This past weekend, I had the opportunity to shoot the FLIR T-60 and kill a hog with it as well. The unit was sent to me for testing by Sierra Pacific Innovations. They stock some of FLIR's original units, which were designed to be used in tandem with a Trijicon 4 X 32 ACOG. The body housing has since been changed a little but these are still the most sought after thermal clip-on weapon sights.

T-60 on 6.8 SPC:


The body housing was specifically designed to fit the objective lens area of the Trijicon and the eyepiece lens is consequently rather small. It worked just fine behind a myriad of optics like the Eotech, the Aimpoint, and a Zeiss 4.5-14 X 50 with Mil-dot reticle. The brightness is tremendous and actually was too bright in front of the 50mm Zeiss so we placed a Wilcox Amber filter over the back of the scope's eyepiece, and that was just about perfect. I would like to see a manual gain control on this unit. The focus is conveniently located on the left side of the unit, so that the shooter can manipulate it with his left hand. The "NUC" (non-uniform calibration)and polarity buttons sit on the left side as well.


"NUC", polarity and laser power switch on left side, on/off is on the rear left corner....also notice proximity to the objective of the Zeiss:



The T-60 has a 640 X 480 microbolometer and Is rated up to .50 BMG. It has the large 65mm lens and two selectable FOV settings, one that is 0.5X, providing a much broader area of viewing for spotting (14 degrees). Proper collimation is not achieved with this setting, and the shooter must instead use the 1.0X setting for shooting (which gives 7 degree FOV). We shot it on .308 and 6.8 SPC rifles, with no problems whatsoever.

The unit is powered on by the switch on the left rear of the unit. The FOV setting is on this switch, then the user rotates it clockwise to get first to 0.5 then another click to 1.0. The unit must be NUC'ed when turned on, manually, and thereafter every few minutes to refresh the bolometer's temperature differential sensing capability. The lens cap must be placed over the obj lens to prevent ghosting of a previous image. We found this to be a little cumbersome while stalking hogs, and would have preferred a manual shutter refresh, but that's just us. Some people like the manual capability.

Its really pretty simple. You just turn it on, and go to the FOV setting you want. If spotting, use 0.5 and when shooting, go to 1.0. Then refresh every so often. Once you are focused, you usually don't need to adjust your optic much. The crosshairs were always in focus even when we had to adjust the T-60's focus for distance.

The unit also has an IR laser with a select switch which changes the power from Class 1 to class 3b, and also a pressure pad switch but we did not need it. As with most thermals, this unit has video out, but I was much more concerned with getting my client a hog than trying to video, so sorry for no through the optic video...this time. If you want to see my thermal videos go to www.wildriverranch.net, and click on the video on the home page. More are coming soon.

Laser with switchable power:



All in all, we liked the capability of a clip-on unit. I have decided that I will likely never buy a dedicated thermal weapon sight, because I always have to positively ID with NV anyway. We have never shot a cow or calf in 10 years, and don't want to. Moreover, sweeping a weapon around to "spot" is never safe, IMO. Most likely, I will own a clip-on thermal, so that I can use it as a spotter (including behind a spotting scope) and / or on any rifle that has a rail space in front of my optic. Here's the hog we shot with the T-60. We saw it at 600 yards, easily and stalked to within 100 yards to take the shot. With this much magnification, my hunter placed the shot well and it was easily recovered. Watch for video, showing this kill, on WRR's Youtube channel to be posted soon.

Nice review of the T-60 and very nice hog too!

You guys have about the best setup possible, ie that is the best of all possible worlds!

The T-60 and the T-50 are both outstanding with the ACOG, I have two ACOG TA02 LED 4X32mms for them, but they both work very well with the Eotech and 3X Magnifier too, as well as a Leopold VX-R 1-4X Pig Plex scope.

The T-60 is very simple to operate, is ergonomically functional, and I have experienced zero POI shift with either of them out past 200 yards. The LaRue mount also fits perfectly on my rail making installation and removal a cinch.

