TEST
FIRED
NEWPRODUCT
HUNTING WITH
THERMAL IMAGING
1X
BY BRAD YOUNG
HUNTING E FISHING NEW ZEALAND, INVERCARGILL
These days the features built into thermal imagers keeps developing. A
great example of this innovation is that some now include the ability to live
stream or hot spot video via wifi to a separate device, like a phone or tablet
allowing your hunting buddies to simultaneously see what you are looking
at through the thermal, rather than having to pass it around. This means with
only one unit, a hunting party can all be totally involved. Some units can also
record photos or video.
LRF models have built in laser range finders taking the guess work out of
animal range rather than using a stadimetric range finder that most standard
models have. They also offer multiple colour filters, rather than just
white hot or black hot, which can get hard on your eyes when spotting for
extended periods. It helps if you adjust your brightness and contrast levels,
Iwill often use some of the other filters to give my eyes a rest, lespecially
still remember the first trip I had using Thermal Imaging, it was
more of a recce of some new private blocks we'd been given
access to than a serious hunt and it really left me in awe of this new
technology. Back then it was the very early Pulsar Quantums we
were using, prior to the evolution to HD's and the Apex scopes. It amazes me
how much this technology has developed and evolved in a relatively short
amount of time.
On that first experience, I remember being absolutely amazed. I knew
the Pulsar technology was good, but seeing them perform in the field for
the first time really blows your mind. What impressed me most was how
far you could see under a bush canopy in the dark through cover. We were
easily seeing deer at 900m to a kilometre, but when you flicked a light on
you could only see about 30 meters because the light was reflected back
from any foliage in the foreground. Conversely with thermal imaging.
because the foliage didn't hold much heat you could effectively see through
and beyond it with a thermal. It also blew me away how when there was
no spotlight or head torch to spook them, deer would sit tight in cover at
close proximity, even at less than 10 meters they'd watch you go past and
if you didn't see them on the thermal you would have never believed that
they were there, that is, until you heard them crash away. Another thing that
surprised me the first time out was how many possums there were as they
were supposed to be virtually wiped out in that area - we stopped counting
when we got past 50. Another great thing about using a thermal is, unlike a
light, you are not relying on eye reflection to locate
animals so it doesn't matter if they look away. That
night we saw about 20 deer with the thermal, but
would have only seen about 3 with a spotlight.
Like the blue and red monochrome for this. The colour filters also tend to
pick up different colour temperatures, so can be handy if you're looking for
something specific or have trouble differentiating between hot rocks and
live animals. When you first use a thermal in the field you will get a few false
positives until you get your eye in. Possums get mistaken for parts of deer,
or a hare lying down can trick you too, but when you see deer or pigs there
is no mistaking them and by adjusting the manual focus you will get a sharp
image.
Hunting & Fishing New Zealand now offers an expanded new range of
thermal imaging equipment complimenting the proven Pulsar/Yukon range
with units from Burris and NightTech. The hunter now has more selection,
and the competition between brands is a healthy reflection on just how
popular Thermal Imaging has become as more and more hunters become to
appreciate the advantages it offers them.
Thermal Imaging technology is a significant investment, so to help you
evaluate the options, please check out the information contained in the
Pulsar/Yukon feature (pages 42-46), the Burris Thermals range (page 47).
and the NightTech selection on page 41.
"WHAT AMAZED ME WAS HOW FAR YOU COULD SEE
UNDER A BUSH CANOPY IN THE DARK THROUGH COVER.
WE WERE EASILY SEEING DEER AT 900M TO 1
KILOMETRE AND WHEN YOU FLICKED A LIGHT ON YOU
COULD ONLY SEE ABOUT 30 METERS BECAUSE THE LIGHT
WAS REFLECTED BACK FROM FOLIAGE AND BRANCHES."
CHECK OUT THERMAL
PRODUCTS ON THE OPPOSITE
PAGE, 42-46 + 47
40
HUNTING
