The best thermal scope for an AR-15 hog rifle

What an AR-15 changes about picking a thermal

Three things, and none of them is the sensor. The first is the mount. A flattop AR-15 gives you a length of Picatinny rail on top of the receiver, and most thermal weapon sights are built to clamp straight onto it: RIX ships a Picatinny quick-detach mount with every STORM, ATN includes one with the ThOR 6 Mini, oneleaf includes a Picatinny mount with the Mars, and the Holosun DRS-TH mounts directly. A thermal built on a 30 mm tube, like Pulsar's Thermion 2, does not. It needs a one-piece cantilever ring mount that you buy separately, and that mount adds cost, ounces and height before you have fired a shot.

The second is weight, and where it sits. The seven scopes here run from about 14.4 oz (RIX Storm S2, 0.9 lb) to 20.3 oz (Holosun DRS-TH, an 18 oz body on a 2.3 oz mount). The tube scopes we left off run heavier: ATN's ThOR 6 Elite LRF is 830 g, about 29.3 oz, and Pulsar's Thermion 2 XQ50 Pro is 0.9 kg, about 31.7 oz. That is roughly double the lightest pick, hung above the receiver of a rifle you may be carrying through brush at 2 a.m. or swinging onto a sounder that broke the wrong way.

The third is the shot you are actually taking. An AR-15 is usually the rifle in the truck or the blind for hogs that come to a feeder or a corn line, which means close and often moving. That puts a premium on field of view and a low base magnification, not on the longest detection claim on the box. The widest view in this list, the AGM Rattler V2, shows 49 ft x 36 ft of ground at 100 yards on AGM's own figures. The narrowest, at about 39 ft, is our top pick. Both are useful; they are useful at different distances, and the table below says which is which.

We have not tested these units. Scores come from published specs, manuals and warranty terms against the rubric on our How We Choose page. Detection ranges are the makers' claims.

How we picked

We started with every thermal riflescope in our registry, kept only the ones whose maker publishes a rail mount that fits a Picatinny flattop, and confirmed on September 24, 2026 that Amazon listed each one in stock. Each is scored on our published thermal rubric: sensor and lens for identifying a hog at feeder-to-field distance (30%), usability at night (20%), battery and power (15%), durability (15%), warranty and support (10%) and value within its tier (10%).

Then, for the order within close scores, we applied three AR-specific tiebreakers in this order: whether the mount is in the box, what the whole assembly weighs, and how much ground the scope shows at the distance hogs actually walk in. A blank spec costs points here as everywhere on this site: no published figure, no score. Two of these scopes are also on our thermal scopes under $1,000 list and five on the best thermal scope under $2,000, and the order is different here on purpose: those pages rank by what the money buys, this one by what goes on an AR without a second purchase.

The mount in the box, and what it weighs

This is the table we wish every AR owner saw before buying. It holds only two questions: what clamps this scope to your rail, and what does the assembly weigh?

Two things to take from it. First, the spread is under six ounces across the whole list, so weight is a tiebreaker here rather than a dealbreaker; it becomes a real difference only when you compare any of these with the 29 to 32 oz tube scopes that need rings. Second, one row has a question mark in it. Sightmark's specification table lists a Picatinny accessory rail mount for the Wraith Mini thermal, but the in-the-box list on the same page names only flip-up covers, a rubber eyecup, two CR123A cells and a USB cable. Confirm with the seller before you count on it, which is why that pick sits last rather than being cut.

Only Holosun publishes a mount height (1.72 in to the optical center), which is the figure that decides whether your cheek sits where it always has. Nobody else here publishes one. If your AR is set up with a particular height in mind, measure your current optic's centerline before ordering.

The picks side by side

The two remaining picks sit at the ends of the list for reasons the table above already shows: the RIX Storm S2 is the same package as the S3 with a 256 sensor behind a 25 mm lens, no published IP or recoil rating and a three-year warranty; the Sightmark Wraith Mini pairs a 384 sensor with 17 µm pixels, a .308 Winchester caliber rating, IPX6 water resistance and two CR123A cells good for 3.5 hours recording or 4.4 hours viewing.

What each pick shows of a hog

The number that decides whether you can tell a sow from a shoat is not the sensor size on the box: it is pixel pitch and lens focal length together. The formula is inches per pixel = distance (yd) x 0.036 x pitch (µm) ÷ lens (mm); divide a hog's length by that. We use a 60-inch hog, the top of the Missouri Department of Conservation's range, which it lists at "to 5 feet" long ( MDC field guide). Smaller hogs get proportionally fewer pixels.

This is illustrative math from published specs, not a test. Read it as a map of trade-offs rather than a ranking. The oneleaf Mars is the standout row: a 640 sensor behind the same 35 mm lens as the RIX S3 puts the same detail on the hog and shows about 66 feet of ground instead of 39, which is exactly what you want when a sounder walks in spread out. At the other end, the ThOR 6 Mini's 15 mm lens gives the widest view of any 256 here and the least detail per animal, so it earns its place at a feeder and loses it across open pasture. RIX does not publish a pixel pitch for the S2, so we leave its row blank rather than guess. The full explainer is in 256 vs 384 vs 640 thermal.

