You want Gen 3 night vision but you don’t want to spend $10,000 or more.
You can spend half that and acquire one of the best night vision scopes that AGM has to offer.
The Comanche-22 3NW1 is one of the brand’s top clip-on scopes that has been made with the latest night vision technologies.
If you’re looking to keep your day scope on the rifle, need medium-range detection, and high-resolution performance, you must put the Comanche on your wish list.
Update: Unfortunately AGM have discontinued the Comanche-22 3NW1. Check out their current range of night vision devices here. Alternatively, visit this page for more reviews of the top night vision rifle scopes.
Quick Overview...
What We Like: Gen 3 autogated level 1
What We Don’t Like: Lack of tube specs
Best Uses: Night Shooting, Tactical Use, Hunting, Scouting, Varmint Control, Professional Use, Clip-On, Close to Mid-Range Detection
- IIT: Gen 3
- Magnification: 1x
- FOV: 12-degrees
- Resolution: 64-72 lp/mm
- Eye Relief: N/A
- Color Modes: White Phosphor
- Battery: 60 hours
- Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.3 x 3.1”/1.65 lbs
Our Verdict: The upgrade to an autogated Gen 3 tube is worth the price every time. You’ll also have this model with a white phosphorous screen that provides black/white night vision imaging. With straightforward operation and stellar performance, this clip-on is ready to satisfy your hunting demands.
Who is the AGM Comanche-22 3NW1 Best Suited to?
AGM has stunned buyers with excellent night vision performance. While this is a mid-range unit, it is considered long-range for those who need clear and crisp night vision for hog hunting, coyote hunting, and more. It’s also well-suited to light-duty setups for scouting and shooting on the go. It’s lightweight and can be used for patrol duty, surveillance, and security.
While pricey, it’s not as expensive as it could be. There are mil-spec clip-ons by Knight’s Armament that cost twice as much. But those are on a completely different level of quality made for professional use.
The AGM scope is a good balance between casual and hunting applications to some tactical operations. Lightweight and compact, the Comanche-22 is a clip-on that could serve hunters, preppers, and security personnel well for a long time to come.
How Does the AGM Comanche-22 3NW1 Perform?
The Comanche series of scopes from AGM is a clip-on series. Within the Comanche series, you have Gen 2 and Gen 3 models, green and white phosphor screens, and AGM’s leveling system of grade qualities of 1, 2, and 3 with Level 1 as the highest. This model is the 3NW1 that indicates it has a Gen 3 White Phosphor Level 1 tube – in other words, it’s the best of the Comanche-22 models with its compact size, high-performance tube, and black/white view.
Like the expensive truly passive night vision scopes, it’s straightforward to use. With focus and manual gain, you don’t need anything more. An IR illuminator is included but you may be impressed with its performance without it. Your day scope or aiming device does the rest. It was factory-aligned and should be accurate to within 0.5 MOA. No rezeroing required.
Designed for mid-range performance, we put this scope good for up to 500-yard performance in difficult conditions. With good quarter-moon light, you can reach out further. Imaging is crystal clear and detailed when used with magnification up to 7x.
The Comanche was designed to be one of the most practical and effective clip-on scopes available to civilians. It doesn’t disappoint.
Features & Benefits
Gen 3 Autogated Level 1
AGM doesn’t give provide any tube specifics about their products, but we can gather enough information by what has been provided.
The Comanche-22 3NWL is a Gen 3 clip-on that is filmed and has a white phosphor screen. Resolution is 64-72 lp/mm, it’s autogated, and has manual gain. While it’s Gen 3, AGM designates this model as one of their best as it has their “Level 1” standard of night vision quality. This is more akin to Gen 3+ night vision.
Doing our best to assume, the clip-on may have SNR of 25 and FOM of at least 1600. These are specs often associated with autogated and high-resolution tubes.
The clip-on maximizes on these features with a manual gain control, bright-light cut-off, and a white phosphor screen. The black/white imaging comes off as very natural, and the detail and contrast is exceptionally clean. It’s obvious that it has high tube specs that support its performance.
