Night hunting is always more interesting than daytime.  Night vision scopes have long established themselves as reliable assistants. But scopes with thermal imagers came into play and conquered the market. And now, thanks to technological progress, you can feel comfortable in complete darkness. And in this review, we will try to talk about the most successful models of devices of this type.

Armascope Zeus Pro 640 Thermal Riflescope

Let's start with the Armascope Zeus Pro 640 Thermal Riflescope. Armascope has been developing high-quality night and thermal vision equipment for the military and police for 11 years. But their range of instruments for civilian use is quite extensive. The Zeus Pro night vision riflescope shows high performance and interaction with controls. This model is equipped with different light transmission palettes has a light and robust construction. The scope comes with a five-button remote control that can be conveniently attached to the rifle where needed.

Specifications: magnification 4x-32x, format 640x512 pixels, focusing from 5 meters, power supply - 4 AA batteries + additional battery that can work up to 8 hours.

Weight - 1.3 kg.

Pros:

Too many to name!

The detection range is over a mile to 2 miles

clarity is amazing

pays for itself easily

Cons:

a little heavy

some detailed reticles in the manual are not in the device

 AGM Python TS50-640

Next, consider the AGM Python TS50-640 AGM Global Vision of Springerville, Arizona provides the modern market for night vision devices and thermal scopes, binoculars, monoculars, goggles, lasers, and infrared illuminators. The Python TS50-640 is a scope with a 50mm objective lens and a FLIR Tau 2 (640x512) thermocore. The basic 2x zoom provides the most precise image of the surrounding area, and the additional digital zoom up to 8x works stable and productive. A large number of specific settings helps the beginner get closer to a professional level in a matter of minutes of use. This model can detect a target at a distance of up to 1000 meters and identify at a distance of up to 650 meters. And after each shot, there is no need to reset the device. You just need to adjust the distance and height settings. The scope is equipped with an additional Picatinny/Weaver rail for attaching accessories. The display works with 13 color palettes and four reticles. The thermal unit is made of aviation aluminum alloy, and the lens is made of germanium glass.

The scope has a discreet laconic design and high-quality factory assembly.

Specifications: power type - two 18650 rechargeable batteries (or four CR123 batteries), battery life with active use up to 8 hours, water resistance, 640x512 pixel format, 2x magnification, 14.8 degrees viewing head, focusing from 5 meters.  

All - 0.84 kg.

Pros:

The robust build makes it extremely long-lasting
User-friendly and water-resistant
Has several applications
High-resolution with easy mounting
Installation does not take much time
Lightweight design is easy to carry around 

Cons:

It lacks a video recorder
Not suitable for digital recording and streaming

Pulsar Trail 2 LRF Thermal Riflescope

Now let's talk about the Pulsar Trail 2 LRF Thermal Riflescope. This model has impressed hunters for more than two years with its excellent laser rangefinder, high structural strength, increased dimensions for greater efficiency, and low weight. The scope has a susceptible thermal imaging sensor NETD 40 mK, increased image resolution, the use of a unique algorithm for increasing clarity (Image Boost), a built-in video recorder and camera, scalable aiming marks, built-in WiFi, a wide-angle eyepiece. The device is ready for full-fledged work in three seconds after switching on and is designed for eight hours of continuous operation thanks to a 6400 mAh battery. This scope can detect a target 1.8 meters high at a distance of 1800 meters. And this model is also able to withstand the loads from the powerful recoil of the rifle. The picture-in-picture feature shows a magnified image at the top of the display within a frame of 10% of the field of view for more accurate aiming. 

Specifications: NETD sensor 384x288 pixels, magnification 3.5x-14x, viewing angle 7.5 degrees, ten aiming marks, Video / photo resolution, 1024x768 pixels, Video / photo format .mp4 / .jpg, power supply - Li-battery Ion Battery Pack IPS7, battery life 8 hours.

All - 0.8 kg.

Pros:

image and clarity

Easy to use & operate

quality build

RangefinderBuilt In

Cons:

A costly device

Not the best for beginners

AGM Global Vision Rattler TS25-384

An attractive model is the AGM Global Vision Rattler TS25-384 Compact Thermal Scope.

