An upgrade of its 320 models, Armasight launched three units in the new Contractor 640 series of thermal riflescopes, built around its proprietary ArmaCORE 12 micron thermal core.

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. This was East Texas at nearly 1 a.m., with a scattershot of stars overhead. We were headed to the ranch’s main house after a night of thermal hunting, but these bonus hogs meant we would be taking an unscheduled detour.

We parked the side-by-side, and I switched on the power control on the Armasight Contractor 640 3-12x50mm Thermal Weapon Sight mounted on my AR-15. The hogs slowly drifted away over the hills, unaware of us, and it took a half-hour for my hunting companion and me to get close enough for a shot. But once we were within 100 yards, 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.

We trudged up the hill, expecting that the hogs had continued to sprint and were a half-mile away. Nope. They’d quickly forgotten the suppressed rifle fire and were back to feeding, noses down in the grass. We began shooting, and I was able to drop one hog, my hunting partner two more. This was the end to a very successful night hunt, made possible by Armasight, one of today’s top thermal optics makers, and its cutting edge Contractor 640 thermal scope, which my hunting partner and I both used on that warm Texas night.

Contractor Product Line

Armasight launched the Contractor 640 line near the end of 2023, an upgrade of its Contractor 320 models. The three units in the Contractor 640 series are built around Armasight’s proprietary ArmaCORE 12 micron thermal core, which provides heat detection capabilities out to just over 2,000 yards.

The main difference between the Contractor 640 and the previous models is the size of the objective lens, which comes in three options: 75mm, 50mm and 35mm. 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 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.

When pressing Down on the left turret, for example, a list of menu options pops up along the left side of the screen. These include the Enhancement and Boresight apps. I spun the turret to navigate Up or Down on the menu, and when I got to the needed function, I pressed Down to open it. When I was finished within a specific menu? I simply pressed and held the turret to exit. The right turret changes palette colors, reticle types and reticle colors among other functions.

The Contractors are equipped with a digital compass and inclinometer that help calculate distance, direction and angles. And like all Armasight products, the Contractor is Mil-Std compliant and reliable in all weather conditions.

Power Options

A compartment on the left side of the Contractor holds two CR123 batteries. Lithium CR123 batteries are rated to provide up to four hours of continuous operation. Opposite this compartment is a USB-C cable port for downloading videos and photos, as well as for uploading firmware updates from Armasight. The USB port can also facilitate attaching an external battery pack to run the unit for longer periods vs. the CR123 batteries.

Easy to Zero

The Contractor 640 has among the easiest zeroing systems of any thermal I have used. Before my Texas hunt, I sighted-in my AR-15 and my Contractor using 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.

No worries. Using the left turret, I scrolled down to and then opened 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 bull’s-eye. I moved on to a 100-yard target and shot twice, and I was dead on. Time to hunt!

Other Key Features

Easy zeroing is just one of the many features built into the Contractor 640. Others include:

Video Recording and Image Capture
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 switched off, too, to use the Contractor as a handheld unit, or simply to use it for scanning while on a rifle.

The Contractor 640 is sold with a USB-C cable, two CR123 batteries, lens cloth, soft case, zeroing targets and a product manual. In addition, it comes equipped with a quick-detach mount that fits onto a Picatinny rail for fast mounting.

In the Field

I took dozens of photos with the Contractor 640 and a handful of videos; images came out fairly crisp, detailed and very clear. The videos especially popped, because I had the color palette set on red hot.

The East Texas humidity was significant during the nights I hunted, right at 75 percent and higher in low spots. High humidity is not a friend to thermal imaging, and the Contractor 640 was affected. At times, the edges of some heat signatures were fuzzy, but the larger images were generally clear.

Armasight rates the Contractor 640 at four hours of battery use with the temperature at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. My hunting temps were 10 to 15 degrees warmer than that, so the air temperature was not a power factor. But add in the extra drain of videos and photos, and various changes I made to test out the unit, and life for the two CR123 lithium batteries was closer to 3.5 hours.

