X-Vision Optics specializes in night vision and thermal units, with products in both categories especially designed for the night-time predator hunter. Recently, the company debuted its Impact line of thermal riflescopes with the Impact 150, 250 and 350 models.  

I had the opportunity to run the mid-level Impact 250 recently. The Impact 250 sports a 384x288 thermal sensor, a 50mm objective lens, and numerous other features like HotSpot Tracking, picture-in-picture and 32 gigabytes of memory for photos and video captures.

With the Impact 250, I think it’s time to admit that many units built with 384x288 thermal sensors are not what they were a half dozen years ago. Then, 384 models were often bargain basement thermals. 

Oh, it would do the job, especially if the coyotes and hogs were close. Image quality would be sufficient, but you didn’t expect those images to be terribly detailed. Photos and video? Maybe. But both would be grainy, and often you only had the photo option. Battery life? Bring a pocket full! 

That’s changed considerably, and this X-Vision is one of those units proving that a 384 model can actually compete with the higher-end thermals. The Impact 250 will be a top choice for those hunters who want a high-quality unit without paying the $5,000 to $6,000 common with 640 sensor models.

Big Lens

My test unit Impact 250 was very easy to zero, provided a full set of features and a menu system that provided complete accessibility to those features. The photos and videos I took were clear and nicely detailed, as were the images seen through the 250 in general. 

X-Vision rates the Impact 250 thermal sensor as able to detect game animals past 2,200 yards and has a 725-yard recognition range. The 384 sensor is capable of detecting temperature differences as small as 0.05°F.  The thermal also features 4.7x to 18.8x zoom magnification and a built-in stadia metric rangefinder. 

The detection and recognition ranges of the unit are actually greater than both categories compared to the upper-level Impact 350, even though the 350 features a 640x480 thermal sensor and is more expensive. Credit the greater ranges at least in part due to that large 50mm objective lens. 

That larger objective lens allows a manufacturer to place the sensor somewhat further back from the lens. With the focal length increased, the unit’s base level magnification is also increased. That’s why the Impact 250 has a magnification level of 4.7x to 18.8x, while the 350 unit with its 35mm objective has a 2x to 16x magnification.

A larger objective also translates into more heat energy captured and sent back to the sensor, increasing the detection range.

Other Features

Images are displayed on a 1024 x 768 OLED screen. A diopter adjustment surrounds the rear lens/screen. 

The MENU knob sits atop the chassis. A short press brings up the Quick Start Menu, a long press the Full Menu. Once a menu is selected, turning the knob moves the selector along the available options; a press of the knob brings up the specific option. 

Just forward of the MENU knob is the Shutter Button. A single press takes a photo. A long press starts a video, and another press stops the recording. 

As noted, this thermal features Picture-in-Picture and Hotspot tracking.  The latter allows a hunter to lock onto and track heat signatures, ensuring that a moving target remains in your sight. The PIP box zooms in on a target without losing sight of the broader picture.

A single 18650 3.6v Lithium-Ion battery powers the unit, with battery included. The battery is rechargeable, and a charger is included, too, as part of the 250 accessory package. Battery life is rated at 8 hours with a full charge.

This thermal is built with a picatinny mount already attached, and the 250 went onto my AR-15 effortlessly.  

Thanks to its integrated Wi-Fi and photo/video capabilities, a hunter can record and share the hunt, though he or she will first have to download X-Vision’s TargetIR app. The thermal can’t download from unit to computer via a cable, which was a little disappointing.

A Side-Charging AR-15

I mounted the 250 onto a Bear Creek Arsenal BC-15 5.56 NATO Right Side Charging Rifle. 

Instead of the traditional AR charging handle located near the top of the receiver, the BC-15 features a charging handle protruding from the right side of the billet receiver. Otherwise, the rifle is pretty much a standard AR-15. It featured a 16-inch, chrome moly steel barrel, with a 1:8 twist rate, and a 15-inch MLOK handguard. When firing, the bolt was  worked from a carbine-length gas system complete with a buffer tube tucked back into the adjustable stock.

