58 Australian Shooter

Being that I am a bit old-school in my thinking, sometimes it leads me in the direction of time-proven devices and more traditional ways

of operating. But having said that, occasion-ally a new product comes along that has a tendency to change the way I view things.

That clearly happened while I was attending the US SHOT Show in Las Vegas earlier this year when I had my first glimpse of Leupold’s new LTO-Tracker. After seeing that innovative device, it started me pondering about the many times that it could have significantly made many of my hunting experiences easier, more successful and overall just plain better.

The Leupold LTO-Tracker is officially described as a “thermal observation and game recovery optic”, but I would term it as a hand-held instrument that has the ability to locate animals, dead or alive, by virtue of the heat signature that is emanating from their bodies. The LTO’s compact size and light weight allows it to conveniently fit in the pocket of your jacket or pants or inside your rucksack, making it very handy indeed to carry in the outback. Then when needed,

out it comes to help you to track and trace your game.

As Leupold & Stevens moves forward in this new generation of electronic optics and devices, Tim Lesser, the company’s vice president, put it all in perspective recently by saying: “We see thermal as a vital tool in any hunter’s kit, just like binoculars or a laser rangefinder.” After that he went on to further hail the usefulness of the new LTO-Tracker by adding: “For observa-tion and recovering downed game, the LTO-Tracker will help hunters find more success in the field.”

At any trade expo like the SHOT Show, your ability to fully evaluate any product is obviously limited. But I suppose what captured my attention the most and initially had me musing about how beneficial the LTO could be in many hunting situations, was when I discovered I could actually track my own footprints across the showroom floor. Gazing downward at the floor through the lens of the LTO, I found I could see my footprints, as well as those of the other attendees. To me that was in itself quite impressive and amazing.

Obviously, the heat signature that was transferred from my shoes to the floor was short-lived, but nevertheless it is easy to imagine how a sensitive device like this could make a hunter’s life a great deal simpler. I remember on many occasions when I had taken a successful shot on an animal I was hunting, literally dropping it where it stood, only to find I was having diffi-culty pinpointing the carcass. Even though I always attempt to mark the spot of my downed game, once reaching the approxi-mate vicinity I am sometimes left scratching my balding head wondering where the critter might be. Most animals blend in very well with their natural colored surroundings and as a result I have often almost stumbled over a critter before my eyes could actually focus on it. If the LTO had been available then and I had had the foresight to stuff it in my pocket before heading out, it would certainly have made those retrievals much quicker and more straightforward.

Suitably impressed by those few minutes I spent looking at the LTO during the show, when I returned home I placed an order with Leupold and before long I was using it

Leupold’sLTO-Tracker

I could quite easily pick up live elks at a distance of about 400 yards either in the day or night-time hours.

by North American correspondent Thomas Tabor

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60 Australian Shooter

to check out its effectiveness under a wide variety of conditions. It was interesting to observe the heat signature of various critters from the size of rabbits up to and including deer and elks. Unlike most night-vision devices that are usually only acceptable for use under the full cover of darkness, the LTO is a heat-sensing tool that works equally well either in full daylight or the pitch-black conditions of nightfall.

Depending upon which of the six color palettes you choose to use, the heat emanating from the animal appears differ-ently. In some cases it will show up in bril-liant coloration ranging from bright red to orange and yellow with the intensity of those colors based upon the level of heat that was being emitted. At night, just like in the daylight, I found the same to be true.

I did not have an occasion to evaluate the LTO’s effectiveness at tracking a blood trail, but it is said to also work well for that purpose. However, I would imagine to be successful for following a blood trail it would have to be fairly fresh in order to retain the needed residual heat for the instrument to detect.

How it worksThree buttons are used to control the LTO-Tracker. Those buttons are located near the eyepiece of the unit and positioned essentially where your index finger would naturally be placed while holding the unit. In that stance, the right button is a toggle that turns the LTO on or off. To activate the unit, you simply hold that button down for a couple of seconds until the trademark Leupold logo appears on the screen. In less than three seconds that image disap-pears from view and the LTO becomes fully operational.

Because conditions vary in the outback, Leupold has designed the LTO with six different color palettes to select from. Those are identified as: Red, White Hot, Black Highlight, Green, Black Hot and White

Highlight. Selecting which one to use is accomplished with the left button. Each press of the button brings up a different viewing screen. I found by moving through the various palettes it was easy to determine which one best matched the conditions I was facing. Once a selection has been made, the LTO will retain that palette in its memory even when the unit has been turned off. Then it will bring that same palette up again as the unit is reactivated.

The LTO is equipped with 6x power zoom magnification capabilities, which is controlled by the centre button. Once the unit is turned off, it will always revert back to 1x

magnification even if previously you had the unit zoomed in. To increase the magnifica-tion, simply tap the centre button or hold it down to zoom in more quickly. Upon doing so, the magnification level will appear briefly on the top of the screen, but quickly disap-pears from view about a second later.

