress the video down again.
Here goes I uploaded a small video at 45-75 yards in a foggy night of a few dear. I was clicking all the settings to show the different mods. The picture quality is not glitchy or blocky in real just after I had to compress it for the forum. The reds and greens are overwhelming because of the fog and I have not learned the settings yet. Also this scope is so new there are no firmware updates yet. One is coming soon. If anyone knows a better way to convert AVI to something the forum likes please share.
Here goes I uploaded a small video at 45-75 yards in a foggy night of a few dear. I was clicking all the settings to show the different mods. The picture quality is not glitchy or blocky in real just after I had to compress it for the forum. The reds and greens are overwhelming because of the fog and I have not learned the settings yet. Also this scope is so new there are no firmware updates yet. One is coming soon. If anyone knows a better way to convert AVI to something the forum likes please share.
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Right at your $2000 mark the new iray baby bolt(tl25) is supposedly doing really well in its class. The rattler ts25-384 is a good unit and it did well. I have tested a decent amount of units so if you have any questions just ask. If you are open to NV the new arken zulus has been awesome and I really think it will be a top contender.
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PARD is still selling the SA32/19 with LRF for $1300. I bought one and for the money I think it is a clear win. So far it has worked very well for sub 100 yard shooting. And if you don't need the LRF (I think all agree that some kind of range finder is useful in the dark!) It's another $200 off. And it's 384K. You can get the SA32/45 for under $2k - no LRF. For 2099, you can get their 640K unit!
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i like this thread for informational purposes .. a couple of things, I think thermal can be affected quite a bit by conditions temperature humidity Etc, but I will let the following video speak for itself as far as my experience with a 384 Thor4 ... i can tell you straight up it is not a cheap scope .. I think it's useful at night for picking up on things but as far as usage all the time I definitely prefer a good infrared .. the image and detail just isnt there for the money .. a 670 sensor thermal, cant tell you, dont have one, but its still not a 1080 infrared sensor ...
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