Using a helmet-mounted Sidekick 320 thermal monocular, I spotted a half dozen feral hogs strung out along a grassy hillside several hundred yards away. East Texas and nearly 1 a.m., a scattershot of stars overhead, and we were heading back to the ranch’s main house after a night of thermal hunting.

But once I spot more hogs, the hunt continues.

We parked the side-by-side. I switched the power control on the Armasight Contractor 640 3-12x50 Thermal Weapon Sight to “ON.” The thermal was mounted on my AR-15.

We got on the hogs a half hour later, the group slowly drifting away from us over the hills. But once we were close enough, I lined up the Contractor’s reticle on a hog, fired and dropped the animal.

Suppressed though my rifle was, the other hogs ran at the noise, disappearing up and over the top of a nearby hill. My hunting companion and I trudged up that hill, expecting that the hogs would continue to run and were gone for good.

Nope. They’d quickly forgotten the suppressed rifle fire and were back to feeding, noses down in the grass.

We began shooting. I was able to drop one hog, my hunting partner two more.

A very successful night hunt. Made possible by Armasight, one of today’s top thermal makers, and their cutting edge Contractor 640 thermal scope which my hunting partner and I were both using on that Texas night.

Contractor Line

Armasight launched the Contractor 640 line near the end of 2023, an upgrade from their Contractor 320 units. 

The three units in the Contractor 640 line are built around Armasight’s proprietary ArmaCORE 12 micron thermal core. That core provides heat detection capabilities out to just over 2,000 yards in my unit. My Contractor’s on-board image processing created very detailed images, too, not just general outlines of hogs and coyotes and other heat sources.

Like all units in the line, my Contractor 640 operated via two turrets located on either side of the central ON/OFF switch. I found these turrets much easier to use than the standard button pads common on so many other thermals. Instead of pressing down and sensing if I was on with button pads, the turrets provided a very tactile press-and-turn action to work the unit’s various menus.

Press DOWN on the LEFT turret, for example, and up pops a list of menu options along the left side of the screen. These include the Enhancement and Boresight apps. Turn the turret to navigate UP or DOWN on the menu, and when you get to the needed function, press DOWN to open.

Finished within a menu? Press and hold the turret DOWN to exit.

The RIGHT turret changes palette colors, reticle types and reticle colors among other functions.

The units are equipped with a digital compass and inclinometer that help calculate distance, direction and angles. Like all Armasight products, the Contractor is MIL-STD compliant, allowing for reliable use in all weather conditions.   

Power Options

A compartment on the left side of the Contractor holds two CR123 batteries. The batteries provide up to four hours of continuous operation. 

Opposite this compartment is a USB-C cable port for downloading video and photos and for uploading firmware updates from Armasight. The USB port can also be used to attach an external battery pack to run the unit for longer periods versus the CR123 batteries. 

A Real Turn On 

One of the best ways to sell any sort of thermal unit is to make sure you have a unit or two  loaded with batteries. Turn on a Contractor 640 unit and hand it to a customer. Let them see heat signatures in your store, including people and lights. You might want to have an Armasight Zeroing Target set up on a wall, too. They pop nicely!

For a more dramatic effect, start off with the White Hot palette and let the customer view this. Then, switch to the Target (red) palette and return the unit to the customer. Odds are, you will hear a “Wow!”

Want a bigger “Wow”? Let them view through the Rainbow palette with its fluorescent blue, green, red and yellow colors.

Point out the very accessible turret controls and walk the customer through a few adjustments like the color palette change you just made. Let them select different reticles and then have them choose which reticle color they would like. (I’ve found that an aqua/turquoise reticle works extremely well for my eyes.) 

As they gain confidence, many of these “potential” thermal customers become actual customers. 

Ready To Go

Some people new to thermal optics worry that the units might be too difficult to set up. Not so in this case. Let your customers know that the Contractor 640 is ready to go right out of the box and fairly easy to program. 

