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Fatal flaw in your approach…. hit hunting partner in the knee, then outrun him, post hatse' like!@nwwoodsman - 12 years ago i bought Gen 3 thin-film NV gear.
One of my intended uses was exactly what you are talking about: sneaking through bear and cat country in the dark.
I tried it several times: head mount, handheld, IR flashlights, etc.
I quit. I didn't like it or enjoy it.
It didn't serve the purpose well at all.
Slowed me down. Wasn't fun.
Now the only time I get that stuff out is to play around, show other people what real NV looks like, or to zero a PEQ on an AR.
Other comments from my experience:
Budget NV gear is useless.
Background: I'm a value-minded person. I like 1980's Tasco EuroClass scopes and Savage rifles and 1990's Pentax roof prism binocs and vintage manual focus camera lenses and other such stuff. High quality stuff at budget prices.
But I'll say this: I bought NV from Wilcox. I bought a Gen 2 and a Gen 3 tube. I immediately returned the Gen 2 and paid up for a 2nd Gen 3 tube, and I kind of gave him a hard time for not speaking the truth during the 1st purchase: Gen 3 thin-film tubes are spectacular and Gen 2 is really bad, a waste of money.
I've seen medium budget thermal gear in the fire service and in field monoculars. The resolution is bad. BUT, it would be better for your purpose than budget NV, because decent thermal gear will reliably show blobs of heat in an otherwise cold-black field of view. You may not be able to tell what the blob is, but at least you'll know it's there if you scan often enough.
I've never pursued military grade thermal gear because it is still way too expensive and also because of the lessons i learned with my NV gear.
2 cents.
I don't do dark walk-ins as often or as far as I used to.
But when I do, I wear a headlamp and carry my bow in my left hand and a pistol in my right.
My plan is go fast, never turn on the light, and whisper little prayers to God and John Browning.
If something bad happens, my plan is to not drop the gun.
After that, my plan is to not drop the gun, not drop the gun, shoot if necessary, do drop the bow, don't drop the gun, try to get the light on.
That's about the best i can do.
In 30 years, I've never been attacked in the dark, so I don't worry about it too much.
But as you know, it's still scary as hell sometimes.