6mm06
Well-known member
This review will be lengthy, but maybe informative for those who are considering the X-Sight 2. This scope has been so controversial with some loving it and some hating it. I am giving my initial impressions of the scope after only having it for over a week. That doesn't qualify me as an expert or anything, but rather just my thoughts of it at this point. I have hunted one time with it and played around with the menu at home, sighted it in at the range etc. There is a learning curve to the menu but you can get it pretty quickly.
I have been straddling the fence on the ATN X-Sight 2 for quite some time, but finally decided to jump on it when I saw a good price on Amazon (new scope). I guess curiosity got the best of me. I ordered the 3x14 model but when the package arrived, I realized I received the wrong one, the 5x20. As it turned out, it was a good thing since I was able to have a good comparison. The 5x20 is way too much scope for reasonable distances and with a small field of view. It would work well for longer ranges over 100 yards. Not only that, but it is larger and heavier. I returned it (at Amazon's expense) and recieved a replacement that I originally ordered - the 3-14x.
As to the scope overall, at this point I think it's a very good buy for the money and will serve the needs of a lot of hunters who want to get a night vision scope but can't turn loose of hard-earned money for thermal and higher end scopes. The X-Sight is not in the same league as thermal and Gen. 3 scopes and it shouldn't be compared to them. It is, however; a decent scope for reasonable night hunting and one that many hunters can afford.
I have been using a Photon XT 6.5x scope for almost two years and still like it, however, the X-Sight has features the Photon doesn't. I particularly like the X-Sight's day / night mode wherein a simple press of a button gives you either full color day mode, or night mode with a choice of traditional green, or the black / white view like the Photon. The Photon is difficult (in my opinion) to see well during the daytime, but the X-Sight solves that issue well. I also like the X-Sight's onboard video recording, though I think my little DVR attached to the Photon produces better quality videos. The Photon boots up quickly whereas the X-Sight is slow, requiring from 7-10 seconds to become ready for a shot.
It may sound as though I am promoting the X-Sight or own stock in the company. LOL. Fact is I have been an outspoken critic of ATN in the past, particularly the original X-Sight. The company did a great job with marketing and ads, only to get everyone anxiously waiting for a scope, and then kept pushing release dates further down the road, doing this several times. Then they rushed the scope to market with a lot of problems, requiring updates to fix the issues, only that it continued to have issues even with updates. The X-Sight 2 is a step up from the first generation model, but it too has had some issues. ATN's poor customer service reputation along with a PR campaign gone wrong turned a lot of people off, myself being one and kept me from trying the newer version, until now.
The concept of features in the X-Sight is very good and a technological wonder in my opinion. The scope has had glitches in it, but once ATN gets everything right, I think they will have a real winner. So far my X-Sight has been pretty darn good, with the only real problem being of the clock not keeping proper time. That doesn't hurt anything about shooting, but should work properly since the feature is there.
A few nights ago I put the scope to the test on a 60-yard skunk. I zoomed up to around 7x and the bullet impact was spot on. There was a little pixilation but the view my eye could see was actually pretty good for such higher magnification and made seeing a small critter easier. The pixilation was kind of like what you see with PIP in the thermal scopes where the PIP is fuzzy or blurred, but in my limited use of the X-Sight, I don't think it was as pixilated as what the thermal scopes give considering the many videos I have seen of thermal kills with PIP. The video of the X-Sight,however; was not quite as good as what my eye could see and I would like better video quality. Video is captured via a micro SD card (doesn't come with the scope) of at least 4 GB and Class 10.
While I like the 3x14 scope, it has negatives too, like short eye relief, battery drain and pixilation when zooming, but is actually a very usable scope with some nifty features. I probably won't use many of them and will leave them turned off. The scope is actually a pretty sophisticated piece of equipment. As mentioned earlier, another negative is the amount of time it takes the scope to boot up, which is somewhere between 7-10 seconds. That isn't much of a problem for bait hunting, but it would be for calling. In the case of calling, it would be best to leave the scope running while making a stand. The Photon on the other hand, boots up very quickly.
Zeroing is relatively simple, and while I didn't get the advertised "one shot zero," I was able to get it done precisly in three shots. The windage and elevation adjustments seem to move the reticle in short increments which helps with a more precise zero. I have entered the ballistic data of my 6x45 load but haven't tried the ballistic calculator yet. I am thinking that feature will be nice when hunting hogs over feeders that are at varrying distances from the tower blinds.
