Thermal imaging rifle scopes

[Tisto]

I'm looking at a Pulsar CORE RXQ30V thermal scope. Not the least expensive thermal unit on the market, but I would consider it "entry level".

Wondering if any of you have experience with this scope and could provide feedback.

Primary intended use is predator hunting. I have a Gen2+ nightvision scope, but this is my first serious look into the thermal market.

 

[Acer-m14]

no feed back here .. but wish i could afford a ATN Thor or any model lol ..

 

[Tisto]

Everything I know about ATN says they're shit. Stay away from them. Far away.

Found out about them when I was looking at all the nightvision scopes. I wound up purchasing a NightOptics scope and IR torch. Happy with that.

One guy I used to hunt coyotes with bought an ATN nightvision after he tried out my NV scope, and had all kinds of problems, and the company told him he was imagining the problems, refused to fix the scope. When he finally did get a return authorization, they said that he intentionally tampered with it and wanted to charge him a ton of $ to fix it. He had to have a lawyer threaten a suit before they said it was a warranty issue. When he finally got it back, it was still a piece of shit.

Yeah, stay away.

 

[Podmonkey]

Everything I know about ATN says they're shit. Stay away from them. Far away.

Found out about them when I was looking at all the nightvision scopes. I wound up purchasing a NightOptics scope and IR torch. Happy with that.

One guy I used to hunt coyotes with bought an ATN nightvision after he tried out my NV scope, and had all kinds of problems, and the company told him he was imagining the problems, refused to fix the scope. When he finally did get a return authorization, they said that he intentionally tampered with it and wanted to charge him a ton of $ to fix it. He had to have a lawyer threaten a suit before they said it was a warranty issue. When he finally got it back, it was still a piece of shit.

Yeah, stay away.

I will never understand how companies like that think they can still get away with such poor customer service in today's social media age.
I have no experience nor interest in thermal scopes, nor have I looked into them before but now because of a post on a forums I now know if I were to become interested that I need to stay away from ATN. Given the ridiculous mark up on most consumer goods it would seem the smarter business decision to just eat the cost of repair/replacement even in cases where it's not entirely justified.

 

[Tisto]

Pod,
I can't vouch for the quality of ATN products these days. When I was in the market for nightvision, my resaerch said to stay away from them. Then, the guy I used to hunt with bought one, and his first hand experience backed up what I had found.

Now, I'm in the market for thermal, and again my research so far tells me to stay away. The predator hunting forums all pretty much say to pass on ATN products, which I have decided to do. However, please do your own research on any product you're interested in. My opinion is just that - an opinion. We all know what they say about opinions.... That being said, I am interested in opinions in that several of them that coroborate each other may in fact give an accurate judgement.

I really don't want to drop $ 2K on junk if I can avoid it. I would rather wait for a better quality item. The model I'm looking at came out a few years ago, and the one in particular I found at a smokin' price is the updated version. The newer products in Pulsar's lineup are almost twice the price and higher.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

My buddy bought a thermal a couple years ago (forget the make / model). It was a sick little unit....and cost sick money too.

 

[sunacre]

I got a Pulsar CORE RXQ30V 2 years ago. Love it. A buddy that I hunt with has had one for about a year longer, and he loves his too. I have and use a Pvs-14, and thermal beats it hands down. The pulsar may be an entry level optic, but it does everything I need it to. Detects deer and cows at 600-800 yards, and I can tell the difference. I’ve watched coyotes and fox come in at 400+. Identifying your target is harder than with night vision though. Takes some practice before pulling the trigger. But as far as the thermal goes, it is a game changer.

 

[Tisto]

I got a Pulsar CORE RXQ30V 2 years ago. Love it. A buddy that I hunt with has had one for about a year longer, and he loves his too. I have and use a Pvs-14, and thermal beats it hands down. The pulsar may be an entry level optic, but it does everything I need it to. Detects deer and cows at 600-800 yards, and I can tell the difference. I’ve watched coyotes and fox come in at 400+. Identifying your target is harder than with night vision though. Takes some practice before pulling the trigger. But as far as the thermal goes, it is a game changer.

Do you have issues with batteries ? Did you get an external battery pack or did you buy a dozen rechargeable RCR 123 batteries ? I can't imagine using standard CR 123' s in it. It would cost a fortune, not to mention the fact that all those batteries would hasten the end of the planet.

Ok, that last bit was sarcasm, but do you go through 4 to 8 batteries in a night of coyote hunting ?

 

[sunacre]

I get 4-6 hours per set of batteries. I've got an external battery pack that I use once in a while. But mostly I just use non rechargable 123's. Buy them by the dozen when I find them sale thru the course of the year.