another okie
Member
I bought an ATN ultra sight at Cabela’s yesterday after handling several other red dots, including the small and large Bushnells, and the ATN digital sight. I picked the ultra sight over the Bushnell because I like the multiple reticles, and I picked the ultra over the digital because the controls are of the positive turn and click type, rather than push buttons. Standing in the store and holding the different sights up so I could look at the far wall I found that the 65 MOA with a1 MOA dot pattern in the Bushnells sight made it hard for me to focus on the center dot for fine aiming, whereas the crosshairs reticle on the ultra sight takes the eye right to the center. That was my feeling; everyone is different.
The sight feels well-made and was easy to install. I have a Bushmaster A3 and have taken the carry handle off. One down side is that sight is so long that it takes up most of the rail. I had to move the fold-down rear sight I have to the very back slot (above the charging handle) and then let the ATN ultra sight stick out in front one slot. This means that the front post is not in a slot, so I was concerned about how steady it would be. It turned out to be no problem, and of course the Bushnell – EO Tech sights just have one tie-down point.
I did a quick zero by lining up the dot with the fold down front sight I have on my AR, then went out and shot. My 100 yard range is currently occupied by large herbivorous quadrapeds, so I was limited to my other shooting area, which only goes back to about 40 yards. I first zeroed it at about 20 yards, then found it was off when I went back to 40, so I left it about half-way between, which means it’s set a little low at 40 yards.
Another reason I was looking for this type of sight is that I first tried an inexpensive Burris red dot that was more like looking through a tube, and I found that to be slow. The ATN is just a ring, almost like a large peep sight.
I found the ATN sight much faster than the iron sights, though not that much more accurate. I really could get on target quickly. The four reticles are crosshairs, circle with dot, circle with dot and crosshairs, and a 1 MOA dot, which is pretty hard to see. I used all four and found the crosshairs was my favorite. (The reticles on the digital Ultrasight include a crosshairs without the top line, which they call a post.) I can see I’m going to have to shoot the AR at many different ranges to see how high and low the bullet is at different distances, but the windage was quick to adjust and stayed put. I do think I’ll be much more accurate with the red dot at distance than with the iron sights. My middle-aged eyes just won’t let me do much with iron sights past 50 yards any more.
The sight feels well-made and was easy to install. I have a Bushmaster A3 and have taken the carry handle off. One down side is that sight is so long that it takes up most of the rail. I had to move the fold-down rear sight I have to the very back slot (above the charging handle) and then let the ATN ultra sight stick out in front one slot. This means that the front post is not in a slot, so I was concerned about how steady it would be. It turned out to be no problem, and of course the Bushnell – EO Tech sights just have one tie-down point.
I did a quick zero by lining up the dot with the fold down front sight I have on my AR, then went out and shot. My 100 yard range is currently occupied by large herbivorous quadrapeds, so I was limited to my other shooting area, which only goes back to about 40 yards. I first zeroed it at about 20 yards, then found it was off when I went back to 40, so I left it about half-way between, which means it’s set a little low at 40 yards.
Another reason I was looking for this type of sight is that I first tried an inexpensive Burris red dot that was more like looking through a tube, and I found that to be slow. The ATN is just a ring, almost like a large peep sight.
I found the ATN sight much faster than the iron sights, though not that much more accurate. I really could get on target quickly. The four reticles are crosshairs, circle with dot, circle with dot and crosshairs, and a 1 MOA dot, which is pretty hard to see. I used all four and found the crosshairs was my favorite. (The reticles on the digital Ultrasight include a crosshairs without the top line, which they call a post.) I can see I’m going to have to shoot the AR at many different ranges to see how high and low the bullet is at different distances, but the windage was quick to adjust and stayed put. I do think I’ll be much more accurate with the red dot at distance than with the iron sights. My middle-aged eyes just won’t let me do much with iron sights past 50 yards any more.
