AGM Global Vision has been a key player in the thermal market for years and its product lines are growing. AGM designs, develops, and distributes a wide range of thermal units, plus professional-grade night vision products, multispectral lasers, and infrared illumination devices.

In the thermal category, one of AGM’s top sellers is its newer VarmintV2 LRF line of thermals. Available in both 384 and 640 resolution models, all four V2 units feature fully integrated laser rangefinders, compact and lightweight housings and 18650 removable and rechargeable battery power. 

Compared to past models, the VarmintV2 family upgrades also include new sub-20mK 12 micron thermal sensors, on-board ballistic calculators, a new user interface, more customizable image settings and recoil activated videos with sound.

Plus, every unit continues to ship with an American-made ADM mount, which makes removing and remounting to multiple rifles as seamless as ever. The V2 line is protected by AGM’s industry committed customer service and fully transferrable five-year warranty.

Easy Access

I recently ran the AGM VarmintV2 50-384 unit. While it certainly can and will do the required night hunting work out to 100 yards and under (very common distances for hog hunting after dark), the VarmintV2 is really designed and manufactured to allow the night hunter to go long. 

Why long? Consider the unit’s impressive magnification, zoom capabilities, picture-in-picture ability, the onboard laser rangefinder and ballistic calculator. More on these features below.    

The V2 features some of the easiest-to-use controls of any thermal I’ve used. There are three controls on the left side of the chassis, starting with the red power button forward. Next is a black “Measure Button,” which operates the laser rangefinder and also allows picture taking.

Last, and at the rear, the “Operation Wheel.” A fast press of the wheel brings up the Quick Menu, a long press the Main Menu. Used by itself, the wheel operates the magnification setting. But once a hunter has pressed and accessed one of the two menu options, turning the wheel facilitates moving within the menu choices.

Pressing the Operation Wheel and Measure Button at the same time will start or stop a video recording. Holding both down initiates image calibration.

Hands On

Many people in the market for a thermal unit are apprehensive about the whole menu situation. There’s no better way to quiet those fears and help make a sale than letting the customer work the unit a few times. With the VarmintV2, the ease of the wheel operation system needs to be stressed.

Turn on the unit and let the customer do some in-store views. Now, walk the customer through the palette changes; just a short press on the Wheel lets the customer move through the four palette settings.

That done, move onto probably the most frequently asked question first-time thermal customers have about a unit: “How do I zero this thing?”

Obviously, you can’t mount the unit on a rifle and perform an actual zero in store, but you can have the customer hold down the Wheel to bring up the Main Menu on the left side of the viewer. Then, have them turn the wheel to select the ZERO icon and do a single press of the wheel to open the Zero function.

The ZERO function can set up to five separate zeros. Have the customer set the ZERO for the first setting, then go down one more selection to set the distance at which your customer would be zeroing the rifle. The following selection lets the customer select the reticle type they prefer and, with the selection right under that, the reticle color.

Just below this is the magnification setting for the zeroing process.  

Then comes the FREEZE or one-shot zeroing that can be selected. And beneath this are the manual controls for shifting the X and Y reticle axis.

Power On

As noted, a single 18650 (3.7V) Lithium rechargeable battery powers the VarmintV2. AGM rates battery life at six hours of continuous use. 

The unit is sold with a battery charger, plug and cable.  

Running the thermal with an external power pack is an option, too, through the USB Type C power port.

The battery compartment is located atop the unit and at the rear. It unscrews and a handy rubberized tether means the cap won’t be dropped at night in the field when the hunter is making a battery change.

Winter Wonderland

It was snowing, windy and 28 degrees at my outdoor range in north-central Wisconsin when I ran the VarmintV2. A good test for the unit and the shooter, I figured.

For that shooting, I used a Sig Sauer MCX-SPEAR LT IR rifle, chambered in 5.56 NATO and sporting a 16-inch barrel. The rifle features Sig’s Reduced IR Signature Gen II FDE Cerakote, a telescoping/folding stock featuring a push-button lock, and fully ambidextrous controls. 

The rifle also sported Sig’s Suppressor-Ready QD Flash Hider, and the rifle itself is interchangeable with all other MCX-LT barrels and handguards.

For ammunition, I stayed with Sig and used their Elite Performance Copper Hunting rounds in .223 Rem. loaded with 60-grain copper alloy bullets.

I first zeroed the V2 and rifle at 50 yards using a larger HeatPack handwarmer for my target. I did try the one-shot Freeze function, and it was easily accessible, but then decided to rely on the manual zeroing function. Most one-shot functions will get you pretty close to the bullseye and occasionally right on it.  Most of the time, though, I find I still need to use the manual zeroing to finish up the process, anyway.

My first shots were high and a good half foot to the left. I manually moved the X and Y reticle axis and that got me on at 50 yards.  