Clip-On
Although clip-ons are generally more expensive than standalone scopes, they have their place in the market as a high-demand product. The Comanche-22 3NW1 is the most expensive model in the series even above the alternative Comanche-40 3AW1. It seems that its compact size and light weight is what makes it more expensive.
The 3NW1 is only 6.6” long and weighs a light 1.65 lbs. It’s easy to mount to a Picatinny or Weaver rail with the included quick release mount and sits forward of a red dot or daytime scope. It has a single-locking cam lever and holds tight to the rail. You can mount the clip-on directly to the objective bell of a daytime scope, but the front scope mounts needed must be purchased separately.
Because it’s a clip-on, it has been collimated but must be precisely aligned to within 3 mm of both optical axes of the daytime scope and clip-on. It seems the Comanche can be mounted to vigorous recoil weapons but with the front scope adapters, it must not be used with .308 Win and stronger.
Dual Battery System
The Comanche-22 features a dual battery system that is something the best clip-ons have. The battery cap comes with an adapter that fits either a AA or CR123 lithium battery.
You can use either and expect up to 60 hours of operating time. The adapter needs to be positioned appropriately to fit the type of battery being used.
Warranty
Night vision gear is expensive, so to buy a pricey piece of equipment and know that you can’t have it serviced or replaced under warranty in a couple of years is nerve-wracking. AGM provides a 3-year warranty with the Comanche-22 3NW1 clip-on.
It’s much like other warranties whereas it applies only to the original owner, must be not be serviced or altered by unauthorized parties, and the warranty only applies if it hasn’t been discontinued by the manufacturer.
Where it differs from other brands is the warranty term. With three years, you’re actually getting a year or two more than most other manufacturers. That may provide the peace of mind you need to buy such an expensive product.
Limitations
Lack of Tube Specs
In a day and age where buyers need more information about the product they’re buying, especially when it’s in the thousands of dollars, AGM falls short of this trending expectation.
There are some specific tube specs many of us would like to know such as Figure of Merit, Signal-to-Noise Ratio, and Photocathode Type. This would help buyers make a well-informed decision before they buy and provides a good idea of tube performance and quality.
Whether or not they can release this information is unknown, but it could be useful to potential buyers to be provided an explanation.
Popular Questions
The Comanche-22 3NW1 is compatible with scope magnification up to 7x. This allows for close to mid-range engagements and detection.
There isn’t much point in advertising a number when there are many factors that contribute to visibility and detection range. But the Comanche-22 is a mid-range unit and with its high-resolution, autogated tube and manual gain, you can likely reach 500+ yard detection on man-size targets in quarter-moon conditions.
AGM is an Arizona-based manufacturer. Their night vision scopes are manufactured with US-made optics and components.
The Comanche clip-on comes with a QR mount, Sioux850 IR Illuminator, lens cap, output lens cap, CR123 battery, and battery adapter. It also comes with a wireless remote control, Picatinny adapter for the remote control, several light suppressors, carry case, and user manual.
Conclusion
Gen 3, Gen 3+, Gen 4 – they mean something, but they don’t mean everything. Getting into the nitty gritty is what can make all the difference as you learn what a scope is truly offering you.
Don’t get too caught up in the acronyms and designations. The Comanche-22 is a high-end clip-on with a high-performing IIT. It’s filmed, autogated, and has manual gain. This is top-end quality before going the thin-filmed and unfilmed route.
It’s durable, has excellent night vision performance, and is ready for use with your day scope. This is the type of quality most people need and it will suffice for many years to come. Anything more and you’re heading into mil-spec territory. Have you considered the Knight’s Armament UNS-A3? When you see the price tag you may find you’re very happy with the Comanche.
Update: Unfortunately AGM have discontinued the Comanche-22 3NW1. Check out their current range of night vision devices here. Alternatively, visit this page for more reviews of the top night vision rifle scopes.
Further Reading
