If you want to rent a thermal imaging scope for a mission, recon, hunting, or any application, you have lots of options. There are online companies who will ship your rental gear right to your home and local businesses offering by-the-day rentals to hunters in the area.
You may also notice you’ve got a ton of choices for scopes. Even if you’ve narrowed it down by deciding you need thermal, there are different mounts, sizes, styles, and options. Do you need extra features? Do you need extra warranties?
Not to worry. At Night Vision Rentals, we’ve been helping professional and amateur hunters, photographers, and others find the right night vision gear. Our experience in the industry gives us some insights and we can tell you that when you want to rent a thermal imaging scope:
1) Don’t rent or buy foreign commercial scopes.
Knock-off scopes may promise to be “night vision” but there’s a reason the military doesn’t buy these devices for situations where lives are on the line: lower-grade thermal imaging scopes don’t have the durability, reliably, accuracy, and range of the real deal. Always look for military grade systems used by law enforcement and professionals in high-stakes situations.
Yes, you may be able to buy a low-cost “night vision” system for a few hundred dollars, but the quality will probably not help you much once you’re out in the field. And there’s nothing worse than trying to line up your sights or being in the middle of the woods at night only to realize your equipment isn’t up to par. Rent a thermal imaging scope that offers quality – it will make a difference.
How much of a difference? Let’s put it this way: when the US military signs a contract with a manufacturer, that manufacturer cannot swap out scope parts or scopes for anything other than what was agreed to in the contract – even if the scopes or scope parts are considered higher quality than the items promised in the agreement. Under the False Claims Act, companies holding government contracts can be sued if they sub anything. To keep military personnel safe, the government knows one scope (or one piece of military equipment) is not as good another.
2) Know the two types of thermal imaging scope out there.
Your basic thermal scope options are: clip-on thermal scopes and stand-alone scopes. The stand-alone can be adjusted after it’s mounted on your rail. They snap on and off, so you can hunt in the daytime and then throw on a scope for evening hunting. You can also potentially swap up weapons and use clip-on thermal scopes with different weapons. Essentially, clip-one thermal scopes let you transform your daytime scope into a thermal night vision scope very quickly – without zeroing your weapon during the transition.
Standalone scopes are usually tougher and will last for years. However, they are tougher to change up. You would need to sight in the thermal scope and then sight in the day scope when you switches back. Hunters and pros who use standalones will either have separate weapons for daytime and nighttime or will carefully select their weapon for the entire mission so they can rely on the standalone scope.
3) Consider how you’re going to be using your scope.
What mount do you need? What other equipment do you need? If you want a tactical advantage, you need to plan ahead. For example, consider whether you really want to rent a thermal imaging scope. Thermal imaging picks up the “heat” rather than the reflected light of objects, letting you distinguish animals and live targets from surrounding forest, buildings, and inanimate objects. Since thermal scopes operate at longer wavelengths than image enhancing scopes, they can pick out targets over long distances, even in smoky, foggy, or very low-light conditions.
Hunters, recon missions, gaming, and other applications are well served by thermal scopes. However, if you’re interested in photography, you may not need the power. Similarly, if your use is recreational you may want an image enhancing scope or devices rather than thermal.
4) Give yourself extra time.
Even if the hunting season is sweet and you plan on bagging your trophy in hours, give yourself extra time. With the best technology, you still want to learn how to adapt to your new scope. You’ll want to find the perfect rest for sighting your scope, get relaxed with the weapon and technology, and maybe try a few test shots.
You might even want to let loose and play a little. Whether you’re using the Nite Site WOLF or the PVS 14, if you’ve never tried military-grade equipment you’re in for a treat and you probably want to give yourself a while to get over the “wow” factor before you get down to serious business.
If you’d like to rent a thermal imaging scope or want to know more about your choices, check out Night Vision Rentals. We specialize in military-grade and pro-grade night vision technology trusted by U.S. law enforcement and military users. If you’re ready to get serious about the gear you use, rent a thermal imaging scope and other equipment from us. We make it easy, so you can focus on your game.