The AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 2.5-20X Thermal Rifle Scope is AGM’s top-of-the-line laser range-finding thermal scope. This new thermal rifle scope gives you a great image and a built-in, easy-to-use Laser Range Finder for under $5500. In addition, this new scope is powered by a single rechargeable 18650 battery that will give you up to 4-6 hours of hunting time on a single charge.
The AGM Varmint TS50-640 2.5-20X LRF is a compact thermal scope with laser range finding capability. It has a 640×512 resolution, 12-micron thermal processor. It has a base magnification of 2.5X and a digital zoom to 20X. The AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 2.5-20X has a 1024×768 OLED screen and provides an excellent image day or night.
This optic can be used as a thermal riflescope or handheld monocular and can be applied to scenarios such as patrolling, hunting, and static observation. It is only 8.5 long × 2.6 wide × 4.2 in tall and weighs less than 25 ounces.
The built-in laser range finder of the AGM Varmint LRF is accurate out past 600 yards. It has a small box on the screen that you bracket the target in, then a single push of a button gives you the range that is displayed in the upper right corner. The range has a single or continuous 15-second scanning mode.
One 18650 rechargeable battery gives the device up to 6 hours of continuous operation time on a high-grade fully charged battery. Compared to a similar scope using CR123 batteries, the Varmint’s 18650 rechargeable battery will save you about $10 per hunt. Two 18650 batteries are provided with the scope.
An external 5V power bank (battery pack) can be used via a USB to USB-C connector but you probably won’t need it if you charge the two supplied batteries before your hunt. The device has 16 Gig’s of storage for onboard video recording and image capturing. It does not capture audio. An internal Wi-Fi module for live video streaming and video/image recording via the T-Vision application are included.
Another plus for this thermal riflescope is the mount. It comes from the factory with the excellent American Defense Manufacturing single lever quick detachable mount at no extra charge. This single lever configuration is not only secure but makes reattaching the scope to the rifle quick and easy without a need to re-zero.
AGM Varmint LRF – Very User Friendly
The AGM Varmint has only 3 control buttons. It is very easy to access the menu or use in the field while hunting. The LRF sensor is located on the top of the scope and the control buttons are on the left side of the scope. This might cause a minor issue for left-handers, but for right-handed users, AGM has made it as easy to use as possible.
The red power button (see photo above) powers the scope on and off and puts the scope in standby mode with a quick press. The center button is used for ranging a target with a quick press or recording with a long press. The third button is actually a push button/scroll knob to access the menu, change the color palette, or change the magnification power.
Personally, I like this button layout much better than the Rattler layout or any other scope with a multiple push-button layout. At least for right-handed shooters, it is the best button layout I have seen on any thermal rifle scope.
Doug was concerned about the layout, because the power and LRF buttons are close together. A hunter might accidentally push the power button when ranging. That might happen, but a quick push of the power button only puts the scope in standby and a second push will instantly turn the display back on.
While hunting, a quick push of the scroll button lets you cycle through the color palettes. Turning the knob raises or lowers the magnification power. When you enter the menu with a long press of the scroll knob, you can use the scroll function to quickly move through menu items and push the button to select a menu function.
Setting up a rifle profile (or reticle) is very easy also. On AGM scopes, each reticle has its own profile settings. After setting up a zero profile for the first reticle, you can just copy the coordinates to the other 4 reticles if you use the scope on one rifle, or you can set different reticle profiles for 5 different rifles. You will have to note which reticle is used for which rifle as you can not name the reticle profiles.
The first reticle can be set up with two zero ranges. It lets you add a hash mark below the crosshair for a second yardage zero. For example, you can zero the main crosshair at 200 yards, and add a hash mark below the crosshair zeroed for 300 yards.
There is a screen freeze function when zeroing a reticle that will help you zero your rifle in just a few shots. When you get a shot on paper you can freeze the image while holding the crosshair on point of aim. A second movable crosshair will appear that you can move to the shot using the scroll knob. After scrolling to the shot, you press save to set the new coordinates. You do not have to count clicks or hold the crosshair on point of aim while moving the crosshair while using the freeze function. I was able to zero my rifle in 4 shots. Two at 25 yards to get the bullet impact 1.5″ below the point of aim, and two at 100 yards to get it zeroed at 100 yards.
The AGM Varmint lets you easily change the brightness and contrast for different weather conditions. It also has 4 reticle colors (red, green, black, white).
The Picture-in-Picture function provides you a 2X multiplied window that can be set for the center or either top corner of the screen.
AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 Thermal Operation
The range finder is a small module on the top of the scope and adds almost no weight to the scope. I think this design is much better than most large side-mount LRF modules that attach to the side of the scope and can weigh 6-8 ounces.
You will notice a small box on the screen in addition to the reticle. This small box is used to bracket the object that you want to range. To range the object in the box, just quick-press the center button. The range reading is provided in the top right corner of the screen in yards or meters. You can set the range finder in the menu to do a quick range, or set it to continuously range for 15 seconds with one press.
While you are zeroing your rifle, you move the reticle. The ranging box does not move so the box may be left, right, above, or below the crosshair after your rifle is zeroed. On my rifle, the box was about two MOA below the crosshair. The place the box appears on your screen is strictly dependent on your rifle’s zero point. You can only move the crosshair, not the box.
