ATN

soup

Member
Guys,
I’m still seeking out all the information I can find before I pluck down some serious $$$$
on a Thermal or Night Vision scope .
Came across a company ATN.Their advertisements look interesting but I didn’t see any dealers carrying them. Is anyone using them to hunt ? If so,what’s the pros & cons .
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Semper Fidelis
Soup
 
I can only speak for myself. I have owned an ATN NV scope for several years. In that time, I have only had one issue and ATN fixed my issue with a software update within hours of me asking. I have now moved on to thermal but my NV scope is in hot standby should I have any issues with the thermal.
 
Soup,

I test NV and thermal tech as part of my job. There are a few members on PM who have used ATN and are happy with them mainly on the NV side, so I am not trying to discredit what anyone else may say. However, the reason most dealers (at least the more known ones) do not carry ATN is due to their high rate of RMAs. They are exactly what you described which is a great marketing company. The people on the NV side that have the most success tend to turn off most of the optional features, and then they seem to have better success. I have lost count of the number of customers I have spoken to that said the following, "I wished someone would have warned me about ATN before I bought it." So, I don't want you to be the person that wasn't warned about them. If you wish to talk more about NV and/or thermal send me a PM and I can provide my cell #, and we can spend some dedicated time talking about your needs, budget, terrain, etc and find a solution for you. I don't work in sales and don't get commissions, so I am not doing this just to get a sale.

 

I have owned 3 ATN scopes, and currently have one. Overall my experience has been good, though not without some issues. The first was an old Gen 1 Spartan 410, green tint / view, substandard then (Gen 1) and antiquated by today’s standards. But, I killed coyotes with it. After 19 months of use it developed a red streak in the view. Sportsman’s guide replaced it free of charge.

Next was the X-Sight 2 digital. I dropped a couple of hogs with it. It locked up after some time and would not turn on. I sent it to ATN and they determined it to be beyond repair. They upgraded me to the new 4k Pro digital. Customer service was very good, much improved from their reputation earlier. ATN has a relatively new CEO who addressed the company’s past reputation and set about trying to fix the problems. I think he has somewhat improved both ATN’s reputation and customer service.

I have had the 4K Pro for almost 5 years I think. It has been a very good scope, but not without a bug. Occasionally it will not power up when the on button is pushed, though it doesn’t happen very often. The remedy is to hold the power button down for 15-20 seconds, and that fixes it.

A guy hog hunting at the place we hunt, recently took an ATN thermal scope, only to have it fail by not powering up. He ended up borrowing the guide’s rifle / NV scope to complete his hunt. It is a brand new scope.

From what I have read, ATN has a higher failure rate than many other brands. All brands have or potentially have one issue or another, but ATN seems to have more problems than most. In ATN’s defense I will say that they have very innovative and good looking scopes with some great features. I specifically like the 30mm tube that is more like a traditional day time scope. That allows the scope to be properly mounted on bolt action rifles to mount lower to the bore, and to help with achieving better eye relief. The tube types fit an AR platform well also.

So, my thoughts are that I would not hesitate to purchase another digital scope, like the 4k Pro or the LTV series digital. Though not specifically cheap, they aren’t so expensive as to worry too much about failure. With regards to higher dollar thermal, I personally have reservations about spending so much, given the company’s reputation of having issues. I want to like ATN, and hopefully their dependability will improve as time goes on. I really want to see that happen. As I mentioned, they do have some good looking and innovative scopes. Quality control seems to be lagging a bit, though.

Hope this helps.



 
Soup, IMO there are a lot better options on the market for the same money, and there are options that are American made or European made that aren't Chinese if thats important to you


I would suggest saying what price point you'd like to be and get multiple responses in an open forum here from different users BEFORE you buy. Don't put your eggs in one basket, we got many experienced thermal guys here. Tell us about your topography and intentions and I'm sure you'll get some great recommendations.
 
Folks,
I had a fantastic conversation with Korey. What a gentleman to take time from his weekend to speak with me. It's really an eye opener to find out what you don't know!!! I think for my situation I'm going to start with a thermal scanner. I'm going to be hunting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I can use a rifle or shotgun in PA and the season is 24/7.
In NJ I can use a rifle up to 24 calibers in the daytime but shotguns only at night and the size shot is regulated. And the season is regulated.
I've got a "coyote Brand " light and in conjunction with the scanner maybe I'll get a shot or 2,

Anyone that can pass on any and all information I'd appreciate.
Semper Fidelis
Soup
 
I started out using red lights with not much success. I decided to get a good scanner and stick with the red gun light until I could justify spending the money on a scope. My first stand using the thermal scanner I called in a coyote and when I turned the light on he must of spooked because I couldn’t find him in the scope. After experiencing the thermal scanner within 2 weeks I had a thermal scope. I had people tell me thermals are a game changer and they are absolutely right.
 
Soup, I believe in order for your plan to work using the thermal scanner and a shooting light on the gun you will need to have your light already on and at low power. Once you locate the coyote's eyes with the gun light you can gradually bring the power up without so much chance of spooking the coyote.

I can guarantee that if you go from total blackness with the scanner to a bright light hitting the coyote in the eyes your success rate will be as low as your frustration level will be high.
 
