Thermal scope tracker

[Halo]

I recently watched this video and it was one of the first videos regarding airsoft I’d watched strangely and although it’s probably not very practical or maybe the purist way to play Airsoft during the day at night will be great! I just looked at it and fell in love with the fact I could mount a thermal scope to a rifle and just fire the thing! 
 

Leopold Tracker
 

This device is now discontinued and it sounds like it’s not actually very safe to be using on the scope plus you have to wonder if there’s some kind of quality control issues since they discontinued.  With some real effort I could probably get one from eBay USA but perhaps there’s better options out there?  
 

Some have said that if they didn’t have the Leopold device they would have bought this instead, not sure how that works as you can’t use it as a scope really because your eye has to be right up against it unlike a scope?  Nice device still though. https://www.uttings.co.uk/p123987-flir-scout-tk-compact-thermal-imaging-monocular-green-431-0012-21-00s/#.YYpXBC3fXmo

A similar cheaper option and also some good feedback on https://www.uttings.co.uk/p134258-hik-vision-lynx-6mm-160x120-thermal-imager-hikvul6/#.YYpWSi3fXmo

One chap from this forum has recommended this one to me but slightly expensive still INFIRAY SAIM THERMAL RIFLESCOPE SCP19 https://www.uttings.co.uk/p135902-infiray-saim-scp19-thermal-256x192-scope-3-4-6x-19mm-lens-irayscp19/#.YYpanS3fXmo

I’ve dropped a photo in also, here with the Leopold d3vice you can tweak the heat maps and have the orange over white which is really interesting, not sure the others can do that.

Anyone have any of these or similar, what’s the experience like?

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[Tactical Pith Helmet]

The FLIR is an amazing thing to use.   

At night you can see just how much life is around you without you usually noticing.  It allows you to track and spot animals that you can then locate visually.  It's great for spotting blood from game animals.  It's great for spotting squirrels and rabbits that you don't suspect are there.  

Zeroing with a thermal is fun.  You have to heat a nail with a blow torch as the target!

I expect that you would use it the same way for airsoft ish.   Certainly you could light up a sniper otherwise well hidden.  

 

[Cr0-Magnon]

Seeing as it enables the player to DESTROY other airsofters, it's surely worth thousands.

 

[Rogerborg]

Zeroing with a thermal is fun.  You have to heat a nail with a blow torch as the target!

Are there no urchins available?  Freshly hot after being extracted from a chimney.

Seeing as it enables the player to DESTROY other airsofters, it's surely worth thousands.

CHEETARS FEER IT.

I really, really, reeeeally hope that @Haloenjoys playing airsoft as much as he's enjoying buying the gear.  If not, well, bargains ahoy in the classifieds.  

 

[MikeMarden]

Using a Thermal scope is a hell of a lot of fun, different options out there now across a variety of budget, gives you an unbelievable advantage whether day or night, sure some will state pay to win etc.!! - Me I'm just a peacock & enjoy the toys, also like going up against the NV users 

I run a couple of different set ups with Thermal

1- RIF Mounted Thermal Scope - Have a Pulsar XQ50 LRF Trial 2 which is an unbelievable piece of kit, easily dialled with range detection well over a couple of thousand yards, you can get around at night using this set up although it is a touch more challenging, I'll use my NV Mono to get around at pace, then once in a clearing switch to the Thermal for target ID, advance using the Thermal & eliminate the enemy. Recently added some 3d printed hex lens protectors to fend off those pesky bb's, although have run a Thermal for a few years now, never had an issue & the germanium lens is tough as f**k, but never say never hence the addition of the lens protector(s)

2- NV Mounted COTI (Clip on Thermal Imager) - Currently runs with a NV Mono (although binos are due today), overlays a Thermal Image onto the NV objective lens, effectively giving you green Thermal, nowhere near as good as a decent Thermal scope, but will up the NV ability considerably as even the best NV can struggle under poor conditions / dense canopy etc.

Couple of pics below, caveating that I am not an NV or Thermal expert & have come to these set ups under my own previous experience & recommendations from others

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[Cr0-Magnon]

CHEETARS FEER IT.

