Pulsar's New Thermion 2 LRF XP60 Thermal Rifle Optic

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My introduction to using thermal optics came while night-hunting wild boars in the virgin thickets of Argentina. In a dramatic shift to the far end of the spectrum, my next use of the technology was while day-hunting aoudad in the arid desert canyons of West Texas. The following year thermal wasn’t just helpful, it was a game-changer in England’s old-growth timber stands while hunting fanged muntjac deer.

Thermal optics have evolved like cell phones, and of the various consumer-available brands, in my limited experience, Pulsar appears to be the tip of the spear when it comes to innovation and quality. The company’s recently introduced Thermion 2 LRF 60-series riflescopes showcase this.

There are three variations of the 60-series Thermion 2 LRF: the flagship XL60, which features an incredible 1024x768 sensor, 2.5-20X zoom, and a 2,800-meter detection range on deer. The XG60 has a 640x480 sensor paired with 4-32X zoom, giving it extremely good resolution for its sensor size but a narrow field of view. It has a 2,800-meter detection range.

Reviewed here is the XP60, arguably the most practical of the three for predator hunters. It has the same 640x480 sensor as the XG60 paired with a 3-24X zoom. This lowers resolution a bit when zoomed way in but offers a wider field of view, enabling the user to more effectively scan for and detect quick-traveling predators. For those who live by the numbers, the XP60’s resolution is 2560x2560 pixels. Video recording resolution is 1280x960.

Without getting bogged down in too much technical jargon, let’s just point out that all three utilize a highly advanced Micro-OLED display inside to provide a vastly improved scope-filling screen. Instead of peering at a modest square of display when you look into the scope, you’ll find nearly the entire inside filled by the display. This is apparently enabled by the 60mm front lens. Only a little is cut off the top and bottom of the round field of view, and those regions are utilized to display crucial settings.

As many readers know, premium thermal scopes cost the equivalent of a new base-model four-wheeler. As tech advances and marketplace competition continues to drive manufacturing innovation, those prices are coming down. But the cost still seems ghastly expensive to shooters new to thermal. The Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XP60 has a suggested retail of about $6,500 but sells online for about $5,500. The XG60 is about the same, as it offers the same quality with subtle differences in features. The flagship XL60 will set you back closer to $7,000.

So, just what does one get when forking out $5,500 for a good predator-optimized Thermion 2 LRF XP60? Quite a lot. As I researched and worked with this scope, the deeper I got into its features and capability, the more impressed I became.

Fundamentally, the Thermion 2 is a thermal riflescope. You mount it on a rifle, sight it in (which is a digital process), and then go hunt with it. It’s optimized for use at night, of course, but actually works reasonably well for certain daylight shooting tasks, too.

However, the Thermion 2 LRF XP60 goes way beyond its fundamental use factor. For starters, it has an on-board rangefinder capable to 800 meters (875 yards). That’s what the LRF stands for—laser rangefinder. Press the appropriate rubber button atop the ocular housing to activate the rangefinder, place the little red reticle brackets on the object you wish to range, and press it again. Or, if hunting in a dynamic situation, long-press the button to activate scan mode. The rangefinder will provide continuous feedback on whatever it’s pointed at until you deactivate it.

That’s all very cool, I mused while familiarizing myself with the scope. However, it does not have a dial-up ballistic turret that enables precise shooting at distance. In my ignorance, I figured that thanks to the rangefinder, at least I’d know when a critter was outside the maximum point-blank range of whatever sizzling-fast cartridge I sighted the Thermion 2 in for.

I hugely underestimated the scope.

A bit more research revealed that ballistic profiles may be created in Pulsar’s Stream Vision Ballistics companion app and uploaded into the scope via Bluetooth. When it’s activated, the user can dial for any given distance to 1,600 yards using the control on the side of the scope. Even better, when the rangefinder pings an object inside 800 meters, the scope automatically adjusts the reticle for the distance. Can you just imagine tracking a fast-incoming coyote with the rangefinder on scan mode, the on-board ballistic calculator constantly updating the aiming reticle meanwhile? When the predator stops, just plaster the X on the song-dog and squeeze the trigger.

Marvelous! This was an epiphany to my inner Fudd. I’ve worked with most of the consumer-available laser rangefinding scopes, such as Burris’s various Eliminator scopes and the short-lived Zeiss Diarange T, but I hadn’t realized that technology also lived in thermal scopes.