If, as suggested above, you’ve given them a brief hands-on with the turrets and menus, they already know that they can in fact navigate the system.

Videos of thermal hunting attract huge audiences on social media, and many a hopeful night hunter want to post such videos. So, make sure you point out the ease of video recording, as well as the taking of photos with the unit. The REC (record) button is located just in front of the right turret. A quick press starts the internal video, and another such press stops the video in progress. To take a photo, give that same button a long press. 

Easy Zero

The Contractor 640 has among the easiest zeroing systems of any thermal I have used. 

Before my hunt in Texas, I first zeroed my AR-15 and my Contractor using the Armasight reflective zeroing targets. I started the process at 50 yards, and my very first shot was a little left but low at least 4 inches. In fact, the shot hit below the target itself.  

No worries. Using the left turret, I scrolled down and then into the Boresight function. I made sure my rifle was very steady and then moved the secondary reticle over to where my bullet had struck. I held down on the turret to save this setting, and the main reticle moved over to where the secondary reticle had been.

I took two more shots and they hit about a half-inch to the right of the bullseye.  

I moved onto a 100 yard target and shot twice, and I was dead on. Time to hunt!  

Other Features 

The easy zeroing is just one of the many features built into the Contractor 640 I used. Other features include:

• Video Recording and Image Capture, as noted.
• USB Video Stream
• Wi-Fi Video Stream
• Bluetooth 5.0 Capability
• Picture in Picture Mode
• Battery Status Indicator
• Alloy Metal Body and Ergonomic Design

The reticle can be turned off, too, to use the Contractor as a handheld or simply to use for scanning while on a rifle.

The Contractor 640 is sold with a USB-C cable, 2x CR123A batteries, a lens cloth, a soft case, zeroing targets and a product manual. In addition, it comes equipped with a quick-detach mount that fits right onto a Picatinny rail for a fast mounting. 

Working With Dealers

“We’re all about collaboration and support,” said Steve Lemenov, Armasight’s director of marketing. “We make sure our brick-and-mortar dealers are well-equipped with everything they need, from eye-catching product display stands to our brand banners. And it doesn’t stop there. Our sales reps pay regular visits to provide insights about our brand and the technology that drives it.”

He added that Armasight makes a similar commitment to its E-commerce partners and offers them many resources to help sell Armasight units. Those resources include detailed product information, product photography (both studio and lifestyle), videos, and brand assets that can be utilized on site, in social media, and in advertising. 

Armasight sells both through distributors and direct to dealer. Current Armasight distributors include Bill Hicks & Co. and Sports South, with more national distributors soon to be added.

To become a dealer, the first step is to complete the Armasight dealer application at https://armasight.com/become-a-dealer/. Shortly thereafter, an Armasight representative will be in-contact with information and additional details.

Armasight is currently working on a sales staff incentive program, which will be announced later in 2024.

“We do participate in co-op programs with our premium dealers,” Lemenov noted. “To be eligible for co-op program participation, dealers are required to place a $30,000 minimum opening order and provide proof of performance. We also participate in many custom advertising initiatives with our premium dealer partners.”

 

Back to School

A great resource for sales staff and thermal customers is Armasight’s newly launched Thermal University (armasight.com/thermal-university/.) The many articles here provide an explanation of thermal tech, overview of the various Armasight units and their many features, and methods for using thermals in the field. 

Check back to Thermal U often as new articles are posted regularly.

For those dealers who decide to offer Armasight and the Contractor 640 models, Lemenov noted that this line of scopes has an outstanding quality record.

“We have less than 1% defect rate on the Contractor Series of thermal scopes,” he said. “Dealers can have peace of mind that when they sell an Armasight thermal product, their customers will be very happy with them.” 

He added, “Also, in rare instances when support is needed. We have an outstanding customer service department that knows the products inside and out. The warranty turnaround is also very quick.”