Sightmark Wraith 4-32x power is pretty effective for pigs, racoons and coyotes. I also have an Armasight Zeus 336 another good rifle scope if you are just wanting a very effective night scope.

Hunting in pine thickets and such at night really does limit your range as you mentioned; but something I did was rent a scope a few times. There used to be an outfit in Huntsville that rented thermals for like a weekend.

Just keep this in mind. There is a world of difference between the video of a thermal scope on youtube, viewed on a computer monitor and viewing that same video on a 1 inch by 1 inch screen about 2 to 3 inches from your eyeball. Like any shooting skill, using a night scope takes time and practice.

https://youtu.be/4oLs0BH_rhQ