The picks in context

1. RIX Storm S3 384 (35 mm)

The scope we would put on an AR-15 tonight. RIX pairs a 384x288, 12 µm sensor rated <25 mK with a 35 mm F1.0 lens, a 1024x768 display at 50 Hz, five zero profiles, 32 GB of storage and a 1000 g / 6000 J recoil rating, then ships a Picatinny quick-detach mount in the box and backs the whole thing for five years. RIX also says in plain words that the STORM "works on both AR-platform and bolt-action rifles." At about 0.97 lb it is the lightest 12 µm, 35 mm scope we found. The honest costs: about 4.5 hours from a single swappable 18650 at 72°F, so you carry spares for a full night, and the S3 page publishes no IP rating, which means we cannot tell you what it survives in heavy rain. Buy it if your shots run from the feeder out to a couple of hundred yards.

2. ATN ThOR 6 Mini 256 2-16x

The pick if the budget stops short of $1,000, and the only one whose maker names your rifle: ATN writes that the ThOR 6 Mini "mounts easily with its included Picatinny Rail mount" on platforms "including popular platforms like the AR15." The spec sheet is the toughest in its tier: a ≤20 mK 256x192 at 12 µm, IP67, a 6000 J recoil rating, an operating range of -22°F to 131°F, 64 GB of storage with recoil-activated video, and two 18650s in the box for about 8 hours total. The limits are real and they are about reach: a 15 mm lens puts only about 21 pixels across a big hog at 100 yards, and the 256 model gets a small 0.32 in, 800x600 display where the 384 and 640 Minis get 1920x1080. Perfect over a feeder, wrong for open country.

3. oneleaf.ai Mars MT1000LRF (35 mm)

The most capable optic on this list and the one we would choose for a rifle that has to do everything. A 640x512, 12 µm sensor behind a 35 mm F1.0 lens, a built-in laser rangefinder feeding a ballistic calculator, IP67, a 6000 J rating and a Picatinny mount, all in 549 g / 19.37 oz. It shows about 66 feet of ground at 100 yards, the widest detailed view here by a distance. Two caveats keep it third for AR use: the included mount is not quick-detach, so moving it between rifles means unbolting rather than flipping a lever, and oneleaf publishes about 5 hours per 18650 and a three-year warranty against RIX's five.

4. AGM Rattler V2 19-256

The easiest of these to live with on a long sit. AGM publishes up to 11.5 hours per NE-4400 battery and puts two in the box, wraps it in an IP67 housing, includes a custom ADM mount and warrants it five years for US buyers under its current terms. Its 9.3° x 6.9° view, 49 ft x 36 ft of ground at 100 yards, is the widest published figure in this list, which is why it is the pick for hogs that appear at 40 yards in cedar. The trade is detail and disclosure: a 256 sensor behind a 19 mm lens gives about 26 pixels across a big hog at 100 yards, <35 mK is the least sensitive figure here, and AGM publishes no recoil rating for this model. See it against its closest rival in AGM Rattler vs ATN ThOR.

5. Holosun DRS-TH

A different tool, and on a carbine a genuinely interesting one: a red-dot reflex sight with a thermal image available in the same window, so you shoot at 1x with both eyes open and switch to 1x, 3x or 5x thermal to identify. Holosun lists a 256x192 sensor behind a 25 mm F1.1 lens, a 1024x768 OLED at 50 fps, IP67, two removable 18350s for up to 10 hours in observation mode, an 18 oz body, a 2.3 oz Picatinny mount and a 1.72 in central height, the only mount height anyone here publishes. It ranks fifth because a 256 sensor behind 25 mm limits identification to close range, and because Holosun's page states no recoil rating and no warranty length. If every hog you shoot is inside 100 yards in thick cover, move it up your list.

6. RIX Storm S2 (256, 25 mm)

The lightest way onto a rail from a maker that includes the mount: about 0.9 lb, the same Picatinny QD mount as the S3, <25 mK, a 1024x768 OLED at 50 Hz, five zero profiles and picture-in-picture, and RIX again states AR compatibility. It is the sensible pick if you want a RIX and the S3 is out of budget. What you give up is published evidence: no IP rating, no recoil rating and no pixel pitch on the S2 page, and a three-year warranty where the S3 gets five. A 256 behind 25 mm is a feeder-and-fence-line optic, not a pasture one.

7. Sightmark Wraith Mini 2-16x35 Thermal

A compact 384 with five weapon profiles, which suits somebody moving one scope between an AR and a bolt gun, and it carries a .308 Winchester caliber rating that covers any AR-15 chambering with margin. At 19.3 oz it is in the middle of this list. It is last for two reasons, both from Sightmark's own page: the in-the-box list does not itemize the Picatinny mount its spec table references, and two CR123A cells give 3.5 hours recording or 4.4 hours viewing, the shortest runtime here and the only pick that cannot be recharged in the truck. Its <40 mK sensitivity and IPX6 rating also trail the leaders. Plan on a handful of spare cells.

