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Thermal riflescope prices are going down, and their feature sets are going up. The InfiRay Outdoor RICO RH50 V2 is a solid 640-resolution thermal riflescope at an attractive price point, packed with features you will use.
Thermal scopes are becoming very popular for night predator hunting, certain models especially. I was talking to someone at iRayUSA recently, and they sell the InfiRay Outdoor RICO RH50R V2 Thermal as fast as they can be made. The “R” indicates a laser rangefinder (LRF). Everybody wants an LRF on their thermal now, and the one on the RH50R V2 is sleek and effective.
The RH50R V2’s little brother, the RICO RH50 V2, is the same thermal scope, save the LRF and a couple of other features. These small differences have made the RH50 V2 lonely and not nearly as popular. If you don’t need an LRF, consider the RH50 V2. This article will review this thermal scope based on the past 100 days or so of use I’ve given it.
Table of contents
Thermal Thermal Everywhere
Every year that goes by more manufacturers are offering thermal scanners and scopes. States that restrict predator hunting at night with thermals are now in a small minority. It is becoming much more common for people to ask me about thermal gear. Just today I had another person do so. He has coyotes on his property, and he said, “They only come out at night.” We had a good conversation, and it looks like he will give in and buy one.
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What to Buy First
As I wrote here recently, a thermal scanner like the InfiRay Outdoor Finder is what I would recommend as the first purchase for the new nighttime predator hunter. Thermal scanning is the thing that will get you into the night predator game, if you can’t afford both a thermal scanner and a thermal riflescope. You can always use a red light to get to your stand, watch the coyote in your scanner until it’s in range, and then hit them with a white light for the kill.
The InfiRay Outdoor Finder also has a laser range finder, and particularly for beginners that’s a big help and a confidence builder. Let’s suppose someone followed my advice, initially bought a Finder scanner, saved up more cash, and they can finally afford to add a thermal scope to their kit. What now?
Your First Thermal Riflescope
There are many thermal scope options out there today, more than any previous time. I’ve looked through plenty, hunted with numerous different units, and owned more than one. What I can say about thermal scopes is they are truly a game changer as compared to either red lights or PVS night vision. As I have said many times, night vision shows you everything, but thermal shows you what’s important.
While there are many metrics associated with a given thermal unit, the core resolution is probably the most critical. You want to buy the highest resolution you can afford. The minimum would be 384×288 pixels (typically referred to as “384”), and that’s perfectly adequate for killing coyotes and pigs.
The jump to a 640-resolution scope is big, but so is the price jump. If there’s any way a guy can swing it, I’d say save up for a 640. The ability to detect and identify predators with a 640 thermal scope is far and away better than lower resolution models. The good news, though, is that with so many more entrants into the thermal market, prices are coming down, and features are going up.
The RICO RH50 V2 Thermal
If you are looking at a 640 unit, the RH50 V2 Thermal is a solid option based on my testing. If you bought the InfiRay Outdoor Finder scanner then you don’t need another thermal LRF. The RH50 V2 has 640×512 resolution, 3x optical magnification, and a four-button layout that is intuitive and easy to use. The refresh rate is 60 Hz, which makes moving objects like running coyotes appear smooth and not jumpy.
Perhaps the best, and certainly most unique feature, is the top-mounted focus knob. Whereas most thermal scopes use a focus ring near the objective lens (just like a traditional AO scope), the RH50 V2’s top knob commands the focus. This design is far easier to reach and use than the traditional focus ring design. The RH50 V2 focus knob has decent resistance to turning and isn’t easily disturbed accidentally.
Display and Battery
Other features of the RH50 V2 Thermal include a 1024×768 AMOLED display. This is the tiny screen that your eye directly views at the rear of the scope. These AMOLED displays are becoming the market standard, and this one is very clear. The Diopter range is -4 to +4, accommodating a variety of eyes. The battery is proprietary, but it is very good and the unit comes with two. This is the same battery pack I have used in another scope for a long time.
