What is the BEST Thermal for Coon Hunting?
We recently wrote a blog about hunting lights but thermals are another important tool for the woods that people have a LOT of opinions about. Buying a more expensive thermal doesn’t mean it’s ALWAYS better, especially when it comes to coon hunting. It’s about finding the best thermal for YOU. A thermal can be a HUGE investment for most and picking the right one the first time is important. Again, we don’t consider ourselves to be experts on the subject, but we don’t leave the house without a thermal if we are going coon hunting. As always feel free to call us and ask for Zach or Corey if you want to talk thermals or have any questions (904) 692-1568. Check out the link below to see all of the thermals we carry!
Why Buy AGM?
We only sell AGM brand thermals right now and for a few reasons:
1) They have AWESOME customer service! We take pride in taking care of customers and they do the same. They also offer great warranties on all of their thermals as well.
2) They are simple to use. Many times out of the box they are ready to go. There are a few settings you can change before hunting but when you get to the tree you turn it on and there is one button to shuffle through your modes.
3) They are the best bang for your buck. The lowest level model we recommend is right around $1200, which is an excellent price for a good thermal.
Thermals We Recommend for Coon Hunting:
Taipan TM15-384
-Price - $1200 & includes Razor Chest Pack
-Wide Field-of-View
-Great for tight areas
-Warranty - 5 Years
When we started testing the AGM thermals the Taipan TM15-384 was the first model we took to the woods. It was life-changing as far as coon hunting goes. We hunt in the jungle of Florida so there are leaves on year-round. We started finding a lot more coons that we couldn’t even find with our lights. The field of view on the Taipan TM15-384 is great for spots where you can’t move back from the tree very far due to other trees or obstructions. The prices on the Taipan model thermals also dropped recently making this a great deal. If you are a pleasure hunter or doing some competition hunting, the Taipan TM15-384 is a great thermal to carry. 
Taipan TM19-384
-Price - $1400 & includes Razor Chest Pack
-Good field of view
-Great for taller timber
-Two ways to adjust focus
-Warranty - 5 Years
The AGM Taipan TM19-384 was the second thermal we took to the woods to test. We noticed a fairly big difference between this model and the Taipan TM15-384. The TM19-384 model has two different ways to adjust focus and we got more clarity because of that. The field of view is still fairly wide but this thermal is more zoomed in helping us reach the top of taller trees. When you take a picture with your cell phone you may notice the image gets more pixelated when you zoom in. The Taipan TM15-384 is like taking a photo with your phone with no zoom and the Taipan TM19-384 is like zooming in but not losing any clarity or resolution. There are 3 of us that hunt together and this thermal goes with us everywhere. We pushed this thermal for a year and it’s the BEST of the Taipan models for coon hunting. It gives you everything you need to find heat while competition hunting or pleasure hunting. If you are looking for a great deal on a thermal this one is worth the $200 upgrade from the Taipan TM15-384. 
Sidewinder TM25-384
-Price - $2000 & includes Razor Strap Vest
-Tighter field of view
-Awesome Clarity & Resolution
-Built tough for hard hunters
-Two ways to adjust focus
-Warranty - 5 Years
The Sidewinder TM25-384 came out of nowhere. In early 2023 we went to the Shot Show in Las Vegas and had the chance to meet with AGM. We got to see all of the new stuff about to hit the market and the Sidewinder was a pleasant surprise. The clarity and resolution were incredible, but we wanted to see what it would do in the woods. Our high expectations were met and this thermal has been all of the rave among coon hunters over the last year. A lot of hunters are still looking for the AGM ASP TM25-384 model but they have been long gone. The Sidewinder TM25-384 is the closest thing you will find to the discontinued ASP TM25 and many are reporting that they get better clarity. The field of view is as tight as we would recommend for coon hunting, however, when you find heat you can most of the time distinguish the game that’s in the tree. We have also found the Sidewinder to pick up heat better than previous models and finding coons sitting in forks of trees or on limbs that have sat in the sun all day is a lot easier. These are also great for scanning fields and tree lines. We have shipped these all over the country and there are a lot of hunters happy with the Sidewinder TM25-384
Other AGM thermals we sell:
AGM Taipan TM10-256 - The price of this thermal is EXCELLENT ($599.99) however this one leaves much to be desired. The clarity isn’t as good as the 384 models and the zoom isn’t as good looking up at taller trees. This is a good scouting thermal but for coon hunting I would save up for the Taipan TM15-384
AGM Taipan TM25-384 - The field of view is tighter than the TM19-384 but you don’t get any more clarity. The Sidewinder has a more narrow field of view as well but you get a LOT more resolution & clarity.