I’d use an external battery pack for any extended hunting with the Contractor and rig the pack and cable onto my rifle. I find it an easier way to hunt vs. carrying around several smallish batteries and fumbling around for them in the dark. The 3.5 hours of run time simply isn’t near enough for most of my night hunts.

All in all, the Contractor 640 is a very solid unit, with image and reticle quality robust enough for making longer-range shots. The unit is also sturdy and took a good bouncing around during the three nights in East Texas but was unfazed.

Specs: Armasight Contractor 640 3-12x50mm Thermal Sight

Detector Type: ArmaCORE 640 × 480 12um thermal core

Objective Size: 50mm

Refresh Rate: 60Hz

Detection Range: 2,036 yards human-size target

Eye Relief: 45mm

Optical Magnification: 3.2X

Digital Zoom: 1-4X

Display: XGA (1024 x 768) AMOLED

Wireless: WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0

Graphics: Active on-screen graphics

Recoil Rating: Up to .50-caliber

Power Supply: 2 x CR123A (3V)

Battery Life: Four hours at 68 degrees F

Low Battery Indicator: Yes

Memory: Four hours of video

Image Processing: Digital enhancement

Operating Temperature: -40° F to + 122° F

Dimensions: L8.2 x H3.4 x W3.7 inches

Weight: 1.93 pounds

Warranty: Three years w/registration

Color: Gray

MSRP: $5,499

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The Sidekick 320: A Handy Little Thermal

Armasight’s compact Sidekick 320 thermal monocular is a great companion to the Contractor 640.

During three nights of hog hunting with the Contractor 640, I also used the Armasight Sidekick 320 thermal monocular, both as a hand-held and a helmet unit. It features the ArmaCORE 320 × 240 12um thermal core. The line also includes the Sidekick 640, based on the ArmaCORE 640 × 480 12um core.

With more than six hours on the unit, I was impressed with the power and functionality of this little thermal. Once, for example, while riding ranch roads in a side-by-side with my hunting partner, I spotted a half-dozen white blobs hundreds of yards distant in a field. We stopped so I could get a steady look. The ranch was also home to cattle and deer, so a positive ID was necessary.

Through the Sidekick, I saw that the heat signatures were squat, with pointy heads held low. Smaller heat signatures circled the larger ones, piglets and sows, I was sure, and none of the longer necks that would indicate deer or cattle. And this was at a good 300 yards.

In addition to the ArmaCORE 320 × 240 12um thermal core, the Sidekick 320 features multiple color palettes, an Image Detail Enhancement function and internal video and photo recording ability. The high definition 1024 × 768 OLED display provided crisp images, even when the humidity was high. The Sidekick has a USB-C Interface for connecting to a computer for downloads or a battery pack for extended power.

The Sidekick runs on a single CR123 battery. However, the unit also comes with a battery extender that screws onto the basic battery compartment. With the extender in place, the Sidekick operates on two CR123 batteries, in my case two lithiums. After six hours of use, my Sidekick still had approximately one-quarter battery life left, according to the unit’s battery status indicator.

The Sidekick also features a three-button control located along the very top of the unit. In the field and on the move, I could and did adjust image quality (brightness, contrast, etc.) and palette colors, and operated the digital 1 to 4X zoom. Photos and videos required a simple button press.

Specs: Armasight Sidekick 320

Detector Type: ArmaCORE 320 × 240 12um thermal core

Detection Range: 362 yards, human-size target

Recognition Range: 93 yards, human-size target

Eye Relief: .60-inch Field of View: 24.18°(H) × 18.13°(V)

Memory: Four hours of video Dimensions: 5.7 × 1.9 × 2.6 inches

Weight: 0.46 pound Optical

Magnification: 1X

Lens System: F/1.00; 9.1mm fixed focus

Digital Zoom: 1–4X

Battery/Life: One or two CR123A/ 1.5 hours or 5.5 hours at 68°F

Display: XGA (1024 × 768)