Rix Storm S3 - First Impressions

[Younggun]

With the help of @Double Naught Spy I finally took the leap and got a thermal sight. Really appreciate his help in deciding if thermal was something that would fit my needs and budget.

I settled on the Storm S3 since it should do a little more than what I expect to need. Ordered Monday and got it yesterday after chasing the mailman down the road. Got an alert on my phone saying nobody was home, pick it up Monday at the post office. Ran out the door and got it from them around the corner. Didn’t realize it needed a signature and the gate was closed. But I got it.

Not gonna get in to what’s in the box. That’s everywhere.

Coming from an X-Sight Pro 4K it was pretty easy to figure out the buttons and menus. There were a couple things I had to look up but pretty straight forward. If you haven’t used a digital sight it might help to keep the manual around, but won’t take long to learn.

Sighting in: Seeing temps instead of color makes this a little more challenging than a typical scope of digits NV, but not much. Comes with 10 thermal targets. Basically round, sticky backed HotHands. I marked my first shot with a small piece of black electric tape and the temp difference on the paper target was enough to stand out. Then I just aimed at the center of the target again, hit the screen freeze button, and moved the reticle to the POI. Unfreeze and save. It’s also got a readout on screen telling you how far you’ve moved the poi at 100 yards. So you could just measure the distance and adjust that way if needed.

Went straight from the range to a blind set up 50 near a feeder that’s been getting hammered by raccoons. I was surprised to find I could see turtles heads sticking out of the water. Spotted a rabbit about 100 yards out and watched him for a little bit. I settled in to scanning the area about every 5 minutes.

A Possum came in for a late dinner just after 10pm. Followed him along until he reached the feeder. My neighbor was with me and watching everything I saw using the Rix app on my phone. Neither of us noticed the trash panda in the tree as the possum went by. I think a combination of target fixation and him accidentally locking my phone at the same time.

Decided on a body shot since I wasn’t all that sure about the zero. Hit a little further back than I intended. On the follow up I had a little lead and the possum slowed down just as I was commuting to shoot and took one in the nose. Last shot I didn’t lead enough and hit near the hind quarters as he went behind a wood pile. Only made it another 10’ or so.

After that we scanned the area and caught the trash panda in the tree. Put a round through his neck as he was coming down but I’d forgot to restart the recording.

Sight worked perfectly. I’m going to play with the contrast settings and color patterns. Seeing things in temps instead of colors takes a little getting used to. But overall I couldn’t be happier. Have a hog hunt planned in a couple weeks so hopefully I can give another update. Gonna try to get some shots of different animals and distances when I can and will update with screenshots.

 

[glenbo]

What's a trash panda?

 

[Younggun]

What's a trash panda?

Raccoon

 

[Txhighlander]

With the help of @Double Naught Spy I finally took the leap and got a thermal sight. Really appreciate his help in deciding if thermal was something that would fit my needs and budget.

I settled on the Storm S3 since it should do a little more than what I expect to need. Ordered Monday and got it yesterday after chasing the mailman down the road. Got an alert on my phone saying nobody was home, pick it up Monday at the post office. Ran out the door and got it from them around the corner. Didn’t realize it needed a signature and the gate was closed. But I got it.

Not gonna get in to what’s in the box. That’s everywhere.

Coming from an X-Sight Pro 4K it was pretty easy to figure out the buttons and menus. There were a couple things I had to look up but pretty straight forward. If you haven’t used a digital sight it might help to keep the manual around, but won’t take long to learn.

Sighting in: Seeing temps instead of color makes this a little more challenging than a typical scope of digits NV, but not much. Comes with 10 thermal targets. Basically round, sticky backed HotHands. I marked my first shot with a small piece of black electric tape and the temp difference on the paper target was enough to stand out. Then I just aimed at the center of the target again, hit the screen freeze button, and moved the reticle to the POI. Unfreeze and save. It’s also got a readout on screen telling you how far you’ve moved the poi at 100 yards. So you could just measure the distance and adjust that way if needed.

Went straight from the range to a blind set up 50 near a feeder that’s been getting hammered by raccoons. I was surprised to find I could see turtles heads sticking out of the water. Spotted a rabbit about 100 yards out and watched him for a little bit. I settled in to scanning the area about every 5 minutes.

A Possum came in for a late dinner just after 10pm. Followed him along until he reached the feeder. My neighbor was with me and watching everything I saw using the Rix app on my phone. Neither of us noticed the trash panda in the tree as the possum went by. I think a combination of target fixation and him accidentally locking my phone at the same time.

Decided on a body shot since I wasn’t all that sure about the zero. Hit a little further back than I intended. On the follow up I had a little lead and the possum slowed down just as I was commuting to shoot and took one in the nose. Last shot I didn’t lead enough and hit near the hind quarters as he went behind a wood pile. Only made it another 10’ or so.

After that we scanned the area and caught the trash panda in the tree. Put a round through his neck as he was coming down but I’d forgot to restart the recording.

