I would like to start this off by saying I am just now getting into hog hunting and I do know the difference between these two items. My question is if I can only get one which one would you get first? Why? Thank you for your help

I just went through a lot of these same discussions.

N750 is a digital night vision rifle scope, mounted all the time, but not a hand held unit.

Flir ps-24 is the base line model of a thermal handheld imager, not a riflescope and no good way to use when shooting.



The N750 has on-board IR illuminator so it can "see" in the dark. You probably won't need to use the IR illuminator on a half moon night or brighter, but less than that and the illuminator is very helpful. The IR (infra-red) illuminator is light a flashlight in infra-red light that animals generally don't see but the scope picks up very well. Bad thing about illuminators, is just like a flashlight, they reflect their "light" off things such as vegetation quite readily and the camera inside the scope will get washed out pretty easily. I believe Double Naught on the forum has posted several videos which show this happen (has now become a standing joke within this sub-forum). One drawback to NV alone is that NV makes everything green (conventional NV) or grey (digital NV) so it can make detecting animals really difficult at times.

Thermal imagers rely solely on heat to create a picture, and they do it based on differences in heat. Their sensitivity is based on how big their sensor is, and the PS-24 has the smallest sensor which would give the crudest picture. Not saying it is a bad image, but at distance, you would be able to see something is there, just not what it is. It is useful for hunting only for a scouting/detecting purpose as the handheld thermal imagers have no way of conveying that information to any weapon mounts. What some people do is use the thermal to detect when something is coming, and then have a kill light or something on a feeder to shoot with a traditional scope.

What more advanced (I don't put myself in this category, but I am trying to emulate this category) night hunters do is use either a combination of thermal imager and NV scope, so you can find the animals with the thermal and then shoot with the NV, or the other option is going to a straight up thermal scope.

Best option is to rent some equipment and see what you like before purchasing. There are some people on the forum who rent this stuff and can hook you up!

Keep asking away, lots of people on here to help!

BTW, I recently (last couple of weeks) purchased a N750 and a pulsar LD38 thermal handheld...similar set up to many on here and they like them. I am going out this Friday night to see what I can scare up and hope to have some photos to prove it this weekend. That seemed the best options for me and my son, but doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

I had both the PS32 and the 750 out at the same time

Thermal is MUCH better for trying to find them and with much less eye strain when used over extended periods of time..

I would rather have the thermal and a decent scope with a light than just the 750 personally..

Not to mention the N750 on an AR or other rifle is heavy to keep lugging up to your eye...thermal for detection all day long.

Right, I used a FLIR PS32 for "scouting" my environment. I may wear out the on/off button in the process, but it is great for finding critters and to a certain point, identifying them. Most look like a petronus, only not nearly as well defined and the antlers don't show up well at all.

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Patronus_Charm?file=Harry_Potters%2527_Patronus.jpg

When I can't ID what I am seeing, I change to the rifle NV, usually a Pulsar N550 for better clarification.

It DOES get tiresome scanning your environment with a scope-mounted optic, especially when you have a large field of view or multiple fields of view out of multiple windows of your blind. A handheld unit is just so much better for this purpose.

I have an N750 mounted to an AR with a bi-pod, I love it but it's heavy when stalking so it stays on my shoulder. I keep a Pulsar monocular around my neck for scanning, muuuuuch better than shouldering that rifle all night. Also, I can more clearly identify exactly what I am looking at with the digital night vision monocular. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between a coon and a pig with the FLIR & don't like it.

Typically -

You buy into the hunting scope first, to establish your baseline capabilities as they relate to your hunting environment.

Then if you encounter any issues and feel that you would benifit from another version of detection you move to a handheld thermal unit.

That is the natural progression/evolution for most...

What type of hunting setups or land/terrain do you hunt?

BB

I hunt open farm country & brush country most of the time. IMO it's hard to beat the Pulsar monocular for scanning, Gen 3 optics serve their purpose too when cruising the farm country on my electric buggy (when there's enough moon). On dark nights the magnified Pulsar monocular is really nice, but it can be hard on your eyes after a while. I've just never warmed up to the FLIR. When I first got into night vision hunting I started with a scope mounted ND3 and a Pulsar monocular. Also used a Game Warden buddy's Gen 3 but like the Pulsar better mainly because of the magnification and clarity. Then on to the N500, then onto the 750. Tried the FLIR didn't care for it. Sometimes we're walking/stalking for miles, that little monocular don't wear your arms/shoulders out. I don't shoulder my rifle until I'm about to shoot. Same thing if I'm still hunting, I scan with the monocular and shoulder the 750 when ready to shoot.

Go with the N750 for sure. If you get in the habit of using the N750 day and night and you will become better with it at night. And, it's easy to record some daytime kills as well. Skip the PS24 all together and upgrade to a better thermal unit if you end up getting one. I wish the PS24 was enough for night hunting, but it really just is not. You will wish you had a better thermal unit if you buy the PS24.

Nothing can hide from thermal, and I mean nothing. Having said that I was flat out amazed at the level of detail NV provided once I knew something was there. A ton more detail with NV. I feel I would invest in thermal before NV. You can always spotlight them, but nothing competes with detection capability of thermal in my book.

Thanks for the great info guys! Keep it coming. Should I save up and go with the scout 32?

I have a lease in east texas for hogs near crockett. I will also be hunting coyote in west texas near sanderson.

Thanks again

Except animals in thick foliage. Very easy to lose animals in the thick stuff but if they are wounded and not moving, you can get up on them and thermal will tell you where they are. However, as Bearclaw showed earlier with a video, you can sneak right up on a wounded hog and int he thick stuff, not even know he is there...

Yeah, this is a 180 lb boar that was deep into the briars. I missed him the first couple of times using thermal because he had buried himself so well after being shot, and I was only 10 yards away when I finally spotted him from a trail. This image was taken after I cut a path in to him. I found him with thermal, but it was not an easy find and despite hearing him crash and knowing the approximate location, it still took me an hour to find him.

I didn't think about that, never been looking through thick brush. I should add that I am in a blind with the floor 12' off the ground 99% of the time. The trails are well used and easily monitored. Thermal makes me feel super human. My vantage point is definitely affecting my opinion on this one!