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FLIR T-70 took down five hogs in the backyard last night. Then while I was picking them up the sow charged me in the dark and shot her three times with my Browning Hi-Power 9mm, she got away and will go look for her this morning. It was total carnage, like shooting ducks in a bathtub with the FLIR and the SIG 716....
If you have a hog or a coyote problem, FLIR will simply take care of it for you! Here is a 35MB WMV file of the thermal shootout out to 225 yards: http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/5%20Hogs/5%20Hogs.wmv |
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FLIR T-70 took down five hogs in the backyard last night. Then while I was picking them up the sow charged me in the dark and shot her three times with my Browning Hi-Power 9mm, she got away and will go look for her this morning. It was total carnage, like shooting ducks in a bathtub with the FLIR and the SIG 716.... If you have a hog or a coyote problem, FLIR will simply take care of it for you! http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/5%20Hogs/5%20Hogs%20Grapple.jpg http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/5%20Hogs/SIG%20716%205%20Hogs.jpg http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/5%20Hogs/Bullet.jpg Here is a 35MB WMV file of the thermal shootout out to 225 yards: http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/5%20Hogs/5%20Hogs.wmv View Quote Holy shit Skypup! Now you have Little Miss Piggy pissed off at you for all that past killin' they come a chargin'.....NICE! Vic |
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skypup Great thread! Good info on the Elcan1.5 - 6 with the FLIR.
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I nailed another songdog at 225 yards last night with the 1.5-6X-42mmELCAN/FLIR T-70 in pitch dark at 225 yards. It simply is an outstanding thermal optic setup for long range precise targeting as I was aiming for his heart. Took over twenty minutes of calling and he kept coming in and out of the far tree line and would never stand still, very nervous. Finally had a clear sight picture of him on the edge of the tree line and put the center crosshair dot on his heart, one handloaded 7.62mm 130 grain Barnes TSX went through him and he dropped dead in his tracks. http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/SIG%20716P%20225%20Yard%20Coyote/SIG%20716P%20Coyote%20225%20Yards.jpg View Quote Another KaBammo! Nice shooting at that range! Yotes are pretty darn small and hitting at that range is special at night with any thermal and/or standard NV gear. Vic |
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Seeing as how there as been great interest in FLIR's Thermal Weapon Sights and they are expensive, I figured I would include this information regarding FLIR's proprietary TAU 2 Vanadium Oxide microbolometers (the heart of the instruments) longevity for posterity.
"The new 17 micron uncooled Vanadium Oxide FLIR Tau 2 core was designed with a mean time between failure (MTBF) >30,000 hrs operation." "Assuming a usage duty cycle of 80% across all fielded Taus (actually includes many environments and use cases) the MTBF is calculated at 12.1 years (operating hours) with a 90% confidence level." I would assume the older model Tau cores with the 25 micron array would have similar endurance....... |
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Here is the 14MB WMV thermal video of the coyote headshot @ 125 yards, DRT.
http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/SIG%20716P%20Coyote%20Head%20Shot/SIG%20716P%20Coyote%20HeadsHOT.wmv |
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Okay, here is the 25MB WMV FLIR T-70 Thermal shootout at 175 yards.
Sure am glad I had the .308 for this one! http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/SIG%20716%20Giant%20Boar/SIG%20716P%20Giant%20Boar.wmv Merry Christmas everyone! |
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Here is a 17MB WMV FLIR T-70 thermal video of the porkchop eating coyote taking a 7.62mm @ 175 yards!
http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/SIG%20716P%20Pork%20Chop%20Coyote/SIG%20716P%20PorkChop%20Coyote.wmv Enjoy and Happy New Year! |
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Here is a 15MB WMV FLIR Thermal Video of last nights song dog demise with one shot @ 225 yards pitch dark out:
http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/Another%20225%20Yard%20Dog/Another%20225%20yard%20Coyote.wmv The video compression makes it look kinda grainy, but the real time view is about ten times better, plus is magnified by 6X what you see in the video. |
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Here is a short 10MB FLIR thermal video of a coyote shot at 200 yards under the most demanding conditions for any night hunting, temp 50*F, moderate rain, pea soup thick fog, no moon or stars, 100% humidity, wind calm....never would have pulled this off with any NV equipment.
