Shinenyx's Scope and Monocular Thermal Prowess Rule the Night

I don't remember the brand of scope or even what caliber AR platform it was mounted on, but I do remember my heart leaping inside my chest when I looked through the thermal scope and saw the heat signature of a giant boar feral hog.

Since that hunt, I've used thermal scopes, monoculars, and binoculars in my predator pursuits. At night, predators let their guard down. They are more active and move about the landscape less cautiously, which means more pelts for the wall.

I'd heard good things from two of my back-East buddies. Both are accomplished coyote assassins who ran Shinenyx's AIM 101 Fusion Rifle Scopes on a recent hunt.

"They are pretty amazing, man," my one buddy said. "You can get one for under $3,500, and it provides a lethal combination of night vision and thermal imaging. I've never seen more explicit nighttime images, and the large screen makes viewing easier. I love the onboard rangefinder, and for a nighttime scope with as many bells and whistles as this one, it's a breeze to set up and operate.” That's all I needed to hear. Days later, the scope, along with Shinenyx's G 1A Thermal + Nightvision Fusion Monocular, was coming off the FedEx truck in front of my house.

AIM 101 Fusion Scope First Impressions

With the included eyepiece on, which you will want when night hunting, the scope measures a tick over 11 inches and weighs 2.2 pounds with batteries and the scope mount. The scope is not overly long or tall, but its beefy build and movie-production camera look tell you from the get-go that there's a lot going on.

The wing-nut lever rail mount will fit Picatinny rails on bolt-action and AR rifles, and the push-down and slide-out battery door is easy to operate. On the scope's right side is a USB Type C port, which charges the internal batteries and works for video and photo downloads.

Just above the red Power Button is another metal button. An inward push of this button enables arm rotation of the Fill Light. When the arm locks out at the top, the fill light turns on; when the button is pushed and the arm is returned to its neutral position, the fill light is off. This light is used in Low-Light Mode when the image is almost detectable but not quiet. The fill light adds IR technology and makes the image more defined.

The rubber eyepiece pops on and off easily, and the standard eyepiece rotates to achieve screen clarity. The low-light objective lens also has a focus ring, used in Low-Light and Thermal Imaging modes to achieve a clear in-screen picture.

The scope showcases four top-mounted rubberized buttons to simplify use. In addition to the red Power Button, the Laser Ranging Button, Mode Button, and Photo & Video Button graduate down toward the eyepiece. Simplicity, especially in a night vision/thermal optic, is a good thing, and early indications told me this scope delivered it in spades.

On the right-hand side of the scope, in front of the battery door, is the Menu Button/Knob. This button/knob system makes navigating the internal menu a breeze. As night vision/thermal scopes go, the Aim 101 is reasonably light. Mounting the scope to my AR-platform rifle took seconds.

Let's Play

With the scope mounted to my rifle, I pushed the red Power Button for three seconds to turn the scope on. You will be impressed with the size and clarity of the screen. Once powered on, the scope's camera system automatically chooses the proper start-up according to environmental illumination. However, changing modes is simple. Short-press the Mode button to change illumination modes, which appear in the following order: Fusion1, Fusion2, Low-Light, and Thermal.

Digital magnification is easily adjusted by turning the Menu Knob clockwise (more magnification) and counterclockwise (less magnification).

With your crosshairs on an object, depress the Ranging Button, and the range to the target appears at the top center of the screen above the crosshairs. I also love that the color of the crosshairs automatically adjusts to the environmental lighting conditions.

The Photo and Video Button promises easy operation. Short-press the button to enter photo mode, and long-press the button to turn on the video function. Another long press takes you out of photo and video mode.

I could take you through every aspect of the scope's menu, but that will do you little good. You can't ruin or hurt this scope. If you get into unfamiliar waters and feel intimidated, press the Power Button, shut the scope off, and start over.