I really, really, reeeeally hope that @Haloenjoys playing airsoft as much as he's enjoying buying the gear.  If not, well, bargains ahoy in the classifieds.  

Using gear like this actually saves you money in the long run. If you just shoot an airsofter, they'll go to respawn and be back in the game a moment later (unless it's after lunch, then it takes much longer). When you have the ability to DESTROY your opponents, they're likely to just give up forever, question the meaning of life and likely spend the rest of their days living as a hermit. After all, unless you're actually reducing the number of people who enjoy playing, are you even really winning?

 

[Rogerborg]

you have the ability to DESTROY your opponents

At the price that usable NV costs, I'd want the Thanos snap version.

 

[Gaz212]

Recently added some 3d printed hex lens protectors 

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Mate any chance you still got the file for these as  that's a great idea. 

 

[MikeMarden]

Gaz - Not my workmanship, I sourced these via a company on FB called Gesto Plastico

Worth looking him up / giving them a shout

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Are there no urchins available?  Freshly hot after being extracted from a chimney.

Minute of urchin is fine accuracy for airsoft but alas, slotting the lumpen proletariat with a 5.56 is another casualty of the namby pamby nanny state that we all live in these days.  

 

[Halo]

The FLIR is an amazing thing to use.   

At night you can see just how much life is around you without you usually noticing.  It allows you to track and spot animals that you can then locate visually.  It's great for spotting blood from game animals.  It's great for spotting squirrels and rabbits that you don't suspect are there.  

Zeroing with a thermal is fun.  You have to heat a nail with a blow torch as the target!

I expect that you would use it the same way for airsoft ish.   Certainly you could light up a sniper otherwise well hidden.  

Tbh other than being an amazing toy, this is my main draw to it, I’ve plenty experience of bloomin snipers hiding away from reach or camping inside of buildings just waiting for someone to waltz by to go pew pew on the Xbox, those certain types I suspect will chose a sniper load out, oh how I would like to spend my Airsoft days tracking them down…..or in reality run the other way ?

 

[Halo]

This took lots of hours of researching!

https://www.uttings.co.uk/p135902-infiray-saim-scp19-thermal-256x192-scope-3-4-6x-19mm-lens-irayscp19/#.YYzLui3fXmo

3x6

https://www.opticswarehouse.co.uk/hikmicro-ultimate-thunder-19mm-35mk-256x192-12-m-smart-thermal-weapon-scope-w-40a-50a-or-60a-scope-clamp

Not quite sure on magnification….it’s hot off the press this one!

https://www.uttings.co.uk/p135433-atn-lt-ultra-light-160-60hz-thermal-rifle-scope/#.YYzRJi3fXmo
 

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These are your three options, the ATN is the Mars version, the Thor is the USA which should be illegal to export anywhere else.

According to the guys at Optical warehouse who also review products it goes in this order 1. Hikmicro 2. Infiray 3. ATN

The ATN LT missions loads of functions of the non LT version and is known to have software bugs and lapse customer support, it does have a night vision version that has all the ballistic features and other stuff.

I’m having wild fantasies of DAS / thermal sniper hunter load out!  My T10 has arrived and is getting a paint job, the stock tan was surprisingly alright, but it looked like a virgin with how new it looks so gonna fix that!

Using a Thermal scope is a hell of a lot of fun, different options out there now across a variety of budget, gives you an unbelievable advantage whether day or night, sure some will state pay to win etc.!! - Me I'm just a peacock & enjoy the toys, also like going up against the NV users 

I run a couple of different set ups with Thermal

1- RIF Mounted Thermal Scope - Have a Pulsar XQ50 LRF Trial 2 which is an unbelievable piece of kit, easily dialled with range detection well over a couple of thousand yards, you can get around at night using this set up although it is a touch more challenging, I'll use my NV Mono to get around at pace, then once in a clearing switch to the Thermal for target ID, advance using the Thermal & eliminate the enemy. Recently added some 3d printed hex lens protectors to fend off those pesky bb's, although have run a Thermal for a few years now, never had an issue & the germanium lens is tough as f**k, but never say never hence the addition of the lens protector(s)

2- NV Mounted COTI (Clip on Thermal Imager) - Currently runs with a NV Mono (although binos are due today), overlays a Thermal Image onto the NV objective lens, effectively giving you green Thermal, nowhere near as good as a decent Thermal scope, but will up the NV ability considerably as even the best NV can struggle under poor conditions / dense canopy etc.

