Selective wild boar hunting with Nocpix Ace S50R thermal imaging riflescope

Farmers and hunters, inseparably linked for the sake of both the environment and their activities, which can coexist and collaborate with excellent results. The efforts to contain wild boars, that every night invade the local farms' fruit orchards, require the hunters' intervention, providing a partial but still valuable contribution to the cause.  We joined Giancarlo Pianura, owner of Maremmano, the official Italian distributor of Nocpix thermal imagers.

Our boar hunting trip with Nocpix Ace S50R

In the early afternoon we set up the equipment that would assist us during the hunt, which includes observation monoculars and the ACE S50R riflescope. The early September evening is beautiful, but perhaps more from an aesthetic point of view than for hunting, because the full moon illuminates the countryside and, as we know, this makes wild animals much more suspicious in their nocturnal movements and much more careful to avoid possible predators. We position ourselves close to a dense thicket where Giancarlo believes wild boars have their sheds, waiting to raid the cultivated fields and orchards. The terrain offers me a double view, on a dirt road separating the forest from the fields and on the cultivated valley behind me. We finish settling into our position and just a few minutes later, a handsome male wild boar surprises us and contradicts all our predictions. it silently appears and disappears in a matter of seconds, just a few meters from our position, remaining hidden by the vegetation. Thanks to the thermal riflescope, we are able to see its silhouette very clearly among the bushes, watching us and sniffing us out before quickly retreating back into the woods. We don't lose heart over the missed opportunity and, remaining in absolute silence, we continue to observe the area for a long time, especially in the valley, until we hear some animals moving in the vegetation. It is two young wild boars proceeding towards the orchards, stopping every so often to listen as they cross the uncultivated fields where the wild grasses almost completely cover them.

It's always endless minutes waiting for the wild boar to show its flank, giving us a chance to shoot. Luckily, the moment arrives at a crossing where the vegetation is sparser. I can clearly see the boar's head and front up to the shoulder, I follow its movements for a few seconds taking good aim and let off the shot that knocks the animal down instantly. Giancarlo confirms that he sees the dead animal about 50 meters away from us, complimenting me on my patience in waiting and the accuracy of the shot. We shake hands, aware and satisfied that we have just correctly concluded a beautiful hunting action that was once again useful to the area and the local community.

Nocpix ACES50R thermal imaging riflescope technical specifications 

The Nocpix Ace scope we used is equipped with a thermal sensor offering a resolution of up to 1280×1024 and a frame rate of up to 60 Hz. ACE guarantees stable performance capable of detecting even the smallest changes in temperature, offering detailed and smooth thermal images, even when observing moving wildlife. The ACE series is equipped with 60mm/F1.0 or 50mm/F0.9 objective lenses. The larger objective lens allows over 20% more light to reach the sensor, resulting in clearer, sharper images. The ACE series boasts a detection range of up to approximately 3,000 meters. The new Vision+ system features a 1.03-inch, 2560×2560 round AMOLED screen and an ocular zoom for direct optical magnification. Unlike the traditional e-zoom, it prevents blurring and distortion in close-up observations. The Ace S50R scope is equipped with an integrated rangefinder that allows laser distance measurement up to 1,200 meters with optical axis alignment for precise measurements. The scope is equipped with a dual-battery system, which in our case proved crucial in the long wait, featuring a built-in battery and an additional replaceable battery that allow continuous hunting action of more than 6 hours. The ACE also has technical features such as a focus adjuster, a recharging port and a gallery function for direct video playback, with a menu and keypad consisting of just three very intuitive keys.

Designed according to the principles of thermal infrared imaging, the Nocpix Ace S50R requires no external light sources during the day or night, in all weather conditions, even the harshest such as rain, fog or mist. During our outing on a full moon evening and in fields with dense wild vegetation, we were able to see how the view through the scope is not affected either by intense light sources or natural obstacles such as branches, grass and shrubs, giving the hunter the possibility of a clear and continuous game observation for an accurate and safe shot.

Nocpix ACE S50R technical specifications