I’d used the BC-15 over the course of the last couple years, and it is accurate and highly functional. Just the kind of rifle I’d take on a night coyote hunt.

Initial Zero 

It was overcast and 42 degrees at my outdoor range. Some wind at approximately 10 miles per hour and generally in my face.

For my zeroing target, I taped a large HotHands packet onto cardboard and set  it up at 50 yards.

I loaded the BC-15 with Federal Premium American Eagle Varmint and Predator rounds in .223 Rem. The rounds launched 50-grain jacketed hollow point bullets.

My first two shots impacted a full 11 inches to the right of my HotHands. 

Using the menu, I opened the zeroing application. Like most newer thermals, the Impact 250 features a one-shot zeroing system. Take your first shot or shots, and then access the zero function. Keeping the rifle very still with the reticle on your target, you “freeze” the target image and then move the X and Y axis to where the initial shot(s) landed.  

The original reticle stays centered on the target, while the new X reticle slides over per your X and Y adjustments. Once in place, you save the location of this new X reticle, and the unit recalibrates itself for this new point of impact.

The Impact 250 sports one of the cleanest, most intuitive one shot systems I’ve ever used. Once you select the zeroing function, a small box appears on the lower right, showing your Zoom setting, Freeze, and X and Y, with a Cancel or OK tab at the bottom of the box.

I simply selected ON for the Freeze, and then moved to the X and the Y setting, moving each until they overlaid my first shots. Then, I selected OK.

My next three shots hit the blue tape that surrounded the HotHands packet. Close but still a couple inches to the right. I went back into the zeroing function, adjusted X and Y, saved these changes and shot three times.

A 1.2-inch group, with two of the shots touching, and centered in the HotHands. Some impressive zeroing precision.

Mr. Coyote 

I moved to my 100-yard lane. My target here was a life-size cardboard coyote. I taped a large HotHands over the heart-lung area and a small packet over the head. 

First, I took some shots at a warmer spot on the coyote cardboard to check zero at this distance. I was a little low and right and made the needed adjustments.

For the larger heat pad, my five shots came in at 1.20 inches. I then shot three times at the smaller heat pack overlaying the predator’s head and all three hit for a 1.0-inch group.

A quality thermal and a good AR can make some nights very tough on Mr. Coyote.

Night and Humidity

Humidity is not a friend of thermal optics, and it generally helps to distort images and reduces detection ranges. As it was a rainy 38 degrees the night I took out the Impact 250 for photo and video work, with gusting winds, I didn’t expect images to be as sharp as they were at my range. This was the case, but not really all that bad.

For example, I spotted a trio of whitetail deer strung out on a cut-over alfalfa field. I knew the area very well, and estimated the deer ranged in distances from 250 to 400 yards. The nearest deer stood out quite well even with the rain. The furthest away animal was less clear, but the head and neck were still very obvious and ID-ing the heat signature as a deer was easy.

I took some still photos through the unit using my Apple 11 Pro phone camera and a very handy Magview S1 Mini Spotting Scope Adapter attached to the rear of the unit. This digiscope product features a stainless steel plate that folded out from the S1 cap. A stick-on magnet was included, and I attached it to the back of my cell. Then, all I had to do was line up the camera lenses with the center of the thermal’s rear lens and affix magnetized cell to steel plate.  

The set-up was initially awkward, but I quickly figured out the system and took some solid photos through the 250. 

Videos I took that night were clear and fairly detailed, with the humidity of course degrading things a bit.

Hunt Ready 

With a very durable chassis made of molded and machined aluminum and IP67 rating (water resistance at 3 feet for up to 30 minutes), as well as all the above-cited features and capabilities, the Impact 250 will be a top choice for the night hunter. Coyote hunters will especially like the higher zoom level attainable with this thermal. 

And of course, as a thermal optic, the Impact 250 is ready to hunt day and night.