Couple of pics below, caveating that I am not an NV or Thermal expert & have come to these set ups under my own previous experience & recommendations from others

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They are some niiiiice toys, may I ask what the cost (damage) was on those?  As for lens, I chatted with ATN who advised it’s almost impossible to damage their lenses with BB games!  Guessing there all the same glass in the brands I posted?

 

[MikeMarden]

Costs were somewhat eye-watering, but any willy waving aside as I'm really into the NV Kit & happy to invest, the costs are:

- Pulsar XP50 LRF Trail 2 = £3500

- Jerry CE05 COTI = £3000

- NV Monocular = £3500

- NV Duals = £6500

I've always stated & remain firm in my stance, if I could only have a single device it would be a decent Thermal scope, mounts to gun without faff & extra costs of a full helmet set up, works superbly day or night, can get around nicely at night using the Thermal scope, albeit a tad more tricker

FLIR breach is a really nice device if you are wanting to mount as a monocular, only draw back is FLIR don't sell to civilians now, so you are limited to the 2nd market

Would be very cautious regarding advice surrounding germanium being bb proof - Entirely your choice of course, but would be intereted to see how it would stand it to repeated bb hits & equally should a 500FPS sniper hit it face on, that being said as I previously mentioned, have run Thermal since 2017, never been an issue but have been very disciplined, equally only used the Thermal at night hence little to no 500FPF snipers out & about!

Infiray are a decent make, the COTI I have is Infiray, an airsoft buddy has one of the higher end scopes which seems a really nice piece of kit

Hope that helps

 

[Rogerborg]

Joking aside, after being DESTROYED by people with decent NV, why would Poors pay to get rekt again?

I'd be a little concerned that once you have enough people out there giving it the full Predator that they'll be the only people doing night games.

 

[Halo]

Joking aside, after being DESTROYED by people with decent NV, why would Poors pay to get rekt again?

I'd be a little concerned that once you have enough people out there giving it the full Predator that they'll be the only people doing night games.

Is there any echo in here? ?

Oh you forget to mention that these toys also come with guided BB’s, tactical reconnaissance military training chip inplants and stealth cloaking to make the player invisible!

in reality, an 18 year old kid will just run and gun the toy wearer down and make him very depressed all the same ?

 

[Rogerborg]

I'm talking specifically about night games, in dark woodland.  Having done one with a torch, I won't be doing another without night vision, which means I won't be doing another.  I'm not making a big deal of it, just wondering whether NV is such an (actual) game changer that the end result might be a few big spenders hunting each other in the darkness, if it's even viable for sites to keep running night games once us Poors get tired of being predated without any effective counter response.

I can assure you that in reality, nobody's running around in woodland at night.

 

[Halo]

Costs were somewhat eye-watering, but any willy waving aside as I'm really into the NV Kit & happy to invest, the costs are:

- Pulsar XP50 LRF Trail 2 = £3500

- Jerry CE05 COTI = £3000

- NV Monocular = £3500

- NV Duals = £6500

I've always stated & remain firm in my stance, if I could only have a single device it would be a decent Thermal scope, mounts to gun without faff & extra costs of a full helmet set up, works superbly day or night, can get around nicely at night using the Thermal scope, albeit a tad more tricker

FLIR breach is a really nice device if you are wanting to mount as a monocular, only draw back is FLIR don't sell to civilians now, so you are limited to the 2nd market

Would be very cautious regarding advice surrounding germanium being bb proof - Entirely your choice of course, but would be intereted to see how it would stand it to repeated bb hits & equally should a 500FPS sniper hit it face on, that being said as I previously mentioned, have run Thermal since 2017, never been an issue but have been very disciplined, equally only used the Thermal at night hence little to no 500FPF snipers out & about!

