Night Vision AGM Victrix Clip On

[DownRangeThermal]

Been testing a AGM Victrix Tc50 clip on. Sub $4k and uses a ulis 384 core with a 1024 display. Pretty impressive so far. I'm not sure if I'd call it the China utc yet but it shows promise. It of course does not use any prism at that price point but the screen shift calibration is very fast and repeatable between different guns. Video below on S&B 3-20x50 at just under 4x. Thought Autofocus was off so was fighting with it on dslr.

 

[DownRangeThermal]

we do have 3 in stock. : )

 

[WhereNow&How]

Will it run with good quality rechargeable RCR 123 batteries like Orbtronics or Fenix.

16340 Battery Protected 880mAh Li-ion Rechargeable 3.7V Button Top Orbtronic - Free Battery Safety Case Included

16340 Battery-World's Highest Capacity 880mAh Protected Rechargeable (RCR123) Li-ion 3.7V Button top Orbtronic

www.orbtronic.com

Fenix ARB-L16-700UP USB Rechargeable 16340 Battery

The Fenix ARB-L16-700UP features 700mAH current charging capacity and advanced protection circuit for superior safety performance. This 16340 Battery has a heavy load discharge rate of 3.5C and a reliable output of 2.5A. With over 500 recharge cycles, it eliminates the need for non-rechargeable...

www.fenix-store.com

 

[DownRangeThermal]

Not sure...there is note in tha manual about 1600 mah battery requirements. It does have a USB c input for power banks

 

[WhereNow&How]

Thanks. I will go download the manual and read up on them.

I suspect they are pretty good units. While AGM is a relatively new company, their owners were Armasight before Flir screwed that all up. Anyways, I have confidence in them putting out some pretty decent units at an affordable price. Glad to see they are free from Flir and getting after putting some product back out there.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Here is what is says about rechargeables. However, I just take that as the power meter wont work correctly and when it disconnects it happens all of a sudden. That is exactly how the Flir PTS line runs with rechargeables.

In other words the battery meter does not work correctly and when rechargeables are spent, they disconnect quickly. But they work perfectly in the Flir PTS units and I sure hope they do the same in these. I get excellent run times in the Flir PTS line with rechargeable CR123's.

"WARNING: Do not use rechargeable batteries since their use causes inaccurate battery level indication and possible disconnection during operation. "

 

[Bravo6niner]

What would you guys recommend for an optic behind one of these units? 1-8 lpvo or like a 3-18 variant?

 

[jeffl838]

What's the distance on those deer? Would love to see what 8 power looks like at 600 m

 

[deersniper]

Pretty sure @wigwamitus reviewed one of these awhile back

 

[WhereNow&How]

What would you guys recommend for an optic behind one of these units? 1-8 lpvo or like a 3-18 variant?

First question IMHO would be what distances and situation you setting up for.

 

[WhereNow&How]

What's the distance on those deer? Would love to see what 8 power looks like at 600 m

I' ll take a wild guess. Eaten distance for me.

 

[Bravo6niner]

First question IMHO would be what distances and situation you setting up for.

200-300 yd coyote hunting in open rolling terrain

 

[WhereNow&How]

200-300 yd coyote hunting in open rolling terrain

I think both your 1-8 lpvo or like a 3-18 variant thought would both work very well, but Down Range Thermal could likely give you a much better answer being he has used the unit.

 

[wigwamitus]

... Pretty sure @wigwamitus reviewed one of these awhile back ...

I reviewed a similar but different unit. The AGM TC-50 "anaconda" thermal clipon (last fall in the night shooting thread). It would dial up to 8x ... but at 500yds it was tough to make out the heated steel, though I did get 4 hits out of 5 IIRC. But that's not sayin' much. 500yds should be 5 out of 5.

The housing is completely different, the core in the TC-50 was a "ulis" ... as is this one. Hopefully the lenses are better in the new one.

The main problem with the TC-50 Anaconda was recoil would throw it out of focus ... and the more I shot it, the more out of focus it would be thrown. You could dial the focus back, but then the next shot ... zing ... and you were out of focus again. That's one reason I say the chinese thermals don't hold up in the field, my experience with that one. The Anaconda shown price was $3,500, this one is $4,500 IIRC, so hopefully the extra $1,000 buys you more robustness in the field !!

The Victrix looks like an Armasight-ish housing, but with a "ulis" core, which I assume is made in PRC. But along with the housing, which might be made in USA (that's my guess) ... the lenses might even be made in USA (some of the original Armsight lenses were - I've talked to the guy who made them a couple of times, so I'm pretty sure about this). So essentially, this might be an Apollo-ish, with a ulis (PRC) core ... if I had to bet, that would be my bet. So anyway a more interesting hybrid unit, than many, at least in my book.

Edit: Anaconda was 384 with 1024 display as well

 

[wigwamitus]

Here's the thermal clipon page from AGM

Interestingly, the one I tested, the "anaconda micro" as it is now called, has had its price bumped up $1200 to $4700 (was $3500 when I tested it) and the new Victrix is showing at $4,000. Those two have the "ulis" cores.

The other two, the 336 and the 640 have FLIR cores and are essentially Apollos, same as they were back in 2014, six years ago, but with slightly modified housings to keep them legally different from the real Apollos.

