Using Thermal Imaging for Hunting

[Justbryan]

Ironically, only legal for hunting predators/furbearers (not bear) in PA where EurOptic is located. Ok for looking/scouting at night, off-season.

I used a thermal monocular in the late afternoon hunt with a guide on a black bear. The guide used it to track bear movement in the thick cover where we could not see the bear with my binos. The guide was able to track the bear and point out a shooting lane. He was able to tell me where to watch and when. Wow, there was a few seconds to shoot at 400+ yards so, this would not have been possible without the thermal monocular. I used a Swarovski scope and was able to dial in the yardage for the spot that the bear was expected to appear.

I am sold on thermals if allowed for bear hunting in your area. The bear tumbled down the mountain and disappeared. We used the thermal to know where the bear had expired. He was partially hidden behind a large log. The guide had a very expensive setup. I want a new thermal! It may have been illegal to use thermal scopes for bear where we hunted but the monocular worked out perfectly.

Check your state for use of thermals for bear and maybe a monocular thermal can be used to aid in tracking. Will all thermals track in heavy cover like this or is this about the quality of the thermal?

 

[mdwest]

. Will all thermals track in heavy cover like this or is this about the quality of the thermal?

My understanding is distance and clarity is tied to the quality and resolution of the thermal..

For a basic 160 resolution unit, most manufacturers are claiming you can see heat at 250 meters.. but can only identify what that heat signature is at about 150 meters...

Where I have a buddy that has a 384 resolution unit that he says he can see deer at 400 meters with and can easily tell a buck from a doe, etc..

 

[buck wild]

Fortunately that’s already a thing. I am an ATN dealer and for 700$ plus tax and shipping you can get a day/night ATN X sight 4k that is day and night compatible. It comes with a fleer and has an internal ballistics calculator, one shot zero, recording capabilities both manual and recoil operated, it also will communicate with the day/night vision bino’s and will automatically set the zero on the rifle using the range finder in the binos. Two buttons and it will return to your 100 yard zero. They also have all the capabilities with recording that the scope has and more. The binos are 899$ (I think, either that or 799$) and I have all of them in stock. I also have several thermal units as well. All ATN products talk to each other and have the same ballistics and recording capabilities.
They’ve got thermal binos and monos. If I don’t have it in stock I can order it and ship it direct to you.
I personally use all of this equipment and it works!
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These are night vision, not thermal correct?

 

[Justbryan]

These are night vision, not thermal correct?

The ATN Thor 4 is thermal, but ATN has several models of non-thermal night vision scopes. What I am considering buying is a scope for Day/Night hunting to go on my new 22-250 and buying a thermal monocular for spotting and tracking game including varmint hunting.

I have used the thermal monocular for bear but not a scope. It was pretty dark and thick and I may not have been able to shoot 400+.

But the post is about using thermal imaging for hunting. Get with Gizmo, plan a hunt, and try it out!

 

[Justbryan]

 

[Justbryan]

ATN X-Sights are non-thermal but "Night Vision". Please don't buy a fake ATN off of Amazon get it from an ATN dealer.

 

[cem rona ergin]

I used a thermal monocular in the late afternoon hunt with a guide on a black bear. The guide used it to track bear movement in the thick cover where we could not see the bear with my binos. The guide was able to track the bear and point out a shooting lane. He was able to tell me where to watch and when. Wow, there was a few seconds to shoot at 400+ yards so, this would not have been possible without the thermal monocular. I used a Swarovski scope and was able to dial in the yardage for the spot that the bear was expected to appear.

I am sold on thermals if allowed for bear hunting in your area. The bear tumbled down the mountain and disappeared. We used the thermal to know where the bear had expired. He was partially hidden behind a large log. The guide had a very expensive setup. I want a new thermal! It may have been illegal to use thermal scopes for bear where we hunted but the monocular worked out perfectly.

Check your state for use of thermals for bear and maybe a monocular thermal can be used to aid in tracking. Will all thermals track in heavy cover like this or is this about the quality of the thermal?

Quality of thermal is very important.. you will also have problems with low quality thermal during foggy weather or when there is to much moisture in the air ..

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

This subject is really interesting to me. After getting the chance to use thermal handhelds over the Christmas season while hunting in England, I now am in need of one! @BeeMaa and I have been discussing them, so I’m glad to see others’ thoughts about their use. A good thermal doesn’t lie… it is amazing what they pick up when walking in the woods.
I plan to get one for a variety of purposes.
Does anyone know if we can take them to SA and then Namibia and back to the USA?

 

[W.J.JEFFERY & CO.]

I use one in the UK and it is a useful aid to picking up animals that you might otherwise miss, mostly for Roe stalking but have used on the hill in Scotland as well. Found it less usefull in Africa. So many thinngs from trees to rocks retain their warmth that it is less useful. Thought it would be useful for Leopard follow up but the jury is still out on that one.

