Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

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Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 07 Jun 2017, 1:17 pm

Anyone know where I can get one of these in Melbourne? There seems to be a couple of stores interstate that sells them but would prefer somewhere more local, so far I have not found anywhere that sells them in Vic.
https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shootin ... o-tracker/
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by juststarting » 07 Jun 2017, 2:26 pm

I believe Clayton had them
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 07 Jun 2017, 4:18 pm

Just tried to call them, phone rang for 45 seconds before I hung up... Their website doesn't list it so I'm doubtful they still stock it.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by scaredyet » 07 Jun 2017, 4:27 pm

Watch the reviews before you spend your hard earned https://youtu.be/JXI4dR1lY3E
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Dexer » 07 Jun 2017, 4:30 pm

Are these legal in Vic? I was under the impression that thermal devices weren't legal when hunting deer... Could be wrong
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Chronos » 07 Jun 2017, 5:34 pm

Dexer wrote:Are these legal in Vic? I was under the impression that thermal devices weren't legal when hunting deer... Could be wrong



Pretty sure they might be. Not legal on public land in nsw. Not to say the poachers and other assorted grubs won't use them when spotlighting

Magnum sports sell them and ship free

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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Oldbloke » 07 Jun 2017, 5:41 pm

Dexer wrote:Are these legal in Vic? I was under the impression that thermal devices weren't legal when hunting deer... Could be wrong


Not legal for game including deer.
But I think OK for vermin and ferals.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 07 Jun 2017, 5:53 pm

Won't be hunting deer with it. It'll primarily be for night time spotting of ferals in conjunction with my IR NV setup on the .22 when I'm on foot to avoid needing to spotlight..

scaredyet wrote:Watch the reviews before you spend your hard earned https://youtu.be/JXI4dR1lY3E

I have watch many reviews, Ozzie isn't a fan of it but I don't believe he was using it for its purpose - as a spotter rather than an identifier. He seemed to be want to clearly ID his target with the device, I want it just to spot a heat signature to know something is there and then I can ID it with the IR on the rifle.
Last edited by YoungBuck on 07 Jun 2017, 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Bent Arrow » 07 Jun 2017, 5:55 pm

Oldbloke wrote:
Dexer wrote:........
Not legal for game including deer.
But I think OK for vermin and ferals.



Coz deer are native 'round these' ere parts.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Chronos » 07 Jun 2017, 6:15 pm

Bent Arrow wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:
Dexer wrote:........
Not legal for game including deer.
But I think OK for vermin and ferals.



Coz deer are native 'round these' ere parts.


No, because there are a valuable resource that are managed in fairness to those who wish to hunt them.

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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 07 Jun 2017, 6:34 pm

Chronos wrote:
Magnum sports sell them and ship free

Chronos


Chronos I've had a look on their website mate, couldn't see it listed at all. I'll give them a call tomorrow to check.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Chronos » 07 Jun 2017, 6:38 pm

YoungBuck wrote:
Chronos wrote:
Magnum sports sell them and ship free

Chronos


Chronos I've had a look on their website mate, couldn't see it listed at all. I'll give them a call tomorrow to check.


Just call mate.

Busy all reports they're mostly a toy as thermals go. No fine resolution adjustment and pretty useless in warm conditions. Might be good for spotting hot pigs on cold stubble but you can do that with a spotty anyway.

One guy said he could see Roos though some trees at 80m with the naked eye but the LTO didn't pick them up at all

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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Bent Arrow » 07 Jun 2017, 8:00 pm

Chronos wrote:
Bent Arrow wrote:
Oldbloke wrote:
Dexer wrote:........
Not legal for game including deer.
But I think OK for vermin and ferals.



Coz deer are native 'round these' ere parts.


No, because there are a valuable resource that are managed in fairness to those who wish to hunt them.

Chronos


Definitely a valuable resource. I just find it weird that some ferals get openly recognised and declared as such whilst others get put on a pedestal, declared as game animals and then receive a level of protection. For me it's just one of the things on my long list of WTH. Don't worry, trout are on my list as well.

