We’ve reviewed a couple of Global Vision’s thermal products. And when I say “we,” I mean Casey Jones. You can check out his reviews of the TM35-384 and the TM35-640. Don’t get me wrong, a thermal monocular is a necessity for what we do. But, when the opportunity presented itself for me to take one of their thermal weapon sights out for a hunt, I did not hesitate. Here’s my review of the AGM Secutor TS50-384.
Arrival of Another Toy from Global Vision’s AGM
When I got the text notification that the AGM package arrived at my house, I could not get home fast enough. As I opened the red and gray box from AGM, I pulled out the Secutor TS50-384 from the green carrying case that they include in all of their weapon sights. My first thought, “Looks smaller than I thought.” While it is a little bit heavier than my Pulsar Trail XP50, it is about 1.7 inches shorter. I felt tempted to do a drop test on the brand new unit because of how robust it felt but I decided that might’ve gone poorly. I’m not sure what material gives the thermal it’s sturdiness but according to AGM’s website, “it is made of high-grade construction materials that are lightweight, weatherproof, and tough.” I did not get a chance to test the claim about the unit being waterproof but it does have an IP67 rating.
Similar to the Pulsar Trail, the Secutor has a diopter adjustment knob at the back of the unit and the focus adjustment knob at the front. The controls of the thermal were on the top of the unit, which AGM kept very simple. There were up, down, left, and right arrows and an additional button in the middle of them. The middle button is used as the power button and the NUC, while the others navigate through the different menus. In the menu, I found 11 different image palettes and a handful of different reticles. One of the things I liked about the Secutor TS50-384 is it has five zeroing profiles. That might not make a big difference to you, but since I’m constantly swapping out guns and optics, this is a great feature. On the opposite side of the thermal, there is a MIL-STD-1913 rail for any accessories you might add.
AGM Secutor – Excellent in the Field
The AGM Secutor TS50-384 takes two CR123’s and should operate up to 5 hours. When I took this out for my hunt, I went for a couple of hours each night on back to back nights (https://shwat.com/grendel-highlander-pistol-review/) and did not have to replace the batteries. While I am a fan of a rechargeable battery (like the one found on my Pulsar Trail), AGM nailed the battery compartment. On the left-hand side of the thermal, you can find a “pinwheel” (for lack of a better word) that will open the battery compartment. The reason I like this design so much is that it becomes easier to find in the dark and can be opened with or without gloves with no issues. This design would make swapping out batteries in the middle of a wheat field with no moon a breeze.
While the outside of the thermal looked great, the inside is what matters. The Secutor TS50-384 uses a 17μm Uncooled Microbolometer with a 50 Hz refresh rate. As its name suggests, the resolution is a 384×288. The picture that I got on my screen was very crisp. It has a magnification of 2.4x. This magnification is a 50% increase than what I am used to in my Pulsar Trail. The increased magnification took some getting used to, but it allowed me to get close enough to some coyotes under a full moon to take out two of them. The challenging part was learning to lead the hogs after the first shot. It took some adjusting to realize that while the pigs I saw on the 1024×768 HD Display looked like they were 100 yards away, in reality, they were 150 yards away. If I were smarter, I would have used the built-in stadiametric range finder to get a better idea of how far away the pigs were from me. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a higher base magnification, and since it was a full moon it definitely played into my favor.
This unit also has a picture in picture feature, which is a great tool to have for the right occasion. By utilizing this feature, your main display will stay at 2.4x or 1x digital zoom and the picture at the top can be at 2x. This is useful when you want to really zero in on a hog and make your first shot count while at the same time have a wide field of view for your follow up shots. If you do not use the picture in picture feature, you do have a 1x, 2x and 4x digital zoom available.
Cons of the AGM Secutor TS50-384? Price Point?
If there is a knock on this thermal it would be that it does not have onboard recording at the time I used it. In today’s day and age, if you aren’t recording your hunts, you aren’t one of the cool kids. On the other hand, for someone like my father-in-law who just wants to shoot pigs and doesn’t care about becoming an “influencer,” the inability to record is a moot point. AGM did send the unit with an HD recorder which you can buy off their website, but I didn’t realize it was in the inside pocket of the carrying case.
Overall, this is a great thermal. At $3,600 it’s a great option for your hunting rifle. Would it be the perfect thermal for my father-in-law? Absolutely. Would it be a great thermal for you? Probably. With the intuitive menu, clear picture, and ease of use, this would be a fantastic thermal for anyone who is looking to get into the thermal game. Buy yours here!
