ATN X-Sight

I have a friend looking at the X-Sight and he thinks it sounds awesome. Need some real time feed back not reviews by the company.
What is good , what is bad, is it worth having?
He has no real need for a thermal but may be going hog hunting with us in future years.
For the price sounds to me you get what you pay for but I have no experience with one.

Here are just 2 of the many many threads on here where ATN and the X-Sights have been discussed. The general consensus on this forum and in every group were more than a couple people of owned ATN is the same....stay away. Until ATN fixes their customer service and scope reliability issues, it's not a road you want to go down, no matter how great the advertising looks. I would say to just search Google for some reviews, sort past the obvious shills and you'll find some people with a great experience and you'll find more with a horror story.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/7250789/Searchpage/2/Main/576815/Words/%2Bx-sight/Search/true/re-atn-x-sight-ii-hd-3-14x-night-scope

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/7439764/Searchpage/1/Main/591261/Words/%2Bx-sight/Search/true/re-atn-x-sight-feedback

Thank you, I did the search and the threads didn't come up so I was hoping someone would lead me to the right threads.

I had an X-Sight 2 HD. The 5-20 model. It worked well for me - was great to get my feet wet with night hunting. I was fortunate enough to NOT run into any issues that required dealing with their support. My experience seems much different than many.

You certainly "get what you pay for" with it. Probably more so on the support side than the functionality of the scope itself. I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked especially at night.

I think if it works as intended... it's not a bad option for the price... especially for ranges under 125 yards. There is a bit of a learning curve. It doesn't work like you'd expect right out of the box. I ended up upgrading the IR light and found that positioning the IR on your rifle is key to get the best image. I also found it is finicky with low grade batteries. Random shut downs and stability issues I found tended to happen with older/cheaper batteries. With a fresh set of quality batteries and an upgraded IR - it exceeded my expectations.

Keep in mind there are other options out there. At the time, I didn't know about the Sightmark Photon. It's similarly priced and is probably a better option on the customer support side. Looks a lot nicer aesthetically too IMO. Probably would've opted for the Photon knowing what I know now... though I never regretted purchasing the X-Sight. I'm sure if I ran into the many issues reported by others... I'd have a different opinion

If he wants something for night hunting go with the Photon.

For the money. Go with a photon. It is a good 100 yard option. I had two o f them.

I had an x sight. I didn't have any issues but the photon is better at night. X sight is better during the day. Damn thing was heavy was my only complaint.

Thanks guys, I needed first hand experience and you all have it on night vision equipment.
From what I under stand it takes an ir illuminator, it's not just a scope you put on the rifle and go shoot at night?

They come with stock IR illuminator which is usually good to 100 yds. Most people upgrade to aftermarket IR lights (Sniper hog lights, Coyote Reaper, ETC) to see well past 100 yds and for a clearer picture. On full moon nights you really don't need any IR.

I cannot speak for the newer models but I too have an X-Sight II 5-20. I knew going in that this is a VERY entry level IR scope and it was more novelty to play with. My expectations were pretty low and I have had no issues so, for the $350 I paid for it, I’m satisfied. It eats batteries so be prepared in the beginning to replace a lot while you are learning to use it. You can get external power but I personally find this getting in the way. The ability to send the image to a phone/iPad is neat. I used this to show my daughter where to place a shot on deer, in real-time, as they moved around in different positions when we were sitting in the stand. At night when you pull your eye away from the eyepiece you will be “blind” in that eye for 30-60 seconds because the screen is brighter than your surroundings. Daytime is also good but zooming in gets real grainy. For the occasional fun factor it’s ok. If I needed a guarantee that I would harvest something at night using IR equipment this unit wouldn’t fill that roll.

I agree with B-Dub. As for the batteries though I read about these on an optics forum.LINK I haven't done a full draw down test with them personally but I read where a person posted 6-8 hours per charge. If you are running regular alkaline batteries in it, those batteries are not really dead when the ATN stops working. They just don't have enough voltage to turn it on. Should still be a fair amount of life left in them.

I have the newer XSight 4K Pro 3-14X. Battery is internal on the new version and lasts a long time. It does have a USB port on the side to plug in an external battery which is also the charging port. It comes with a small IR light which is nice for my backyard rat control when mounted on my pellet rifle, but I got a much bigger IR light for out in the field. The key with getting the best image is adjusting and focusing the beam of the IR light. You want it adjusted to a spotlight rather than flood light. The Picatinny mount that comes with the Supernova has X and Y adjustments to position the beam in the center of view at distance.

It definitely add a little weight to the rifle. So far, I haven’t had many problems with it, but as others say, customer service isn’t their strong suit.

Your mileage may vary.

I have the x-sight II hd and it's been great. My feeder is 100 yards out and have had no issues shooting pigs at night with the ir illuminator it comes with. I did buy the extended battery for the scope. I have got some great video to boot with ther recoil activated video feature. I have no complaints for the price

I am coming at this from a different angle than most but I can't complain to much about it.

A bit about my background and why I chose the X-sight. I am blind. In the past while hunting I had to have someone look over my shoulder, through the scope, and give me directions. When I saw that the x-sight's screen could be viewed on a phone or tablet I jumped on it because it made for a better viewing experience for my spotter which in turn made me more accurate.

I started out with the X-sight 5X18 right after it came out. It did the job for me but there were things I didn't like about it. The batteries didn't last long, especiaaly when connected to a cell phone, so I sould have to turn it off when there wasn't any game around and then hope that I could get it turned on and connected to my spotter's phone or tablet before I lost the chance at a shot. It could also sometimes be blurry for my spotter.

Last year I bought the x-sight 4k and though I have gotten to use it very little, I missed the majority of deer season because of a kidney transplant, it seems to have cured most of my problems. It's shaped more like a scope instead of a video camera from 1989 so I'm able to put it on a bolt action instead of only an ar and still have plenty of clearance while working the bolt, the battery is internal and lasts a hell of a long time, and the view for my spotter seems to be a lot clearer.

If I can answer any other questions please let me know.