I bought a thermal scope, an APEX XQ 50, back in January. First mounted it on my M70 Win but then decided to break down and buy an AR (Ruger). Got that in, scope mounted, zeroed, and killed a pig my first time out. Noticed it didn't hold zero as well as I wanted, so talked to Jason and he recommended an upgraded mount (Pulsar QD), which I purchased. That fixed things. Then noticed the rifle occasionally "double tapped" after I installed a new trigger---but that's another story.
I discovered that whether sitting over a feeder or walking the pasture/brush, it was tiresome to be continually swinging the AR around to check for targets, so I bought a night vision scope to hand carry for scanning. First trip out and I knew it wasn't for me. Fortunately, I was able to return it for full credit. What to do? About this time the Pulsar Axion Key thermal monocular went on sale and I bought one. Now I'm ready.
Went for a sit with my granddaughter last night--and the result was one dead pig. I had absolutely no problem seeing them at 85 yds with the monocular, and could clearly see a batch of them across the fence about 300-350 yds away.
So--my assessments: the scope--very clear, great contrast, whether set on black hot or white hot and battery life is acceptable-probably 2.5-3 hours. That will improve as I use the monocular for scanning and leave the scope in standby mode instead of powered up. I have not moved the scope magnification off the lowest--2.8x as it isn't needed at the ranges I am shooting.
The monocular, clearly is not as good as the scope--but at its price point I didn't expect it to be. What I wanted was something I could see targets with 500+ yds away, and it does very well. Battery life---haven't used it enough to run it all the way down, but I'm thinking I may not need the second battery, as after 2 or 3 sits it is only halfway down. Some use in cold weather might change that opinion.
So, overall, I am most satisfied with the Apex XQ 50 scope and Axion Key monocular. I doubt seriously the hogs will be as happy--
Thanks to Jason at Outdoor Legacy for his advice and guidance, and patience with this "pig murderin' fool"
I discovered that whether sitting over a feeder or walking the pasture/brush, it was tiresome to be continually swinging the AR around to check for targets, so I bought a night vision scope to hand carry for scanning. First trip out and I knew it wasn't for me. Fortunately, I was able to return it for full credit. What to do? About this time the Pulsar Axion Key thermal monocular went on sale and I bought one. Now I'm ready.
Went for a sit with my granddaughter last night--and the result was one dead pig. I had absolutely no problem seeing them at 85 yds with the monocular, and could clearly see a batch of them across the fence about 300-350 yds away.
So--my assessments: the scope--very clear, great contrast, whether set on black hot or white hot and battery life is acceptable-probably 2.5-3 hours. That will improve as I use the monocular for scanning and leave the scope in standby mode instead of powered up. I have not moved the scope magnification off the lowest--2.8x as it isn't needed at the ranges I am shooting.
The monocular, clearly is not as good as the scope--but at its price point I didn't expect it to be. What I wanted was something I could see targets with 500+ yds away, and it does very well. Battery life---haven't used it enough to run it all the way down, but I'm thinking I may not need the second battery, as after 2 or 3 sits it is only halfway down. Some use in cold weather might change that opinion.
So, overall, I am most satisfied with the Apex XQ 50 scope and Axion Key monocular. I doubt seriously the hogs will be as happy--
Thanks to Jason at Outdoor Legacy for his advice and guidance, and patience with this "pig murderin' fool"
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