I moved to my 100-yard lane and here my targets were a pair of smaller HeatPack warmers. The first shots at the first warmer were still high and left, so I made adjustments, shot, still high and a bit right, more adjustments and I was on.

I then took six shots at the second, clean hand warmer. I did pull one shot low and just below the target, but the other five shots drilled the warmer with a 1.2-inch group.

Range Finding

At night, I had no problem rangefinding out to 250 yards on various heat signatures, large and smaller. But I couldn’t find a reliable heat source at any greater distances to range.

I went out during the daytime to see just how far the VarmintV2’s laser rangefinder could go, confirming distances with a Bushnell laser range finder. The furthest away I could locate a solid heat source was 575 yards. So, I’m confident the unit can deliver on its specified 600-meter ranging ability.

Of note, the rangefinder can be set to measure distance once when the Measure button is pressed or the Continuous setting can be applied. The latter provides continuous distance scanning at various timed settings (15 seconds to 300 seconds), and once the Measure button is pressed, ranging occurs at the preselected interval.  

Recording the Hunt

I spent a night in the countryside taking photos and videos with the Varmint2 and both were nicely detailed, the heat signatures clear and nicely separated. 

The AGM Connect app allows a hunter to pull images and videos off the Varmint2 wirelessly. I didn’t download the app, though, choosing to use the USB cable included with the thermal to download my pictures and videos onto my laptop. A number of thermal manufacturers are going to the app-only download. But I was glad to see that AGM still provides the ability to connect the thermal right to my laptop. 

The cable connection also provides for fast and easy firmware updates for the thermal.

Outside the Box/Store

For those thermal customers who may have owned or used an AGM thermal in the past,  Chase Stephens, AGM’s director of brand development, recommended starting with the new features inherent in the Varmint V2 lineup.

“What separates the VarmintV2's from AGM's other thermal riflescope line is its integrated laser rangefinder and on-board ballistic calculator,” Stephens says. 

But don’t simply point out the rangefinder. As always, it’s a good sales technique to let a potential customer use a thermal, as was noted above.

And then, if at all possible, get the customer and the unit outside.

“This 50mm-384 resolution unit has a base magnification of 4.5X, which means it’s ideally suited for predator hunters with access to wide-open spaces, where longer-range shots may be required,” Stephens says. “One big piece of advice we share with dealers for this particular model is to show it outside or somewhere with some distance between the user and the target.” 

As he explained, “With the unit’s higher base magnification, it can be difficult for users to find and focus in on objects close in, within a store setting. But as soon as they go outside, they get a real understanding of the range the unit is capable of.”

Dealer Help

“We're actually in the process of re-upping on dealer swag materials as we speak,” Stephens notes. “We've recently updated our brand logo and colors, and we'll be sure to have some new dealer support materials available early in 2025. These include gun mats/mouse pads, AGM in-store hanging banners, 3D pop-ups, AGM patches and AGM decals.” 

AGM also offers zoom training for store staff at any time the establishment is able to schedule such a training with their sales rep; in-store training can be accomplished, too.

“And we've also invested a ton of time and energy into support videos on our AGM USA YouTube page,” Stephens adds. “For each product family, we have a promotional introduction video and then a full-menu walk-through showing each button push and what each part of the menu does to the device.

“And for applicable models, we do ‘How to Zero’ videos and ‘How to Setup Your Ballistic Calculator,’ as well. These are invaluable tools at teaching dealers, distributors, sales staff, employees and end-users how the units work and how everything operates.”

Direct and Distributor 

AGM is headquartered in Springerville, Arizona, with offices in both Florida and Texas. Independent FFLs can buy direct from the company.

“We service many independent dealers directly,” Stephens noted. “We typically offer any dealer who can manage $50,000 in purchases in a calendar year the ability to buy directly. But for those who only need to special order products occasionally, we sell to all the major two-step distributors as well, who offer really enticing purchase terms and fulfillment speed.” 

AGM distributors currently include Sports South, RSR, Hicks Inc, Bill Hicks, Zanders, and Chattanooga Shooting Sports. More distribution options should be available in 2025.

To become an AGM dealer, reach out to the company at info@agmglobalvision.com. A dealer application will be emailed back quickly.

A Dealer Focus

“We are completely and unflinchingly committed to supporting our dealer network,” Stephens says.  “All of our internal systems have improved dramatically in the last 18 months, and the results are starting to show. We've hired very experienced people, we have the best customer service team, our image quality is constantly improving, our quality control is constantly improving.”

He noted that AGM has and will continue to commit many, many resources to dealer support, including the afore-mentioned instructional videos, social media promotions, OEM collaborations with other large brands, and product giveaways.

“It’s an increasingly competitive landscape with thermal, but we're building a machine that, when fully optimized, will make us very easy to work with, and very tough to compete against.”