09-06-2023, 08:46 PM
Hey, DNS here. I am not an expert, but have been involved in the T&E and reviewing of a bunch of thermal units and a few night vision units (primarily digital, which fits here).
I am just going to throw this out as my opinion. Friends don't let friends buy ATN. It has been my experience that ATN's customer service is hit or miss. I see that in their reviews. They may take fine care of you if you have a problem (and you will likely have problems because 1) electro optics all fail at various points in time - ALL , and 2) because ATNs seem to fail at a higher rate that other brands.
Now for the required questions:
What are you hunting?
What is your normal shooting distance when hunting?
What is the longest expected shooting distance for hunting?
What sort of environment(s) are you hunting in (grazed open fields, overgrown open fields, parkland, woodland, etc.)
What is your budget?
What caliber(s) are you shooting?
Without knowing any of this, the cheapest best way to get into night hunting with NV/thermal would be to go with a digital rifle scope and an inexpensive thermal to just spot (not necessarily to identify) targets that can then be identified with the rifle optic after you think it may be a possible prey). Something like a Sightmark Wraith Mini in 2x or 4x depending on your needs with something like this... https://opticsforce.com/products/agm-asp...u_EALw_wcB
and you can be more than functional for $1200 (and closer to 1400 if you pay list price and all the taxes). The thermal isn't going to be great, but it will help you spot things more readily and keep you from having to wave your rifle all around all the time just because you want to have some idea what is out in the dark world around you.
Thermal rifle scopes are more expensive, but they are likely what you will ultimately want.
I am just going to throw this out as my opinion. Friends don't let friends buy ATN. It has been my experience that ATN's customer service is hit or miss. I see that in their reviews. They may take fine care of you if you have a problem (and you will likely have problems because 1) electro optics all fail at various points in time - ALL , and 2) because ATNs seem to fail at a higher rate that other brands.
Now for the required questions:
What are you hunting?
What is your normal shooting distance when hunting?
What is the longest expected shooting distance for hunting?
What sort of environment(s) are you hunting in (grazed open fields, overgrown open fields, parkland, woodland, etc.)
What is your budget?
What caliber(s) are you shooting?
Without knowing any of this, the cheapest best way to get into night hunting with NV/thermal would be to go with a digital rifle scope and an inexpensive thermal to just spot (not necessarily to identify) targets that can then be identified with the rifle optic after you think it may be a possible prey). Something like a Sightmark Wraith Mini in 2x or 4x depending on your needs with something like this... https://opticsforce.com/products/agm-asp...u_EALw_wcB
and you can be more than functional for $1200 (and closer to 1400 if you pay list price and all the taxes). The thermal isn't going to be great, but it will help you spot things more readily and keep you from having to wave your rifle all around all the time just because you want to have some idea what is out in the dark world around you.
Thermal rifle scopes are more expensive, but they are likely what you will ultimately want.
Kill a hog. Save the planet.
My videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange
My videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange