best thermal scanner

[duckp]

whats everyone opinion on the best scanner .hunt mostly open rolling farm ground. varying distance from100 to800 yrds would like to have video. audio would be nice but not a deal breaker.maybe 4000 or less

 

[dirtytough]

I’ve used a few different scanners.

Since I’m looking through the scanner the majority of the time I want a nice picture. So something that is 640 and has a 50+ frame rate. It’s important to have a decent FOV.

There are hand held scanners and some that work as a hand held or helmet mounted. Helmet mounted is nice since you are hands free then.

I believe the Bering and Iray products work as well in humidity as anything and better than most. Bering uses Iray’s core. So if you are in a region with lots of humidity I would look hard at those two brands.

To meet your criteria I would recommend a Bering Phenom 640.

If you went helmet mountable I would recommend an Iray MH25. It doesn’t have onboard recording though. Just video out.

Regards, Branden

 

[MuleyFever]

Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro was quite amazing.

 

[Split toe]

Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro was quite amazing.

I'll second what he said.

 

[pwrdbycotn]

Pulsar Helion 2 XP50 Pro was quite amazing.

This

 

[duckp]

went with the pulsar hard to put that much $ but that thing is amazing

 

[SuperDUECE22]

went with the pulsar hard to put that much $ but that thing is amazing

Which pulsar ? hope it's not an axion !

 

[duckp]

helion2pro xp50

 

[mt100gr.]

Which pulsar ? hope it's not an axion !

I've been shopping these myself. Why not an axion?

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I've been shopping these myself. Why not an axion?

They leave a lot to be desired. They don't perform very well in any sort of humidity. There are just a lot better options out there for the same or less money.

I always tell people to buy the best scanner they can afford even it means having to buy a cheaper scope. You will be spending 95% of your time looking through your scanner and maybe 5% actually looking through scope.

 

[dirtytough]

I always tell people to buy the best scanner they can afford even it means having to buy a cheaper scope. You will be spending 95% of your time looking through your scanner and maybe 5% actually looking through scope.

This is so overlooked.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

This is so overlooked.

no doubt. most people (including myself) start out with just buying a scope. Then realize they need a tripod & scanner. So they buy a cheap scanner & cheap tripod only to realize they are going about it completely backwards. Very common mistakes in the thermal game that end up costing guys a $hit ton of money in the long run.

 

[B23]

I know they're a little heavier and cost more but I'm wondering if one of the bino thermals, like the Pulsar Merger LRF, wouldn't be a good way to go, especially, for extended use scanning, then get a lesser expensive 384 thermal scope.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I know they're a little heavier and cost more but I'm wondering if one of the bino thermals, like the Pulsar Merger LRF, wouldn't be a good way to go, especially, for extended use scanning, then get a lesser expensive 384 thermal scope.

Can't speak directly about the Merger but i personally think a set of thermal binoculars would be great because i do get quite a bit of eye fatigue when we hunt the entire night even when switching back & forth between eyes. I do attribute some of that to my deteriorating vision but hoping the eye doctor will give me the green light on Lasik ASAP.

 

[dirtytough]

no doubt. most people (including myself) start out with just buying a scope. Then realize they need a tripod & scanner. So they buy a cheap scanner & cheap tripod only to realize they are going about it completely backwards. Very common mistakes in the thermal game that end up costing guys a $hit ton of money in the long run.

I myself started with a Trij Mk3 60mm. After two stands I went home and ordered a scanner the next day. Of course after spending that on the Trij I bought a 384 scanner.

There is definitely a learning curve to thermal on what's important and what's not. And that all changes depending on what and where you are hunting.

 

[B23]

Can't speak directly about the Merger but i personally think a set of thermal binoculars would be great because i do get quite a bit of eye fatigue when we hunt the entire night even when switching back & forth between eyes. I do attribute some of that to my deteriorating vision but hoping the eye doctor will give me the green light on Lasik ASAP.

That's exactly what I was thinking, eye fatigue, if you're scanning a lot could be a real issue and since everyone I've talked to says they spend more time scanning than anything else, I was thinking if I ever take the plunge in to thermals I'd get a good 384 scope and spend the bulk of my money on a 640 Bino thermal, like the Pulsar Merger, that also had a LRF built in.

 

[doc holiday13]

I have a Pulsar XP50 and my friend has something I can't remember the name of but its like $9k and I've had the opportunity to use some stuff the military uses.. Pulsar is probably 80% as good as the $9k unit. The $9k unit was probably 80% of the military unit

 

[SuperDUECE22]

I was thinking if I ever take the plunge in to thermals I'd get a good 384 scope and spend the bulk of my money on a 640 Bino thermal, like the Pulsar Merger, that also had a LRF built in.

One other thing i'd like to point out to prevent you from making a very common mistake when it comes to purchasing thermal. Base magnification & the terrain you hunt is the arguably some of the most important factors to consider when deciding on what scope to purchase.

For example: Purchasing a 640 scope with a base mag of 1.5 for hunting coyotes in open country makes zero sense. Because every time you zoom your resolution gets cut in half. In a situation like this you'd be better off saving some money & buying a 384 scope with a higher base mag.

I have no experience with the pulsar merger but my 640LRF scanner is not as great as I'd hoped for. This may be just my eyes but i have heard the same thing from multiple other thermal hunters. The overall image from my old 384 scanner is better than my new 640 scanner. The background image on the 640 is whitewashed horribly compared to the 384. After using the LRF for one year I could have gone without that as well. For one they don't work as great as i hoped (on mine anyways) and the more experience you get behind a thermal the better you get at judging distance based of size of coyote in scope and resolution of animal. Paired with a flat shooting round like my 224 valkryie (which i have sighted in dead on at 50 and is dead on at 250, 4" low @300) i could have saved some money by not getting the LRF model.

 

[B23]

One other thing i'd like to point out to prevent you from making a very common mistake when it comes to purchasing thermal. Base magnification & the terrain you hunt is the arguably some of the most important factors to consider when deciding on what scope to purchase.

For example: Purchasing a 640 scope with a base mag of 1.5 for hunting coyotes in open country makes zero sense. Because every time you zoom your resolution gets cut in half. In a situation like this you'd be better off saving some money & buying a 384 scope with a higher base mag.

I have no experience with the pulsar merger but my 640LRF scanner is not as great as I'd hoped for. This may be just my eyes but i have heard the same thing from multiple other thermal hunters. The overall image from my old 384 scanner is better than my new 640 scanner. The background image on the 640 is whitewashed horribly compared to the 384. After using the LRF for one year I could have gone without that as well. For one they don't work as great as i hoped (on mine anyways) and the more experience you get behind a thermal the better you get at judging distance based of size of coyote in scope and resolution of animal. Paired with a flat shooting round like my 224 valkryie (which i have sighted in dead on at 50 and is dead on at 250, 4" low @300) i could have saved some money by not getting the LRF model.

All good points. Having the LRF isn't a must have, it just happens to be part of the particular model I'm looking at.

I'm certainly not a professional coyote hunter and have no interest in being one. Like many, hunting coyotes is just a fun hobby and adding some kind of thermal looks like it could add to that fun. I've even considered getting the thermal binos and just using a light to see how well that works. My biggest concern, knowing myself, is I'll take the leap in to thermals then before I know it I've spent double or triple what I had planned to.

 

[duckp]

i speaking of spending double of what you plan to i dont know if any of you guys are married but you should of heard some of the coversations me and wife had about spending 4 grand on a scanner thats where the double cost come in if you know what i mean