Thermal spotter

[snow white]

Hi lads thinking of treating myself to a thermal spotter in new year don’t want to break the bank up to 1500 what do you recommend I have a wraith scope on rifle just thinking make life easier all help appreciated.

[steve_b_wales]

I've recently bought a Pulsar Axion Key XM30 which is brilliant. No bells or whistles, just a good thermal spotter. I've tried it on the farm and could spot sheep at a known 870 yards. 

[alan123shooting]

I have the Pulsar key XM30 the non S model so there is no wi fi or record function which I don’t need;  its great but that’s my opinion.  I use it for stalking, it detects out to 900- 1000 metre the battery last about four hours but I splashed out on an extra battery and charger. It has been a real game changer for me it does exactly what it says on tin. If you decide to buy one get it from R. Macleod and son they do a good deal on that model. For the money they are good 

[steve_b_wales]

5 minutes ago, alan123shooting said:

I have the Pulsar key XM30 the non S model so there is no wi fi or record function which I don’t need;  its great but that’s my opinion.  I use it for stalking, it detects out to 900- 1000 metre the battery last about four hours but I splashed out on an extra battery and charger. It has been a real game changer for me it does exactly what it says on tin. If you decide to buy one get it from R. Macleod and son they do a good deal on that model. For the money they are good 

Mine is the standard model too, as I didn't need WiFi etc. Not sure what you paid for yours but mine was £999

[oowee]

Any spotter that stops you swinging a rifle about searching for quarry is a good start. 

I am using an xq38 and on occasion verify the target with the nv out to 600m or so, particularly stationery stuff. This is a pretty good review from rifle shooter that can give some background. Depending on range, quarry and frequency of use, do you need thermal or would a digital spotter work?

[alan123shooting]

49 minutes ago, oowee said:

Any spotter that stops you swinging a rifle about searching for quarry is a good start. 

I am using an xq38 and on occasion verify the target with the nv out to 600m or so, particularly stationery stuff. This is a pretty good review from rifle shooter that can give some background. Depending on range, quarry and frequency of use, do you need thermal or would a digital spotter work?

About the same, wifey brought the other battery and charger for me 

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, steve_b_wales said:

Mine is the standard model too, as I didn't need WiFi etc. Not sure what you paid for yours but mine was £999

Hello, was that recent Steve?

[steve_b_wales]

22 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, was that recent Steve?

About two months ago.

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

27 minutes ago, steve_b_wales said:

About two months ago.

 

Hello, can I ask where from, ? By PM if you prefer, cheers

[Lloyd90]

I'm also thinking of getting one. 

2 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

I've recently bought a Pulsar Axion Key XM30 which is brilliant. No bells or whistles, just a good thermal spotter. I've tried it on the farm and could spot sheep at a known 870 yards. 

Any idea how it compares to the QB38 type stuff? 

Is the Key newer? 

[Dave-G]

I'm extremely lucky to have had some guidance with the electrics to make an unobtanium one for the roof of my car, posted in the hope it might give some ideas to anyone able to put one together.

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by Dave-G

[steve_b_wales]

21 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

I'm also thinking of getting one. 

Any idea how it compares to the QB38 type stuff? 

Is the Key newer? 

I'm not sure Lloyd. All I can say is that I'm well impressed with the XM30. 

[telf]

Whats the xm30 key  like for spotting squirrels in woodland and rabbits out to say 200yds in daylight 

Edited December 17, 2020 by telf

[Rewulf]

I shall chuck my tuppence worth in here.

Pulsars are over rated 
There Ive said it !

Unless you are spending in excess of £2000 on an XQ38  , due to the high base mag on Pulsar thermals, the image is grainy.
Build and features are excellent, the small size makes them genuinely pocket size, but the battery life on the XM isnt great, a spare is highly recommended .
But they stretch the low sensor resolution too far with 3 and 4 times mag.
Zooming is useless, further degrading the image.

The thing with Pulsar and Yukon branding , is its KNOWN , they advertise a LOT.

But there are better , even cheaper options out there , Xeye (part of the Infiray brand) Guide , HTI and HIK all make quality thermals, with superior imaging, often with much more bang for your buck.
The reason why they dont sell anything like Pulsar brands , no one knows anything about them, because they rarely advertise.

