In a Nutshell:
A well-made optic capable of taking the recoil of a full-powered cartridge without issue.
Overall Rating
4.3/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Our Verdict: A well-made optic capable of taking the recoil of a full-powered cartridge without issue.
Unfortunately, the Armasight Apollo has been discontinued. Check out the others Rifle Scopes we have reviewed.
Does thermal vision have a real and reasonable use in the civilian world? This is a common question among those looking to purchase a set of thermal vision goggles, scopes, or clip-on optics. Due to their high cost, this makes sense. I want to show you with our Armasight Apollo review that thermal version also has civilian applications.
The Armasight Apollo 324 Specs
As a Marine, I’ve used thermal vision and found it to be an incredibly effective means of observation. While we use it to fight wars, there is little doubt in my mind that thermal vision can be utilized for a variety of purposes. The biggest thing to consider is buying a quality optic. Right, we could purchase a thermal optic that costs about a 400 bucks, and we’d walk away disappointed. Thermal vision is an item where the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ is very, very true.
Armasight Apollo
| Specifications |  Armasight Apollo 324 |  |  |  Armasight Apollo 640 |  Armasight Apollo Mini 336 |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 30 Hz | 60 Hz | 30 Hz | 30 Hz | 30 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Magnification | 1x | 1x | 2x – 4x | 1x 2x 4x 8x | 1x 2x 4x | 1x 2x 4x 8x |
| Objective Lens | 42mm | 42mm | 50mm | 42mm | 35mm | 35mm |
| Weight | 1.5 lbs | 1.5 lbs | 1.6 lbs | 1.5 lbs | 0.54 lbs | 0.54 lbs |
| Mount | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach |
Armasight Apollo Pro
|
Specifications |  Armasight Apollo Pro LR 640 |  Armasight Apollo Pro LR 640 |  Armasight Apollo Pro MR 640 |  Armasight Apollo Pro MR 640 |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh Rate | 30 Hz | 60 Hz | 30 Hz | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Magnification | 2x 4x 8x | 2x 4x 8x | 2x 4x 8x | 2x 4x 8x | 2x 4x |
| Objective Lens | 100mm | 100mm | 50mm | 50mm | 50mm |
| Weight | 2.8 lbs | 2.8 lbs | 1.6 lbs | 1.6 lbs | 1.6 lbs |
| Mount | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach | Quick Detach |
Clip it On!
That brings us to what I feel is an excellent thermal optic. Let’s be clear in our definition. The Armasight Apollo is a clip on unit.
This means that it is intended to be used in coordination with an additional day scope while being used on a rifle. The Apollo does not have a system in place for magnification or a reticle than can be zeroed.
The Apollo is mounted forward of a traditional day scope. Your everyday scope then has a thermal capability. This sounds like a downside, but in reality, it is often the better option.
Having a thermal scope would mean you would have to dismount your day scope and mount the thermal, and then vice versa as time carried on. This creates the risk of you losing your zero every time you swap optics.
This was a major frustration I had while in the Marine Corps. I had to be absurdly careful when dismounting and mounting scopes to avoid losing my zero. I’d have much rather had a clip on a model to work with my day optic.
Easy, fun, and proficient
The Apollo 324 is straightforward and easy to use, but read the manual first to be sure of how everything works and learn the right button combinations.
Mounting the sight on your weapon is pretty simple. The optic comes with a quick detach Picatinny rail mount. Simply attach, close the latch, and you’re ready to go.
There are also a variety of optional mounting systems that do not require a Picatinny rail. These will attach the optic directly to the scope or even a pair of binoculars.
The optic is a bit bulky, but that is standard with a thermal optic. Small thermal optics do not work well with magnification and do not provide a consistent and clear picture. Look at any military personnel with thermal optics; they are big compared to a scope.
This scope, the Armasight Apollo, does weigh a pound and a half, so be prepared for a little weight on the rifle. However, the advantages of a thermal optic outweigh the downside of the optic’s weight.
The advantages of the Apollo are numerous. This matters for a hunter looking through the optic. It’s the best way to guarantee you are going to hit what you’re aiming at after the sun goes down. The thermal optic provides a very crisp and definite picture of your target.
See, Shoot, Repeat
If you are hunting at night, it is more than likely a nice-sized hog. Night hunting hogs is a fun, exciting, and dynamic way to hunt. A thermal optic is going to allow you accurately to gauge the size and location of the animal.
Night vision is great, but it does not deliver the same clear picture as a thermal optic can. Using the Apollo also makes hunting safer. You can see, in detail, what is in front of and behind your chosen animal.
This could prevent a tragic accident. The Apollo is also going to let you see what you hit and where it falls. In our testing, we were unsuccessful in finding any pigs in the wilderness. We instead went to look at a pasture of cows.
We dismounted the thermal optic from the rifle for safety reasons and looked over a friend’s pasture. The Apollo is capable of detecting a human-sized thermal signature at a thousand yards. When you get as close as 200 yards, you can identify the fine details of a thermal image.
We were able to determine count cows easily in the pasture. At 400 yards we could tell the difference between young and full-grown cows. If it was on a rifle and those cows were zombies, they would be easy targets.
A thermal optic should be somewhat zeroed to provide the clearest picture. You are not adjusting a reticle but a series of different enhancements to give the clearest picture. This is where the manual is mighty nice to have.
The enhancement menu is easy to navigate and adjust, but the manual gives you a good idea of what these adjustments do and why they are used. It’s quite easy once you read a bit about it. The Apollo 324 also has a total of nine different vision modes.
Be the Predator
The nine settings are more or less for the user preference. They include the standard white/black and black/white modes, as well as the stereotypical rainbow vision. If you’ve ever seen the Predator films, you’ll be able to imagine what this looks like.
It’s hard to test an optic like this on the range because we can’t shoot hot targets on a square range.
However, purely for durability use, we mounted it to an AR 10 and used an MRE heater to generate something to see. We put 100 rounds of full-powered 308 through the gun in a very rapid fashion at 50 yards.
The Apollo didn’t flex, budge, or move even slightly. We only had an amorphous glowing target, but darn it, we could see it. Using the optic over the cow pasture gave me plenty of other ideas of how the optic can be used for civilians.
The Apollo could easily be used to dispatch a coyote in the cow pasture. A general security for those who have vast stretches of land. You can also film wildlife at night since you can connect the Apollo to a camera via audio/video cables.
There is also the very simple fact that thermal optics are just fun to use. I genuinely had a ton of fun with this optic. It was something new and something fun, and if you aren’t having fun, what’s the point?
Armasight Apollo Review – Conclusion
During my Armasight Apollo review, I found it to be a well-made optic, capable of taking the recoil of a full-powered cartridge without issue. It gave a clear and consistent picture and allowed me to differentiate between targets with ease. Overall it’s an excellent optic and a piece of gear that can dynamically change the way you view the world.
Sources and Official Brand Websites: