A usable thermal for under a thousand dollars is no longer some kind of cheap gimmick. Parish Optics, the Louisiana outfit better known for their relatively inexpensive PVS14 and PVS31 tube night vision, now offers a thermal lineup.
The POTM mini runs $499.99. The Parish Optics Thermal Hunting Scope—POTHS—lists for $917.76. If the thermals can impress me half as much as the PVS31’s did during a 4th of July NVG shoot with Luke Cuenco and Hop, Parish Optics will have a winner on their hands.
Parish doesn’t write a ton of hyperbolic, self-promoting “Wowee!” copy on their site. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Parish Optics is charged by the word for its website content. What they do say is simple: a thermal optic with 3–9X magnification in a hunting-scope outline, straightforward controls, a three-year warranty, and a 384×288 core.
The housing deletes the usual elevation turret hump on top, which looks strange until you remember that they were mimicking the outline a deer scope, but not so much that Parish Optics was slavishly tied to every detail no matter how vestigial.
Tech Specs:
– Sensor: 384×288 uncooled, 12µm
– Objective: 35mm
– Magnification: 3–9x (3x optical base, digital to 9x)
– Refresh: 50 Hz
– Display: AMOLED 1024×768
– Weather rating: IPX7
– Power: 18650 lithium rechargeable battery
– Listed size: 335 × 80 × 35mm
– Weight: 660g / 23.3 oz
– Warranty: 3 years
– MSRP: $917.76
Given Parish Optics’ sparse product description on the company website, I suppose it makes sense that while the bulk of the specs are there, some of the finer details aren’t listed. NETD sensitivity and expected runtime being chief among them. Yes, Made in China is expected. At this price point, no one would believe a Made in America label.
The box includes the detailed manual, two 18650 batteries, a charger, a micro SD card, and a sturdy soft case.
Handling and Setup
With no downloadable manual on the Parish Optics website, I turn to the printed booklet that it came with. Thankfully the manual is hefty and informative, which is doubly necessary given that, like every other thermal out there, the POTHS has a learning curve regarding its controls.
Normally I fumble around until I’ve got the hang of things, but I needed to get to the handbook ASAP to get the POTHS under control.
I’m a fan of thermals with removable media storage, and the POTHS having a microSD card slot in addition to a USB-C port is a solid choice.
Having two separate zero profiles is a big bonus, too, giving you the opportunity to store zeroing info for two different loads (supers and subs in .300 Blackout?) or even two different firearms.
Previously, this was mounted on a Ruger Precision Rimfire with an Angstadt Arms Vanquish 22 integral suppressor, and a Henry Lever Action Supreme in .300 Blackout. I continued testing with a Griffin Armament MKII AR-15 in .223 Remington.
Range Time
I quickly ran into ample reason to have a spare battery on hand and was thankful that Parish Optics includes a second one. Sometimes range days stretch on endlessly, as do nights waiting for critters to emerge.
Using 3X magnification to scan the hills and 9X to zoom in on a target works mighty well. This is a lot more zoom than most other thermals I’ve had the opportunity to work with and it’s plenty.
With regard to image quality, the 384×288 censor certainly isn’t industry leading, but its plenty effective. This is much like getting a Gen II set of NVG’s, where maybe some of the finer details (and features) are left on the chopping block, but the bulk of the information is there.
The POTHS is plenty capable of detailing an animal (or person). It’s also detailed enough to pick up ground detail, brush and debris, and even a fresh hit on a steel plate (or through a cardboard target). If you really focus, you might find times where you’re wishing for more detail, but during regular use I was pretty damn happy with the POTHS performance.
In fact, video from the POTHS shows the image quality far above what a screenshot will show. This short clip shows me lumbering into view while checking a target I thought was coming loose, with smooth video.
In fact while the image isn’t the most detailed I’ve seen, the price difference between the POTHS and thermal riflescopes with better sensors is significant. The POTHS is even very competitive when compared to other foreign manufactured thermal scopes with a similar 384×288 sensor.
Bottom Line
The Parish Optics Thermal Hunting Scope is a very capable thermal optic, excellent for the first-time thermal owner or for someone wanting thermal capability without dumping out a Scrooge McDuck pile of gold. At $917.76, this is a very good deal.