I'm really close to being ready to pull the trigger on a thermal scope. I'm looking at the $3600 price point and see AGM has both an Adder and a Rattler in 640 resolution and a 35mm lens. I had previously been planning on the Adder, but I wanted to ask about the Rattler just to make sure. Pro's and Con's of each? Are there any others I should be considering at this price point?

This will primarily be used on AR's in .223, 6.5gren, and large frame AR in .308. I'm tentatively planning on building an integrally suppressed 308 bolt gun that it would be used on. Planning on going after hogs and coyotes mainly, also other varmints occasionally.

Scott

I have not owned a Rattler, but I do have an Adder right now. I had a Pulsar Trail XQ30 for several years before I bought the Adder.

The XQ30 was similar to the Rattler in that the buttons are all external. Now that I've used the Adder for a while I find that I like its user interface MUCH better. YMMV.

Short answer is, the Rattler and Adder 640's will have the exact same magnification and image quality. The Adder will work great on AR's but will be far superior to the Rattler on a bolt gun. If you're going to use it on a bolt gun at all, I'd advise an Adder. The battery life on the Adder is going to be really good and far superior to the CR123A battery life of the Rattler.

On the other hand the Rattler is much smaller and also lighter than the Adder. If you ever want take it off the rifle and use it as a handheld the Rattler will be far superior for that use than the Adder will be.

Overall, both are great scopes but I'd decide on which form factor will suit your intended needs better. If you have no reason to ever take it off the rifle and hold it in your hand and you're not specifically trying to find the smallest optic you can, I'd lean towards the Adder.

Feel free to call us if you'd like to discuss them in more detail. We've used them all side by side and will be glad to help.

Jason

Moved my rattler from BO pistol to BO carbine and zeroed Sat morning. Took a few rnds as sunlight made the normal target 'bloom' a bunch and can't see the 'hit' so SIL was using spotting scope. He did a 'confirmation' shot so he got used to it. Mine is the 384x25 and did fine at nite first time I used it, saw the hogs at the feeder - but missed my shots. Had zeroed with one retical but used another - hint - copy your zero point over to the other reticals. Anyway, ready for hogs or yotes, should they decide to show up in this weather. 105F & 50% humidity too much for me, even at nite.

Took the rattler off the carbine to update firmware fix that stopped buttons from working. Thought I'd need to re-zero - surprise. QD mount was right on @ 85 yds. Now I think I can use on different rifles with just a test zero (using a different target profile). Didn't see any hogs in 4 days at the ranch. Relative did get a doe with bow though. Right at dusk, has to drag out of the woods, across the creek and get help from the gator to get it to the tractor shed.