But you can see the Victrix housing has the same lens assemblies as the Apollo-ish ... but the processor/power "box" is different/smaller.

 

[DownRangeThermal]

I know the history there....I have not had any bad experiences yet so figured I'd give them a shot on these. It seems like a product that opens up the clip on market to a wider audience. You can bet when I have time I will put it through its paces and will buy more or I won't depending on the outcome. At this point it is a pretty picture but a very unknown product as far as build quality.

 

[Victor-TNVC]

Chinesium aside, the people there are not cool to work with. Basically had me prototype a mount up for their AGM mum14s, dragged along interest for a good bit and then conveniently “discontinued” the line so they wouldn’t have to pay for my idea. Id go as far as speculate they are the type of people to take my cad drawings and mimick them for remaining units but I can’t prove it so I’m not gonna take it there.

Sorry to hear this...Nothing new from what you've described, but do work with an IP attorney to protect your work! Heck, one of their owners on their social media feeds accused us of selling cheap Israeli PVS-14 glass among other outlandish claims. Same old smoke and mirrors....

 

[WhereNow&How]

I know the history there....I have not had any bad experiences yet so figured I'd give them a shot on these. It seems like a product that opens up the clip on market to a wider audience. You can bet when I have time I will put it through its paces and will buy more or I won't depending on the outcome. At this point it is a pretty picture but a very unknown product as far as build quality.

The Flir PTS design was pretty much their Armasight design with a couple of slight changes. This unit continues with that design with a few minor changes. They did not copy Flir. Flir copied them when they purchased Armasight, unlike a recent post on the Hide which alleged that AGM copied Flir's design.

That being said, it is a very well laid out design with an excellent compact footprint compared to others IMHO. I have also found it to be very rugged and durable (aluminum housing) from my extensive use of the Flir PTS iterations. I have all models of that line.

I speculate that that Clip On unit will do very well in performance and reliability at a really moderate price point.

 

[Bravo6niner]

Picked up an AGM Victrix from @DownRangeThermal. Got my day scope
(leupold mk5 3.3-18 mounted in a badger C1 1.54” mount) zero’d today and had a few minutes to mess with the victrix this evening. So far I’m pretty impressed with it. I have had experience with a couple Trijicon reaps so that is what I have to compare to. At first glance it’s no reap as far as sharpness and detail but it’s no slouch considering the spec differences between it and a reap. The focus is fairly touchy but seems to stay put with the recoil from a 224 Valkyrie(fired about 30rds so far). Controls are easy to use and the menu is very straightforward. 3.3x-8x seems to be the best range for magnification. Found myself on 3.3x-5x usually.

My main reason for trying this unit out was I want a more repeatable and precise way to engage coyotes at 300-400yds. I could never really get that done with the reap. Although I really liked the reap and had a hard time trading it I feel like the clipon thermal is going to accomplish my goal. I was able to go 4/4 at 365yds on a 8” plate off of a tripod easily. Made one hit at 410yds but then the wind really picked up from a storm outflow moving by. Hopefully I’ll get some more rds through it over the next few evenings and get some better pictures up.

The through the scope picture shows a heated up coyote plate at 240yds and the 8” plate at 365yds

 

[Bravo6niner]

Few pictures from tonight. Bounced through the pasture on an ATV with the rifle on my lap and zero still seems solid and made a first round hit at 365 and a 2nd round hit at 380 (needed a bit more wind)

Cows are 561yds out

6” plate is 380yds

 

[jeffl838]

Is this better than the anaconda tc50 in any way? Or is the anaconda a straight up upgrade? Looks like fov is similar (7 degrees vs 10) but higher res sensor on the anaconda. But it seems like the anaconda doesn’t have a 1024 screen.

 

[Arevalosocom]

The price on this has come down dramatically. Given the time you have had it, was it still worth it ?

Also would this work well with a 4X ACOG ?

TIA

 

[Arevalosocom]

Got mine today. For 3k it's too much a deal to pass on. Thanks to all that posted pics in this thread very little info to be found. Appreciate it.

 

[jt526]

Arevalosocom, Does it work as a stand-alone? Several reviews mention using it as a spotter monocular, but I don’t see that working without an eyepiece like the rattler add-on. It is on my short list due to price and it looks way more robust than the rattler tc35, and I don’t care about Wi-Fi/recording. Lot beefier than the rattler in weight.

 

[Arevalosocom]

Arevalosocom, Does it work as a stand-alone? Several reviews mention using it as a spotter monocular, but I don’t see that working without an eyepiece like the rattler add-on. It is on my short list due to price and it looks way more robust than the rattler tc35, and I don’t care about Wi-Fi/recording. Lot beefier than the rattler in weight.

It comes with the eye pieces, see my pics above. So yeah you could use it as a spotter if you wanted to but it is bigger than a spotter / handheld so.....much heavier than a small handheld.

It is beefy for sure and getting a 50 vs a 35 is nice as well.

Ordered dirext took about a week

I agree with you I don't care about the WiFi and the HD video stuff either so this was east choice for me. Taking pics through it is much harder tho and people will ask lol.....The pics through the ACOG DO NOT do justice. Taking pics with my phone through the optic is a complete pain. They look much better to the eye than these horrible pics


Being a clip on is great because now I can move it around so much easier to boot

 

[derrickmanx1]

I got one so I can use it on different guns. Hope it work as well as I want it to.