To learn the menu's ins and outs, press the Power Button, short-press the Menu Button, and start playing with display brightness, metering mode, crosshair selection type, etc. This scope has several features and technologies. Download Shinenyx's instruction manual, sit down for an hour or two, and play with it to learn about all the technologies and functions.

Features I Loved

Sighting in this scope is easy. Enter the menu and turn the dial counterclockwise to access the fourth screen, which lets you adjust the crosshair position horizontally and vertically. From the fifth screen, you can also choose your zero distance.

Fusion Technology blends night vision with thermal imaging to create an image that pops vibrantly on the screen. This allows you to identify your target and execute a killing shot. I also appreciate the Rapid Target Outline (R.T.O.), which combines thermal imaging with visual cues to outline downrange targets better. This boosts safety because it allows the shooter to identify downrange targets better.

When turned on in the menu, the Target Highlighting Function lets you better highlight the target. Alternatively, you can select the Blink Highlighting Function, which allows part of the target to be hidden and the other part to be highlighted.

I love that the scope is constantly calibrating to ensure you're in the proper mode for the environmental lighting. This eliminates guesswork and lets you focus on the subject and the shot.

Photos and videos captured by Aim 101 are impressive, and the scope gives you about 15 hours of video recording before you need to dump footage and clear it. Battery life is decent. Testing proved Shinenyx's 8-hour run time with the Fill Light set in the off position is accurate. I got almost 9. When the Fill Light is set in the on position, battery life shrinks to around 5 hours and 50 minutes. Outside temperature also plays a role in battery life. Although I haven't used the scope on a predator mission yet, it's November, and whitetails are the focus. I will come in December. I will add a full field review to this article at that time.

I had zero trouble ranging cattle, horses, and deer in total darkness to 828 yards. I did range a red fox at 127 yards, and the fused night vision + thermal image was so clear I could identify the species, which was impressive.

Over one week, I shot the scope attached to a 6.5 Creedmoor, a .223 Rem., and a .22-250 Rem. Sighting in each time was easy, and swapping between rifles was easy because the mount is a breeze to use and locks down tightly. After 60 rounds (one full box of each caliber), the scope held zero and performed precisely as any scope in this price range should.

The G 1A Thermal + NightVision Fusion Monocular

If you're a serious nighttime hunter, your fur count will increase if you hunt in pairs. Predators are easier to spot and harvest with one person on the gun and another looking through a monocular or binocular.

If you're a solo nighttime hunter, you still need the monocular or binocular. Sitting down with your rifle on sticks and trying to swing it left, right, up, and down is uncomfortable and exhausting. Having a small handheld unit that's maneuverable and easy to operate is key.

Enter Shinenyx's G1 A Thermal + Nightvision Fusion Monocular. Like the Aim 101, it is small, light, and incredibly easy to use. Featuring Fused Image Technology (F.I.T), dual detectors join with thermal and nighttime imaging to provide one unmistakable, clear, detailed image. Plus, with four operating modes, you won't miss a critter. One of my favorites is Rapid Target Outline (RTO), which blends thermal imaging with visual cues to outline downrange targets as in the Aim 101.

The monocular offers remarkable edge-to-edge clarity and zoom powers of 1x, 2x, or 4x, so you can frame targets ideally in the viewfinder. Shinenyx credits detection range on hog-sized objects to 200 yards. We don't have hogs in southeast Colorado, but I did detect sheep to 240 yards and could identify them perfectly out to 136 yards.

The battery run time is around seven hours, depending on usage and outside temperature, and charging via the C port is easy. It's also important to note that this 16.76-ounce monocular doubles as a red dot scope and a helmet-mounted goggle.

Final Thoughts

Stay tuned! There's more to come, including a predator nighttime field test for coyotes and hogs when I head to the Sooner State in late December. I'm ultra-impressed with this pair of products. Their clarity is remarkable, and I love being able to blend night vision and thermal to create the most remarkable in-screen image I've seen in a scope.