A Rifleman's Optics

Surprisingly enough, if you are one of those who insist on buying American, you will find few options in the thermal optic market. Armasight is a standout exception, and the Contractor 640 3-12x 50mm Thermal Weapon Sight is one of the company’s most appealing options. It is a thermal weapon sight including adjustment turrets instead of buttons and offering exceptional resolution (even at higher magnifications) in a well-built and rock-solid unit. For all this, the Contractor 640 3-12x 50mm retails for around $4,999. 

The Contractor 640 has a tough ergonomic alloy metal body, the most durable available – giving peace of mind for those who use their gear hard and view a nearly $5,000 purchase as a serious long-term investment. The unit will withstand recoil from a 50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun). The Contractor is built around a proprietary ArmaCORE 640x480 12 micron thermal core, which provides excellent detection capabilities, a detailed picture, onboard image processing, wireless communication interface, GPS and internal memory. A quick 60Hz refresh rate means no interruptions while viewing or shooting. This also provides a 1,865-meter detection range on something like a mature hog.

As an obsessive hog hunter, I’ve used a decent number of thermal units, and one of the things that struck me at first brush was the Contractor 640’s compact and lightweight nature. It measures 8.2 inches by 3.4 inches by 3.7 inches and weighs just 1.93 pounds. With more usage, I would find the controls to be highly intuitive and their power consumption to be remarkably low. The Contractor 640 is powered by two readily available CR123A lithium batteries, which Armasight says provide about four hours of continuous operation (68 degrees Fahrenheit). I like this approach, because rechargeable batteries usually exhaust themselves in the middle of a hunt and can be a bit frustrating. Pop in a couple of fresh batteries and you’re back in business. 

The Contractor 640’s ease of use comes through its straightforward turret system. This allows shooters to navigate through features, such as the digital zoom, color palette and reticles, efficiently and intuitively. I’ve operated several thermal units in the past where I felt the engineers who developed them were more interested in demonstrating how clever they were than providing a user-friendly product. I’d just assume the need to continually reference an owner’s manual to perform the simplest tasks in the field. That isn’t the case with the Contractor 640, as I was able to manipulate nearly all functions without reading the owner’s manual at all.

The Contractor 640 also holds a digital compass and inclinometer that help calculate distance, direction and angles. The Contractor 640, like all Armasight products, is MIL-STD (military standard) compliant, so it is waterproof to IP67 (international Ingress Protection) standards. The unit can be set up to display multiple color palettes and eight-plus reticle options, and ESP (Easy Sight-in Process) makes establishing zero fast and easy. A ½-inch MOA (minute of angle) Boresight feature is also included. The sight is mounted using a spring-loaded, front-button quick-detach mount, which maintains zero between optics changes.  

For those techno-geeks out there, the Contractor 640 will keep you entertained with video recording and image capture (four hours of video memory), USB video and Wi-Fi video streaming, Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities, an app for iOS/Android devices and a USB-C interface for external devices. For those of us just interested in shooting hogs and predators, the Contractor includes practical features such as an integrated stadiametric rangefinder, inclinometer, levelometer, graphic compass, picture-in-picture mode and angle cosine indicator. There is a reticle On/Off option for spotting/shooting, respectively, and a battery status indicator. As delivered, the Contractor 640 included the aforementioned integral quick-detach mount, USB-C Cable, two CR123A batteries, lens cloth and soft case. The product manual provided straightforward explanations of features, operation and maintenance, and included step-by-step instructions for setup, zeroing procedures and troubleshooting tips.

The Contractor 640 provides 45mm of eye relief. It offers 3.2x of optical magnification and 1x to 4x of digital zoom. The f/1.00 50mm lens offers exceptional images via the XGA (1024x768) AMOLED viewing screen with active on-screen graphics. A diopter adjustment allows focusing from -5 to +5 for any eyesight or eyeglass wearers. It is backed by a three-year warranty. 

The integral quick-disconnect (QD) mount by Kinetic was a wise choice by Armasight, as it made mounting the thermal sight easy, solid and repeatable. Just line it up on a Picatinny rail, tilt to the side and click in. Depress the forward button, and off it comes. As a serious technophobe, I especially appreciated the Contractor 640’s well-designed and intuitive two-turret navigation. It was easy to learn and fast to operate, even while wearing gloves – something that can’t be said of many button systems. Sight-in is likewise simple: go into bore sight mode, fire a round (I used an adhesive-backed hand warmer taped to cardboard), maintain point of aim off a solid rest and then place the sight mark where your round impacted using the turrets. Click and hold the turret to confirm, and the rifle is zeroed. A couple more rounds verified this. 

I had hoped to receive the Contractor 640 prior to a Texas hog hunt so that I could give it a serious run-through, but our timing was off. Thus, I was forced to test resolution on animals such as my neighbor’s cows (off the rifle) and our backyard Idaho white-tailed deer. The picture was so positive and detailed, I could see there would be no mistaking a calf, deer or other game for a hog in the heat of culling. I was also unable to thoroughly test Armasight’s four-hour battery claim, but changing batteries is fast and easy, and the price of CR123A batteries has come down in recent years.  

Armasight’s Contractor 640 is an impressive thermal optic. It offers top-tier performance combined with a user-friendly interface. Its compact and lightweight design makes it compatible with any rifle type. I only wish I could have gotten it into the field in Texas and put it through the paces on some marauding hogs.