Smart HD Rifle Scopes?

[Bitter Clinger]

Anyone have any first hand user experience with these digital optics?

http://www.atncorp.com/

[The Annoyed Man]

My son used to service and sell US manufactured mil-spec night vision equipment like PVS-14s and such. I asked him recently about these optics of ATN's, and he said that they work, but they are based on an older generation Russian system, and if something goes wrong with them, they are virtually impossible to have serviced.....which is why they are affordable. But I've also talked to people who use them for night hog hunting, and that they are great for that application. So kind of a mixed bag.

[Bitter Clinger]

My son used to service and sell US manufactured mil-spec night vision equipment like PVS-14s and such. I asked him recently about these optics of ATN's, and he said that they work, but they are based on an older generation Russian system, and if something goes wrong with them, they are virtually impossible to have serviced.....which is why they are affordable. But I've also talked to people who use them for night hog hunting, and that they are great for that application. So kind of a mixed bag.

The PVS 14 is based on a different technology. Clearly superior and clearly much more costly (manufacturing of the image intensifier tube is still a "black art" even today). However, ATN has just released a new upgraded version, and it is something on the order of ~6X less expensive than the Gen 3 ITT stuff. So I am wondering, just like say Bushnell vs Schmidt & Bender, is the price differential clearly justified? As an example, I was recently on the line and got to compare Nightforce vs. some "China Tech" and, at least to my eye, the price differential was not justified for the increase in clarity. Of course we were only shooting out to 500 yards, so I am certain that at 2X that distance, if anyone actually had a rifle that would get there, that the clarity differential would have been more apparent and easier to justify. And of course, over time, would the ChinaTech simply cease to function when subject to normal wear & tear?

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm not familiar with ChinaTech, and I've never been "Nightforce" rich. But, I have spent significant money on scopes before. My Remington 700 .308 has a SWFA 5-20x50 HDSS on it with a set of good rings, and it was a $1,500 scope. It has their proprietary milling reticle on it with matching turret adjustments, is illuminated, and has HD glass. At the time I bought it, I also checked out an $1,850 6-24x Leupold, and a $2,200 5-25 IOR Valdata, both with milling reticles - but the Leupold had MOA clicks mated to a Mil reticle and was not illuminated, and the crosshairs and stadia lines on the IOR were too coarse for longer range work. I could see no quality difference in the glass of all three scopes, right out to the edges of the image, when sighting on an abject at a known distance of about 450 yards. Given that a .308 is pretty much out of its league past 1,000 yards, and given that 20x makes an object 1,000 yards away look like 50 yards to the unaided eye, I decided to save myself $350 over the Leupold, and $700 over the IOR, and I bought the SWFA......and haven't regretted it.

Now, here's where it gets interesting..... SWFA's scopes are made in the SAME Japanese factory, on the same assembly lines but using SWFA's proprietary glass formula, that makes the higher end scopes for Bushnell and Nikon among other manufacturers. Some of those Bushnell scopes are pricey. The point of all that is that you are correct, the difference in price point sometimes isn't justified, and you can get a good deal if you're willing to take a risk on an unknown quantity.

Anyway, maybe that would be the case with this ATN. Good luck with it.

[Bitter Clinger]

I'm not familiar with ChinaTech, and I've never been "Nightforce" rich. But, I have spent significant money on scopes before. My Remington 700 .308 has a SWFA 5-20x50 HDSS on it with a set of good rings, and it was a $1,500 scope. It has their proprietary milling reticle on it with matching turret adjustments, is illuminated, and has HD glass. At the time I bought it, I also checked out an $1,850 6-24x Leupold, and a $2,200 5-25 IOR Valdata, both with milling reticles - but the Leupold had MOA clicks mated to a Mil reticle and was not illuminated, and the crosshairs and stadia lines on the IOR were too coarse for longer range work. I could see no quality difference in the glass of all three scopes, right out to the edges of the image, when sighting on an abject at a known distance of about 450 yards. Given that a .308 is pretty much out of its league past 1,000 yards, and given that 20x makes an object 1,000 yards away look like 50 yards to the unaided eye, I decided to save myself $350 over the Leupold, and $700 over the IOR, and I bought the SWFA......and haven't regretted it.

Now, here's where it gets interesting..... SWFA's scopes are made in the SAME Japanese factory, on the same assembly lines but using SWFA's proprietary glass formula, that makes the higher end scopes for Bushnell and Nikon among other manufacturers. Some of those Bushnell scopes are pricey. The point of all that is that you are correct, the difference in price point sometimes isn't justified, and you can get a good deal if you're willing to take a risk on an unknown quantity.

Anyway, maybe that would be the case with this ATN. Good luck with it.

"China Tech" is a generic term used to refer to any relatively low cost firearm accessory - typically of Chinese manufacture - that exhibits proportionally lower quality and often times a very limited lifespan under modest use. For example, we have seen low cost Chinese red dots fail in around ~2-1/2 hours into a 6 hour carbine class - presumably due to recoil.

[rotor]

Anyone have any first hand user experience with these digital optics?

http://www.atncorp.com/

I have the first gen ATN Xsite and they work. There are a ton of youtube videos showing results. They have the capability to record as you are viewing which is why there are so many videos posted. My choice would be a high end thermal camera for $10,000 but that's in an ideal world. These have the advantage of usability day or night but glass is better for day and high end thermal better for night. The ATN is a compromise for the masses.

[Beiruty]

2nd Generation is coming by April or July 2017...
The first Gen was plagued with problems, software issues, quality was horrible. Not to forget to mention that it was late more than 1 yr to get on the market.
I hope ATN learned a lesson and worked hard on Gen 2 to make it a par device for a digital night scope.