One of the most common campfire debates regarding low-light hunting is whether digital night vision (DNV) is still king or if it’s been dethroned by modern thermal-imaging technology. On one hand, thermal imaging is better at detecting game, particularly in light brush, but on the other, nothing beats the detail offered by infrared night vision. For years, the solution was to carry both, be it across two hunters or a solo participant supplementing a rifle-mounted optic with a monocular of the other type. But since neither answer is perfect, products like the DNT ThermNight TNC225R have become popular, as they pack both technologies into one compact unit that easily mounts to a firearm.
First, let’s decode the alphabet soup used by the company in naming its flagship product. TNC225R breaks down as follows: Thermal Night Compact; 256 Resolution, 25 mm Objective, Range Finder. At the top of the optic is its DNV component. It works by gathering any available light and amplifying it to a degree that the human eye can resolve it. Slightly below and to the left is a removable infrared illuminator that can provide some man-made lighting when there simply isn’t enough ambient light to get the job done. Being digital (as opposed to analog), it is perfectly safe to run this in broad daylight, giving your host firearm all-day capabilities.
Directly below the night-vision scope is the thermal portion of the optic. It works by scanning and gathering heat energy signatures, computing them into an image that is displayed on the internal screen. Since the digital channel uses this same rectangular viewfinder, the ThermNight can run both simultaneously and display them picture-in-picture; this is extraordinarily handy when you only have seconds to positively ID a target and engage it.
Eliminating the need to carry two optics, the ThermNight offers both digital night vision’s superior nighttime detail and thermal’s greater ability to identify game.
Preparing the optic for range use is effortless, as DNT includes everything needed to mount and power it. Included in the box is a cantilever Picatinny mount that can be affixed to the underside of the unit with either a forward or rearward bias; this helps to accommodate a variety of stock lengths. The included charger comes with a USB cable, but the buyer must supplement it with either a wall or vehicle adapter. The optic can also be powered via an external battery pack and even includes a Picatinny side mount.
Since the ThermNight has multifaceted utility, our testers took it out on multiple occasions to cover all of its intended uses. Starting at a target range in broad daylight, our team began by zeroing the optic. This process must be repeated for both channels but is identical for each and straightforward; it involves shooting a group and then drifting a ghost reticle to the actual point of impact. Unique to this optic is the freeze-frame option that allows the user to capture what is seen through the rangefinder to drift said reticle; this eliminates the balancing act of holding the rifle on its original point of aim while making adjustments.
The optic’s button scheme was relatively intuitive and easy to use, with most imaging, recording and rangefinding controls placed together at the top of the unit.
When using picture-in-picture mode, you’ll notice an offset on one channel’s reticle. This is to compensate for the stacked nature of its tubes and impart a correction for the differences in height over bore. We tested this electronic correction by shooting at a 100-yard target with both channels, and found it to be spot-on, building our confidence in the built-in ballistic calculator, which is designed to eliminate the guesswork on a given cartridge’s holdover. This feature is aided by an onboard laser rangefinder, which can be used independently of the ballistic calculator for those who prefer using their own firing solutions. This pairs nicely with the mil-scale reticle, which utilizes first-focal-plane functionality and thus zooms proportionally with the optic’s magnification.
A second test was conducted on a pitch-black hunt intended to cull some of the nuisances to the local chicken and turkey populations. A crescent moon provided enough ambient light to view objects approximately 75 yards out, while the IR illuminator extended this by several hundred yards. Images were clear out to 400 yards, and testers appreciated the thought that went into the button layout, as only minimal experience was needed to correctly guide our fingers to the rangefinding and channel-swap buttons. Having the zoom function controlled by a click wheel made for instinctive magnification adjustments, as did the analog focus rings on both channels.
Testers made use of the onboard photo and video cameras to capture portions of the hunts manually, but there was also the option to employ a recoil-activated function to record a few seconds before and after a shot was fired. This works by continually recording and dumping data until the scope detects recoil, at which point it permanently saves what it has temporarily stored into the built-in memory. Pulling these images off the device is done via the USB port. Our hunt was successful, taking a trio of egg thieves out of the picking pool.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed having the DNT ThermNight TNC225R on hand. Having both technologies available and pointing at the same place simultaneously proved invaluable during our hunting expedition, and the DNV channel ensured our firearm wasn’t relegated solely to nighttime use. Although the 256-pixel thermal resolution is low by today’s standards, it allows the unit to be offered at a truly impressive price point and plays a role in its compact size. Besides, the added utility of running both digital night vision and thermal imaging together far eclipses the value of using even the highest-resolution thermal optic alone and is drastically more effective for target identification.
When we add them together, this unit easily outperforms standalone thermal or DNV units with higher resolutions and delivers the added bonus of a laser rangefinder. Those looking for an inexpensive solution to what might become an expensive pest problem are urged to give this optic a look.
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