Pulsar Thermion XM30

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9.3x64
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Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

Hi brains trust,
My brother is considering outlaying considerable money on a Pulsar Thermion XM30 for feral pig and dog control on a sheep property. Feral dogs and pigs are a considerable financial problem on this property.
Can I please ask for some feedback from shooters who have had first hand experience with these scopes.

1/Are they good quality and worth the money asked for them?
2/How do we mount them on the R8 platform, considering the eye relief?
3/ Is the XM30 a better choice than the XM38 and XM50, considering shooting range will be under 500 metres and most shots significantly less?
4/ Are their other tips we need to consider?

Thankyou in advance Allan and Glenn.
Life is too short to hunt with an ugly dog.
Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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SPEEDY
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by SPEEDY »

Definitely not a 500m scope, from the recordings of the I would be hesitant at 200m.
I had a look at a 38 and didn't like it a great deal either but quite usable, the 50 looks like the real winner but much dearer, but then as they say in the thermal market anything under $5000 is more a toy then a serious scope.

It really is an are you need to fork out good coin if you want something other than an 80m sitting on a dam waiting for pig to come in type scope.
That's what keeps me away from them I don't do enough night shooting to even justify the "cheap" end of the market scopes, I still think for most people a hid spotlight is the best way to go.
But if you have the coin and want something super cool they are very handy things to have.
But I've played more with hand held units to spot game, then an on rifle hid torch to actually shoot them with.
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

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mchughcb
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by mchughcb »

Stupid question but who is they? Prices on electronics has been falling for years. What cost 10k years ago can now be done with gear much less than half price?

9.3x64
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

mchughcb wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:20 am Stupid question but who is they? Prices on electronics has been falling for years. What cost 10k years ago can now be done with gear much less than half price?
Hey Chuck, when I say “they” I meant the Pulsar Thermion scope. My apologies, as it’s probably my bad English sometimes.
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mchughcb
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by mchughcb »

Sorry Allan I was referring to Speedys comments about " they in thermal market".

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mchughcb
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by mchughcb »

Speaking to an importer at the expo there is a known problem with the thermion and trails with a wandering zero. They didnt have this problem with their discontinued Apex series.

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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

mchughcb wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:40 am Sorry Allan I was referring to Speedys comments about " they in thermal market".
I see, thanks for clarifying buddy.
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

mchughcb wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:45 am Speaking to an importer at the expo there is a known problem with the thermion and trails with a wandering zero. They didnt have this problem with their discontinued Apex series.
Mmm very interesting Chuck.
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icebug
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by icebug »

No issues with my XP50 so far, will upload some videos when I have time.
Get in touch with Goran from Extravision, he can advise you on that matter.
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icebug
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by icebug »

9.3x64 wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 4:48 am 2/How do we mount them on the R8 platform, considering the eye relief?
Eye relief is not a problem, but the height is.
I had to put extra spacers under the 30mm rings to get it clear the mount base, as the central part where the turrets are is quite "bulky".
If you still think you'll have eye relief problems, replace the rear ring with the offset one, that will allow you to pull the scope back a bit more.
I did that on two of my mounts for my Nightforce scopes, but not for Thermion.

DH338 also mentioned those spacers in his post https://blaserbuds.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 50#p200520

The offset ring looks like this:
Image
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SPEEDY
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by SPEEDY »

mchughcb wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:40 am Sorry Allan I was referring to Speedys comments about " they in thermal market".
Pretty much everyone, especially the blokes selling them. :lol:
But I know a few blokes too that bought cheaper units and they, as in the thermal ;) ended up getting upgraded pretty quick.
Even on the used firearms sites it's the cheaper units getting sold 2nd hand for "supposedly" the same reason, getting upgraded.
Even all the reviews run along the same lines, the cheaper ones are OK to around 100m but if you want to see more then a blurred outline past 100m then you need to spend more.

The way I see it, and this is just me personally, if I was only shooting to 100m on pigs and foxes ect around 50m to Max 100m then I wound just get a digital NV scope.
If I was going to push that out to 250m then I would get a good thermal scope like the XM50 at a minimum.
I'm soft and I don't care. :dance:

9.3x64
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

icebug wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 7:27 am
9.3x64 wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 4:48 am 2/How do we mount them on the R8 platform, considering the eye relief?
Eye relief is not a problem, but the height is.
I had to put extra spacers under the 30mm rings to get it clear the mount base, as the central part where the turrets are is quite "bulky".
If you still think you'll have eye relief problems, replace the rear ring with the offset one, that will allow you to pull the scope back a bit more.
I did that on two of my mounts for my Nightforce scopes, but not for Thermion.

DH338 also mentioned those spacers in his post https://blaserbuds.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 50#p200520

The offset ring looks like this:
Image
Brilliant, thankyou Icebug.
Life is too short to hunt with an ugly dog.
Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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mchughcb
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by mchughcb »

SPEEDY wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 8:34 am
mchughcb wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:40 am Sorry Allan I was referring to Speedys comments about " they in thermal market".
Pretty much everyone, especially the blokes selling them. :lol:
But I know a few blokes too that bought cheaper units and they, as in the thermal ;) ended up getting upgraded pretty quick.
Even on the used firearms sites it's the cheaper units getting sold 2nd hand for "supposedly" the same reason, getting upgraded.
Even all the reviews run along the same lines, the cheaper ones are OK to around 100m but if you want to see more then a blurred outline past 100m then you need to spend more.

The way I see it, and this is just me personally, if I was only shooting to 100m on pigs and foxes ect around 50m to Max 100m then I wound just get a digital NV scope.
If I was going to push that out to 250m then I would get a good thermal scope like the XM50 at a minimum.
As the range in Australia is not as big as the USA due to ITAR what are the cheaper units the blokes you know bought?

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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by Gun Barrel Ecologist »

The cheaper unit that gets a bad review and quick resale is the old ATN. In theory the latest version is better but that is said about every new version.
At work we are currently running Pulsar Digital NV and Flir thermal spotters. To be honest I think you can set yourself up that way for less than the price of a Thermion and it represents better value for money. Thermal is good for detection and it’s good to have something ergonomic to point at the unknown rather than scan with the rifle or dismount the scope.
Given your in Brisbane I’m happy to give you a run down at Belmont if that would help

9.3x64
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Re: Pulsar Thermion XM30

Post by 9.3x64 »

Gun Barrel Ecologist wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:07 pm The cheaper unit that gets a bad review and quick resale is the old ATN. In theory the latest version is better but that is said about every new version.
At work we are currently running Pulsar Digital NV and Flir thermal spotters. To be honest I think you can set yourself up that way for less than the price of a Thermion and it represents better value for money. Thermal is good for detection and it’s good to have something ergonomic to point at the unknown rather than scan with the rifle or dismount the scope.
Given your in Brisbane I’m happy to give you a run down at Belmont if that would help
That’s bloody nice of you mate.
I will have a word to my brother at some stage and try and get him along as well. It be sometime though as he drives road trains. I really appreciate the offer and will let you know.
Allan
Life is too short to hunt with an ugly dog.
Hunt with a German Shorthaired Pointer.

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