Sorry to the OP for the thread hijack
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by brett1868 » 07 Jun 2017, 9:29 pm

I've had one since they were released and while they fall short of the hype they do have their uses. They claim up to 600yd detection distance and that's probably true if it was an elephant running a fever. It's more like 250-300 yds max on a human sized target and 100 yds for bunnies of the regular size. The 6x zoom gets very pixelated which makes it difficult it identify what animal is being viewed. I got one because it's a cool gadget, makes scanning open areas for pests fairly easy compared to swinging the XD50 Thermal Equipped SRS 308 around but the biggest benefit is being able to locate downed game or follow a fresh blood trail so an injured pest can be humanly red misted.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by bigfellascott » 08 Jun 2017, 8:18 am

brett1868 wrote:I've had one since they were released and while they fall short of the hype they do have their uses. They claim up to 600yd detection distance and that's probably true if it was an elephant running a fever. It's more like 250-300 yds max on a human sized target and 100 yds for bunnies of the regular size. The 6x zoom gets very pixelated which makes it difficult it identify what animal is being viewed. I got one because it's a cool gadget, makes scanning open areas for pests fairly easy compared to swinging the XD50 Thermal Equipped SRS 308 around but the biggest benefit is being able to locate downed game or follow a fresh blood trail so an injured pest can be humanly red misted.


How does it go in daylight hours for tracking blood trails?
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 08 Jun 2017, 9:03 am

Unless it's a decent amount of blood which retains its heat for a while, I can't see how you'd be able to follow a blood trail, especially in winter as once the blood hits the cold ground its temperature would drop to cold/ambient within 15ish seconds I reckon.

Managed to win an ebay bid last night on a used unit. Should arrive next week.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by brett1868 » 08 Jun 2017, 9:59 am

YoungBuck wrote:Unless it's a decent amount of blood which retains its heat for a while, I can't see how you'd be able to follow a blood trail, especially in winter as once the blood hits the cold ground its temperature would drop to cold/ambient within 15ish seconds I reckon.

Managed to win an ebay bid last night on a used unit. Should arrive next week.


You'd be very surprised just out long a heat signature remains, our cats footprints remain visible on carpet for 10-15 seconds. Keep in mind that thermal isn't painting a picture purely based on heat, it uses differentials of temperature. Don't assume you need the heat from the blood as blood with also heat the plant matter and / or insulate any heat given off by the plant creating a differential and therefore "Visible".

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Quick video I did a year ago with the thermal scope I've got fitted to the .308. Remember "Thermal" and not "Nightvision" 2 totally different technologies, kitty's foot prints are visible for some time even with only a fraction of a second to transfer heat. Furniture is "visible" due to temperature differential's, 1:37 in the clip you'll see my footprints that were still visible for sometime. Unfortunately thermal cannot see through windows but Flir have a hybrid unit available that has both a thermal and optic lens that overlays the thermal data on the optic data.

Taken a few mins ago
IMG_3204.JPG
Evil Kitty
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dZ9uOBWiNs&t=1s
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 08 Jun 2017, 11:42 am

brett1868 wrote:Quick video I did a year ago with the thermal scope I've got fitted to the .308. Remember "Thermal" and not "Nightvision" 2 totally different technologies, kitty's foot prints are visible for some time even with only a fraction of a second to transfer heat. Furniture is "visible" due to temperature differential's, 1:37 in the clip you'll see my footprints that were still visible for sometime.

I'm not saying that footprints/blood can't be tracked via thermal but I think this is probably where the quality of the two units differ. From memory, your thermal scope was around $4-5k if I'm not mistaken which will be quite the step up from the budget Leupold unit. Does the LTO show footprints the same as your scope?
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by brett1868 » 08 Jun 2017, 12:24 pm

YoungBuck wrote:
brett1868 wrote:Quick video I did a year ago with the thermal scope I've got fitted to the .308. Remember "Thermal" and not "Nightvision" 2 totally different technologies, kitty's foot prints are visible for some time even with only a fraction of a second to transfer heat. Furniture is "visible" due to temperature differential's, 1:37 in the clip you'll see my footprints that were still visible for sometime.

I'm not saying that footprints/blood can't be tracked via thermal but I think this is probably where the quality of the two units differ. From memory, your thermal scope was around $4-5k if I'm not mistaken which will be quite the step up from the budget Leupold unit. Does the LTO show footprints the same as your scope?