The T-60 has an 85*F Thermal Differentiation Range and with the FLIR Thermography Software for AVI & MPEG videos you can manipulate the color spectrum to cover the thermal register range using the metadata contained in the video file.

I really enjoy using both these FLIR thermal clip-ons since they allow the use of the DBAL lasers on the top rail in front of them and they are actually quite lightweight for their size since the bodies are made out of magnesium. I have the DBAL-I2 on the T-60 carbine and the DBAL-D2 on the T-50 carbine.

Both the T-50 and T-60 are very nice thermals indeed. The 3 CR-123 Li-Ion batteries on the T-50 last about twice as long as the four CR-123s in the T-60.

DON'T use rechargeable CR-123 in either of these units since they put out 3.6 volts each instead of 3.0 volts of the normal non-rechargeables. The Panasonic CR-123s put out 1,550mha compared to 1,300mha of the other brands and are the best to use:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/20encr3vophl.html


Here is a pic of the ACOG-FLIR interface:







Nice to hear that it can handle up to 6X scope magnification too.

I have not tried anything over 4X so far, which appears to be the maximum magnification for the T-50.

I really enjoy the ACOG setup tremendously, lightweight and no BS messing around with anything.

I got the ACOG TA02 battery LED so I could run it without lighting up the reticule when using the thermals and glad I did as the black BDC reticule works simply outstanding. It still has two NV setting for using PVS-14 behind it when not using the clip-ons.

That seems like such a bulky and awkward setup.

In my particular case, I absolutely love the FLIR clip-ons and would never have a dedicated scope instead.

It is so simple to install and remove without disturbing or interrupting any of my lasers (DBAL-I2 & DBAL-D2) or visible optics (Eotech, ACOG, Leopold VX-R), all of which I can use as is with or without the FLIR thermal clip-ons installed on the rail.

On the 2.5 mile walk out to my stand, I do not have the Thermal Clip-On installed and am using helmet mounted PVS-14s and IR lasers for immediate action if needed, as are my buddies.

Once there, I install the FLIR clip-on in two seconds and are ready to go with my NV and FLIR PS-32 hand scanner.

When I am on my stand in my backyard, I don't have to do anything, ie I am instantly ready to go!

In addition, since my hunting buddies have similar rifle setups to what I have on my two carbines, any of them can simply clip on one of my FLIR Thermals without doing anything else and be on target and ready to go instantly (tell me they aren't grateful for that... )

One of the main reasons I got the FLIR Thermal clip-ons, beside the FLIR reputation for first class quality, was to allow my friends to use them without any hassles....

Prior to Vic @ TNVC offering the FLIR T-50, I really had my heart set on getting the new ATN THOR 640X480 3.5 Thermal Scope, I had investigated it very closely and was ready to invest in that as I thought it would be about the best instrument that I could get.

I was worried about ATN's record of service and reliability on a brand new untested product though.

Even though their units have the FLIR microbolometer in them, ATN still would have to devise the software to manage the visual in the OLED, including the internal reticules and whether or not they would be stable or drift over time with use, so I was concerned about spending the funds on the THOR unit.

As far as over all value and the ability to handle all the hunting situations that I find myself in, the FLIR T-50 really is an absolutely sweet deal, it is much more adaptable and can be utilized for a wider variety of uses than the T-60.

The T-60 really is super nice and simple to operate, kind of a no BS instrument without much to adjust or fumble around with, though it is more of a singular application clip-on for precision long range targeting due to the lack of internal reticules, no 2X or 4X digital magnification, no display adjustments, etc. that the T-50 has.

I am very happy with the FLIRs, they will be getting lots of hardcore use the next couple of years.

I may get one of the FLIR TS-32 Pro handheld camera-scanners later on to enhance my thermal scanning abilities, but I am fully confident now with my thermal targeting instruments.

Did you notice any poi shifts with the 60?

None, even with the 3X magnifier behind the Eotech or using the 4X ACOG or using the Leopold VX-R 1-4X Pig Plex scope.

That makes it super simple to swap out onto different rifles and go...