http://www.phossil.com/thom/SIG%20716%20Precision/200%20Yard%20Rain%20Fog%20SIG%20716P%20T70/Fog%20&%20Rain%20Coyote%20200%20Yards.wmv |
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Many people are unaware of FLIR's software alogrithim that enhances their thermal sight images.
Here is an explanation of why DDE is important at times: Only under extreme unfavorable environmental conditions do I even use FLIR's proprietary DDE (Digital Detail Enhancement) to bring out the background contrast above a linear thermal gradient. DDE is basically a spatial filter designed to enhance the high spatial frequencies (edges etc.). The DDE filter attenuates high amplitude signals, making more of the total dynamic range available to display faint objects and details. The amount of attenuation is automatically determined by analyzing scene statistics. Here is a link to FLIR's excellent Digital Detail Enhancement proprietary alogrithium: http://www.flir.com/uploadedfiles/Eu...TN_0003_EN.pdf Digital Detail Enhancement (DDE) helps the human eye to see targets more easily using thermal imaging. Human eyesight can only distinguish about 128 levels of grey in an image (7 bit signal). A Long Wave Infra Red microbolometer core is assimilating in excess of 15,000 levels of grey (14 bit signal) and has to transform this into a 7 bit signal which the human eye can distinguish - otherwise a target will go undetected. FLIR Systems developed Digital Detail Enhancement (DDE) to help make targets more readily visible. DDE magnifies all details equally - so a small hot spot against a cold background will be just as clear to see and not be lost amid the dominant background temperatures. This overcomes a major problem and is extremely important in acute circumstances. It is an exclusive FLIR Systems product and is incorporated into all its thermal imaging. |
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SkyPup
Is this technology going to included in the new consumer R series scopes to come out later this year? |
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In regards to the new FLIR RS dedicated thermal scopes, I am not 100% certain about that, however, since it has been incorporated into all of their newer thermal cameras and the RS uses the same microbolometer core, I would assume so, however I will find out more about that later on and let ya know when I do.
In the meantime, both of my FLIR T-70s Mil-Spec Thermal Weapons scopes DO have the DDE option on them...... edit - I wrote and asked the folks at FLIR about this, so should have an answer here soon. |
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Well, that was fast, here is the official reply to my inquiry:
"Yes they all do, and it is automatic and based on the span of the entire scene." |
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Me too, the ICE mode in white hot kinda does it but not quite. I pretty much use it in Gray mode black hot for picking things out most of the time depending on the environment and the distance involved.
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That is an awesome shot. M18? How far away were you able to pick him up? |
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That was taken with a Scout TS 32R handheld from a distance of about 40 feet by a FLIR employee on a hunt in Texas, Eastern Diamondback.
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Great reason to justify buying FLIR! Now to convince the wife
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Skypup,
What do you see as the advantages of the M18 over the LS64? Both are 640 sensors. Both have 35mm lens. Very interested in your observations on the performance differences. |
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You know, that is a very good question.
Of course they are both designed for completely different purposes, one to hunt humans and one to hunt animals. Let me think about this for awhile and I will try to cover the different aspects the best I can. Keep in mind too: The FLIR GS mil-spec T-70 thermal scope is basically a weaponized M-18 for hunting bad guys. The civilian FLIR RS64-35 is basically a weaponized LS-64 for hunting vermin. |
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Okay, first off the specifications of the two units are very similar, but that is where the similarity ends.
