Estimated read time: 4,5 min.
“It‘s a really good innovation from Pulsar,” says Phil Taylor, a British hunter, when asked about the Pulsar Thermion Duo line, which certainly gained a huge fan base in the UK. Together with him and his fellow British hunters Lee Perryman and Mark Stobbs, we’ll try and see why.
Hunter's review
One device, multiple jobs
In case you missed it, Thermion Duo is our line of multispectral riflescopes featuring thermal and daytime digital channels. With two models, DXP50 and DXP55, it covers most hunters, whether they’re shooting from longer or closer distances.
“I like the fact that with the Duo, you have a riflescope that does two jobs. In England, you can use an additional channel to shoot deer. But if you also wanted to stop for an extra hour of foxing at last light, or all night if you‘ve got a spare battery, you could easily do that. It‘s not only multispectral; it‘s got many uses as well. It‘s a really good innovation from Pulsar,” says Phil Taylor when asked what made him such an advocate for the Duo line.
His counterpart, Lee Perryman, has been enjoying the scope for about a month now: “I am thoroughly impressed; there’s speed and identification – what else would you want? I can see the Duo suiting quite a lot of shooting styles. It’s very easy to pick up deers on a thermal, and you can 100% identify them as a buck or a doe by switching to the 4k.”
British hunter Mark Stobbs is here to prove Lee’s point: “In the UK, I am mainly on deer. I hunt five of the six species that roam the country. I mainly work a lot on muntjac and fallow deer. But I do hunt Chinese water deer, roe deer, and red deer as well.”
Hunter's review
All eyes on pest control
With all that being said, Thermion Duo will also find its place in a pest controller’s setup. Mark currently has it mounted on his .243 Winchester caliber ammunition for foxes, but he’s got plans to put it on .17 HMR for pest control on rabbits and other small game.
And for Lee, it’s an irreplaceable tool for squirrels: “The use of a thermal spotter is absolutely essential when I’m out stalking squirrels as they light up like the bulbs on a Christmas tree. I am currently running Pulsar Merger – definitely my favorite to spot with. But here lies the problem! I have found on many occasions, whether using day or digital scopes, that once I have spotted the target, it can be incredibly hard to get on the shot; the thick foliage helps squirrels blend in so well, and that’s why I shoot with thermal scopes. Every second counts with a target like a grey squirrel, as these animals spook very easily, and thermal gives me a time advantage, as you can see their glowing hot bodies through the foliage as you would with the spotter.
Lee Perryman with friends testing Pulsar Thermion DUO in the Yorkshire Shooting Show (2023)
On the other hand, shooting with thermal on hot summer days, you encounter a lot of radiated hot spots from the sun, which cannot be avoided. And also, just because you pick up a hot spot in a tree line, it doesn’t automatically mean it is a squirrel; it could be an array of wildlife. Thus, the Pulsar Thermion Duo DXP50 was a complete game-changer for my shooting style! The combination of the 4k camera to get that 100% identification and the speed of getting on the shot with thermal really suits my shooting style.”
Hunter's review
With the DXP55, you’ve got the 4K digital channel with the 4x base magnification. But as soon as you’ve put it in Picture-in-Picture mode, you have an 8x base magnification, and it’s a really nice magnification to shoot at. And with the 4K image, you don’t get any pixelation.
Phil Taylor
The benefits of bigger base magnification
Now, there are two Duo models currently available: DXP50 and DXP55. Phil, probably the biggest fan of the DXP55 there is, explains the difference: “The DXP55 is the scope with the extra 2x magnification (The DXP50 has 2x base magnification, whereas the DXP55 has 4x base magnification). The thermal channel is all the same (both have 2x base mag).” Now, in practice, this means that DXP55 is more suited for smaller targets and larger distances, making it, once again, a perfect device for pest control.
Here’s how Mark, who’s been lucky enough to try both models, tells us about them: “To be fair, the picture through the DXP55 did catch my attention a little bit more. But the DXP50 is so good that I can‘t say there‘s a bad choice.”
To make things even better, Phil suggests harnessing the Picture-in-Picture mode: “It is fantastic. With the DXP55, you’ve got the 4K digital channel with the 4x base magnification. But as soon as you’ve put it in Picture-in-Picture mode, you have an 8x base magnification, and it’s a really nice magnification to shoot at. And with the 4K image, you don’t get any pixelation – even when you zoom in through the magnification, it doesn’t deteriorate the image because the picture quality is so good.”
Now, to sum up the use of the Pulsar Thermion Duo riflescopes in the UK, we once again turn to Mark: “It’s 100% a great scope covering all types of hunters from the recreational stalker and vermin control, right through to the big gamekeepers as you have two uses in one scope.”
But if you’d like a little bit more information and feedback about the Duo line, we invite you to read the DXP50 review here – while the base magnification does for sure differ, all the other features and benefits of both riflescopes are the same.
Lee Perryman with Thomas Jacks testing Pulsar Thermion DUO in the Yorkshire Shooting Show
The Pulsar Thermion Duo DXP50 was a complete game-changer for my shooting style! The combination of the 4k camera to get that 100% identification and the speed of getting on the shot with thermal really suits my shooting style.
Lee Perryman
Before purchasing any night or thermal vision device, please make sure you adhere to the local legislation and only use it when it is allowed. Our ambassadors come from various countries and travel a lot, which allows them to test different devices. We do not encourage or support the illegal use of our devices in any events. If you wish to learn more about export and sales restriction policy, please visit the following link: Export and Sales Restriction Policy.