If you have been keeping up with any of the night vision scene, you know that night vision is getting easier and easier to come by. There are many choices available for purchase from companies like ATN, Sightmark, and other Chinese knock off cheapo scopes.
The best night vision scope under 1000 in early 2020 is by far the ATN X Sight 4K Pro 5×20.
I am blessed to currently own 3 different scopes:
(Click on any of the links above to check current prices.)
In mid 2018 I got my hands on what I consider the best night vision scope for under $1000. The ATN X Sight 4K 5×20 is an amazing scope!
It has amazing clarity during the day and in bright sunlight, you can zoom all the way to 20x (digital zoom) and see surprisingly clearly.
I have mine set up right now on an AR 15 platform. It is a 6.5 Grendel rifle with a 20 inch barrel. I have a fixed Magpul rifle stock on it, and I love this configuration for predator hunting.
The scope is set up like a traditional scope in its shape, although it does have some variation. You see, the original night vision scopes were more boxey looking or even bigger and heavier than a traditional glass scope. They tended to have their own mounting base plate that attached to a picatinny rail. The problem is that these types of scopes don’t fit well on traditional rifles.
This new 4K scope is designed to fit 30 millimeter rings which will fit more traditional rifles
as well as many other rifle platforms.
The scope is completely digital and will not work if not turned on. It has an awesome internal battery that lasts about 20 hours. That is 2-3 hunts for me. Both of the other scopes that I will talk about below require you to get your own battery source.
The 4K scope has many features including the ability to see in color in the daytime as well as see in the dark in black and white (night vision) with the addition of an infrared illuminator.
It has the ability to generate its own WiFi signal. This gives the user the ability to connect to a phone or tablet to download images or videos. It also has the ability to stream to devices so that another person can view what the scope is seeing at the same time as user.
It has Bluetooth capabilities which allows the scope to connect to multiple devices including:
A remote control, A handheld rangefinder, An attached rangefinder, and a set of ATN night vision binoculars that have a rangefinder built in.
I don’t have the remote, or the binos, but I do have the attached rangefinder and it works awesome! I just turn it on after my scope is powered up and it connects. Once connected, all I have to do to range something is push the southern button on the scope and it ranges the target. Then it tells you the distance in your scope. This comes in handy at night when judging distance is a lot harder.
It has the ability to store 8 different profiles. You could use this for multiple things including different rifles or different calibers or whatever.
It has a ballistic calculator that can be activated and assist the user to shoot further. In order to use this to its full capability, you should use a chronograph to find the actual speed. Then input it in your bullet profile.
I personally don’t use this at the moment because I don’t have a chronograph, but I have a friend that does and plan on using it soon.
The 4K also has the ability to record what the scope sees. In the daytime, it records amazing video. In the dark the recording can be best described as 80% of what you really see. What does that mean? It just means that in the scope you can see very well. But in the recording, you can only see about eighty percent of what you would through the scope.
Let me give you an example. I had watermelon tags to shoot deer that were in the melons. I had a shot on one a little over a hundred yards. I had my light more on the flood side and took the shot and it looked awesome! When I downloaded the video and watched it on my computer, I could barely see anything!
This has happened multiple times and I have to remind myself to move the light to spot before recording so you can actually view it on the recording.
The infrared illuminator that came with it is ok, but the scope has way more potential if you get a better IR light. Check out my post on how to choose the. Best IR Light for your night vision scope.
With the 4K 5×20 at night and the Predator Tactics Coyote Reaper XXL light, I can see trees at 600 plus yards at night. I can see animals eyes at 500 plus yards.
I love this scope! I use it for deer hunting during deer season and daytime hunts. I use it for coyote hunting, and I use it for hog hunting.
I started out at the end of 2017 with the ATN X Sight 2 5×20. This is a great scope for sure. It has most of the capabilities of the scope above, except the clarity is not there.
I have footage of hog harvests with this scope. I do like it. But it’s hard to keep it in my arsenal when the 4K is so much better with clarity.
It has everything programmed in just like the 4K and will do almost everything the 4K can do except one thing. It can’t stream the scope to a device and record at the same time.
It has the WiFi, Bluetooth, ballistic calculator, and recording,
It doesn’t have a battery source so you have to power it with your own. Check out this post on Battery Sources for a your a night Vision Scopes. –> Best Batteries for Night Vision Scopes
I see a lot of people on Facebook groups asking if they should buy the X Sight 2 or just save extra money for the 4K. I would say save the extra money for the 4K. I will be trading mine in on another 4K soon as I stated above.
Currently I use this scope on one of my 300 blackout rifles or I just use it as a handheld scanner.
At the beginning of 2020, I bought a Sightmark Wraith. Sightmark has been around for a while and introduced this scope to the market in early 2019.
The best part about this scope is it is probably the best entry level night vision scope you can get at the moment.
Check price on Sightmark Wraith by clicking here.
This scope is 4×32 power. It’s base magnification claims to be 4, but I think it’s more like 5. It still works great though for what it is.
I paid $300 less for this scope than what I paid for the ATN X Sight 4K.
It has the ability to record to a removeable memory card. In the daytime it records great. But at night, the same problem occurs in lower light situations.
The other night, I had some hogs come in. It was almost dark and I had it on day mode. I could see great in the scope. A boar hog came in and I put one in him. He ran off and I recorded it. I even watched it back in the scope to see that I hit him. When I got home and downloaded it, I could not even see the video on my computer it was so dark.
Lesson learned: When getting dark, go ahead and move to night mode so your recording comes out. Also, move your light to spot when recording so you can see in the recording.
The Wraith also has the ability to save 5 different bullet or rifle profiles.
It does not have batteries, so you have to provide your own.
It is easy to zero. The menu function is easy to navigate. I really can’t say anything bad about this scope.
It works great for the money.
So let’s recap!
If you are looking for the best night vision scope for under $1000…
Hands down my favorite of all 3.