iray makes good stuff but its pricey.
agree...
but that lends the question of... what is pricey?
the OP hasnt stated what the budget is...
there is a world of difference between a 256 vs a 640 thermal (of any make/model)...
but the truth is.. it was only a few years ago that 256 was the latest/greatest technology out there..
and a few years from now people will think 640 is substandard..
there are very good values out there in the 256 space that will absolutely allow a user to effectively kill pig sized game out to a couple of hundred yards (about as far as a typical shooter could effectively engage a target that size in total darkness)... but those 256 optics wont even get close to the capability of the latest/greatest release from a company like iray, pulsar in the 640 space... let alone something like the iray 1280x75 (at a price point of $18K) thats available to the public now..
Ive got a pulsar axion 2 with LRF that I use as my handheld unit... its a wonderful unit... but when my wife bought it for me it has a price point of about $3500...
Ive got an AGM TS25-256 as a weapons mounted optic that I use for coyotes/pigs.. while it is clearly nothing nearly as capable as the axion, it does more than enough for any shot I could possibly take in the areas that I typically hunt... its currently $1200 at Scheels..
Truth be told, while even more limited than the AGM TS25, Ive also got a Sightmark Wraith Day/NV optic that works well on pigs and yotes out to about 150-200 yards... when I bought it they were retailing for about $600... Now I think they are about $450 most places?
what someone needs vs what they want for hunting pigs at night (or whatever else) is typically 2 different things... and what they can afford (or are simply willing to pay) will have a huge impact on just how high up the "want" scale theyre going to be able to go...