First off, which would you prefer for hog hunting, night vision or infrared and why?

are there any that are affordable that will do the job for taking down some hogs at night. Typically i have seen these run over $3-4000 but noticed this one for about $300 and was wondering if anyone knew anything about it. The one guy I have talked to that has experience says these cheaper models aren't good at all and not worth buying.

here is the one I found

Night Vision scope

eta: I have a green laser light deal that I can mount to my rifle, but the one time i used it at night, it just doesnt illuminate very far at all. Just trying to find an affordable way to shoot hogs at night.

This post was edited on 6/23/16 at 1:19 pm

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Posted by lsufan1971

Zachary

Member since Nov 2003

18120 posts

Posted on 6/23/16 at 2:05 pm to Theboot32

quote:
here is the one I found

If you have the cash thermal is the way to go but your going to spend at least 2700-3K for a decent one. A good one is 5K. Its just far superior to even 3Gen NV. That being said...

Do not buy. That thing is a POS. I speak from experience. You can get a Photon XT for about $500. Lets not pretend its a 3k thermal but you can kill shite with it out to 150 yds with a UNV 20IR.

Photon XT

I have a Phonto 4.6 on my 300 BO that I use for hog hunting. I bought the UNV 20IR illuminator because the one that comes on the photon sucks (its about another $200). The photon uses 2 AA batteries and last a good while. The controls are easy to use and sighting in your rig is pretty easy. It has different recticle settings and you can use in the daytime unlike the cheaper GEN1 scopes.

This post was edited on 6/23/16 at 2:16 pm

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Posted by Theboot32

Member since Jan 2016

2435 posts

Posted on 6/23/16 at 2:14 pm to lsufan1971

quote:
Photon XT

reviews seem pretty solid for this, and apparently you can add a light to extend the range on it? i think 200 yards is all i would really need.

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Posted by lsufan1971

Zachary

Member since Nov 2003

18120 posts

Posted on 6/23/16 at 2:19 pm to Theboot32

I am happy with mine. As long as you set your expectations..like I said its not a thermal scope. Your shots at 200 yards are possible but you need to spend the extra and add the UNV 20 Ill.

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Posted by jdavid1

Member since Jan 2014

2465 posts

Posted on 6/23/16 at 3:13 pm to Theboot32

quote:
Photon XT

Best budget NV in my opinion. It's no gen 3 or thermal, but it works. I played with it the other night and was able to see pretty well at 130 yards with the illuminator that came with it. I'm please with it. Considering the price it seems hard to beat. If I actually night hunted more I would probably jump up to a good FLIR thermal, but I don't do it enough to justify spending that kind of money on one. I know the ATN Thor HD was supposed to be a good budget thermal, but I haven't seen any reviews since they came out.