REVIEW: ANDRES INDUSTRIES TigIR-M

Cold Bore Miracle from the USA was able to test the TigIR thermal imaging attachment from ANDRES INDUSTRIES in detail. Here is their review in German:

We are lucky to play with military weapons more often, but today we want to talk about a military optic, more precisely a thermal imaging optic. The TigIR is a compact thermal imaging device that can be mounted on a Picantinny rail and used in front of a daytime optic. "Attachment" is the technical term.

I tested the TigIR on my SRS M2 rifle in .338LM, which already had a Steiner M5 scope mounted. During the tests, the outside temperature was 0 °F (approximately -18 °C).

The TigIR has some very practical features that allow for quick deployment and easy adaptation to the specific application. These include quick activation by opening the front lens cover, various mounting options, and an offset adjustment to eliminate optical offset.

The TigIR comes in a very nice small plastic bag with instructions in German and English, which is very practical. One of the first things that surprised me was that there are only four buttons for an optic that has so many functions and features. TigIR has a fairly complex menu through which the user can navigate with just four buttons, either by quick pressing or by holding down until the selection is made. But first, the device needs power: insert four CR123 lithium batteries.

The TigIR has several filter options that allow for different views in the landscape, with each filter having its own strengths. The different filters can easily be switched to see which filter best represents the target at its specific location. Brightness can also be adapted as needed. The waterproof housing also has a video output and remote control option. With the TigIR, you can also create multiple profile variations for different rifles or calibers.

When an additional device is placed in front of the scope, it can cause an optical offset (similar to a flat prism). With the TigIR, you can correct this offset so that the point of impact remains the same with or without thermal optics. As mentioned earlier, up to six different profiles can be saved for use with the TigIR.

The front lens cover is held closed by two rubber bands. The device turns on when the cover is opened. The rubber bands then hold the cover securely to avoid unwanted movements. The cover can also be used for quick recalibration by simply closing and reopening it to reset the device. After turning on, you can choose between a 0.8 to 6x magnification, which is practical for different viewing purposes and can be easily switched with the zoom button (#2).

You can choose from about fifteen different filters, each with its own strengths, for example when searching for a person or when viewing a vehicle. Some filters are better than others, depending on what you want to observe.

The TigIR can be easily mounted with a Picatinny rail mount, but there are also other options and observation eyepieces to use the device alone. According to the manufacturer, the four batteries should provide power to the device for ten hours, but based on my experience, I would not expect it to last nearly as long in this cold.

I must admit that I spent most of my time learning how to use the TigIR, which is not surprising given that it is a complex, modern device. My caveman brain took a few tries to understand everything. But after a while, I was ready to make some noise.

At the shooting range

After confirming that my rifle was zeroed in at one hundred meters, I attach the TigIR to see what would happen next. I don't often play with thermal optics and always forget to bring something warm as a target. But to my surprise, this time I didn't need anything extra, as the targets and other details were so clear through the TigIR that it was unnecessary to have anything extra.

I could even recognize the different colors of the paper targets as long as the sun was shining on them. As the temperatures changed, my view of the targets changed as well. It was actually easier to shoot into the snow, where the fresh holes in the snow were clearly visible due to the thermals. After determining the offset data, I saved it in the profile for my .338. This way, I could be sure I was on target with or without TigIR.

The images provided by the TigIR are quite impressive and showed incredibly detailed information. I shot a bit further to see how well I could identify things at 600 meters, and the device was still very useful. I continued shooting, and to my surprise, I could even see branches behind the target moving when the bullet hit them. That was quite impressive until thick snow started to fall. As the air filled with frozen snowflakes, the magnified image, with or without a thermal imaging device on the rifle, became blurry. I tried some of the other thermal filters and was able to achieve some improvement, but not enough to justify the expensive .338 Lapua cartridges. I want to add that the images shown here do not reproduce the quality as well as the eye perceives them in real time.

You can also choose one of several reticles from the TigIR menu, which can be used independently of or in conjunction with the scope. And if you use the TigIR as a kind of spotting scope, you can use the reticle values to determine corrections for the shooter.

CONCLUSION: The TigIR-6M impressed me a lot. It is very compact compared to other devices, and its performance is better than devices I am more familiar with. Yes, it is a complex piece of technology, so there is definitely a learning curve, but I think once you figure out how to operate TigIR correctly, you will be extremely satisfied with it. The price is just under 10,000 €, which is certainly not cheap, but it is much more affordable than comparable devices I have used. It is an excellent little device.

The TigIR is available as TigIR-6Z+for 9,983 EUROS from ANDRES INDUSTRIES.

ANDRES INDUSTRIES online

COLD BORE MIRACLE online