Are you a night-time predator hunter? Are you still using old-school techniques with lights? The nighttime hunting game has taken a major turn in recent years with the availability of commercial grade thermal and night-vision optics. When was the last time you priced out optics of any type? Have you priced out recent technology of thermal and night vision optics? If you haven’t, you’re in for a big surprise for what it cost for modern technology. In many cases, new night optics could cost you more than the rifle you are putting it on.

If you haven’t explored the latest in night vision (NV) or thermal Optic scope technology, I would encourage anyone to take about an hour to comb through some YouTube videos. These new optics are loaded with features and once you really start to understand what all is behind it, the price tags really start making sense. There are many of high-dollar glass optic scopes out there, but you really had to be in the market to pursue them. That’s not so much the case with this new technology as their pricing starts where glass optics ended. If you are like me, that price tag still must come with a justification, and “needs” and “wants” start to have some faint grey lines. There are top players in the optic business, and each are putting their own mark on their product lines. These modern scopes are loaded with bells and whistles such as bluetooth, video recording, single-shot-zero and honestly way too many things to list here. But those are just a few things these brands have in common, so what you may have to focus on is what they have different. This is where your old-school optic skills will still come in handy. Such as eye-relieve and power/magnification. You still need your optics to help you see and identify your target and help you be a better shot with that rifle. These new scopes are power driven, so battery sources and battery life must be considered. Does the model you are looking at even have replaceable batteries? These are just a few things to consider. So, what thermal and night-vision brings you is something unlike a classic rifle scope.

Let’s talk about target identification, in low light conditions, at 500yds+. Most glass optics in low light will struggle helping you clearly identify where that target is, let alone help you recognize what it is. With Thermal imagining, there is no guessing there is a live target there and it will stand out like a beacon. Running either white, black or full color spectrum heat sensors, the target and any other heat sourced object around them will easily be identifiable. Then you add in the built-in range finder and ballistics calculator can turn anyone into a sharpshooter. These things are amazing, but as I mentioned, they come with a price. So, what is different between night-vision and thermal. I talked about the heat-sensors in thermal optics, but night-vision (NV) works from inferred (IR) technology. You still must provide a light source for the optics to work. The only negative feature I have read about with NV is simply a scenario difference. For instance, NV with a powerful IR light, can shine a large area and help you track objects easily (your prey cannot see the IR light). However, that IR light also shines on brush/weeds etc., and that’s what you will be seeing if/when that target runs into any of it. Unlike a thermal scope, heat sensors can continue to track the heat source for some duration in and through vegetation. They do have their limitations, but in small/light cover, you can continue to track objects. NV and IR lights will just pick up what the light is shining on. Overall, thermal and night-vision optics are absolutely changing the game of night hunting. The optics are great, fun and can really increase your chance of success. Now you must justify if that rate of success is worth the expense.