The focus control knob is rather stiff and difficult to turn, but I fixed that issue with a larger knob, available on Ebay. That has helped tremendously. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-Knob-upgr...AR/222813608593
As to batteries, I think the Kentli AA's would be great and I may purchase some of those later. Right now I am using a 2600 miliamp battery I found on Ebay, the PNY brand battery. https://www.ebay.com/itm/PNY-Powerpack-2...ox/273062581485 ---I got it new and shipped for $7.00, and it powered my scope in a test for 4 hours and 15 minutes and still had one charge bar left. I had all features turned off, like wifi, compass, ballistic calculator, RAV etc. Only the scope screen for shooting was on. The little battery comes with a cable that will allow connection to the X-Sight. I mounted the battery in a 30mm scope ring since the battery is a small, tubular design, and then attached it to the picatinny rail on the left side of the scope. Two of those little batteries should give many hours of use.
I also purchased a 16,000 miliamp battery for $12.00 on EBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/16000mAh-Portab...5C/111693078143 ---I started doing a test with it and the scope went over 5 hours and didn't lose a single charge bar. I quit at that moment since I then realized the battery will power all my needs when using the scope. It is larger and heavier, but could be placed in a stock pouch, or rigged to mount on the scope's picatinny. I don't see any need to spend $100 on the ATN battery pack when you can get very good batteries cheap. Ebay is your friend.
I was quite surprised at how well I could see with a cheap Ebay T-20 850nm illuminator. I had no problems seeing very well to 80 yards or so with the illuminator widened somewhat. At 135 yards the view looked more pixilated and fuzzy, probably needing a tighter beam of light. I haven't tried the illuminator supplied with the X-Sight. I like the small dot reticle choices since I have been partial to dots for years, and I think the dot helps my aging eyes to get on target better.
Owner's Manual: http://manual.atncorp.com/xsight2/#smart-shooting-solution
So, for now I like the scope, but also I haven't had it very long. I haven't used all the features yet either, but rather just the necessary things for shooting and video. Speaking of video, I did find that the video button on top of the scope is not always responsive when I press it. Maybe I haven't learned it well yet. It seems that pressing it just right activates it, so maybe I need to learn the correct button push. Also, the clock won't seem to remain set. I have set it manually several times but it keeps "jumping time" for some reason. It may take a while to determine whether or not the scope works out and if my thoughts remain the same or change.
ATN's customer service seems to have improved dramatically, at least in my latest phone calls. Another PM member recently commented that CS was helpful too. I phoned to inquire about getting an extra sun screen. The guy was very nice and cordial and answered the phone within seconds of me pressing the phone button for customer service. While talking we somehow got cut off, so I phoned again and once more, within seconds I had yet another rep on the phone. He is sending me a sun shade at no cost. While talking to him, the first guy phoned me back and left a message stating that he is willing to help with the sun shade and gave me a return phone number. That is a huge step for ATN that up to now has had terrible CS. The company has a new CEO which may explain the change. I have a feeling he is aware of the poor CS reviews and is shaking things up. We'll see for sure as time goes on.
If you are not in a hurry for a scope, you might want to wait for the new 4K models. My understanding is the battery life is very good (up to 18 hours) and the ocular view is clear during zoom and doesn't pixilate like the X-Sight 2 does. It also has a longer eye relief. I also hear that the new scope has somewhat less bloom or whiteout at the shot than the X-Sight 2 does. The other night with the shot on the skunk, the bloom or white out was considerably less than what I get with the Photon. There was a wind blowing though which could have possibly contributed to that. In a shot show video interview with the new CEO, he (CEO) mentioned those things, that ATN is listening to the wishes of hunters and has made certain changes.
I am kind of excited about the new 4K scopes, hoping that first, ATN gets it right from the start, and second that their customer service turns around in the right direction. Hopefully this is a good start in that direction. Hunters will, however, be watching to see if ATN delivers. The X-Sight 2 scopes may come down in price too, given the introduction of the new 4K, so if all you need is a reasonable scope for less money, then you may find a good deal on the X-Sight 2.
Here is an interview with the new ATN CEO and discussion of the new K4 scope.
This video is from a guy I hunted jackal with in Namibia a few years ago. Back then we used traditional lights, but he has since
gone to night vision of various kinds. This video is of the X-Sight 2 on jackal to give you an idea of the scope's potential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oIKyycgozQ&t=135s
