Outdoor Hub Review: Armasight Contractor 640 3-12×50 Thermal Weapon Sight

As with most modern weapon technologies, thermal weapon sights have been making improvements in the consumer sector over the past few years. One major player in the Thermal market, Armasight, have released their Contractor series with some impressive specifications. I’ve spent the last few months with Armasight’s new Contractor 640 3-12×50 Thermal Weapon Sight on a few different platforms, and here is what I found.

Armasight Contractor 640 3-12×50

The Contractor Thermal Weapon Sight is built around our proprietary ArmaCORE™ 12 micron thermal core. It combines extensive detection capabilities and a rich, detailed picture with onboard image processing, wireless communication interface, GPS, and internal memory. The Contractor Thermal Weapon Sight is a premium-component build that is noticeably more compact and lighter weight than conventional thermal scopes. It provides up to four hours of continuous operation on two CR123 batteries—a 50% longer run-time based on lower power consumption as compared to similar units on the market.

The Contractor series also offers another first; the turret system that enables users to navigate features, such as digital zoom, color pallet and reticles quickly and intuitively to adapt to changing conditions and environments. The units come equipped with a digital compass and inclinometer that help calculate distance, direction and angles. Like all Armasight products, the Contractor is MIL-STD compliant—allowing for reliable use in all weather conditions.

The Contractor 640 is a heavily built thermal designed to hold up to field conditions. This weapon sight is IP67 rated and while I had it, it was subjected to dry dusty conditions, very high humidity, and rain without showing any signs of degradation.

Contractor 640 3-12×50 Specifications

Initial Impressions

Immediately after unboxing the Contractor 640, it is clear that this is a quality piece of equipment. Down to the durable finish, rock solid construction, all metal body, and turrets. Included accessories are appreciated, the thermal sighting target worked well, but you only get one, manual is short but covers all needed operations, carrying case is of decent quality but lacks foam padding on the top and bottom, sides have minimal padding.

Armasight advertises connectivity to smartphone apps on both iPhone and Android. I was unable to test the app as the Armasight App is unavailable as of writing for Android.

The included QD mount by Kinetic is a complete game changer. Line up on your picatinny rail, tilt and click. It is mounted securely. To remove, click the forward button and it’s off. It couldn’t be easier.

The menu system on the Contractor 640 is very well-designed. This is one of the most intuitive interfaces I have experienced on any digital weapon sight. The two turret navigation is quick to learn and very easy to manipulate even while wearing gloves.

The Contractor 640 in Use

The first rifle I used for the Contractor 640 is my Aero Precision Solus Hunter bolt action in 6.5 Creedmoor. Zeroing the Contractor was brain-dead easy, go into bore sight mode, fire a round, keep your crosshair at your point of aim, using the turrets, place the sight mark where your round impacted, click and hold the turret to confirm and that’s it, your rifle is now zeroed. Fire a couple more to verify, and you are ready to go.

A quick tip someone gave me with Thermals, after you use your one included sight in target, grab a pack of cheap hand warmers, open to activate, and tape it to the center of your target. It will glow hot far longer than it will take for you to sight in your thermal.

While I had the Contractor 640 mounted to my Aero Precision Solus, a friend of mine asked for help hunting wild boar that had begun destroying parts of his land. Using the Contractor 640 for boar hunting was a match made in Heaven. We were able to find the boar from a safe distance, the high resolution of the display and the incredible performance of the thermal core allowed us to be absolutely certain what we were looking at were indeed wild boar. Target verification being vital to ensure you don’t take an unethical or uncertain shot.

The next platform I used for the Contractor 640 was my Aero Precision M5 in .308. We were hoping for a couple more good wild boar hunts before Alabama’s night hunting season ended, but unfortunately that did not happen. We have used this combination to observe wildlife on his land at night and to dispatch other destructive pests. Quickly, this Thermal Weapon sight became a must-have for land management.

Battery life on the Contractor 640 was steady and very close to Armasight’s claimed 4 hours of run time. Switching batteries in the field is easy thanks to the design of the side mounted battery compartment.

Onboard picture and video recording did leave me wishing for a slightly better solution. Pictures are saved at a small resolution of 512×384 and videos are the same and at a choppy 20 frames per second.

Final Thoughts on the Contractor 640

Armasight has done an outstanding job with the Contractor 640 series. Overall ease of use, durability, high refresh rate, and function make this Thermal Weapon Sight a very easy to recommend product with just a few minor issues. Lack of an Android App, limited battery life, and low quality saved images and videos being the only ones I could find. This is a thermal that will absolutely not let you down in the field and while some competing products do advertise higher battery life and slightly lower MSRP, I would still recommend you give the Armasight Contractor series a very close look if you are in the market for a thermal. Be sure to shop around, I have found the Contractor series on sale regularly.

Armasight Contractor 640 3-12×50 MSRP $5,799.00

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Paul B.

I'm a hunter and firearms enthusiast. I spend my free time, shooting, camping, off-roading and glamping with my family. instagram.com/its_paulb/