Ive tested a lot of thermals side by side, and a host of different NV products, and my conclusion stands , Pulsar products are over rated for the price.

*Dons tin hat 

Back to the question.
Google Optical solutions, who do the Xeye brand, the E3 range is within budget, E3Max V2 is a bit over budget , but will massively outperform any Pulsar under £2500

[Rewulf]

A little video to back up my comments.
The HIK is less than £2000, the XP 50 V2 is £3400

 

[London Best]

3 hours ago, oowee said:

Any spotter that stops you swinging a rifle about searching for quarry is a good start. 

 

This is the most important post in this thread. Nobody should be using a rifle scope to search for quarry.

[Lloyd90]

30 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

A little video to back up my comments.
The HIK is less than £2000, the XP 50 V2 is £3400

 

 

 

Can't find the OWL but there is a Vulcan 35mm for around £1,700? 

 

 

[Dave-G]

24 minutes ago, London Best said:

This is the most important post in this thread. Nobody should be using a rifle scope to search for quarry.

 Most important post? There's nothing unsafe about searching with a rifle while unloaded or the bolt open when you can't be seen because its dark.

[Rewulf]

50 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

 

 

Can't find the OWL but there is a Vulcan 35mm for around £1,700? 

 

 

Pretty certain its the same animal https://www.mmsporting.co.uk/product-tag/hik-vision-owl-35mm-thermal-spotter/

I wasnt advocating HIK products specifically BTW , it was just an example I thought demonstrated what I was trying to get at.

My money would , and did go the way of the Infiray stuff https://www.infirayoutdoor.com/
I use an FH25R , built in laser rangefinder, smaller than a XM 30 , 640x512 sensor , 6 hour battery, and a beautiful crisp image.
Yes they are £2.5 k and 'only' have 25mm objective , but will blow any but the £4k + Pulsars away, and it fits in your top pocket.

This video is a comparison between an XM 30 S and the FL 25 R , the FL only has the 384x 288 sensor, so the picture is not as good as the FH , they are also £3-400 cheaper.

 

[steve_b_wales]

4 hours ago, telf said:

Whats the xm30 key  like for spotting squirrels in woodland and rabbits out to say 200yds in daylight 

Well, I've spotted Jackdaws/Magpies in high branches from 100+ yards with ease.

[oowee]

4 minutes ago, steve_b_wales said:

Well, I've spotted Jackdaws/Magpies in high branches from 100+ yards with ease.

I often find that I will find stuff with the thermal that I then cannot find with the scope. 

Spotting is one thing the other is how robust the unit is and the level of warranty support. the great thing with the pulsar stuff is it's tough, very tough and the warranty support is excellent. As with most of this stuff you get what you pay for. 

[snow white]

Thanks for your input looking to buy pulsar xm30 key but looks like everywhere is sold out till early new year 

[telf]

4 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

Well, I've spotted Jackdaws/Magpies in high branches from 100+ yards with ease.

Cheers steve  that would probably do me , this thermal lark is a minefield , will look into it in the new year after santas current assault on my bank account 

[Fisheruk]

I’ve been using a Pulsar, Quantum lite for several years and it does everything I need. Squirrels in the canopy 100m deer through the scrub, in total darkness, not that I’m talking about shooting them at that time - it’s just great to watch them.  Sadly this unit has been discontinued, but the new Pulsars are still good, but you don’t need to buy the top end units to get the upper hand in hunting.

[Rewulf]

17 hours ago, snow white said:

Thanks for your input looking to buy pulsar xm30 key but looks like everywhere is sold out till early new year 

Pretty sure theyve discontinued that line anyway, so you may struggle.

 

14 hours ago, Fisheruk said:

I’ve been using a Pulsar, Quantum lite for several years and it does everything I need. Squirrels in the canopy 100m deer through the scrub, in total darkness, not that I’m talking about shooting them at that time - it’s just great to watch them.  Sadly this unit has been discontinued, but the new Pulsars are still good, but you don’t need to buy the top end units to get the upper hand in hunting.

Strangest thing is , a lot of users rate the Pulsar Quantum series better than the XM Axioms.
Ive never looked through a Quantum so cant comment, but recently there was a flash sale on older but new Quantum units, not sure if theres any left , but they seemed to sell well , despite being older tech ?