Methodology

How we measure

What a box says and what a hunter sees are different things. Here is where every number on this site comes from and how the calculated ones are worked out.

Updated October 11, 2026

Specs come from the maker

Every spec on a model page comes from the manufacturer: its product page, datasheet or manual, including archived copies for discontinued models. Each page lists those sources and the date we read them. Retailers are used for one thing only, the US price, and the page says which retailer.

When a maker doesn't publish a figure, the page says "not published". We never fill a gap with a guess, a retailer's number or a sister model's spec. When two of a maker's own sources disagree, we keep a record of which one we used and why.

Identification distance

Makers advertise detection range: how far away something warm covers a pixel or two. At that distance you know something is there, not what it is. We calculate the distance at which you can still tell a coyote from a fox or a dog.

The rule is Johnson's criteria for identification: about 12 pixels across the target's smallest dimension. For a coyote standing broadside, that is its shoulder height, about 22 inches. From the sensor's pixel pitch and the lens's focal length we work out how much ground one pixel covers, then the distance at which the coyote is still 12 pixels tall. When a maker leaves out the focal length, we derive it from the published field of view; on every model that publishes both, the two agree to a tenth of a degree.

It lands where hunters say it should: about 150 to 200 yards for common units. Fog, rain, heat haze and a coyote lying in grass all shorten it. Treat it as a fair way to compare optics, not a promise for every night.

The coyote drawings

The coyotes on model pages and lists are drawn one square per sensor pixel, at 36 inches nose to base of tail, at the distance shown. Two drawings on the same page share one scale, so you can compare them by eye.

Field width

The width of ground that fills the screen at 100 yards, at base magnification. Wider finds animals faster; narrower shows each one bigger. One lens can't do both, which is why we show both numbers side by side.

Digital and tube night vision

Digital night vision gets the same pixel math, limited by whichever is smaller: the sensor or the screen. A 4K sensor feeding a 1,280-pixel screen shows only part of its detail at base zoom. Its identification distance is for good light; at night the infrared illuminator and sensor noise run out first, and no maker publishes enough to calculate where.

Tubes have no pixels, so they get no identification distance. We show the finest detail the tube resolves at 100 yards, worked out from its published resolution and the lens. That is a bright-light lab figure; under starlight the picture gets coarser.

Thermal drones

A drone looks down at an animal's back, so drone pages show how big a cow, a deer and a hog look from 100, 200 and 400 feet up, and the highest altitude at which each still reads as its shape.

Best lists

Best lists rank within price bands. Most put the farthest identification distance first, then the wider field on a tie, then the lower price. Hog lists put the widest field first, since hogs come in groups, and rank only models that identify a coyote at 75 yards or more; the AR-15 list puts the lightest scope first, by weight as each maker states it. Only current models sold through US dealers with a US price are ranked. Nobody pays for a place on a list, and affiliate links never change the order.

How a model stands

The line under each calculated figure on a model page compares it with the current models of the same kind: thermal scopes with thermal scopes, tube monoculars with tube monoculars. Values are compared as the page rounds them, so two models that read the same tie. Discontinued models are compared with current ones, because that is the choice someone buying used faces.

Models to compare

The models suggested at the foot of each page are the nearest in price, then in sensor resolution or tube generation, from other product lines and no more than two per brand. For a model with no US price, they are the nearest in identification distance and resolution among models sold here.

Prices and buy links

Prices are whole dollars, rounded up. "MSRP" means the maker's list price, not a store price. An Amazon button appears only when the listing's own part number or model fields match the exact model, never on a title alone. eBay links are a search for the model, which is where used and discontinued units sell. Both are affiliate links: if you buy, we may earn a commission at no cost to you.

Legality

Whether you can hunt with thermal or night vision where you live comes from our sister site's state regulation pages, which quote the rule and link to it. Check the current regulations before you go.

Found a mistake?

A wrong number is the thing this site exists to fix. Send it to @night.hunting on Instagram with the page and the source, and we will correct it. Who runs the site: About.