To be candid, the technology is probably better in the Thermion 2 LRF than those others. Thermion 2s are state-of-the-art digital optics, and I suspect they feature tip-of-the-spear programs and capability. For example, you can activate environmental conditions, and the scope will pull geo-specific weather info (temperature, altitude, and so forth) and incorporate it into the ballistic calculations.

Another feature that blew me away is the fact that you can upload multiple different ballistic profiles, and you can switch between them in just a few seconds using the controller button/wheel on the left side of the scope. Once uploaded, each profile must be selected and sighted in at your chosen zero distance. With that completed, you can select and use that profile anytime you need it.

This has vast implications. You can zero a given rifle—for example the Sako 90 Peak chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor that I installed the Thermion 2 LRF XP60 on for testing—with various different loads that have massively different purposes. And you can switch between those different loads without having to re-zero the scope. The crosshair instantly resets to the different zero when you select a different ballistic profile.

Case in point: I first created a ballistic profile for Hornady 140-grain ELD Match bullets, uploaded the profile, and zeroed the Sako 90 Peak for it. Next, since I plan to do a lot of nighttime predator and varmint control with the setup, I created a profile for fast-moving, frangible Hornady 95-grain V-Max bullets, uploaded the additional profile to the scope, and zeroed it. I now can switch loads on the fly, select the appropriate profile in the scope, and just shoot. No re-zeroing for the different load is necessary.

I’m going to add another profile—probably built for Swift 140-grain A-Frame bullets that are ideal for tougher game, such as wild boars with rut-thickened gristle shields. If I were to go from sniping raiding raccoons off of a feeder to clobbering a big Eurasian boar off a gut pile, I’d just swap out cartridges, switch to the appropriate profile, and shoot.

As if providing an appropriately zeroed reticle for your standard zero distance wasn’t enough, the laser rangefinder and ballistic program measure and calculate the holdover for long-range shots as well. Whether shooting that 95-grain V-Max or the 140-grain A-Frame, I can go from muzzle distance to way, way out there and not only measure the distance to the target, but I can hold on the money and hit my target.

Here’s where it gets even more impressive. The Thermion 2 LRF XP60 has 10 different primary profiles—indicated by A through J—each with 10 sub-profiles. You can mount the scope in high-quality quick-detach 30mm rings that promise excellent return-to-zero capability and—here’s the crazy part—sight it in on multiple different rifles. All you have to do is create and name each rifle and load profile and zero it when first uploaded into the scope. The Thermion 2 LRF XP60 will save the settings. Want to swap the scope back and forth between a 6.5 Weatherby RPM precision bolt action set up for night-calling wolves (where legal) to a .300 Blackout AR-15 set up for stalking feral pigs? You can do that.

Let’s look at some of the simpler functions that everyone with a thermal scope wants: zoom, focus, digital recording, and so forth along with color pallettes, contrast adjustments, reticle types and colors, and whatnot. Control buttons and knobs are located in five places on the Thermion 2 LRF. The on/off button is a big blue affair located on the rangefinder housing atop the objective bell. Press briefly to turn on. Press and hold for two seconds to put the scope in battery-saving hibernate mode. Press and hold for three seconds to turn the scope off.

Focusing knobs are located on each side of the scope—which is important, so left-handed shooters can refine focus while staying on the trigger. These are winged knobs at left and right on the objective bell. The primary control button/knob is located on the left side of what would be the turret housing on a normal scope. Short presses and long presses activate the various menus, and the knob may be rotated to scroll through the various functions, then pressed to select. It can also be used to make fine adjustments to the zoom.

Atop the ocular housing are three short-cut buttons. One activates the laser rangefinder. Press to turn it on and press again to measure. Long-press to activate scan rangefinding mode. Long-press again to deactivate. Another button cycles the scope through x2 zoom steps (3X, 6X, 12X, and 24X, then back to 3X). Once in zooming mode, use the primary control knob on the left side to make fine adjustments.

The third button is used for taking photographs and videos of what the display inside shows. You know all those videos on YouTube of thermal hunters mowing down feral hogs? Use this button to record your own videos. Long-pressing switches between video and photo mode. Files record into 64 GB of built-in memory.