Even in the cold, two of these batteries will easily last all night. You can use an external battery pack if necessary, via a USB-C port. The standby mode is super useful because it preserves battery life and instantly turns the unit on with the push of one button.
Other Features
The reticle options are many, and the one-shot zero function works (though it took me more than one shot). There are several color palettes, most of which don’t interest me. The black hot and white hot is very useful, however, with each performing better in different temperatures. For example, at the range on a hot day, the white hot was useless while the black hot was perfect. On a normal evening, I used white hot because for my eyes it makes the coyotes pop compared to the landscape.
There are several reticle options, enough to satisfy anyone’s preferences for that feature. The onboard camera records 1024×768 resolution JPEG still photos and analog video with 32g of onboard storage. There is a microphone (which I forgot to turn on when filming).
You can take a still photo while you are filming video. The wifi function allows you to directly record on your phone. Finally, the RH50 V2 is compatible with an LRF module that mounts to the provided picatinny rail on the left of the unit. It plugs directly into the USB-C port and is plug-and-play. I have this LRF module on another scope and although bulky it works well.
I Hear You 5 by 5
The RICO RH50 V2 Thermal is made by InfiRay Outdoor in China and distributed, serviced, and warrantied by iRayUSA in Texas, USA. One can’t talk about iRayUSA, without discussing their industry-leading warranty. The 5/5, or five-year / five-day warranty covers your scope for five years. iRayUSA will also get you either a repaired unit or a replacement unit within five days of receiving yours under warranty.
I recently sent in my dual InfiRay Outdoor MH-25 scanners that I bought years apart. I couldn’t get the images to look the same, so I decided to see what would happen if I sent them to iRayUSA. In five (business) days, I had a matching set of MH-25s. They replaced the germanium lens on one of them so the color would match exactly.
There was a slight change in that lens between the model years. I was impressed by both the speed and the service shown here. Their warranty is no joke. Interestingly, other companies are adopting the five-year aspect, but not the five-day feature. If you are on a two-week hunt and you can’t get your scope back in time you will wish you had this warranty.
To the Field
My test unit arrived this past summer, and I wasted no time sighting it in. But before that, I replaced the stock mount with one made by American Defense Manufacturing. I’ve had great luck with ADM mounts, so that’s just something I do. I don’t often hunt coyotes in the summer months, but I had just met a cattleman who was kind enough to let me film coyotes on his property. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t allowed to kill them (yet).
He showed me around near sundown on a 1% moon night and after he left, I waited for the darkness to mature. I walked to a suitable stand with my PVS-14 binos, put out the Foxpro Fusion predator call, and waited before hitting the play button. It took all of 10 seconds of a hurt pup sound for the first coyote to streak in. At first, I was disappointed that I couldn’t kill them, but on the plus side, I got a lot of great footage to showcase the RH50. That video is here.
Hits, Misses, and Final Thoughts of the RICO RH50 V2 THermal
Hits
- High value for the price point
- Excellent clarity
- The best focus mechanism available (top knob)
- Excellent video and photo capture
- Lighter weight without the LRF
- Outstanding industry-leading warranty
Misses
- Made in China, which is not for everyone (but most of your electronics are made there in whole or in part)
- Video is no longer compatible with Photoshop Premier Elements video editor (but I just used Clipchamp which is free and easier to use anyway)
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Final Thoughts
The RICO RH50 V2 is a feature-rich 640 thermal scope that has a lot to offer. If I were in the market, I would give it a hard look. That said, it usually costs $4,799, and its big brother usually only costs $700 more. For that extra seven C-notes, you get a very sleek, integrated LRF, a useful digital zoom throw lever with a familiar form factor, a better eyepiece, and a larger digital display in the RH50R V2.
For my money, I’d get the RH50R V2 since I’m already spending almost $5k. I was thinking iRayUSA needs to increase the price differential between the two scopes to reflect the value difference. And wouldn’t you know it?
Right before I uploaded this article, I got word that starting this past September, iRayUSA is running a promotion and the RH50 V2 will cost $3,999. Bottom line: they are both good options; get what you can afford.
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