What to look for in an AR-15 thermal

1. A mount in the box, in writing. RIX, ATN, oneleaf and Holosun all state what ships with the scope. If a maker does not, assume you are buying a mount too, and price it in before you compare.
2. Quick-detach or bolted. A QD lever (RIX) lets you pull the thermal for daylight work and put it back; a bolted Picatinny mount (oneleaf) does not, and a 30 mm-tube scope in rings is the least portable of the three.
3. Pitch and lens together, not sensor size. 12 µm behind 35 mm puts about 49 pixels across a big hog at 100 yards whether the sensor is 384 or 640. What the 640 buys is a wider view at the same detail.
4. Field of view against your closest shot. At a feeder inside 75 yards, the widest view wins (AGM Rattler V2, ATN ThOR 6 Mini). Past that, the detailed 35 mm scopes do.
5. Battery architecture, not just hours. AGM publishes 11.5 hours and includes a spare; RIX and oneleaf run single swappable 18650s at about 4.5 and 5 hours; Sightmark runs on CR123A primaries. Anything under about 8 hours means carrying spares or a USB pack.
6. Published ratings, not implied ones. The ThOR 6 Mini, RIX S3 and oneleaf publish 6000 J; Sightmark publishes a .308 rating. AGM, RIX's S2 and Holosun publish no recoil rating at all. Two publish no IP rating.
7. Warranty terms as written. RIX five years on the S3 and three on the S2; ATN five; AGM five for US purchases under its current terms; oneleaf three; Holosun does not state a length on the DRS-TH page.

Eye relief, cheek weld and where to clamp it

Here is a gap worth knowing about: not one of these seven makers publishes an eye relief figure. The two scopes we left off do. Pulsar lists 50 mm for the Talion XQ35 Pro, and ATN lists 3 inches of eye relief for the ThOR LTV. Both of those need a mount you buy yourself, so the trade is real either way.

What that means in practice on an AR: because these scopes clamp to a length of Picatinny rail rather than into fixed rings, you can slide the whole unit fore and aft a slot at a time until the image fills the eyepiece with your normal cheek weld, then tighten and zero. Do that on the bench in daylight, not at the feeder in the dark. If you shoot a carbine with a short stock or a lot of layers on in January, set it up wearing what you will wear hunting. And if you are switching from a red dot, remember that a thermal eyepiece has a much smaller eye box than a reflex window: the Holosun DRS-TH is the only pick on this list that keeps the both-eyes-open reflex window, which is part of why it is here.

Once it is clamped, our guide to zeroing a thermal scope walks through getting it shooting where it looks, in daylight or after dark, including the hand-warmer trick for seeing paper through a thermal.

What we left off, and why

None of those are bad scopes. Three of them rank highly on our all-budget thermal ranking. They are off this list because an AR owner buying one will also be buying a mount, and that changes both the price and the weight of the decision.

One more route deserves a mention: if you already run a day scope on your AR that you like, a clip-on thermal goes in front of it and keeps your reticle and your zero, which is often cheaper than replacing the optic. And if thermal is out of reach altogether, a digital night-vision scope plus an IR illuminator is the budget path; see thermal vs night vision for hog hunting.

5.56, 300 Blackout and what the recoil ratings mean

A recoil rating tells you what the electronics are built to survive, expressed either in joules or as a cartridge. The ThOR 6 Mini, RIX S3 and oneleaf Mars all publish 6000 J (ATN and oneleaf both describe it as 1000 g of acceleration over 0.4 ms), and Sightmark publishes a .308 Winchester rating. Any of those covers an AR-15 in 5.56 NATO or 300 Blackout with a wide margin, and covers an AR-10 in .308 too. What matters more is the other direction: AGM, Holosun and RIX's S2 page publish no recoil figure at all, so there is nothing to check your rifle against. That is a disclosure gap, not evidence of weakness, and we score it as a gap.

If you are still choosing the chambering under the optic, our 300 Blackout vs 5.56 for hogs comparison and best caliber for hogs work through it. We do not link firearms or ammunition.

Mistakes to avoid

• Budgeting for the scope and forgetting the mount. A 30 mm-tube thermal plus a quality one-piece cantilever mount is a two-line purchase, and the mount is not the place to save.
• Buying the biggest sensor and the shortest lens. A 640 behind 19 mm shows a huge, soft hog. Lens length is what puts detail on the animal.
• Chasing detection-range claims. The picks here claim detection from about 950 yards (AGM) to about 1,969 yards (RIX and oneleaf). Hog shots from an AR happen at a small fraction of either, and no maker publishes a test method.
• Running a 4 to 5 hour scope on one cell. The RIX S3, RIX S2 and oneleaf Mars all want a spare 18650 in your pocket; the Sightmark wants spare CR123As.
• Setting eye relief in the dark. Slide the mount and set your cheek weld on the bench in daylight, then confirm your zero.
• Expecting the rifle to solve the problem. Texas A&M's Natural Resources Institute reports that removing about 66% of a wild pig population every year is needed just to stop it growing (Texas A&M NRI, 2019). A thermal on an AR takes hogs a few at a time; the plan that actually works is in how to get rid of feral hogs.