Sight worked perfectly. I’m going to play with the contrast settings and color patterns. Seeing things in temps instead of colors takes a little getting used to. But overall I couldn’t be happier. Have a hog hunt planned in a couple weeks so hopefully I can give another update. Gonna try to get some shots of different animals and distances when I can and will update with screenshots.

I have been looking at this company, thanks for the review.

 

[Younggun]

I meant to mention the App.

I didn’t expect much after using ATN. But the Rix App works great. No freezing/lag/disconnects while my neighbor was watching and file transfers are very fast. It’s the app ATN should have made. The firmware update was quick and easy using the app also.

 

[jimbo]

Thanks for showing. Great first time use.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Glad you are liking the Rix Optics Storm S3. It is a cool little sight and the price point is great for what it does ($1800 list). Full disclosure, I am on Rix Optics pro staff.

My feelings are that it has the best user-interface of any thermal optic I have used. The buttons are logically placed on the scope and the menu system they drive is logical. What I really like about the menu system is that when you enter the menu, it shows you the buttons and their current settings, so you know which button to press even if you haven't used the scope in a couple of months and have forgotten.

It is a 384 resolution optic, but today's 384 resolution is about like that or better than that of a 640 resolution scope with a similar sized lens from 8-10 years ago. I have been going back and looking at some of my old Armasight Zeus 2 videos (640 res, 50mm lens) and the image on the Storm S3 is clearer. This is due to the Storm S3 having less space between pixels (micron size) and have better thermal sensitivity. Better thermal sensitivity is a huge benefit is humid and wet conditions that often mask more subtle differences in temperature.

This is what I think of as a great introductory thermal for somebody who can't afford higher end thermal or for somebody that already has a thermal rifle scope, but wants a backup or buddy scope. In my opinion, this scope will accomplish about 95% of what most hunters are doing, shooting inside 200 yards. There are folks using them successfully beyond 200 yards, don't get me wrong. I certainly have, but the majority of the time, most of us are hunting 25-150 yards, plain and simple and this scope will handle the job quite nicely.

It is also rated at 6000 joules. So if you want to put it on your .458 Socom, .45-70 level gun, .300 win mag, etc., you are good to go.

 

[Younggun]

Impromptu water test. Walked in the house with my hands full. I’d put my Dr Pepper and sight in a hoodie to carry it all in one hand. Made it in the door and put some other stuff down, leaned over to put the hoodie goodies on the coffee table and lost my balance just a little. Put my hand down on on the hoodie and hear a pop. Dr Pepper was no all over the sight!

Ran in the bathroom, pulled the cover off, and threw the sight under some running water in the sink. Just wanted to get the Dr Pepper off before it got sticky. Still works! So I feel confident it can handle a little rain.

 

[Younggun]

Spent another day playing with it before and after the eclipse.

I resighted it at 30 yards on the .22 because it was convenient. Figured out a small piece of black electrical tape on cardboard shows up just fine. After zeroing I pulled the sight and remounted, no noticeable shift in POI. Not confident enough to say for sure you could reliably remount it and hold zero, but it looks promising. I’m going to do it a few more times to be sure. I’ve never trusted any mount to be able to 100% return to zero after being removed, but it might be good enough.

The reason I’m hoping for this is the firmware update allows for 5 different zeros to be saved. Would be really nice to have a couple saved for the 6.5, one for pig loads and one for varmints, a zero for the .22, and maybe one for the AR in .223. It’s not hard to zero after swapping, but if it will hold with it an inch or so at 100 it would be pretty nice. Probably wishful thinking but we’ll see.

I have noticed since the update there is a weird issue with the PiP zoom. Normally with the scope at 3.5X and PiP active you get 7, 14, and 28X magnification of the PiP window with each press of the zoom button, after 28 it reverts back to 7. Since the update instead of reverting to 7 it stays at 28 but says it’s at 7. Another press takes it back to 14. Turning it off and back on will revert it to 7X. I’ve emailed Rix about it and will report back if/when I get a reply. I expect it to be fixed with another update at some point as it’s obviously just a software issue. I think 7X is kind of the sweet spot anyways.

Also noticed the battery meter seems to read to low. Drops very quickly to about 30%, but the batteries don’t need to charge long enough for that to be accurate. I need to let it run and see how it does over time to be sure. But I really doubt I will use it for extended periods on the internal 18650. I’ve got a couple of packs I use for my X-Sight and I have more peace of mind knowing I have more than enough battery to run as long as I want.

I have to say, this thing is much smaller and lighter than I expected.

 

[Younggun]

Got a reply from Rix this morning. They are aware of a couple issues in the last Firmware update, including the battery meter not reading accurately. Said they are working on a fix but don’t have a timeline for it yet.

I emailed yesterday evening and had a reply about 9am this morning.

 

[Dawico]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good affordable thermal sight.