Yes, the LTO will see footprints for some time but the sharpness isn't the same as the XD50 due to the resolution of the sensor 384x288@50Hz vrs. the LTO's Raytheon 206x156@30Hz sensor. The LTO is reasonably priced and a lot of tech for the money. The manual is useless as there's no explanation on changing the battery and how to switch the reticle on / off.

Some notes on use.
Power - Push & hold 2-3 sec to power on, same to power off.
Reticle - Double tap the power button to toggle it on / off
Zoom - Single tap the zoom button to increase by 1 power, push and hold for fine zoom by 0.1 power up then palette button for 0.1 down. 1 click on the power button to return to the course x1 power zoom increments.
Battery - Grasp the screen end in right hand, unscrew the contoured collar and separate the 2 parts but don't pull too hard as there's a cable joining the 2 sections that isn't overly robust or flexible.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 08 Jun 2017, 12:53 pm

Great info. TYVM! :thumbsup:
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by mickhead » 20 Jun 2017, 5:56 pm

Seek Thermal XR fitted to a phone or tablet is pretty cool, I got an ""demo"" one from the states for less than 300. Clayton has this and the leupold. Have a look..
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 21 Jun 2017, 9:06 am

The Tracker arrived in the post yesterday, kind of impressed with it. Was really cool to point it at the roof and see where the roof batts were not providing insulation to the house. Only wish it had a slightly larger screen.
Will report on what I think of it once I take it out on a hunt with me.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by Bent Arrow » 11 Apr 2018, 11:13 am

I'm contemplating buying something for helping find animals e.g foxes at night without total reliance on a spotlight. So, I'm looking for some experienced comments on something like the LTO versus the Bushnell IR monoscope http://www.bushnell.com/wildlife/outdoo ... -equinox-z

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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by YoungBuck » 11 Apr 2018, 1:03 pm

In my opinion it's going to vary on the type foxing you do and the type of terrain you are shooting in.

If you are going to be calling them in non-open country (bushes, trees, etc.) I think you are better off with the monocular with a better IR torch attached to it as they will be coming to you and should be easy to spot the eye shine from a good distance away.
If you are out in paddocks and more open areas looking for foxes on the prowl, the thermal unit might be better as you won't pick up fox eye shine if they aren't looking your way, but the LTO doesn't have a huge range and the tiny screen doesn't help.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by ramshackle » 17 Aug 2019, 4:39 pm

There is a new version of this with HD resolution

Old one had specs:

Features:
206x156 thermal sensor resolution
Detection Distance: Up to 600 yards
Display: Direct View 1.22" round
Color Palettes: 5 Optional Thermal Filters
Field of View: 20 degrees
Display Resolution: 240 x 204 pixels
Frame Rate: 30Hz FastFrame
Zoom: 4x Digital Zoom
Startup Time: < 3sec
Battery: 1x CR123A
Runtime: 10 hrs continuous
Country of Origin: USA
Warranty: 2-year Electronics Warranty


New one:

Display Resolution 390x390
Thermal Sensor 320x240
Digital Zoom 6x
Field of View 18.1@1.6x; 4.9@6x
Operating Temperature -4F to 140F
Frame Rate 25Hz
Weight (oz) 7
Focus Fixed Display 1.2" Round AMOLED with Gorilla Glass Cover
Detection Distance (yd) 750
Color Palettes 8 Options
Startup Time <4 sec
Battery CR123
Battery Life Minimum 3 hours @25C
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by xDom » 18 Aug 2019, 8:15 am

I heard from the bloke at Night Hunter ( also read in another article) how the maximum detection distance is calculated. It seems to an accepted method by thermal producers in their product description.
A man size target at say 600 yards means that 600 yards is the maximum distance a single pixel is illuminated by the target.
Yes, it’s good to have a standard to compare different products but you need to be aware of what “ man size detection at 600 yards “ really means.
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Re: Leupold LTO Tracker (thermal)

Post by ramshackle » 18 Aug 2019, 9:47 am

Also, note that the Leupold Tracker 2HD comes in several models, one of which is being advertised for around $1000 on eBay, which seems like a great deal until you find that it's actually been discontinued. Check the bad reviews on Amazon to see why.
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