Color pallettes are accessed in the main menu and enable the user to select their preference, ranging from fundamentally different pallettes, such as white-hot versus black-hot, right up through sepia, monochrome, rainbow, and more. Contrast, brightness, and so forth can instantly be adjusted by quick-pressing the menu button and then dialing to the desired setting and quick-pressing to select.

Various reticles may be selected from a wide list. User profiles can be created, with each shooter’s preferred color pallette, reticle, and other settings.There’s more—and the deeper I dig into the scope the more I find—but those are the primary features and functions that I find compelling.

As you might imagine, an electronic with this level of various capabilities draws significant power. Pulsar wisely configured the Thermion 2 LRF series with an onboard permanent rechargeable Li-Ion APS5/4900 mAh/DC 3.7V battery plus a battery compartment for a removable Li-Ion APS3/3200 mAh/DC 3.7V battery. The unit draws on the removable battery first, then when it’s down to 20 percent or so switches to the built-in battery. Between the two, they last a long time. Specific use time depends on rangefinder activation and mode, current temperature, and so forth but is rated for about seven hours.

Each Thermion 2 LRF comes with two of the removable batteries, so you can always be charging one while running the other. Plus, you can plug the scope into an external 5V or 9V power bank or even an auxiliary cord on which it can run interminably. Interface is a USB-C port. I haven’t used it yet, but each Thermion 2 LRF comes with a wireless remote, along with multiple hook-and-loop pads on peel-and-stick adhesive backing so the remote can be secured to the fore-end of your favorite shootin’ irons.

How about durability? The Thermion 2 LRF line is rated for recoil up to and including the .375 H&H Magnum and 12-gauge slugs. In specific terms, that’s 6,000 joules of muzzle energy, which is the equivalent of about 4,400 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. That’s a bit of an obscure rating, since an ultralight .375 H&H recoils a lot more aggressively than a heavy rifle, but that’s the rating Pulsar provides. Operating temperature of the Thermion 2 LRF 60-series is rated for ranges from negative 13 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 degrees F.

Navigating the menu and zeroing the scope require a fairly steep learning curve, especially if you are not previously familiar with thermal scopes. The process is covered clearly and comprehensively in Pulsar’s online manual, so I won’t address it here.

Should you consider a Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF 60-series scope? I confess that prior to using this one, I coveted one but never felt like the thermal capability was worth the significant buy-in cost. Now, after seeing its effectiveness in the field and experiencing its capable versatility on my rifles, I find myself in a quandary. I no longer can justify not owning one. I guess I’ll have to put off that new four-wheeler I was going to buy for my wife and send Pulsar a check for this XP60 instead! Surely, she’ll like it just as much…

THERMION 2 LRF XP60 SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Pulsar, pulsarnv.com
• DISPLAY TYPE: Micro-OLED
• RESOLUTION, PIXELS: 2560x2560
• SENSOR: @ 17 µm 640x480
• OBJECTIVE LENS: F60/1.1
• MAGNIFICATION: 3-24X
• FIELD OF VIEW: 10.4 degrees/18.1m@100m
• DETECTION RANGE: 2,000 meters on deer
• CLICK RANGE: 2840mm@100m
• PRELOADED RETICLES: 10
• RESOLUTION, PIXELS: 640x480
• FRAME RATE: 50 Hz
• RANGEFINDER MAX RANGE: 800m
• VIDEO/PHOTO RESOLUTION: 1280x960
• BUILT-IN MEMORY: 64GB
• BLUETOOTH: Yes
• WI-FI: Yes
• WATERPROOF: Yes
• OPERATING TEMPERATURE: -13 to 122 degrees F
• MAIN TUBE SIZE: 30mm
• SUPPORTING APPS: Stream Vision Ballistics, Stream Vision 2
• RECOIL RESISTANCE: 12-gauge slugs, .375 H&H
• BATTERY TYPE: Li-Ion APS3/3200 mAh/DC 3.7V
• BATTERY CAPACITY, BUILT IN: 4900 mAh
• OPERATING TIME ON BATTERY PACK: 7 hours @72 degrees F
• EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY: 5V via USB-C
• WEIGHT: 43 oz.
• LENGTH: 17.4 in.
• MSRP: $6,499.97

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