 

[Younggun]

Ok, I think my biggest complaint at this point is that the battery meter is kind of useless since the FW update. Fresh battery reads 30% and stays there till it shuts off due to low battery. I checked the battery with a multimeter to make sure it’s not a charging issue and they are getting a full charge.

I also had one video get a little funky right as I fired. On my phone it’s just some artifact of as a raccoon falls from a tree just as I fire. On PC it’s a ton of green artifacts. Likely in how the video is processed for viewing.

Positive note: I’d turned off recording after shooting the possum and not turned it back on. After shooting the raccoon I realized what I’d done and hit the record button but it didn’t start recording. This was because the recoil activated video had started and when I hit the button I stopped it early. I found the video in the files while clearing memory last night. Just not sure what caused the artifacts. It’s much less visible on the YT upload. But very noticeable if looking through frames in the editing software.

I need more time playing with it to narrow things down. The possums shot just a couple minutes before had no artifacting and looked great so I’m wondering if using the recoil activated video has some effect. That’s the only thing that changed.
Raccoon

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The artifact is just a version of interference that sometimes/often/usually happens under recoil. I have only used one or two thermal scopes where something like that didn't happen.

Now if that is still on the .22, I would consider that a bit odd.

 

[Younggun]

The artifact is just a version of interference that sometimes/often/usually happens under recoil. I have only used one or two thermal scopes where something like that didn't happen.

Now if that is still on the .22, I would consider that a bit odd.

Yes, it’s was on the .22 still. I think maybe because I wasn’t really holding the rifle that snug. It’s the only time I’ve noticed it I think, it recorded a bunch of shots when I was just shooting at cardboad after moving the scope to a better spot on the rail and zeroing without any artifacts.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Well, that can happen (or not) depending on how you hold the rifle in bigger calibers. I am just surprised that it is enough in .22.

And you say that the RAV will activate with your .22? I did not expect that, either.

 

[Younggun]

Well, that can happen (or not) depending on how you hold the rifle in bigger calibers. I am just surprised that it is enough in .22.

And you say that the RAV will activate with your .22? I did not expect that, either.

It wasn’t a great hold on the rifle. I wasn’t really pulling it in to my shoulder or anything since recoil isn’t much of a concern. Not all that light for a .22 either though. Doesn’t look like the reticle moves all that far when I fired. But holding it tight it would have almost no movement so I probably did have it shouldered fairly loose.

I’ll get out and shoot it a little more pulling it in tight and holding it loose to see what happens. Not at all disappointed that the RAV kicked in though.

 

[Dawico]

Are there any warnings about using it on a rimfire?

Rimfires have less recoil in general but the recoil pulse is different.

There's a reason why many scopes are classified for certain types of firearms.

Just curious if this may be causing the problem.

 

[Younggun]

Are there any warnings about using it on a rimfire?

Rimfires have less recoil in general but the recoil pulse is different.

There's a reason why many scopes are classified for certain types of firearms.

Just curious if this may be causing the problem.

Nope. Only rule listed is maximum Joules. I tried to use some converters but had trouble converting it to what seemed like a reasonable number based on various online recoil calculators. So not sure what would be considered the high end of what calibers you should use it for.

No mention of rimfire though. I’m thinking that streaming to my phone at the same time, while it was recording, and the little bit of extra movement due to how I was holding g the rifle to get steady combined to give the processor enough work to do that it ended up with a few frames of artifacting. And it really is only about 3 frames.

If there’s a way to push something past it’s limit I can usually find it. It’s really not that bad, don’t want things I notice to come across as overly negative. I just tend to look way to close at very minor things.

It is still showing at most 2/3 charge on a full battery, but I think that is hit or miss with the firmware update. Hoping to find some quality batteries soon to compare and make sure it’s not a voltage sag issue with the ones that came with it. The Panasonic 18650s recommended to me are out of stock so I’ll have to look around. And the 18650s I use in my hunting lights are button tops so they don’t fit.

 

[Younggun]

I’ve been recording some different animals at various distances that I plan to mash together in a short video, just trying to come across some deer and pigs first. Maybe a coyote. So far it’s mostly cows, rabbits, and goats. Stills don’t work that well and make it appear much harder to identify animals than it really is, but I’ve also had a bit of a learning curve to not associate the grey scale with color as you would with a black and white photo. It’s much more about outline and movement patterns. I thought I was looking at a rabbit a couple nights ago, but after a couple minutes it was clearly the neighbors barn cat. This was at a distance of about 200 yards.

 

[leVieux]

I’ve been recording some different animals at various distances that I plan to mash together in a short video, just trying to come across some deer and pigs first. Maybe a coyote. So far it’s mostly cows, rabbits, and goats. Stills don’t work that well and make it appear much harder to identify animals than it really is, but I’ve also had a bit of a learning curve to not associate the grey scale with color as you would with a black and white photo. It’s much more about outline and movement patterns. I thought I was looking at a rabbit a couple nights ago, but after a couple minutes it was clearly the neighbors barn cat. This was at a distance of about 200 yards.

<>

Cabrito can be very good. . . . . .

<>