ATN Thor LT @ Shot Show. $1,199


Well, that is definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe thermal will become more affordable. As to specs, I don't see anything bad about it, except maybe human ID range. The scope has the appearance of the newer thermal scopes and the 4k. If it turns out to be a decent scope then a lot more hunters will be able to join the ranks due to the price point. Hopefully this will become a trend of affordable thermal.

 
Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Well, that is definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe thermal will become more affordable. As to specs, I don't see anything bad about it, except maybe human ID range. The scope has the appearance of the newer thermal scopes and the 4k. If it turns out to be a decent scope then a lot more hunters will be able to join the ranks due to the price point. Hopefully this will become a trend of affordable thermal.

i actually disagree. Going with a thermal riflescope in that low of a resolution is going to get someone killed or at the very least the wrong animal killed. Espec. with it being an ATN which in my exp is horrible since they gave up the Flir core. Im in no way against the price dropping but not by means of less resolution. Had this been a standard 320 core at a new lower price then that would be something to be thrilled about.
 
Human id is 160 meters (I assume it's meters). Figure a coyote is maybe 1/4 size? So 40 meter identification for $1,200? Piss poor resolution and even worse reputation for $1,200? I'll pass.
 
Originally Posted By: Kevinfarmer3456Originally Posted By: 6mm06
Well, that is definitely a step in the right direction. Maybe thermal will become more affordable. As to specs, I don't see anything bad about it, except maybe human ID range. The scope has the appearance of the newer thermal scopes and the 4k. If it turns out to be a decent scope then a lot more hunters will be able to join the ranks due to the price point. Hopefully this will become a trend of affordable thermal.

i actually disagree. Going with a thermal riflescope in that low of a resolution is going to get someone killed or at the very least the wrong animal killed. Espec. with it being an ATN which in my exp is horrible since they gave up the Flir core. Im in no way against the price dropping but not by means of less resolution. Had this been a standard 320 core at a new lower price then that would be something to be thrilled about.

I agree. We spent a half hour tonight calling what we thought were 2 fox laying in a field at 300 yards. We gave up, walked several hundred yards closer and finally decided they were deer at a much farther distance than we estimated. Sounds dumb, but they were curled up in a ball in a bean field and we all would have bet money they were fox at first. That was with an xp50 and two XQ38s, way better resolution than this ATN.
 
I was thinking the same things, even my HD19A which is now discontinued is 384 X 288.

If i'm reading this correct the ATN is 160 X 120.

Funny how it does have a 60HZ frame rate which is a higher spec than my 30HZ HD19A.
 
Lower resolutions in the market are definitely not a good thing in my opinion. Like others have stated this is absolutely asking for something bad to happen or wrong animals being shot. Add on to the fact that it is so cheap i'm sure there will be tons of them running around in inexperienced thermal users hands. Even myself having used one for a couple years now will find myself looking through my XP38 sometimes thinking for sure i'm looking at a coyote at 2-300 yards sitting at the edge of a wood line just to pull up the night vision and see it to be something completely different.
 
I realize thermal technology is expensive, but look at the trend. A thermal that costs 10-15K probably 5 years ago, struggles to compare to the 3-4K scopes released in the last few years. This is great for the consumer as technology has continued to improve and price has been driven down by competition.

However, ATN went the opposite direction. They stripped many of the features off the scope (which may not be a bad thing) and lowered most of the specs (160x120) to put out a cheaper option. As so many of said, this is not a good thing especially when they have been struggling with quality and customer service issues already. Many people will buy it because it will be probably the cheapest thermal option, but I am concerned with safety and doubt it will be adequate for most dedicated coyote hunters needs. The detection and ID are just too low. High humidity will probably yield it useless. I have not used this thermal so this is just my theory.
 
Seems like a toy to me. The idea is great and the images look ok. Could be someone's "gateway drug" to a better unit. Might be useful around the house for coons and rats and such or to put on a 22 or 17. The problem is a person sees what their mind wants to see. A good hunter hits the brakes hard and says wait a minute, I see something, lets go find out what it is first and watches and learns and tries to get real close, at least thats what I do. Not all 4 legged creatures are coyotes and some hot blobs could be a person. I've let stuff go many times cause it was unidentifiable at the time or it just plain walked off, but I was able to go home and sleep like a rock cause I didn't whack something I wasn't supposed to.
 
I've got a Thor HD 1.25 which has a 384x288 sensor. I wouldn't count on ID capability (coyote vs. dog) beyond 50 yards with it. This LT thing has half the resolution, but a base magnification of 3x. At a 50 yard distance, I'm thinking they'd provide similar performance with regard to resolution of the target image, with the LT having a much narrower FOV.
 
Originally Posted By: ChR1sI've got a Thor HD 1.25 which has a 384x288 sensor. I wouldn't count on ID capability (coyote vs. dog) beyond 50 yards with it. This LT thing has half the resolution, but a base magnification of 3x. At a 50 yard distance, I'm thinking they'd provide similar performance with regard to resolution of the target image, with the LT having a much narrower FOV. yes, half but one has to remember a 320 core actually is 4x better than the 160.
And a 640 is 4x better than a 320.

160x120 = 19,200 pixels
320x240 = 76,800 pixels
640x480 = 307,200 pixels

So yes 160 is only half of 320 in one measurement. But you cant forget its half again on the other side. Since its a square screen.

So the total number of pixels increases by 4 times more each time u go up in resolution.

So a 160x120 core is only going to have 25% of the amount of pixels a 320 is going to have. Technically a 320 core is 75% better than the 160 and so forth.

Look thru ur current 320 core and imagine removing 75% of the pixels and u can start to realize just how horrible of an idea this new ATN is going to be.
 
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Originally Posted By: LARUEminatiJeez now that i'm looking even that leupold game finder thermal has a better core. And most people who have used the Leupold thermal would say, it is pretty much only good for finding a downed deer, at close yardage. We are all speculating but the specs don't look very promising. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as I think but if it were me, I would save the money for something more proven.

 
Originally Posted By: KirschOriginally Posted By: LARUEminatiJeez now that i'm looking even that leupold game finder thermal has a better core. And most people who have used the Leupold thermal would say, it is pretty much only good for finding a downed deer, at close yardage. We are all speculating but the specs don't look very promising. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as I think but if it were me, I would save the money for something more proven.

I completely agree and especially for something that is going on top of a firearm. We're talking about shooting something with the intention of killing it and it is very important to be able to positively ID what you are going to be killing. I mean this could be a death sentence if you are wrong and you end up shooting a person by complete accident.

Even a $10,000 thermal is cheaper than a lawyer if you are charged with manslaughter or worse.
 
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I had a FLIR scout 640 that I thought was pretty worthless as a scanner. Granted, it was 1x, but I couldn't imagine using this new scope as anything more than a conversation piece.
 
Wow, this thread took an interesting path..........from poor resolution to murder.

If you shoot a person you thought was a coyote, you aren't getting the death sentence, just saying.
 
Originally Posted By: BocephussWow, this thread took an interesting path..........from poor resolution to murder.

If you shoot a person you thought was a coyote, you aren't getting the death sentence, just saying. ill look for the news article but it indeed has happened. There was an incident where a guy was on his hands and knees stalking up on a sounder of hogs and a woman spotted him thru a thermal and thought he was a hog and shot him. Both were night hunting.
 
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