Winchester Supreme THSD 384 Thermal Scope Reviewed

I recently got the chance to review the Winchester Supreme THSD 384 Thermal Hunting Scope. Winchester Optics is relatively new to thermal scopes, but they decided to start off in the budget-conscious market. First, most of us are not professional varmint hunters nor do we post videos on YouTube every week of epic hog hunts. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t interested in dipping our toe into the thermal market and trying one out. 

Even at the introductory level, a thermal scope is still a substantial investment, so we also don’t want to end up with a worthless piece of junk. This is the market Winchester is counting on: solid product with reasonable pricing. First, they offer a scope at better price than most of the other ones on the market today. Second, they offer a full 5-year warranty on components and workmanship. Best of all, MSRP is $2,299.

​Hands On With The Supreme THSD

The first thing you notice about the Supreme THSD is that instead of looking boxy like most thermals, it is shaped like a normal rifle scope. It comes with aluminum rings to mount it on a picatinny rail. It is powered by a single rechargeable 18650 lithium-ion battery. The charger can handle two batteries at a time, and these are becoming a relatively common size so there are plenty more you can pick up on Amazon. The very sturdy, waterproof, lockable hard case it comes in has custom cut foam to hold the scope, charger and all of the accessories. A USB-C charging/data cord, dual battery charger, rubber eye cup, and flip-up lens cover are also included.

​At almost 15” long, it is not a small scope. It also weighs in at 1.76 pounds. I like to cut weight as much as the next guy, but an ultralight thermal scope (under 1 pound) can easily cost you 3 grand or more. The screen is also smaller than a lot of more expensive thermals. Other than that, the features on this scope are very comparable. It is IP67 waterproof and handles recoil up to .300 Win Mag. Display resolution is SXGA 1280×1024. 

Thermal Scope Resolution

The thermal scope resolution is 384×288 Vox. The high-end thermals have a resolution of 640×480. The million-dollar question: does this matter? Answer: probably not. When you look at a $600 variable power hunting scope and compare it to a $2,000 variable power hunting scope, the biggest difference is light transmission. The more expensive scope has better lens and works better at low light. Everything else will typically be pretty similar. That means, at dusk and dawn you can positively identify your target for an additional 15 minutes longer than with the cheaper scope. That is a lot of money for 15 minutes.

The same is true for thermal scopes. If your prey is farther away or in denser brush, the scope with the better resolution will do a better job. If the prey is in an open field or 75 yards away at a feeder, it makes no difference. Years ago I was buying a television. I was down to two models, both were the same size, but one was a lot more expensive because it had a lot better resolution. The nicer TV was frankly at the far end if not outside my budget. A buddy was with me and he had good advice, “Buy the cheaper one. When you hang it on the wall at home and it isn’t right next to a nicer model, you will never notice the difference.” He was right.

It’s All In The Software

One of the best things about thermal scopes today is that they are primarily an electronic animal. Software continually gets better and cheaper. If you want a lot of bells and whistles on a handgun, they have to machine and physically make the changes. Software is just programming. in fact, while a gun wears out with time, thermal scopes get software upgrades and actually improve with time.

 Features that were only on the very best scopes a few years ago, can be found on every scope today:

• Different color palettes: No more white hot vs black hot; now we have red hot (my favorite) and other color combinations.
• Picture in a picture: want to scan a field but instantly be zoomed in so you can take that shoulder shot without having to fumble with the buttons? Picture in a picture has you covered.
• Digital compass: hunting with a buddy and he says look out at 150 yards at your 320? Yeah, you’re ready for that.
• 64 Memory and automatic recording for 5 seconds before the shot: because we ALL want to take pics play back a video afterwards, even if it is just for ourselves.
• Wi-Fi connection: I wouldn’t use it most of the time, but if I am teaching my 12-year-old son how to hunt feral hogs on a pitch-black night, I feel a lot better when I can see what he is seeing on my phone. “Yep, that is definitely not Farmer Brown’s prize Angus bull, go ahead and take the shot.”

These features were only on the most expensive scopes a few years ago and now they are on every thermal scope, including the Winchester THSD 384. The distance between an entry level thermal scope and a high-end thermal scope has gotten a lot smaller in a very short time.

Out In The Field

There aren’t a lot of pig hunts in central Arizona to test the Supreme THSD 384, but I did take it out to check out some wildlife. I know where a herd of wild donkeys can often be seen north of town and I found them around dusk. People ask if thermal scopes can be used during daytime and the answer is, “Yes,” but there is a caveat. When it is 106 degrees, animals, foliage and the ground are all pretty much the same temperature. I typically prefer using the red-hot palette for thermal scopes, but as the sun went down and the ground began to cool, I found the classic black hot showed the animals the best, but it was fun toggling through all of the palettes to see how each one had pros and cons.

I was recently watching a YouTube video of a top-of-the-line thermal being used a mere five years ago to hunt rabbits in the U.K. They looked like white blobs and were unrecognizable except by their movement. Today, a scope like the Winchester Supreme THSD 384 blows that thing away. I would never claim the Supreme THSD 384 is the perfect thermal scope for everyone, but I will say that it is a solid contender and provides many of the features that used to be found only on more expensive models. The THSD 384 has great features, a fantastic warranty, and best of all, a very reasonable price. There has never been a better time to jump into the world of thermals.

Specifications Winchester Supreme THSD 384 Thermal

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