Armasight pro line and IR Hunter comparison

[dax2323]

I finally got my Apollo pro 640 50mm and 640 Q14 in yesterday, also got an IR Hunter from Third Coast. I'll be comparing them over the next week or two and posting video/pics. So far I've hunted with the IR Hunter and it worked very well... The picture is amazing and easy to adjust if need be. More to come

 

[JPK]

Wow, what a collection! Looking forward to your comparison. Would also enjoy hearing about the Q14!

JPK

 

[Wildfowler]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review for us.

Do ou or anyone else know what is different about the FLIR core used in the Q14 and the core used in the Zeus/themosight?

Thanks.

 

[hdfireman]

As stated above thanks for taking the time to do this comparison. It is one that I am interested in.

 

[PJW]

I am very interested in your upcoming evaluations and comparisons. I have been waiting for this info to decide which unit to purchase. Thanks.

 

[dax2323]

Gonna be using IR Hunter for the next week... Apollo will follow. I was totally sold on Armasight after shot show...as said before between me and a friend we spent lil over $40k on them, but after using the IR Hunter I'm opening up to other systems. I put 10 hrs on the IR Thursday night and it surpassed all my expectations. .. Will try to give unbiased opinion, I have no sponsors, will give a straight up review of each, but after Thursday I would not hesitate to buy the IR. It did have some minor glitches, menu did not appear on start up... But the turn of a turret brought it right up. The turret design works well and the image was better than any other scope I've used to date... More to come. I will also review the q14 and try to get an IR Patrol to compare

 

[Froggerzack]

I went out last week with a buddy that has the IR Hunter and was pleased with it's performance...

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

Very cool ******************* is sending an IR Hunter here also so I will have video of all the units side by side to go along with what Dax gets. To go ahead and take it to the next level there is also a Fir RS coming and working on the thors.

Now recently there have been some people coments on biased, unbiased, being neutral ect. Just to let you know at this point in this venture, there have been offers for me to shoot, use, hunt with all of the thermal lines. Understanding the whole fan boy Ford vs Chevy rivalries when you drop so much cash on something you want to justify your decision by saying product A or B is the best. For me There is a unique ability to use any of them at no cost. Also I am not a dealer or commissioned in any way from the sales of these units. So for now I chose to use Armasight over the others solely on beliving their product to be the best overall, and the president of the company is taking the company in the quality over quantity direction which is a huge plus to me.

Again just like the ford chevy thing all of these scopes are great for hunting and will get the job done even if some do not want to admit that. It's just some have advantages over the others. For example the IR Hunters have the turret controls instead of the buttons, to me that is a plus I'm not a button fan. But then it has no manual focus and a small lense. The RS series has the internal batteries that is its major weakness. While Armasight has the buttons for controls but has the best lenses and the ability to focus like a standard scope which I consider advantages.

This forum is not the Armasight forum all opinions are welcome. Just because I think one is better you may think another is better for you. That is perfectly fine and do not be afraid to say so this place is here to help people have better hunting success and hopefully make good decisions on expensive equipment.

 

[dax2323]

Totally agree with TLM...became a dealer at shot show for Armasight, but I'll sell any product that I believe in. Last thing I wanna do is sell a $6k or more item and have somebody be unhappy with it.

 

[keatonskidmore]

So what's the max detection range and identification range that you get out of the it hunter? With a 35mm lens I would think it wouldn't be quite as far as a Zeus with a 50, 75, or 100mm lens.

 

[dax2323]

So what's the max detection range and identification range that you get out of the it hunter? With a 35mm lens I would think it wouldn't be quite as far as a Zeus with a 50, 75, or 100mm lens.

I used it last week and sat on a hill watching deer at 600 yds and could tell they were deer .... I was impressed

 

[keatonskidmore]

I used it last week and sat on a hill watching deer at 600 yds and could tell they were deer .... I was impressed

That is pretty impressive. Guess those cores are pretty good like they say they are.

 

[DaveABQ]

Will be good to see all the thermals tested, no matter who is doing it, the more the merrier. Lots of good things happening in the industry with thermal, etc.

I'm really looking to see not just function, but how the cores compare, FLIR (Tau and Quark), BAE, etc., from the perspective of through the scope and video, side by side, same objects, same time. I'm shooting an Armasight, first one here with one I think, mainly because of my research prior to buying, but wouldn't mind having others, just can't afford them all lol. And it's like guns, can only shoot one at a time.

 

[Ratdog68]

And it's like guns, can only shoot one at a time.

Unless you're Brian Shaffer.... (his avatar).

 

[dax2323]

Won't hunt till this Saturday, but took Q14 to work tonight. Had an assault suspect hide in a wooded area. Helicopter was grounded due to weather so I went over and took a look. It works pretty good. Not a fan of the smart scene... It washes out the background a little. I found a cat trying to catch a heron in a creek and saw a bunch of deer, but no peckerwood. Need to get more familiar with it and the settings. Pretty sure my shoulder will feel much better after using it all night on a hunt rather than holding up my rifle. The other use I see is when I mount it on my AR .22lr and go on a coon/rabbit massacre.

 

[keatonskidmore]

It looks like the smart scene can either hurt the image pretty bad, or make the image much clearer. Just have to find the sweet spot in the settings I'm sure. I think it'll be a benefit in the summer time early in the night when everything is still real hot out.

 

[TEXASLAWMAN]

The purpose behind smartscene is to make the target pop. This is achieved by washing out the background. From a shooting standpoint it's great especially for moving targets.

But as with anything there are pros and cons the con in my opinion is the image is not visually appealing.

So we have a delima do we want a pretty all around image where the extra background information can hide the target, or a washed out image where the target stands out?

For the normal shooter I would say everything points to the target pop, but for people trying to make visually pleasing videos like me the choice is not so clear.

 

[Taco]

Good stuff guys.

 

[dax2323]

Getting Armasighted in....

 

[BigRedDog]

When I first see the picture I think you have the worlds best portable monitor.

Gets me every time