If you wish to reduce the magnifica-tion after you have zoomed it in, there are essentially two options to accomplish that. Because the LTO always reverts back to the 1x magnification setting after being turned off, that is an acceptable way to reset it. But possibly an even better method would be to zoom all the way up to 6x, wait

Operation of the LTO-Tracker is easily controlled by only three buttons. From left: color palettes, magnification plus on and off button.

The compact size of the Leupold LTO-Tracker makes it very convenient to carry in the outback.

The sensors in the LTO-Tracker are amazingly

perceptive when it comes to locating

heat signatures in the outback.

Depending upon which color palette you select, the images through the lens are

sometimes presented in brilliant tints with those shades based on the degree of the

heat being emitted.

The three buttons that control the LTO-Tracker are easily accessible and located where the user’s index finger would naturally be while the unit is being operated.

To access the battery compartment, simply unscrew the knurled ring found near the midpoint of the LTO.

>

Leupold's LTO-Tracker

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62 Australian Shooter

for the magnification level indication on the top of the screen to disappear, then tap the centre button as many times as necessary to progressively drop the magnification level to your preferred setting.

As a heat-sensing device, the LTO-Tracker is not capable of differentiating between different types of heat signatures. This means that sometimes other sources in the environment will be highlighted as well as the animal life. For example, as the ambient temperature begins to warm, other items may start to capture heat directly from rays of the sun. Trees, rocks and in some instances even the ground may begin to show the result of such warming through the view of the LTO. Under some circum-stances that can be a bit distracting, but I found in most cases I was able to disregard those unwanted readings and still be able to concentrate on those that I had an interest in. Sometimes that was made even easier by

changing to a different color palette.

The featuresThe powerful sensors within the LTO-Tracker are capable of detecting temperatures ranging from as low as -40C up to 300C (-40F to 572F) and the operating temperature for the unit is -20C to 60C (-4F to 140F). It comes with a reticle cross-hair, but those are essentially only meant to draw the viewer’s eye to the centre of the screen. I don’t personally see a great deal of benefit from that inclusion, but I suppose we have all become accustomed to seeing some form of reticle in these types of devices. The only real downside that I can envisage with the reticle is the fact that someone could have the idea of mounting the LTO on a firearm, which is strongly discouraged by Leupold. It was never intended to be used in this way and should only be considered for hand-held duties.

The LTO’s maintube is 30mm with the unit finished in a matte black color. It is built and assembled in the US at the Leupold & Stevens facility in Oregon. The energising power for the unit comes from a single common CR123 battery that is housed inside the maintube with access provided by way of the knurled ring near the midpoint of the unit. To change the battery, simply unscrew it at that point then drop in the replacement battery. Life expectancy is about 10 hours when in continuous use. But after about 15 minutes of non-use, the unit deactivates itself as a way of extending the life of the battery.

SummaryThe LTO-Tracker is said to have an effec-tive range of up to 600 yards. However, I did find it difficult to always detect heat sources at that range, but discovered I could quite easily pick up live elks at a distance of about

The LTO-Tracker set on the White Highlight thermal filter.

The LTO-Tracker set on the White Hot thermal filter.

The LTO-Tracker set on the Black Highlight thermal filter.

The LTO-Tracker set on the Black Hot thermal filter.

The LTO-Tracker set on the Green thermal filter. The LTO-Tracker set on the Red thermal filter.

Leupold's LTO-Tracker

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400 yards either in the day or night-time hours. I believe the most useful purpose behind this innovative optic is not so much for long-range use, but rather for moderate range applications. It would likely be most beneficial for locating downed game that

Adding a Leupold LTO-Tracker to your usual electronic hunting gear makes good sense.

SpecificationsManufacturer: Leupold & StevensModel: LTO (Leupold Tracker Optic) Weight: 200g (7oz)Length: 14cm (5 9/16")Thermal Sensor: 206x156 pixelsDetection Distance: 600 yardsField of View: 21 degrees horizontalOperating Temperature: -20C to 60C Frame Rate: 30 Hz Fast FrameZoom: 6x Digital ZoneDisplay: Direct view 1.22" roundDisplay Resolution: 240x204 pixelsStart-up Time: 3 secondsPower Source: One CR123 batteryBattery Life: 10 hours continuous useWarranty: 5 years electronicsDistributor: NIOARRP: $999

could be difficult to spot or are hidden from view, following a blood trail and finding live game that may also be obstructed from sight or lurking in the shadows. All of these conditions would make the LTO-Tracker a useful tool that comes with

the potential of increasing your effective-ness in the field.

The Leupold LTO-Tracker is distributed in Australia by NIOA and retails for $999. For more information, ask at your local Leupold dealer or visit www.nioa.com.au .

Leupold's LTO-Tracker

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