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With the discontinuation of the X-Sight 5-18 Smart Riflescope, you need to look at something similar or perhaps a step up from that scope. The ATN X-Sight II HD 5-20x seems to be the way to go.
If you’re already fairly certain that this is the scope for you, just click the link below.
If you’d like more information first, read on. The links in the box below will take you to a specific section of this article. Otherwise, you can just scroll and read it as it comes.
Contents
What Are the Most Important Features of the ATN X-Sight II HD?
ATN has packed the X-Sight II with many great features. I’ll highlight of few of them here.
Let’s start with a quote directly from ATN.
“Our Patent Pending Smart Range Finder will make your life easier than ever. With only two clicks and a simple shift of the scope you will be able to range your target. Once ranged in your reticle will automatically adjust its point of impact. No more guessing, chart memorization or complex calculations.”
Assuming all of that to be true (and I have no reason to doubt it), this is an amazing riflescope. What makes all this possible is the Obsidian II core processing chip inside. This is a very powerful computer that handles all the calculations for you.
Many hunters own more than one rifle. If you find that you like the X-Sight II so much that you wish you had another, you don’t need to go out and buy a second one right away.
This scope has a built-in profile manager. You can use it to save the ballistic and zeroing-in data for each rifle you use this scope on. If you have a Picatinny rail on each weapon, switching the riflescope from one to the other should be fairly simple.
The last major feature I’ll describe here is the video recording capability. ATN calls their system Recoil Activated Video (RAV). Here’s how it works.
When you have RAV turned on, everything your scope sees is stored in the system’s buffer. When you pull the trigger, you get video of what was in sight before, during, and after the shot, until you turn RAV off again. The video is recorded in 1080p at 30 frames per second definition.
Pretty cool, right?
You can use your scope much like a DSLR camera and take single snapshots, time lapse pictures, and even burst shots which is a rapid series of photos.
You will want an SD card with ample storage space. You can add one that has from 4 to 64 GB of space. I would recommend the largest size. It doesn’t cost all that much more, all things considered.
What Other Features Does the X-Sight II Have?
As the full name of this scope indicates, you can magnify your target from 5 times to 20 times actual size, using “smooth zoom” to change from one to another. As with any piece of optical equipment, the higher the magnification, the darker you targets will appear, even though the objective lens on the X-Sight is 85 millimeters.
At the other end of the scope is a high definition display. You can choose from 7 different styles of reticle in 7 different colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, light gray, and dark gray. Pick the combination that works best for your eyes, the amount of ambient light, and general conditions of your hunting area.
You can keep your eye up to 65 millimeters away from the eyepiece and still use it properly. When looking out to 1000 yards, your field of view (FOV) will be 240 feet. That’s not extremely wide, but it’s not that bad either.
Along with its video capabilities, there is also a microphone so you can describe what you’re seeing as it happens and listen to it later as you replay the scene. This could be handy for pointing out landmarks or anything else interesting that you don’t want to forget later.
Speaking of playback, you get USB and HDMI ports for connecting to external equipment. You also get WIFI (for both iOS and Android) and Bluetooth (4.1) to use as needed.
The X-Sight II has several items that help you understand your location and some that help it do its job internally for you. There is an electronic compass, GPS, 3D gyroscope, 3D accelerometer, 3D magnetometer, and electronic barometer.
What Are the Specifications of the X-Sight II?
I already mentioned a few specifications above. Here are those I left out.
The X-Sight weighs 2.55 pounds and measures 11.36 inches by 3.5 inches by 3.45 inches (289mm x 90mm x 88mm).
ATN says the battery will last 8 to 12 hours on 4 AA cells, but that depends a lot on which features you are using and a little on the temperature at which you are using them. If you plan on using it for more than half a day at a time, you probably will either want spare batteries (ATN recommends Lithium) or the optional battery pack, which can extend usage for almost a full day.
The X-Sight is rated as weather resistant, not waterproof or fogproof, so it’s probably best not to let it get extremely wet.
Finally, ATN notes that several mounts are compatible with the X-Sight II.
- A.R.M.S.® #17® (single lever)
- A.R.M.S.® #35® (double lever)
- LaRue LT270
- American Defense (AD-170)
There is more you can see in ATN’s handy online owner’s manual here. The manual is really well-designed with a very useful menu on the left. It’s almost worth checking out just to see some good online programming.
What’s the Verdict on the X-Sight II?
ATN has really put together an awesome piece of hardware with some great internal software in the X-Sight II riflescope. I didn’t even mention above (other than in the title) that you can use this scope in both day and night vision modes. It works wonderfully 24 hours per day.
But if you really like the X-Sight II, check it out at Amazon by clicking the button below.
It may be that, even after reading this review, you have decided that the X-Sight II isn’t quite what you were looking for. If so, check out this article about other scopes that may interest you more.
Is this scope waterproof
It is water resistant, so a little rain is okay, but it is not waterproof, so you wouldn’t want to drop it in a puddle, pool, or river.
Is the pixels tight enough to shout see a 10” Target well at 1000 yds?
Good question, Mike. I haven’t been able to find an answer for you though. You might see if you can contact ATN to see what they have to say about such a target at that distance.