Thermal Obsolescence

B

Buckhead

New member
Bought an AGM TS25-384 and a Taipan TM15-384 about 3 years ago. Use them for off season night time critter control. (Raccoons, coyotes, armadillos, beavers, etc). At the time, thought I had decent equipment, however the thermal market has exploded and my thermal stuff is rapidly becoming dated.

My thermals work fine, but the newer stuff blows it away. Higher resolutions, higher base magnifications, better battery life with additional features, all while being more affordable. Seems like 640s are the new standard.

I have recently retired and am looking to expand my predator hunting. Looking for additional land access and other opportunities (hogs, etc) Guess I will eventually upgrade, just not sure when. Wondering if it is like upgrading a cell phone. Every 5 years? Don’t want to be the guy with the flip phone. Thoughts?
 
Lots and lots of new better, stronger, faster stuff at SHOT this year (just got back). I'd say 640 is the standard IF you can afford it. I have a 384 unit and like you have killed coyotes with it. If I could do it then I can do it now. Those are becoming more and more affordable. But yeah, it's like computers in that features go up and prices come down. That said, I don't need to update/upgrade my phone. I do it because I want to (which is rare) and because I can afford to do it.

The new 1280 units are crazy cool by the way (so is the "old" RS75).

I'd say these days are the golden days of thermal and suppressors. Prices down, features up, lots of choices.
 
i'm going to wait a few years and buy the new 1280 units at 384 prices as they come out with newer stuff....maybe
 
Yeah it's a race you can't win but you just have to know that going in. Ultimately I think it will level out at some point and like you said the old stuff works just as good as it ever did but we want the new stuff. Heck the scope I got 5 weeks ago and was the latest greatest is already old news lol.
 
Just from a perspective of preferring daytime calling to night. I KNOW night is more effective. Have just enough experience using borrowed thermal to be convinced it will get more coyotes than day calling. Significantly more in many places. But, still, day calling is way more fun to me. Coyotes are not really worth literally losing much sleep, to me.

Still though! Thermal is just so darn cool. And it really does kick crap out of day calling for success. I'd like to have the option for when I felt like using it.

But sitting out here in the cheap seats, the price/performance isn't there yet to tempt me. All I've used is Trijicon 640 stuff. IR Hunter 60mm scopes and IR Patrol scanners. Have only looked through a couple 384 units but I don't think I'd be happy with one. Considering needing a scanner and a scope, the 640 stuff is still higher than I'm willing to go for a few times a year deal.

So, I hope this whole obsolescence deal gains some steam :ROFLMAO:.

- DAA
 
DAA said:
Just from a perspective of preferring daytime calling to night. I KNOW night is more effective. Have just enough experience using borrowed thermal to be convinced it will get more coyotes than day calling. Significantly more in many places. But, still, day calling is way more fun to me. Coyotes are not really worth literally losing much sleep, to me.

Still though! Thermal is just so darn cool. And it really does kick crap out of day calling for success. I'd like to have the option for when I felt like using it.

But sitting out here in the cheap seats, the price/performance isn't there yet to tempt me. All I've used is Trijicon 640 stuff. IR Hunter 60mm scopes and IR Patrol scanners. Have only looked through a couple 384 units but I don't think I'd be happy with one. Considering needing a scanner and a scope, the 640 stuff is still higher than I'm willing to go for a few times a year deal.

So, I hope this whole obsolescence deal gains some steam :ROFLMAO:.

- DAA
Click to expand...
Shoot me a message if you want. I have a couple 640 units that I am willing to part with for very reasonable prices.
 
I am posting here so I can look back in 5 years and re-read this when all the cool guys are running 5120 processors. You'll be able to identify the cause of a limp on moving deer sized game to 6.32 miles. Gonna be super handy. My most recent purchase said that it would pick up deer sized game to 3,800m. Jokes on them, I can't see further than about 500y anywhere within 100 miles of my zip code. It does provide an amazing picture, and I honestly can't imagine ever asking for more, but history will easily prove that I've said things like that before, and later spent ludacris money on the new Wizz bang thing. I'm just here for the ride.
 
Dew Claw said:
It's constantly getting better and in no time it's easy to say in 6 months i should have waited. I had my next scope picked out until these new releases. A 1280 would be great for 7000.
Click to expand...
There is this idea that gnaws at me when it comes to things like this:

You could probably kill every coyote that you find with that $7k optic, with a $1,000 256. I'm not suggesting that should influence anyone's decisions, but I see guys stack coyotes with a $600 savage rifle, meanwhile, I've got $8k in some of mine. When you pull the trigger, the animal dies the same way. I spend a ton of my free time shopping for, researching and evaluating new gear, like most of you, it's an obsession or an addiction, call it what you will, but it brings me as much joy as smacking a coyote. If I had just bought bitcoin instead though.... man..
 
Hecouldgoalltheway said:
There is this idea that gnaws at me when it comes to things like this:

You could probably kill every coyote that you find with that $7k optic, with a $1,000 256. I'm not suggesting that should influence anyone's decisions, but I see guys stack coyotes with a $600 savage rifle, meanwhile, I've got $8k in some of mine. When you pull the trigger, the animal dies the same way. I spend a ton of my free time shopping for, researching and evaluating new gear, like most of you, it's an obsession or an addiction, call it what you will, but it brings me as much joy as smacking a coyote. If I had just bought bitcoin instead though.... man..
Click to expand...

i have a 384 scanner and a 640 scope. everything i have shot with the 640 scope i could have killed with a 384. the only difference would be the sharper image you get in a 640. but on low humidity nights my 384 is almost as sharp as the 640.

when i first started poking around here a fellow by the name of kirsch was killing coyotes all night with a 384. i started with a pulsar NV scope and dropped coyotes all the way out to 200 plus yards with that.

buy what you can afford like spurchaser said
 
Back
Top