Angry Stag AS-256-15 TriMode Thermal

Once reserved for deep pockets, thermal optics are becoming more accessible — and Angry Stag’s TriMode proves budget models can still deliver the goods.

Thermal manufacturers keep refining and improving thermal technology, a reality frequently stressed whenever the subject is a new, higher-end model. But somewhat under the radar is another reality: Improvements in thermal tech are raising the quality and usefulness of units on the lower end of the thermal price scale, too.

Angry Stag is one of those companies making much improved thermals for the under-$1,000 market, and their new AS-256-15 TriMode unit is a solid example of the functionality possible in a thermal featuring a smaller sensor.

One Grand?

Traditionally, prices for thermals started at many thousands of dollars. When I began using them more than a dozen years ago, $3,500 was about the minimum you paid for a thermal — and it might not have been all that good of a unit. For years, I found a price tag of $4,000 and up signaled good thermal technology. Those units breaking into and above the $6K range represented top of the line.

But as technology and manufacturing improved, thermals got better and generally less expensive. Lately, I’ve reviewed $2,500 thermal riflescopes equal to units that cost twice as much just three or four years ago. Still, a thermal for under $1,000 struck me as questionable. I assumed it would deliver blurry, indistinct images for all but the very closest objects, coupled with difficult controls. Admittedly, I was apprehensive to try out this Angry Stag AS-256-15 TriMode.

Entry Level Optics

I didn’t have to worry. The AS-256-15 TriMode features a suggested retail price of $899 and is built with a 256×192 thermal sensor. The unit I tested worked well enough to bring home the bacon on a night hog hunt out to 125 yards. And it actually includes many of the features found on more expensive thermals, such as Wi-Fi streaming and USB-C charging of an internal battery.

Is it the equivalent of a $5,000 thermal with a 640×480 sensor and a 50mm objective lens? Hell no. But for the many hunters who would like to get into the thermal game but don’t have those $5K-deep pockets, the AS-256-15 might be exactly the unit that gets them in the field at 0-Dark-Thirty.

Frankly, in years of thermal night hunting, most of the animals I’ve taken have occurred at under 100 yards. Yes, it’s nice to have a thermal able to reach out hundreds of yards, with a detection range of a quarter mile or better. But in truth, I could have taken down most of my nighttime coyotes and hogs with this little unit.

Fantastic Features

In addition to the 256×192 thermal sensor, the Angry Stag unit has a 50Hz frame refresh rate, a 15mm front lens and 2X to 8X digital magnification. It’s svelte, too, at just 7 inches long and 2 inches wide. Weight? Only a couple ounces over a pound.

The AS-256-15 also offers palette and reticle choices, the ability to capture and store photos and videos, and a one-shot Freeze zeroing system. The “Tri-Mode” designation refers to the triple-use options possible with the thermal. It operates as a handheld thermal, riflescope or clip-on mounted forward of a day scope.

For rifle use, a Picatinny quick-detach mount is included, along with the hardware needed to convert the unit into a clip-on mounted in front of a day optic.

At the Range

To test the Angry Stag, I mounted it on a Bear Creek Arsenal AR-15 Complete 7.62×39mm rifle. The rifle is something of a hybrid — an AR-15-platform rifle featuring a side-charging handle and chambered in the popular AK round. I had recently reviewed the rifle and knew it was very accurate. For ammunition, I relied on Hornady 7.62×39mm loaded with the company’s SST poly-tipped bullets weighing 123 grains.

The thermals I’ve reviewed with 384 and 640 sensors work very well in daylight. The AS-256-15 TriMode? Decent, but far from great. That’s simply the reality of the 256-sensor units I’ve tried recently. And really, a thermal is all about the night.

I run my test thermals during the day at my outdoor range because it’s convenient and an easy way to evaluate functions such as one-shot zeroing systems. Daytime shooting is also a quick way to determine how accurate a thermal may be out to 100 yards.

When I tested the AS-256-15 TriMode at my range, images at 50 yards were acceptable but became blurry at 100 yards. Of course, 200-pound wild boars produce much stronger heat signatures than what I used for testing — 3x5-inch handwarmers taped to a cardboard sheet.

At 50 yards, I zeroed the unit using the Freeze one-shot function, which worked fine. I then shot for accuracy and produced several three-shot groups measuring about 1 inch, with a best group of 0.5 inch.

At 100 yards, I adjusted the image settings — including palettes and contrast — and was able to sharpen the handwarmer signatures somewhat, though they still bloomed. My five-shot groups at that distance measured 2 to 2.5 inches, with a best group of 1.75 inches. All of which is more than accurate enough for night hunting at these distances.

Nighttime Trials

Finally, I took the Angry Stag out to several areas at night where I knew the landmarks and their distances, using the unit as a handheld. With darkness, the image quality improved substantially. From 100 yards, I could easily make out the outlines of geese and ducks paddling in circles on a pond.

In another area, I spotted several whitetail deer. The heat signatures suggested the thermal will function well for shooting out to about 125 yards.

Digital magnification can zoom to 8X, but I found 4X to 5X to be the preferred setting. At higher magnification levels the images blurred noticeably. At least that was the case on this particular night, with the temperature at 52°F and humidity at 60 percent.

The Company

Angry Stag is the shooting sports and military market spinoff of the high-tech parent company Outcome Drive Innovation (ODI), based in Palo Alto, California. Angry Stag introduced itself and its thermals at SHOT Show 2025.

“We are a 32-year engineering technology company and have produced over 600 high-tech products, mostly first-to-market and virtually all market-disruptive,” said Rich Slevin, ODI’s CEO. “When we looked at this market in 2020, it was clear thermal scopes were too expensive, image quality was poor at best and needed features were lacking.”

Slevin added, “To us, value means the lowest price, the best image quality and a feature set comparable to high-end models. And we wanted to make them in the USA, not China, as most were — and still are —t oday.”

In addition to the AS-256-15 TriMode, Angry Stag produces thermals with 320, 384 and 640 sensors, with objective lenses up to 50mm in the 640 models. The company also produces hearing protection and magazine loaders. Slevin also noted that all Angry Stag thermal scopes — including the TriMode — are shutterless and require no user intervention or freeze frames, a feature usually found only on thermals costing $3,000 or more.

With companies such as Angry Stag pushing the technology envelope, it’s an amazing time to be a thermal fan.