ATN X-Sights; 3-12 and 5-18

[mikein]

Do any of you have any actual, hands-on experience with these new scopes? I've had one on order since February of this year, and was just notified that it had shipped. I've heard some real horror stories about problems with them, and I've heard some rave reviews from people who've used them in the field. Most of the horror stories appear to be coming from people who've read horror stories on other forums! And when asked if they've ever used one, they either don't answer or say one of their buddies tried one. . . ATN has acknowledged that there are definite problems with them but claim that the fixes for a majority of the problems are in the latest firmware release (which is customer downloadable) that was made available yesterday or today. If you've got one of them and have really taken it hunting or target shooting, I'd sure like to hear your opinions. All the negativity has got me a bit nervous!!

[LoneWolf]

Some quick research shows they are made in China. I can't say I'd have huge expectations...

[mikein]

Do you own one, Lone Wolf? Or have you really used one in the field?

[LoneWolf]

looking at reviews on optics planet I don't think anyone owns one yet and if they did get it they already sent it back for issues. Like I said my confidence would not be very high for this type of optic on the commercial market.

[mikein]

Thanks for sharing your opinion, Lone Wolf.

[LoneWolf]

Sorry speaking from the mindset of a procurement specialist, which is my job on the Military side. Just the way I look into things. I hope it's a useful tool in the end and isn't all just a bunch of hype.

[mikein]

I understand. As a Vietnam vet, I wish there had been more folks like you challenging the wisdom of the choices made in weaponry during that time. There really are owners and users of the X-sights, and, time and again, they report that, even with all the warts and scabs they find with the new Sights, they feel that function wise, at the price point the devices are offered, they're a game changer. I've even seen a couple of reports wherein the owners say that they'll keep the scopes even if ATN isn't able to ever fix all the items on the laundry list of issues (that are supposed to be fixed with the latest firmware release). It's kinda hard to know what and who to believe, and that's why I was hoping to get a member of the Brotherhood of the Barrel Nut to share their first hand, hands-on experience. But it looks like I may be that very person! Delivery of the scope is promised this coming Friday, and the sight is in the mail and being tracked by USPS. So this one isn't "vaporware!" How will it function? Who knows, but I'll find out very soon. . .

[mikein]

I've gotten the new scope and have spent a couple of hours during a couple of days to get it all set up. I'm really impressed with the amount of function this device offers, at the price point it's selling for. I've not experienced any of the problems I see cited on other forums, but so far, I've only been able to set it up and test it in a controlled environment. The weather has been so rotten around here that I've not been able to venture out to the range with it yet. So all the nifty things it does, like take pictures, take videos, offer different reticles, power zoom from 5-18, WiFi capabilities and GPS capabilities are doing fine inside, at 72 degrees and no recoil with which to deal! The weather is supposed to improve next week and I'll be taking it to the field as soon as I can and give everyone a full report.

[mikein]

I finally found the time to get the X-Sight out to the range. While there are still some issues that ATN needs to fix, on balance, it performs the tasks I want it to quite well, so far. Still haven't had an opportunity to take it night hunting, but when I do, I'll share my experience with you. The picture I've included was taken at 90 yards at the 5X zoom setting. I tested the "One Shot Zeroing" function and it worked perfectly. The addition of the crosshairs on the images was a new addition with the latest firmware release, and as you can see, it worked well. One of the issues was associated with the operator not having screwed the battery compartment cap down securely. There was another issue of the sight mounting screws not being securely tightened, and I checked them before mounting the scope for this shoot. I shot 40 rounds of 7.62X39 ammunition through it and the scope held up to the recoil just fine. One rather interesting, but frustrating problem that some of us have encountered is a very rapid battery drain, even when the scope was in the "static" condition, with no functions being turned on. I ran several tests on mine, taking the batteries in and out and checking them to see if they had lost any of their charge. As of right now, I am having no problems in that area. There's still enough negative chatter on different forums about different issues, so I'm still not convinced that the scope is ready for prime time. But once ATN gets its act together on the firmware, I truly believe it's going to be an excellent optic worth consideration.

[J.Baker]

Any issues with image quality when you zoom in to 12x or 18x (depending on which model you have)? Will also be interested in knowing how far out the NV function works when you get to test it. For $600, if it will let me clearly identify targets out to 150 yards or better it's going to be hard to beat considering most Gen1 NV weapon sights still run in the $1,200 to 1,500 range. Still a little bulky compared to a regular hunting scope, but they're far more compact than most of the NV weapon sights out there.

[mikein]

The image begins to "pixelize" when I run the scope up to it's maximum zoom of 18X. The IR Illuminator that comes with the scope allows me to see quite clearly out to 100-125 yards. Without the illuminator and no ambient light, you can't see much more than 30-40 yards. Some folks have bought heavy duty illuminators and they claim that at 250-300 yards they can see well enough to take a shot. I'm confident that if you buy one and then add an aftermarket illuminator to it, you'll definitely be in the 150 yard range with no problem.

Any issues with image quality when you zoom in to 12x or 18x (depending on which model you have)? Will also be interested in knowing how far out the NV function works when you get to test it. For $600, if it will let me clearly identify targets out to 150 yards or better it's going to be hard to beat considering most Gen1 NV weapon sights still run in the $1,200 to 1,500 range. Still a little bulky compared to a regular hunting scope, but they're far more compact than most of the NV weapon sights out there.