Thermal vs Night Vision
Published#0041
Son Ben and Grandson Jared and I went to the tree farm Friday afternoon and spent a couple of nights there. Plenty of chainsaw work, burning, and mowing.
Saturday after dark, about 2130, I saw some hogs with the thermal scanner. We moved toward the road and saw several small pigs grazing. Before Ben got set for a shot, they moved into the trees.
We moved down the road. There was a sliver of moon light and very light wind. A couple of small pigs came into the road about 70 yards from us. Ben got ready with the rifle with the night vision (IR) scope. He took his shot using the tripod. One pig ran, and one stayed in the road. He hit that one again. It ran.
I moved up the road scanning. There he was off the roadway
With the thermal, they are easy to see as they glow red and yellow against a very dark background. (A typical thermal scope allows the user to select one of several palates: white hot, black hot, red hot, etc.) Based on their shape, I could tell that these were small pigs.
However, the night vision provides more detail.
Looking at the pig on the ground, it was easy for me to see, but there was no definition. As Ben watched it with the night vision, he saw the pig blink its eye. Bang. He hit it again. Their eyes show very brightly in the IR light.
All that to say, each system, thermal and IR, has pluses and minuses.
We left the pig where it lay and returned to the porch. A couple of hours later, Ben looked at the food plot directly behind the house. He saw something. I took the thermal, and he grabbed the rifle (AR15 in 25-45 Sharps). As I watched the animal, I realized that it was a raccoon eating the corn we had laid out. I gave Ben the GO for the shot.
Ben confirmed the ID and took a shot after getting set on the tripod. The raccoon twitched and jerked for a minute, then lay still. I walked out and confirmed the kill.
Ben made two great shots on small targets using the IR scope.
There are several benefits to using this system, that is, using a thermal to scan and a night vision for targeting.
But, in any case, learn your equipment and use it to maximum benefit.
Porcus Hogrelius
Make Yourself a Better Hog Hunter