 

[BeeMaa]

Package arrived yesterday afternoon...

I unboxed everything and fully charged the battery. By the time my wife came home I was in the middle of going through the menu and setting stuff up. We played around with it for about 10 minutes last night and were impressed with the level of clarity and the capabilities of the unit. We shutdown the unit and called it a night.

This morning there was a fresh coat of snow on the ground and while having coffee, my wife wanted to see how everything looked through the thermal. She fired it up and after just a few seconds it shut itself off. Huh...that's strange. It did the same thing to both of us several times. Well damn.

I placed a call to Euro Optic and they are issuing a RMA along with a full refund to have the unit checked out. Not sure what is going on with it, but I'm happy to only be inconvenienced by having to ship it back.

To be continued...

...continued.

Thermal was shipped back to Euro Optic and I have received a full refund and I did not inquire what the fault was or if it was fixed. If I go down this route again, it will most likely be with a thermal scope...not just a monocular. Something I can put in a Blaser saddle mount and use either way would be good as well.

In any event, I'd highly recommend Euro Optic for their excellent customer service.

 

[mdwest]

So I had decided to invest in a low cost thermal monocular..something in the 256 range (most 256 are in the $600-$800 price range these days)… I wasn’t really looking for something advanced…just something I could use to help find downed game at maybe 50-100 yards through the thick stuff.. or maybe to help spot hogs at < 200at night, etc…

The wife caught me shopping and surprised me with an early anniversary present…

Pulsar Axion 2 LRF XG35…. A 640x480 resolution unit capable of detecting heat signatures at 1900 yards with a range finder capable of 1100 yards…

I’ve only played with it a few minutes at this point… but it’s pretty remarkable technology… far more advanced than the best thermals we had in the military when I was in… incredible clarity… compact and lightweight… etc…

I took it out and easily spotted a little cottontail rabbit thst I ranged at 92 yards… and was able to see two neighbors at the end of the street chatting (384 yards)…

I don’t think this thing is going to have any problem spotting a downed doe 50 meters away in the big piney woods this September… or helping to find a sounder of hogs on a hunt I’ve got scheduled at the end of March…

Pretty excited to put it through the paces and see how it works in the field…

 

[mdwest]

I was a little skeptical about why I "needed" the rangefinder option... that boosts the price tag an additional $500... but.. I have to say... Im pretty impressed with the range finding capability...

 

[Namagiqa]

Im debating thermal v NV for predator control in south central Alaska. We have chickens and there are times when something gets at our chickens - at least foxes. I got a Bergara in .22Mag because shots will be 75 - 125 yards. I’ve seen foxes on our property but we also have coyotes and marmots and fishers. I was leaning thermal because it gets cold up here but ironically, I’ve read that tremendous temperature differences can make NV a better option than thermal.

is this true? NV is certainly cheaper than thermal so if I can get by with NV I’d be happy to do so. I figured if it’s 0F the heat signature would be really good.

I don’t see many units of either thermal or NV that work much below -15F. ive got a good game camera and my plan is to connect that to my phone. When it goes off, I can get my rifle that’s been in a warm house, turn on the scope, go outside (front or back deck) and shoot that little SOB fox. I suspect there are more than one. Or will be. And i Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s colder than -20F. If I’m not sitting outside for long periods, would the lower temperature limit be a big issue?

I would likely take it hog hunting in TX sometime but that is secondary to having something that can kill predators on my property. those are my main questions but I don’t see answers elsewhere.

 

[WAB]

Im debating thermal v NV for predator control in south central Alaska. We have chickens and there are times when something gets at our chickens - at least foxes. I got a Bergara in .22Mag because shots will be 75 - 125 yards. I’ve seen foxes on our property but we also have coyotes and marmots and fishers. I was leaning thermal because it gets cold up here but ironically, I’ve read that tremendous temperature differences can make NV a better option than thermal.

is this true? NV is certainly cheaper than thermal so if I can get by with NV I’d be happy to do so. I figured if it’s 0F the heat signature would be really good.

I don’t see many units of either thermal or NV that work much below -15F. ive got a good game camera and my plan is to connect that to my phone. When it goes off, I can get my rifle that’s been in a warm house, turn on the scope, go outside (front or back deck) and shoot that little SOB fox. I suspect there are more than one. Or will be. And i Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s colder than -20F. If I’m not sitting outside for long periods, would the lower temperature limit be a big issue?

I would likely take it hog hunting in TX sometime but that is secondary to having something that can kill predators on my property. those are my main questions but I don’t see answers elsewhere.

Thermal is far superior to NV. If you will use it hog hunting there is really no question that you need thermal.