The ranging box was pretty far below the center of the screen because of the zero of my particular rifle. Because the box was so far below my crosshair, I could not range on above 10X magnification. The box may be closer for your rifle, depending on the zero.
The range finder works very well out past 600 yards and is accurate. I checked known-distance targets on my local range using the Varmint LRF and compared it with my stand-alone range finder to check accuracy.
Overall, the range finder worked very well. I sometimes did not get a reading on a gradual sloping hill, but the range finder always gave me a good reading on animals, trees or other identifiable objects. I ranged coyotes past 300 yards with no problems.
Hunting With AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 Thermal
The AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 is a great choice for any type of night hunting. The light weight makes it easy to carry for hunters who cover a lot of ground on a hunt. The 2.5X base magnification is equally good for coyotes or hogs. It has a 48 ft field of view at 100 yards, so you can see a lot of territory in front of the scope.
The image is very good so when you have to zoom to higher magnification for longer shots, you can still have a good image and make the shot. In situations where you need more magnification to take longer shots, the thermal processor provides adequate resolution to bump the power up to 5X or 10X.
Of course, the reason you buy this scope is the Laser Range Finder. My biggest challenge when hunting coyotes is shooting too soon because the coyotes seem closer to me than they actually are.
After using this scope with the LRF, I learned how much I really need an LRF for coyote hunting. On numerous occasions, coyotes were much farther away than I thought. When the young coyotes start hitting the fields in the summer, it is really hard to judge distance in large open fields where we hunt. The LRF told me that coyotes that I thought were around 200 yards away were sometimes 300+ yards away.
While hunting, all the other great features of the scope helped me too. The control buttons made it extremely easy to use, the image let me easily ID animals at longer ranges. Image quality was good even in extremely humid conditions.
The scroll knob for zooming in and out is a huge plus. It is much easier and faster than a push button zoom because you don’t have to keep clicking to get back to a lower magnification. It is also much easier to find in the dark. No more pushing the wrong button when zooming right before a shot. You will be very happy with this feature, I promise you. It is also very easy to use when making menu changes.
The rechargeable 18650 battery gave me about twice the run time of a pair of CR123 batteries used in similar scopes. Even when doing a lot of videos and and ranging, the battery lasted long enough for my 4-5 hour hunts. If you do have to change it in the dark, it is very easy and quick to do with that second battery AGM provides with the scope. Right now, there are no other scopes on the market close to this price range that use 18650 batteries.
I recommend it for any kind of varmint hunting or hog hunting. If you are in the market for a thermal scope with a laser range finder, this one should be on your short list.
The only thing I wish AGM would improve on this scope is the time it takes to get the recording started. You have to hold the button for 5-6 seconds to start the recording.
AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 Thermal Specifications
- 12μm high sensitivity thermal detector
- Fast 50Hz imaging
- 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x Digital zoom
- Adjustable color palettes
- Built-in laser rangefinder
- High resolution OLED display
- Various reticle types and colors and snapshot
- Built-in EMMC storage (16 GB)
- Wi-Fi data transmission
- Standby mode
- Up to 4.5 hours continuous runtime
- External power supply compatibility
- Waterproof & shockproof
- Limited 3-year warranty
- Hotspot: Yes
- Observation Distance: 2,500 m
- Detector type: 12 μm VOx Uncooled Focal Plane Arrays
- Response Waveband: 8 μm to 14 μm
- FFC (Flat Field Correction): Auto, Manual, External Correction
- Highest Temperature Spot Tracking: Yes
- Standby Mode: Yes
- Refresh rate: Sensor 50Hz / OLED 50Hz
- Aperture: F1.0
- Resolution: 640 × 512
- Laser Rangefinder: Up to 600 m, ±2 m accuracy
- Laser Wavelength: 905 nm
- Optical magnification: 2.5x – 32x
- Lens (focal length): 50 mm
- Field of view (H × X): 8.78° × 7.03°
- Digital zoom: 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x
- Monitor: 1024×768, 0.39 inch, OLED
- Eye relief: 45 mm
- Storage: Built-in 16 GB EMMC
- Record Video: On-board video recording
- Capture Snapshot: Yes
- Battery Type: One 18650 (3.7V) Lithium Rechargeable Batteries
- CVBS Output: Yes (via USB)
- Battery Operating Time: Up to 4.5 hours
- Battery Capacity Display: Yes
- External power supply: 5 VDC/2 A, USB Type-C
- Operating Temperature Range: -20°C to 55°C (-4°F to 131°F)
- Weight: 776 g (1.7 lb)
- Overall Dimensions: 217 × 78 × 106 mm (8.5 × 3.1 × 4.2 in)
- Protection Level: IP67
What is in the box
- AGM Varmint LRF TS50-640 640×2512 12µm Thermal Scope
- Video-out or external power supply Type C USB cable
- American Defense QD Weapon Mount
- Two Lithium Rechargeable 18650 batteries
- Battery Charger
- Front lens protective cap
- Eyepiece rubber eye guard
- Soft Carrying Case
- Instructions manual
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