As the name implies, this is a very compact and lightweight scope with a thermal imager. This model has reliable fasteners, a reasonably spacious battery, and four different thermal color modes with a high-quality device assembly. And of course, this scope is shockproof and waterproof. This is no surprise now. But this scope is actively used in hunting, surveillance, rescue operations, etc.

Specifications: thermal imager resolution 384x288 pixels, 8x zoom, video recording and photography, rangefinder, water and shock resistance, 4.5 hours battery life, external power supply, viewing angle 14.9 degrees.

Weight - 0.4 kg.

Pros:

lightweight

well built

good battery life

video

attached lens cap

Cons:

Poor Reticle Choices

Slow start uptime

Liemke Merlin-35

Liemke MERLIN 35

The Liemke MERLIN 35 has a 384 x 288-pixel ceramic thermal detector and improved temperature sensitivity. Combined with a 1024 x 768 OLED display, this results in a quality image with outstanding performance. The 35mm lens is manually adjustable and provides a vast field of view of 19m x 100m and a detection range of up to 1235m. When hunting, this model offers excellent visibility and detailed images. The robust aluminum housing, compact design, and weight of only 420 g set excellent standards. MERLIN 35 is incredibly easy to handle, mainly when used as bait. With WiFi, you can stream image data from your thermal imager directly to your Android or Apple device live at a distance of up to 50m. The optimized power consumption of this dual-purpose riflescope provides a battery life of up to 4 hours (2 x CR123/3.7V). It can be operated and charged by the external USB power supply. With its extensive specifications and simple and intuitive operation, the MERLIN 35 Thermal Imager Attachment is a prominent instrument in its performance class.

Specifications: magnification 2x-4x, maximum target detection distance 1235 meters, viewing angle 13 degrees.

Weight - 0.41 kg.

Pros:

Lightweight and compact

Mobile OS Compatibility

Wide viewing angle

Cons:

low battery

Burris BTS-50

This model features a handy Hot Track feature that automatically detects positive heat signatures in the grid. And the red hot part is one of the best. It does a great job of making heat sources much more visible. Highly acclaimed by users for clarity in its class. This thermal sensor has a slightly higher resolution than most competitors of this kind. Efficiency is closer to 640 res clarity than most 300 range sensors. The refresh rate is quite good and is crystal clear when appropriately focused. Significant target detection is 1400 yards.

A vital feature of the Burris BTS optics, especially useful for hunters, is the stadiametric range, which uses two horizontal lines on the screen to measure the distance from the top to the bottom of known objects information you can determine an accurate content to targets.

Specifications: magnification 3.3x-13.2x, display resolution 400x300 pixels, viewing angle 7.5 degrees, five color palettes. Power type - 18650 battery (working life with active use 3 hours), Picattini rail mount, ten reticle options.

Weight - 0.72 kg.

Pros:

Clarity, ease of use

Cons:

No recording, no internal battery

SIG ECHO 3

European quality from SIG ECHO 3. SIG was founded as a wagon factory built-in 1853. Today SIG Sauer is the largest company in the Luc-Ortmeier holding and one of the largest firearms manufacturers in the world. Not so long ago, the company tripled its workforce and invested $18 million in product development. The company's specialists also develop high-quality optical devices: telescopic scopes, red dot scopes, iron scopes, magnifiers, tactical lights, laser scopes, laser rangefinders, binoculars, and of course, scopes with thermal imagers. The ECHO 3 model has eight color palettes and six brightness settings. This riflescope is also equipped with proprietary systems: anti-collapse protection (digital level), motion-activated display, wear-resistant lens coating, precision molded aspherical lens technology.

Specifications: magnification 2x-12x, power type - two CR123 batteries (working time with active use 6 hours), water resistance.

Pros:

The thermal reflex scope that is a thermal reflex scope, or as close as an optic could be to one

Very fast, sharp picture

Clear identification past 400 yards and detection past 700 yards

Very lightweight

very durable

 Cons:

Limited to 30Hz refresh rate

6-hour battery life

FOV could be wider

So, everyone can imagine the current level of market offerings in the world of thermal scopes. Not so long ago, only the military or very wealthy people could use such technologies, but now the range of models for civilian use is increasing from year to year.