Infiray are a decent make, the COTI I have is Infiray, an airsoft buddy has one of the higher end scopes which seems a really nice piece of kit

Hope that helps

That’s great thanks for spending the time to post, good to know I’ve something to build upto in the future….your NV stuff flir?  The mono does this attach to your helmet, trying to build a picture….photos most welcome! 
 

Does make me wonder as the night vision would allow you run around more, if it’s pitch black I already know using a scope to see and move might lead to some issues!  So then I suspect a monocular is the answer there but doesn’t NV need illumination all the time?  Then If a torch is used it will be like a target beacon I imagine.  Regarding the doubles I’m now having images of metal gear solid……love it ?

I’d seen that scope you have, it’s nice because it doesn’t look out of place either since it actually looks like a scope and not a thermal device would.  Sometimes you see them at cut down prices on eBay but I think this stuff ideally needs warranties.

I'm talking specifically about night games, in dark woodland.  Having done one with a torch, I won't be doing another without night vision, which means I won't be doing another.  I'm not making a big deal of it, just wondering whether NV is such an (actual) game changer that the end result might be a few big spenders hunting each other in the darkness, if it's even viable for sites to keep running night games once us Poors get tired of being predated over without any effective counter response.

I can assure you that in reality, nobody's running around in woodland at night.

It’s fair comment, did you look into how much something basic would cost to allow you to use NV?  I’ve watched some videos and unless it’s a milsim it seems in everyday games people who have goggles on get pestered a lot on where the enemy is it seems…..can’t be much fun if so, if I had that gear I’d be looking to get involved in some serious type missions for sure against similar load outs.  

 

[Rogerborg]

did you look into how much something basic would cost to allow you to use NV?

Far more than I could possibly justify spending on something that I'll use a couple of times a year at most.  That applies to a lot of airsoft, to be fair, but I could choose to play with any of my RIFs on a typical weekend, but NV has fewer opportunities for use.  As you say, you'd likely end up seeking out opportunities to use it.

I should be very clear that I'm not crying foul on the couple of folk who did have NV and had a great time.  Just that £1200 spent on a RIF doesn't get you a huge advantage over Rental Ralph running around with a £120 Lancer Tactical during the day, but £1200 of NV makes a whopping difference at night.

It was one of the few games that I've actually bailed early, I just wasn't enjoying myself at all.

 

[Halo]

Far more than I could possibly justify spending on something that I'll use a couple of times a year at most.  That applies to a lot of airsoft, to be fair, but I could choose to play with any of my RIFs on a typical weekend, but NV has fewer opportunities for use.  As you say, you'd likely end up seeking out opportunities to use it.

I should be very clear that I'm not crying foul on the couple of folk who did have NV and had a great time.  Just that £1200 spent on a RIF doesn't get you a huge advantage over Rental Ralph running around with a £120 Lancer Tactical during the day, but £1200 of NV makes a whopping difference at night.

It was one of the few games that I've actually bailed early, I just wasn't enjoying myself at all.

Yeah I can imagine, they have everything around them illuminating and only use the IR torches if its needed, there probably shooting in the dark vs you with a spotlight screaming 'I'm here'......

I'm not sure how much the cheapest NV setup might be, there are ATN scopes around £500 on ebay which are NV but I'd probably look at other brands like Infiray or Hik Micro (I'm 99% certain these are made in the same plant!)....note I've read battery is much better in the iray version...good news is also that @MikeMardenadvised his scope is the one thing he would own of all the NV stuff....

I wouldn't know who wins in thermal vs NV, probably the thermal scopes are the best bet if there not having to be as mobile whereas NV guys would just move at greater speed, I find it pretty fascinating the night battles.  I wouldn't want to do it in woods etc but abandoned buildings and stuff like that would be shit hot!  I did a zombie experience in barnsley once with airsoft and it was one of the most fun experiences I've ever had

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

https://shop.nvuk.co.uk/nightvision-spotter

NVUK are legends in their own minor way.  Their kit is cheap and sturdy.  You can build an NV kit for abut £80 if you have a parallax adjustable scope.

Using the illuminator is not always necessary depending on light conditions.  In any event, I wouldn't think to much about running.