Originally Posted By: soupFolks,
I had a fantastic conversation with Korey. What a gentleman to take time from his weekend to speak with me. It's really an eye opener to find out what you don't know!!! I think for my situation I'm going to start with a thermal scanner. I'm going to be hunting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I can use a rifle or shotgun in PA and the season is 24/7.
In NJ I can use a rifle up to 24 calibers in the daytime but shotguns only at night and the size shot is regulated. And the season is regulated.
I've got a "coyote Brand " light and in conjunction with the scanner maybe I'll get a shot or 2,

Anyone that can pass on any and all information I'd appreciate.
Semper Fidelis
Soup


Soup, I agree totally with Korey, a scanner is a must have and if I was starting it would definitely be my first purchase. One tip is make sure the animal is in range before turning on the light and try to not illuminate the ground in front of the animal, keep the halo above the animal just illuminating it with the bottom edge.

You never stated what your budjet is, that helps us help you with a choice. IMO get a 640, if you can't swing one financially wait and save until you can! Night hunters spend 98% or the time looking through it and about 2% shooting. A 640 isn't needed to kill coyotes (its definitely nicer) and if your trying to save money, spend less on the scope.

I've owned/used a lot of different scanners and I prefer scanners that are 640 resolution, 2x to 2.5x base mag (nice FOV) and has a removable battery, not a fan of ANYTHING that has internal batteries. Should an internal battery go bad you have to send the unit in to have the manufacturer replace it AND if there is a model change they might not support it anymore. I learned that the hard way with a Chinese scanner not long ago. Another challenge is internal batteries won't go all night, not even close so most guys running them have external battery packs connected to the USB port for extended run time. That means more weight, more connections to fail and cords to get snagged or go bad. Save yourself grief in the long run and just get a scanner that you can swap out the battery!



I currently own 2 different 640 scanners and both are outstanding IMO. I'll give you my pics depending on budjet.

Best scanner on the market IMO is the Nvision NOX 35. Its a scope or scanner, small size, runs off common 18650 batteries, 5 year warranty, American owned, designed and made with American made thermal sensor technology. It has the best image of anything I've ever looked through, period. Super rugged, only downside is it ain't cheap!

Second pick is the Pulsar Helion XP50 Pro 2. It runs off removable battery packs, has the second best image I've seen and is a great scanner. Lithuanian owned company and European thermal sensors, serviced in the US. Veterans and first responder can get this for about $3600, no tax and free shipping, I can recommend a few different dealers. At that price its really hard to beat for what you get.

Pulsar has been around a long time and also carries 384 resolution if that's your budjet and NO CHINA!!


Another brand you might consider is Armasite. They are back in the game since Flir bought them out and let them go. They are American made and supposedly use American made thermal sensors.

Flir makes some scanners as well, I think a couple guys here has had good luck and they are American made.

Last but not least is Trijicon. They make an outstanding product, American stuff. Same price and BAE sensors that Nvision uses but for whatever reason the Nvision products provides a better image and more bells and whistles.


Recently myself and several of my buddies have had GREAT experiences dealing with Casey at Nuggets Night Vision as well as Cameron at Thermal Optics Plus. They've had the best prices I've found, you should give both of them a call. I'm not affiliated in any way with either and either is good to go.
 
OK Soup, as you prolly know PA made thermals/NV legal a little over 2 years ago. After talking to Korey and turkey hunter I bought a Bering r25 as a scanner which I am still using and see no reason to upgrade unless it would be to a LRF model.
At first, I ran the scanner and red lights. Every time I turned the gun light on (and it not even being on the coyote) they would take off whether they were 50yds or 200yds.! I think it was to them as someone turning a house light on in the dark that we can see from a mile away. After this happened a few times a light went off in my pea brain. Leave your scanning head light turned on dummy. When I started doing this there was almost no runners. It was so effective that I hesitated to buy a scope.
The scope is definitly better but imo not necessary. The one thing that I suggest is to run the scan light brighter than most on here suggest. When I started running my nighteyes scan light at 70-80% they seemed to not react when the gun light was turned on.
 
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Originally Posted By: DoubleUpSoup, I believe in order for your plan to work using the thermal scanner and a shooting light on the gun you will need to have your light already on and at low power. Once you locate the coyote's eyes with the gun light you can gradually bring the power up without so much chance of spooking the coyote.

I can guarantee that if you go from total blackness with the scanner to a bright light hitting the coyote in the eyes your success rate will be as low as your frustration level will be high.

X2
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpSoup, I believe in order for your plan to work using the thermal scanner and a shooting light on the gun you will need to have your light already on and at low power. Once you locate the coyote's eyes with the gun light you can gradually bring the power up without so much chance of spooking the coyote.

I can guarantee that if you go from total blackness with the scanner to a bright light hitting the coyote in the eyes your success rate will be as low as your frustration level will be high.

I found this to be true even with IR light. When running a Photon XT and 850 IR my success went up when I turned light on pointing upwards on my tripod and lowered it at the approaching coyote or fox.
 
Originally Posted By: soupFolks,
I had a fantastic conversation with Korey. What a gentleman to take time from his weekend to speak with me. It's really an eye opener to find out what you don't know!!! I think for my situation I'm going to start with a thermal scanner. I'm going to be hunting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I can use a rifle or shotgun in PA and the season is 24/7.
In NJ I can use a rifle up to 24 calibers in the daytime but shotguns only at night and the size shot is regulated. And the season is regulated.
I've got a "coyote Brand " light and in conjunction with the scanner maybe I'll get a shot or 2,

Anyone that can pass on any and all information I'd appreciate.
Semper Fidelis
Soup

Korey is an amazing guy as a person to talk to along with an amazing hunter. He's assisted thousands around here and has never been "pay to play" like that but just a genuine nice guy with no agendas. Glad you got to talk with him.
 
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