Alena Steinbach, a hunter from Germany, tested the tM 35.2 thermal imaging device while stalking. She carries a .308 caliber straight-line repeater with a Z8i 3.5-28x50. She shares her experiences in her forest hunting ground in the Palatinate, Germany, and on Usedom with us:
#thermalimaging
The dragon and the goshawk
When I saw the famous trilogy "The Hobbit" in the cinema a good 10 years ago, I realized within minutes of the first appearance of "Smaug" (the gold-loving dragon) that I had found a name for my firearm. I was never looking for one, but Smaug's direct nature, his sense of humor and his love of gold (I've only ever worn gold jewelry bequeathed to me by my great-grandmothers and grandmothers) simply suited me and my firearm too well. That's why the name "Smaug" has been enthroned on both my firearm and my silencer protector for some time now.
When I was offered the new tM 35.2 thermal imaging device from SWAROVSKI OPTIK for testing, in addition to the anticipation of something new, I immediately noticed the similarities between goshawks and dragons. Both are hunters of the skies - what a good combination!
The first impression
As you would expect from SWAROVSKI OPTIK, the tM 35.2 comes in very high-quality packaging with a well-padded and attractive case. However, I will hardly ever use it, as I am an absolute practitioner and minimalist. I leave everything at home that I don't absolutely need. The rough exterior makes the device easy to grip and safe to handle even in damp conditions. The low weight of just under 500 g doesn't get in the way either in the hand, in the backpack or on the firearm. Especially with the very light Z8i 3.5-28x50, which is mounted on my rifle, this makes a very good combination for stalking.
Simple operation
Although the tM 35.2 is primarily an attachment, it can of course also be used as an observation device. All you need to do is press and hold the mode button and the device switches from single to quadruple magnification. Which brings us to one of the advantages of the device: its operation. It is simple, uncomplicated and child's play.
It is no longer necessary to sight in the device. Of course, I still recommend taking a control shot at the shooting range. After all, we are not shooting at targets, but at live animals. However, we went to the shooting range with three different firearms, in three different calibers and with three different optics, and the point of impact was spot on with all of them. Of course, SWAROVSKI OPTIK only guarantees this extremely pleasant function with its own adapter and in combination with its own riflescope.
Reduced to the essentials
The number of buttons is very manageable. There are:
the on/off button,
a mode button (for switching between warm white and warm black or, if pressed and held, for switching between attachment and observation mode)
one plus and one minus button (for manual brightness adjustment)
That's it. No kidding. There's really very little that can go wrong. I also find the automatic switch-off function particularly convenient. As soon as you tilt the gun to the side, i.e. put it in a rest position, the device goes into energy-saving sleep mode. This saves valuable battery power, but you are also ready to fire again within a second without having to press any buttons.
From theory to practice on the hunting ground
Let's move on from theory to practice. After the control shot on the shooting range, we went straight to the hunting ground. That's where I prefer to be when it comes to testing any kind of product. Technical data and shooting range experience are all well and good, but where should it all work? In the field. On the hunt.
The tM 35.2 in the Palatinate forest area
In our Palatinate forest hunting grounds, we are very grateful and happy to have a healthy population of wild boar, red deer and roe deer. The latter is always slightly lower than the latter. For all game species, we pay attention to low-disturbance hunting and long rest periods. We don't shoot into larger herds, but prefer to select, especially at the beginning of the hunting year, for the small, solitary wild boars and groups of stags. So from now on, the handy tM 35.2 will accompany me on my evening hunts or night-time stalking trips. One thing I have noticed very positively is the adapter . Thanks to the rubber coating the riflescope is not scratched and, above all, the device can be mounted quietly. Both of which I lacked with my previous adapter.
The first stalk
On a starry summer evening in August, I set off on my stalking route towards the orchard. A wonderful route through the forest, which becomes a meadow and hedge scenery on one side. Plum, pear, and apple trees are lined up next to each other. If the sows were not already attracted by the meadow, which is almost always damp, they would have been attracted by the fruit that was already slowly falling from the trees. There were around 25 wild boars over a distance of 400 m: from very small to very large. I always enjoy observing such pack structures, because you can never stop learning when hunting. A small male was repeatedly chased away by a strong female. He had no business being around her few-week-old offspring. The tM 35.2 was no problem at 50 meters. The sow’s characteristic features were clearly visible. The "theoretical" test on the shooting range proved its worth in practice. The small boar lay after 10 m with a clean hit. I am always skeptical about test products and unfamiliar "tools" and was all the more relieved that everything went well.
#thermalimaging
Testing on Usedom
A few weeks later, as every year, I went hunting on Usedom with a wonderful group of seven completely different women. It has been a tradition for many years that we meet in our cozy vacation apartments in Lieper Winkel. My dear friend Inga also always comes to visit to take photos of our crazy bunch. This year, she accompanied me on two evenings of stalking. We could clearly hear the wild boar in the corn and were also able to locate the damaged areas, but we couldn't get close, unfortunately. There are hunters who crawl into the maize on all fours and try to approach through the crops. But I'm not one of them. So the tM 35.2 remained on the gun, but not in action on Usedom. I still had fun stalking around in the fading light to see what was moving around me and testing the device.
Conclusion: convincing with slightly too frequent calibration
I can't look back on a month-long test period yet, but my experience so far with my second winged companion has been a real pleasure. The tM 35.2 has done a superb job. SWAROVSKI OPTIK is known for very good optics, but not necessarily for thermal imaging technology. Nevertheless, the company has nothing to hide with this device. The only thing I find a little too frequent is the very fast calibration. This brings a bit of unrest into the situation, especially when aiming. My recommendation here would be to extend the time intervals a little. I'm looking forward to the upcoming fall evenings, when we'll need to harvest some more wild boar, especially for the Christmas season. I will certainly be able to gain even more practical experience there.
Alena Steinbach
About
Alena Steinbach, 30born in 1990, is not just a passionate hunter and dog handler, but also editor of the online hunting magazine WIR JAGEN as well asthe author of the cookbook Wild Kochen. She enjoys hunting with her four dogs, Labrador Fibi (6born in 2015), the two Wirehaired Dachshunds Twix and Toffie (born in 20174), and the Westphalian Dachsbracke Emma-Otto (born in 20155). She equips the dogs with trackers and protective vests.
When stalking or hide hunting, she uses a .308 caliber straight-line repeater with a Z8i 3.5-28x50. On driven hunts, she uses a goes for the .308 caliber straight-line repeater with a Z8i 1-8x24. The throw lever is particularly useful for helping her respond instantly when nearby game runs away, or vice versa. Otherwise, she prefers driven hunting rifle scopes because, for her purposes, it is better to have a low magnification in most situations, particularly on driven hunts. And with 8x magnification she can still easily kill a deer cleanly at 80 meters/87 yards. She also likes to take a small pair of binoculars (EL 10x32) with her to be able to explore her surroundings better.
