Thermal imaging and laser rangefinders are highly useful when you are on your outdoor adventures in the dark. You can easily locate your target without even actually seeing it. Thermal scopes are not only helpful in hunting but also in various other situations like saving someone from fire.

Thermal scopes can help you get the thermal signature of any living being with a single camera and you can also record it and watch later. There are so many features offered by different types of thermal optics equipment.

Here, we will discuss what benefits you can get from a thermal weapon sight and what are its disadvantages. We will also deliver some tips for using your thermal image device at its full capacity. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started.

Benefits of Thermal Optics in Hunting

Thermal optics or thermal imaging is one of the best inventions for those who like hunting. It makes locating the target highly easy and convenient. You can hunt various animals, even the nocturnal ones, with great ease and fun. Let’s see how you can make your outdoor activities more fun.

Hunting Nocturnal Animals

The main objective of using thermal weapon sights is the ability to hunt the target in dark environments. As human eyes are not able to see properly in the dark, these thermal imaging devices help us to hunt in the dark.

Nocturnal animals like coyotes are available for hunting at night only, in the dark. Thus, it becomes a necessity to be able to see these animals to locate them. Thermal imaging uses the thermal signature of living beings and thus you can easily hunt down the target, even in the dark.

Locating Target

Thermal imaging makes it super easy to locate the target even without not really seeing them. As you get the thermal signature of the target with the help of your thermal weapon sight, you don’t have to worry about locating the target in the dark.

Not only in the dark but also in broad daylight, there are some areas where you can not locate the target because of dense bushes or snow. However, you can locate them using their thermal signature.

Tracking Wounded Target

You can even locate the target if you miss the shot and the target gets wounded. You may not locate the blood trail using your flashlight in the dark or with your naked eyes in the daylight, but you can locate it through its thermal signature.

When the target gets wounded, it leaves a thermal signature trail along with its blood. This can help you locate the wounded target and you can end its suffering. This also helps to avoid leaving a wounded target to suffer.

Increased Safety

Thermal imaging also helps to keep you safe from the wild animals that you can not spot while hunting. You may not be able to see a dangerous animal with your naked eyes or on your normal camera, but you can locate it on a thermal camera.

Thermal optics helps you to identify any possible threat with its thermal signature. You can not only hunt a target but also locate the threats that you don’t even know exist. Thus, you can prevent getting yourself in trouble with any wild animal, as you already know its location.

Disadvantages of Thermal Imaging

Everything possesses both good and bad qualities. Thermal scopes are no exception to it.  There are a few disadvantages of using thermal weapon sight. Let’s have a look at them.

Higher Initial Cost

Thermal scopes are a little expensive. You have to invest a lot in thermal optics to get good quality equipment. This can lead you to spend a lot of money on thermal imaging devices.

Thermal imaging requires advanced technology to be equipped with cameras which increases the cost. Not only technology, but their manufacturing is also complicated. Of course, the brand will ask you for a lot of money if it is putting so much hard work into manufacturing a single thermal imaging camera.

Moreover, as you move to higher models, the manufacturing process just becomes more and more complicated. This increases cost drastically as you also get lots of features with that.

Target Identification Issues

No doubt thermal imaging makes it easier to identify any animal even when you can not see it. However, this is not always a good thing. Sometimes you need to see the animal but all you get is a thermal image.

With the help of a thermal image, you can only guess the size of the animal and not exactly what the animal is. You don’t get a real image to look at. The thermal image can be of a coyote or a dog. You can not distinguish properly unless you are an expert.

Infrared Limitations

Infrared rays work by getting reflected by a surface and providing you with its thermal signature. This is a wonderful technique to identify living beings without actually seeing them. Hoever, infrared lights can not transfer every object they come into contact with.

These rays get reflected by a glass or a water body and you will not get the required result. You won’t be able to get the thermal signature of anyone in the car because of the glass and inside a water body because the infrared rays get reflected.

Tips to use a Thermal Scope

You can easily use a thermal scope to see the unseen. You can locate any living target by its thermal signature using a thermal imaging device. Here are a few tips for you to utilize your thermal weapon sight and get the best use of it.

Understand your Device

The first thing you need to do is to understand your device. You need to understand how it works and how to handle it if any issue occurs. This is the basic thing that you need to learn if you want to use your thermal weapon sight to its fullest.

Manage Battery Life

Battery is very important when using a thermal weapon sight in a remote location on your hunting adventure. Always keep a backup battery in case the current battery dies. This can help you use the equipment without any hurdles.

Slow Movements

Keep your movements slow and steady. Move your camera slowly so it captures every subtle detail of what is happening in your surroundings. If you move it quickly, the thermal weapon sight won’t be able to capture everything and you might get false results.

Utilize Standby

Almost every thermal scope has a standby and sleep mode. Utilize it when necessary. Whenever you feel like the camera is not in use, put it on standby mode or sleep mode to save battery. This way you can get the most out of your thermal weapon sight.

Understand your Environment

You also need to understand your surroundings. If there is increased humidity, heavy rainfall/snowfall, fog, or any hindrance in your visual, try changing the settings. Play with your device and set it to have the best visual so you can easily identify your target.

Keep Practicing

There are so many features that you learn while using the device over and over. You need a lot of practice to understand every function of your thermal imaging equipment. This can help you get used to your thermal scope and you can easily handle it in every situation.

Be Aware of Laws and Ethics

You might or might not know that there are so many laws related to the hunting and poaching of wild animals. You need to be aware of them and take any legal action. Never do anything inhumane or out of the law.

Tips to use your Thermal Scopes in the Daytime

Thermal optics equipment is not only meant to be used in the dark; you can also use them in broad daylight as well. You just need to make a few adjustments in how you use them at night. Let’s see what you can do to use your thermal scopes in the daytime for more fun and adventure.

Adjust Contrast and Brightness

You need to adjust the contrast and brightness settings according to the daylight. At night you need less brightness but in the day you need to increase it for better visibility. Try to adjust these settings according to your environment and enjoy your daytime hunting.

Try to Find a Shade

Try to find a shade under a tree or a rock in the daylight to avoid any glare effect on the image. This can also help you get a cooler background for a better thermal image. Placing your thermal camera under a shade can help you reduce the sun effect and get a good-quality thermal image.

Try Different Color Palettes

Using different color palettes and trying new ones under daylight can help you get high-quality thermal images. You can get the desired results by experimenting with different color palettes and see which one works for you the best in the daylight.

Protect the Sensors

One of the most important tips that you need to know about your thermal scope is not to aim it at direct sun. When you aim at the direct sun with your thermal scope, it can damage the sensors and affect your equipment.

Bottom Line

Thermal scopes are one of the best inventions for hunting in the dark. You don’t have to worry about not being able to see the target as you can easily get its thermal signature. These thermal signatures are so helpful in detecting any living beings that are not visible to the naked eye.

Thermal scopes are not only useful for hunting but they have many more applications. One such application is in the fire department. The firefighters can detect any living being even in the heavy smoke where they can not see anything.