 

[Tra3]

Im debating thermal v NV for predator control in south central Alaska. We have chickens and there are times when something gets at our chickens - at least foxes. I got a Bergara in .22Mag because shots will be 75 - 125 yards. I’ve seen foxes on our property but we also have coyotes and marmots and fishers. I was leaning thermal because it gets cold up here but ironically, I’ve read that tremendous temperature differences can make NV a better option than thermal.

is this true? NV is certainly cheaper than thermal so if I can get by with NV I’d be happy to do so. I figured if it’s 0F the heat signature would be really good.

I don’t see many units of either thermal or NV that work much below -15F. ive got a good game camera and my plan is to connect that to my phone. When it goes off, I can get my rifle that’s been in a warm house, turn on the scope, go outside (front or back deck) and shoot that little SOB fox. I suspect there are more than one. Or will be. And i Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s colder than -20F. If I’m not sitting outside for long periods, would the lower temperature limit be a big issue?

I would likely take it hog hunting in TX sometime but that is secondary to having something that can kill predators on my property. those are my main questions but I don’t see answers elsewhere.

My experience with thermal has been very good. In the snow here in Mn it works well, I don’t think you will have any problem spotting the marauder with a thermal.
Going warm to cold shouldn’t be an issue. You should look at getting both a handheld and a scope.

 

[Ray B]

Two years ago I was Chukar hunting on hot dry rocky slopes. My friend had a thermal scope- figuring it would help locate the birds- but we learned that the temperature of the birds was very similar to the ground, so they didn't show up as we had hoped. Fortunately a third member of the party had his dog who was generally able to find downed birds. the thermal idea had merit, just not so much where the animal is very near the same temperature as the ground.

 

[Tam Dl]

There is a video of a guy who is trying to eliminate all invasive squirrels on an island in the UK. Due to the geography, elimination is possible. I was struck by the incredible capability it had, which in his case, using an air rifle, he could shoot many animals he could not at all see, because they were screened by individual leaves. Special case as I guess the leaves were not too heavy to shoot through, or block the signature. I think that would be an unethical shot on big game as to shot placement, and possible deflections, and knowledge of the backstop, none of which really plays with a 12 foot pound rifle pointing at the sky, in the conditions mentioned.

 

[Tam Dl]

I would not call it hunting, though. Any more than if in the future every squirrel that came to a feeder could be chipped, and then we could find them with tracking, and have a robotic rifle shoot them, while uploading to TikTok. I don't know why sport hunting is always the leader in dumbing it's challenge down. Even at the most primative level in archery, it is generally a bit of a cheat fest. Like knocking 100M off Everest every year just so as to make it easier, and eventually it fall to 6000, not 8000 meter. Oh wait, that is how they climb Everest. Never mind.

Not all hunting or shooting is about the challenge, food production, culling, those are different uses, but hunting has a certain cache. When people say they are "hunting for their keys" the implication is that they are having some difficulty finding them. If their keys were chipped they would probably trumpet their app.

 

[Tam Dl]

..."everyone has their own morals and beliefs when it comes down to ethics and it will boil down to the hunter using it and what he decides to do with it.

Kind Regards.
Aj Fourie.

+1

Where it gets difficult would be with "stolen valour". We have the recent report of PH McCallum, going head to head with a Buff. Reports are reasuring as to his recovery. That seems like a classic endeavour. But wouldn't thermal be "great" for that. One could spot the buff in the bush and which way he was facing. Once he was isolated, possibly a plume of escaping blood and air visible with the scope, one could just let him run down. No need to confront him as the situation is contained. Or one could maneuver for position.

Maybe foreign hunters could pay a big price and self guide as in the old days.

Would a big five on the wall mean anything, if all the gizmoes were used? We can expect to face these tech challenges increasingly, and we can expect not only get new tools, but later have prices fall, or apps will mean everyone can have them. There are thermal tools you can use with your phone. I remember a time when only really devoted hunters would get aerial photos of their land. Now we all have access to Google earth, or drones. Used to be no radios to coordinate drives, now everyone has a cell phone. Etc... Etc...

 

[Red Leg]

There is no contest between thermal and NV for actual shooting. It is why the military uses thermals for night engagement. NV is usually superior for personnel and vehicle movement, but even a tank shoots over thermals.

I can stand on the back patio with my ATN4 Thermal and ID if pigs or deer are wat the feeder or in the pecans at 300 yards. A 200 yard shot at a coyote is easy (I get closer to pigs with a 5.56).

I also have an ATN's monocular which I find pretty useless. With it, I am dealing with blobology at 200 yards much less 300. It is easier and far clearer to simply raise the rifle and use the scope.

The Leica thermal intrigues me. It is designed to fit on the end of an existing scope - instantly turns a deer rifle into a thermal equipped pig rifle. Because it is a Leica, the clarity and technology are superb. It is also expensive.