Both have an 18 degree X 14 degree view, both have internal digital magnification of 2X and 4X (however the LS-64 also has a continuous variable mag up to 8X even though it is very pixelated at that mag). The LS-64 has the automatic NUC shutter while the M-18 has only the manual NUC (although when you first turn on the M-18 it does one automatic NUC). The LS-64 is in FLIR's nice Direct Digital Enhancement (DDE) all the time, while the M-18 has the choice of either linear or DDE mode. Both are 30Hz, but you can record the video out of the M-18 at 720X480 30fps NTSC though a digital video connector. The LS64 weighs 13 ounces and is 7" long, the M-18 with batteries weighs 17 ounces and is 5" long. The LS-64 as a fixed 35mm objective lens and a adjustable diopter for the OLED, the M-18 has a manually adjustable 35mm objective and a manually adjustable glass ocular lens. The LS-64 fixed objective focus is good for 35 feet to infinity, the M-18 adjustable focus is good for 4 feet to infinity. Also the M-18 has a long range extender lens available for it, which the LS-64 does not. LS-64 is White/Black Hot and 4 Instalert Settings as well as five brightness settings. The M-18 has Rain, Iron, Ice Color Palletes in addition to the White/Blk Hot, it also has targeting reticules you can turn on or off. The LS-64 has a five hour run time per charge, the M-18 has a 3 hour runtime on two CR123 batteries. Both have visible red Class IIIA lasers for visible targeting, however the M-18 also has a high power visible red laser. Both units can easily detect a human being over 1/2 mile away and a vehicle over 1 mile away. Comparing all the objective facts, the two units appear to have similar specifications except for the color pallets, adjustable objective and ocular lens, video recording, powerful laser, and removable batteries in the M-18. However, subjectively the M-18 has an absolute KILLER image compared to the LS64 mostly due to the adjustable objective lens and the 3-glass lens ocular which give a HUGE precise clear image view through the glass which has greater clarity than the LS-64's plastic OLED screen. The view is at least twice the size of the LS-64s if not more. In addition to the absolutely stunning visual image produced at the ocular, the use of the different color palettes, which at first seems to be a superfluous frill, actually are quite helpful under difficult circumstances such as in rain or fog with high humidity monthermal conditions where you can adjust the linear thermal images very very precisely to zero in on heat signatures. The M-18 has a single joystick control to adjust linear/DDE, brightness, color palettes, magnification levels, manual NUC, manual thermal gradients, etc. which is very intuitive to use and is just like the controls on the FLIR T-70 thermal weapon scope. For overall general hunting use, the LS-64 shines with its InstaAlert setting allowing you to scan large areas for a heat signature with minimal concentration and then zoom in for a closer look in white or black hot. For very precise hunting or technical surveillance use, the M-18 allows you to scan with the ICE hot modes similar to InstaAlert, but with a greater clarity and detailed image, it then allows you to manipulate the color patterns to pick out unseen items in the background. I'd say the M-18 subjectively gives about 5X better thermal viewing experience compared to the LS-64, and the LS-64 is no slouch. Anything with a thermal signature is going to be picked up by either of these two instruments and the LS-64 is perfectly adequate for 90% of it all, the M-18 just adds the last 10 % on top of that in a striking clear way. It is kind of like using a SWAROVSKI OPTIK rifle scope, do you absolutely need it? Probably not, but if you do have one it is to die for and the very best top notch quality inside and out! Hope that helps, it is difficult to put the subjective experience into words.... |
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Fantastic write up Skypup. Extremely helpful. Any news on the m18 extender lens price or availability? How does the extender change how you use the optic?
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FLIR GS is still working on that, mine is just a prototype, however if you want to see a human three miles away instead of just one, it is the kit to have.
Personally I do not see much use in it for me because if I see a hog or a coyote three miles away, they most likely will not be there by the time I hike that far to get them.... For long range surveillance purposes though, it is beyond belief, it is almost like there should be some kind of law against it.... |
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Short video of the hog kills, nailed three and recovered two, in a foot deep water in middle of swamp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pwPiWVGD1c |
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