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Night vision - what are you using?

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Maineiac

Maineiac

Member
Feb 27, 2017
1,024
84
Iowa, United States
I’ve been debating between an ATN X-Sight II and a Nitesite Viper.

Does anyone have either of these units and can offer any opinions?

For starters, I can get the ATN cheaper than the Nitesite. But the Nitesite lets me keep using my excellent day scope without needing to swap around. I don’t think I would enjoy looking into an LCD screen for the majority of my daytime shooting.
 
I have an ATN X-Sight II HD. Have had no issues with it. Right off the bat I started using the big external battery (a must have) that is recommended because the scope is a power-hungry beast. Don't even think about operating this scope without the external power pack! I love all the features of this scope. The advantage it has over the Nightsite is that it doesn't illuminate your face and make you more visible to your prey. It is sensitive enough that you can sit in total darkness and see just fine. On extremely dark nights, the infrared illuminator offers daylight conditions and your prey cannot see it. Further, you look at the display with only one eye, and your other eye remains useful for night vision. It's very heavy, as you probably already know. But it's worth the extra weight if you're going after night-time predators and pests. Mine is full time dedicated to my AirForce Condor .25 with bi-pod and I shoot off a bench for coyotes that I bait into my kill zone. I rarely miss! Lots of coyotes in the bag. If something bad ever happens to this thing, I'll immediately order another!

The downside of the ATN X-Sight is not necessarily the scope; the problem is with the writers of the operating software. But they're slowly getting the bugs worked out. I don't have the latest software downloaded yet and am using an older version that meets all my needs. But when I upgrade, I should gain the use of the bluetooth feature and GPS and other goodies. But all I really use is the night vision. That alone is worth the money for me and many others too.

One last note: I have used this scope for daytime testing and target shooting. It's not as nice as looking through a fine piece of glass; but honestly, I don't know why anybody would complain about it for daytime use. It's really quite good in my opinion, especially when fitted with the front lens restrictor.

Hope I've helped.

BeemanR7
 
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"Trailryder42"
"BeemanR7"I don't have the latest software downloaded yet and am using an older version that meets all my needs. But when I upgrade, I should gain the use of the bluetooth feature and GPS and other goodies.
BeemanR7
Click to expand...
Have you seen this warning on upgrading the firmware?
Click to expand...

Is that the thing about the new software setting the minimum distance on the ballistic calculator to 20
yards or something like that?

For me, right now I’m leaning towards the Nitesite Viper Rtek which has a dimmable screen and I can swap it between my air rifle and AR15 depending on what I’m hunting.
 
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Is that the thing about the new software setting the minimum distance on the ballistic calculator to 20
yards or something like that?
Click to expand...
He says 25 meters / 27 yards. The release notes for the current firmware on the ATN website says "Ballistic calculation improvement". But unless you can confirm with someone that has updated their scope with it, you don't really know.
 
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Good topic, I’m looking at getting night vision also and from everything I’ve read I’m leaning towards the Nitghtsite Wolf and my thinking is that the Wolf will give me a bit more distance then the Viper, the Viper says 110 yards but it seems like that’s stretching it out from reading some reviews, the Wolf says 330 yards but it seems to be more of a 150-200 yard setup, I know it depends on how dark it is and if you use any other lighting but for the difference I feel the Wolf would be the best plus if you do put it on a Powder Burner it gives you that farther distance.....It’s a hard call between those two, also there seems to be a lot of different reviews on the ATN going both positive and negative plus it takes more to switch between rifles where the Nightsite is more scope friendly..
Thats my 0.02...
 
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I built my own DYI NV unit, made most of the parts on my 3D printer, a lot cheaper than Nitesite or ATN, and doesn't screw up your eye's, LCD monitor, NV cmos camera, IR illuminator, 3000 mah Li-po Battery, last a long time and clear picture, installs in a minute and no updates to install, works as soon as you turn it on and it has a video out for recording or an additional monitor, it snaps on to the scope, fits both 1" and 30mm scope tubes, fully adjustable monitor position and IR illuminator position, can be moved from one side to the other without harming the finish of the scope, I just upgrades the battery holder to a Elastic butt stock shot shell holder modified to hold the battery, and also made a UTG scope adapter, it works great, Rat's and mice don't stand a chance....
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6716e788514f9e428e09a19f41af1aa7.jpg
 
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This is funny that I see this topic . I was given a at xsight II version for Christmas. Have not sighted it in yet on my fx wildcat . I have looked through it and just briefly went through the options on it . I wish that my wife would've waited until this new version came out . It looks really nice . Really really nice . They fixed the bugs . Fixed the issue with the zoom . It's m I checked lighter , battery last much longer . It's much clearer than the II version . However the second version still looks pretty good. But the new one is suppose to be amazing clarity . The buttons on it are even better , the zoom turret is even better . The mounting options are also much better . So , it just gives me an excuse to get another airgun so that I can purchase the atn 4k . I would wait for this version to come put I think in March or April. I can not remember so don't hold me to that date but I would definitely wait for it . Go to ATN's website and you'll see the new version. The people who have an issue with the first 2 versions I guarantee that they will love this version . 
 
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Wow! The new version X-sight does look nice. I have the older original version, and I like it. It is heavy, a pain to mount, and useless unless you use an external battery pack. The zoom function is also about useless. When I record to the micro card, the only way I can download the file is by hooking the scope up to my puter with a cord. If I remove the card, my puter does not recognize the file type. However, it does perform very well, day or night. I have no problem at all with the quality of the screen in the daytime. When the new units come out, I'll probably order one. Then maybe mount my older one on a tripod for scanning the area at night.
 
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Be very careful... I started my night vision journey with a ATN-xsight..... Now I own two Trijicon thermals, Mk-3-60mm and a Mk-2-35mm.

The night/thermal game is very addictive it is easy to get sucked into the void, what I'm trying to say is image quality and target identification are very expensive.

The ATN vs the Trijicon is the like comparing a Red Rider to a FX- Crown.
 
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Received my new ATN 4K day/night scope yesterday! Mounted it up last night, and played a little. My first impressions are: Not a lot different than the older version MKll. It is smaller, sorta. Thinner, let's say. Not real happy with the buttons, and can't see/notice any difference in the picture quality. Zero'd in quickly, but noticed a change in POI when zooming. Time will tell, but first impressions are I should have waited until they were out awhile, and the price drops. :|
 
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