With the constant progress of technology, the way we hunt continues to evolve. We now use Tactacam and GoPro cameras, GPS apps on our smartphones, and ever-improving trail cameras. But nothing has come as far as night-vision and thermal-imaging scopes.
Hunting at night has continued to garner more and more popularity, as the number of issues with coyotes and feral hogs just keeps going up. Nighttime hunting has become a new, unique way to hunt while also keeping populations in check.
The rate of success, however, greatly depends on the optic you decide to use. Night vision is the less expensive option, and still an effective one at that. A quality night-vision scope gives you the ability to hunt in the dark, which typically yields far more success when it comes to predators and hogs.
Thermal-imaging scopes take night hunting to a new level, though. With night vision, it can be tough to make out animals from long distances, particularly in dense settings. Distance alone will make it blurry, but a lot of trees can make it impossible to take a shot.
Thermal imaging takes all of those obstacles out of the picture. You’ll be able to see an animal’s body heat and easily determine what it is. Brush will be irrelevant, as you’ll still be able to see the bright colors of the warm target.
What kind do you get, though? Here, we spotlight the ATN ThOR 4, which is available with a range of options.
Four different lenses: 1.25-5x, 2-8x, 4.5-18x and 7-28x
Two Gen 4 sensors: 384×288 or 640×480 (both powered by ATN’s Obsidian IV Dual Core processor)
Like the X-Sight 4K Pro, this is a smart HD scope, meaning it’ll record your shots on an SD card, and you can operate it using an app on your phone.
You get what you pay for, too, as this scope produces crisp thermal imagery.
Just like the majority of ATN’s digital smart HD scopes, the ThOR 4 sports ATN’s “One Shot Zero” feature, as well as their smart rangefinder and ballistics calculator.
This scope starts at $1,999, increasing as you move up to better lenses. In the current thermal imaging market, this is a good price for a scope that offers you POV recoil-activated footage, 16-plus hours of battery life, beautiful thermal imagery, and all of the classic ATN features.
ATN ThOR 4 Specifications
- Magnification: 1.25-5x up to 4-40x
- Field of view (degrees): 16.25×12.5 up to 8.3×6.2
- Sensor: Gen 4 384×288, 60Hz, or Gen 4 640×480, 60Hz
- Core: ATN Obsidian IV Dual Core T
- Micro Display: 1280 x 720 HD display
- Eye Relief: 90 mm
- Video Record Resolution: 1280×960 at 30/60 fps
- WiFi: IOS and Android
- Micro SD Card: 4-64 GB
- Mount: 30 mm standard rings (included)
- Warranty: 3 years
Find out more at ATNCorp.com.
Cool. This stuff is actually starting to get down in both price and size to where it’s practical. 2k is still too rich for most people’s blood, but, I was expecting a price closer to 4 or 5k. If thermal optics are that low then regular night vision is even lower.
Likewise.
If I had the $$ I would probably get this optic but in my current $$ state, its out of reach. Keep counting pennys though.
What does the image look like when used in daylight? The same?
Yes, thermal imagers are unaffected by ambient light, but temperature. As it’s usually warmer during the day, it will be a little trickier to use, but roughly the same.
From my experience, ATN has zero after purchase customer support. Don’t expect a response to resolve any problems, especially if you want warranty service. I won’t buy another product until they fix customer service.
I’d really like to see a set of thermal and/or low-light vision goggles with lenses not more than half an inch thick, and enable an angle of view (without moving one’s head) of at least 120 degrees. No magnification. I expect that this would require many lenses in an array, like an insect’s eye, and be expensive, at first.
I too have heard of terrible service after the sale from ATN.
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