By Jeff Johnston, Field Ethos Hunting & Shooting Editor
Every man needs a thermal optic in his toolkit. It lends such an advantage in terms of intelligence gathering, home defense, and offense against marauders of the night that it’s almost unfair. But we aren’t talking about trans swimming here; unfair is good. Sure, it’s one of these items—like a fire extinguisher or a 50-cal rifle—that will be stored much more than it is used, but once you rationalize that fact it’s easier to justify the cost of such incredible technology.
I’ve tried most of them, and to me two stand out. Trijicon’s tough, compact but very pricey REAP-IR unit and a rather new unit from a German company called Liemke, the Luchs 1. (It also offers a more expensive and longer range model called the Luchs 2, but I haven’t gotten my hands on that one yet.)
What’s the draw with the Luchs? It’s comparatively small at 20-ozs., it clips onto any existing riflescope with the proper adaptor, its battery life is spectacular, and it doesn’t take a MENSA computer nerd to run the damn thing. Here’s what I know about it:
Unlike most existing thermal scopes that are actual weapon scopes—meaning they have an adjustable reticle within the optic for aiming—the Luchs merely clamps onto the objective bell of any typical riflescope. Doing so lends multiple advantages:
First, this allows the shooter to utilize the reticle and reticle adjustment system of whatever scope you choose, so you do not have to re-zero your rifle after installing the Luchs. Two, thermal scope companies have proven they are more tech-geeks than riflemen by the way they design their reticle adjustment systems (often a complicated sequence of buttons, rather than dials), so by using your traditional riflescope’s adjustments you can bypass all of this nonsense.
Three: You can use one rifle for day and nighttime use, so you can turn any and all rifles in your collection into midnight hog-killin’ machines. Just install or remove the Luchs in seconds as needed. Four: After hunting a bunch with thermal weapon sights, I’ve found that you also need a handheld thermal unit to spot and identify targets. If you don’t have one you’ll find yourself constantly shouldering your rifle while looking through the thermal scope on top. This means you have to aim your rifle at things before you identify them, and it’s also damn tiring. And there are times, such as while in a truck, that shouldering your rifle to peer through the thermal is impossible. Conversely, the Luchs can be used as a handheld unit until you identify your target out to around 1700 yards.
While this puppy is loaded with features such as WIFI so you can connect it to your phone to view and record whatever’s in the scope, if you don’t want to use any of this crap you don’t have to. One toggle switch that you can feel in complete darkness turns the unit on and off—glory be to God! The unit also fires up in just a couple of seconds, unlike others I’ve tried that are like booting up an Apple IIe.
I was also amazed at the unit’s battery life, which historically is not great for thermal optics. After initially charging the Luchs’ battery overnight, I used and hunted with the unit for more than a week before it needed charging again. Most times, when I pick my rifle up and turn the scope on, I’m pleasantly surprised to see that it has ample battery life.
Nobody said game-changing tech was cheap, but regardless, I truly believe the Luchs needs a spot in all FE readers’ gun vaults. Price: $5,000
Pros: attaches to any riflescope in seconds; great battery life; simple to use; gives a man tactical nocturnal superiority over his domain.
Cons: $5K, while good for a thermal optic, is still $5K.
