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Looking for first hand knowledge of using a thermal hand held in the daylight. Getting a little older and thinking about using one squirrel hunting. Trying to find one that has been treed by a dog is somewhat challenging!!!!!

Been using a Pulsar Quantum 19A this year. Out dated technology and looking to upgrade next season. On problems i had is tree is in heavy sunshine and one side warms you can see in thermal With thermals you get what yo pay for.

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You can see thermal on young hunter neck strap below his binos

Good looking CUR, so they work pretty good unless bright sunshine?

They work fine in bright sun. It will just read anything that is warmer than surroundings. Tree is warmed from direct sunlight so it sees that. We have not had to much problems an can still see squirrels. They are not going to be like the Predator on TV and you see in hole in tree or in nest. Thanks for comment on JJ the tan and white 3 1/2 year and VooDoo is a Parnell's Carolina cur in training at 8 months and shows a lot of promise......

Squirrels, chipmunks, any small animals will really pop out, day or night. Apparently they run really hot. The biggest issue with spotting is that the FOV of many thermals is not very good and especially on the lower end units. There seems to be more priority on getting big detection or ID range by running up the optical magnification.

i have always sat and called squirrels in but that does sound interesting with a thermal device ,keep us posted. thank you ,Pete53

If anybody wants to chime in what brand name thermal have you used ect. ect. I myself would like to keep price between 700.00to 1800.00

Trijicon's Reaper and Hunter are the gold standard. Sadly, I'm not sure you could buy the lens caps for 700-1800.

I appreciate your comments to the thread but not really looking for a scope just a hand held,I know the product your mentioning is top notch but for squirrel huntin thats alittle steep

check into the pulsar products. the axions i've used have been really solid quality and usable. they are small, kind of pocket size, and in your price range. just my opinion, but i would avoid the stuff with chinese cores. those have big specs and look good on paper, and the price is right. but i feel like they will turn into junk fairly fast. someone above is still using an older pulsar quantum, that says alot about how they hold up over time. also there used to be a ton of flir units around. i have not used those but might be worth checking into.

The AGM 256 would do what you want. I have one, and it works well.

https://outdoorlegacygear.com/colle...thermal-monocular?variant=39357316759626

I’ve played around with a high end Pulsar, and can tell you I’ve spotted squirrels at 400yds…. Impressive technology!

Unfortunately from the research I've done, cheap thermals are 2k, decent is 4k, and nice is 9k. Pulsar has the best options for the money in all but the very top end.

You can get some really good 384 stuff for under $4k.the Super Hogster and iRay Rico Bravo are nothing to sneeze at…..better than many older 640s costing FAR more, imo.

Any credible make of 384 device, with 25mm objective would do what you want….a 12um pixel pitch offers positives with regard to performance in adverse conditions through adding more receptors on a given objective size…..a 25mm 12um often acts like a 35mm 17um. I’d say Vanadium is better than Silicon, and not sure Pulsar offers that in anything under $4k….but Bering, AGM, iRay and others do….affordably. Just learn specs and look at warranties and where and how any service is done.

If you’re just wanting to scan, always and forever, a scanner is your thing. However, any weapon sight can scan. No scanner makes a weapon sight.
Wider FOV (and generally low magnification) make for better scanning, IMO…..a Hogster R 25 does very good at double duty for its price, but is a bit over $2k. There are plenty of others. Apex3d makes a good scanner handle/mount/external setup for using any sight as a scanner.

Just thoughts. I make no claims as a civilian thermal expert, but I’ve got considerable time behind thermal devices and dealing with more technical aspects of their performance vs specs….though I’m rusty in some aspects.

I really like this SuperHogster. Native magnification is 2.9X.

I was using it as a hand-held thermal scanner and shooting pigs with the ATN 4k pro 5-20 NIght Vision on a bolt gun.



This was in pitch dark, no moon. Temps were in the high 70's F.

Ya!

GWB

I've been using an AGM 15-384 for the last year+ and it's been a great spotter.
Unlike a lot of the cheaper spotters, it has a nice field of view and a big display, not an inset postage stamp sized display, which is worth the extra $$$ over the 256.
They also make a helmet mount for it.
The only thing I don't like about it, is that it has an internal battery.
With the sleep feature, I get close to seven hours of use and it can be powered by an external power source, if needed.
I use my 19a as a backup and it's still a very good unit, as it has a nice field of view and a removable battery, as you know.
SJC

I have the 384res Axion from Pulsar and it’s easy to spot coons, possums, rabbits, and the like. Haven’t tried it on squirrels because I’m generally not taking it out until dark. Compact and well made though. For a squirrel inside 70yds, I’d want 2-2.5x for the FOV. Mine is 3.5x and is better for open lanes and fields with game at 50yds plus.

to the OP, i know you are thinking of squirrels, but one of the things about thermals is they end up getting used for alot of different things because of how good the technology works. personally i like a small scanner that i can throw into a jacket pocket, that way i get to use it more

I bought an iray bolt a month ago. I’ve hunted in weather as cold as -25 F with it and it has functioned flawlessly and has great battery life. Very clear view, I can ID cattle and deer a mile away and field mice 2-300 yds out. I bought it from Midwest thermal optics (highly recommend)