Best Mini Thermal for all Missions | FLIR Breach | Tactical Rifleman
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Here, at Tactical Rifleman, we are all about showing you how the military “Shoots, Moves, and Communicates.” A big part of shooting and moving in the dark is being able to see. As most of our combat ops are done at night, it only makes sense for us to practice at night, using the best NVDs that the taxpayers can buy.
That said, whether you are military, law enforcement, or civilian; there are certains guidelines that apply.
Match the optic to the mission
Thermals are NOT always better than standard IR
Always get the BEST tube you or your unit can afford
Batteries, batteries, batteries
On this flavor, we are going to continue our series of videos about different night vision gear, including GEN-III & Thermal, and both helmet & weapon mounted versions.
This third video is about the small Breach Thermal that I keep in a pouch on my War Belt. That’s right, this puppy is small enough that I carry it around on my war belt, out at the range, every day. The pouch sits on my right hip between my Leatherman and my Med Kit. It’s a sweet little thermal monocular, sized smaller than the old PVS-14s, and it’s a thermal!!!.. Yes, Thermals have disadvantages. However, I prefer to keep a little Thermal monocular handy for a number of cool reasons:
It takes up very little space (same size as a flashlight)
I can use it handheld or weapon mounted or even helmet mounted
It can record hours of video internally, and/or take hundreds of still photos.
Unlike GEN-III NVDs, I can film with this during the day
It only covers one eye, allowing the other eye to respond naturally to surrounding light.
It can be used for spotting day or night.
It’s this last note that many people overlook. Situation… Say you are running a huge GEN-III Ghost White Phosphor Clip-On NVD on the Front of your Schmidt & Bender Day Scope, mounted on your monster 338 heavy sniper rifle; in the hide site, overwatching an enemy ISIS training camp. You’ve been living in this bush for 36 hours, and the Assault force isn’t going to hit for another 32 hours. The enemy knows they are being watched because politicians can’t keep their mouths shut; so the enemy has active security out, with roving patrols traveling all over the terrain. At 0200hrs in the morning, it’s your turn to pull security, while the rest of your sniper team does “priorities of work” (Eat/Sleep). With no moonlight, you can’t see your hand in front of your face. To look 360 around your hide site, you don’t want to pick up that big sniper rifle to pan around the flanks and rear of your bush. Instead, you pull out your trusty little Thermal monocular, and look around. Nothing can hide from you and nothing can sneak up on you. Been there done that. I was on a “Training Op” in Africa, in a hide site on security, when I panned around with my little hand held thermal. As I turned to my right, through the scope I spotted a HUGE “Bear” standing up on its hind legs holding something in front of it!!!. Wait a minute; there are no Bear in Africa. Upon closer look, it was a field mouse sitting back, eating a seed from our scrub brush bush, 10 feet away. Now, if a mouse can’t sneak up on me, then there’s no way an enemy patrol would be able to sneak up on our bush.
Today, I’m a FAG (Former Action Guy), and no one is wanting to shoot at me. I still use the thermal for filming cool videos of my students. I use it for scouting for Deer & Elk. I use it for finding downed Hogs or Coyotes. I use it for checking the insulation of my windows and doors. There are lots of uses for this little puppy. Yes, I keep a GEN-III monocular in my Go Bag for driving; but I’ll still carry this little Breach with me. A good thermal brings a lot of capability to the fight, and this Breach is so small there is no reason to leave it behind.
I f any of you are interested in taking a training course with any of the Tactical Rifleman team; please reach out to us at tacticalrifleman.com, where you can find course listings and other great content.
Till next time; thanks for watching. Strength & Honor, TR.