Paul Austin takes a look at a scope with improved functionality and a price point that provides your customers with a solid first step into thermal hunting.
ATN Europe, based out of Bulgaria, with a UK office in Hereford, has seen its Mars LTV units on the market for a while but they have wisely decided it’s high time for a facelift. To be fair, facelift isn’t entirely accurate, as the new LTVs look pretty much identical to their predecessors with all the upgrades being more technical than cosmetic.
There’s a drop in pixel count in relation to the 320×240 sensor used on the £1,699 LTV from the original line-up. However, that comes with a significant reduction in price of £1,199 for the new LTV 256. That’s £500 off the asking price. A factor which may prove very tempting for would-be thermal enthusiasts. There’re also quite a few variants in the range from 1.5-4.5x, all the way up to a 4-12x model.
Here’s the complete selection:
ATN Mars LTV,1.5-4.5x, 256×192, Thermal Rifle Scope
Price: £949
ATN Mars LTV,2-6x, 256×192, Thermal Rifle Scope
Price: £999
ATN Mars LTV,3-9x, 256×192, Thermal Rifle Scope
Price: £1,199
ATN Mars LTV,4-12x, 256×192, Thermal Rifle Scope
Price: £1,349
Regardless which mag range you opt for they’re all identical in terms for core functionality. While the two smaller scopes may seem particularly dinky for typical UK hunting applications you need to remember that these smaller mag options are ideal for driven hunts in Europe of hog hunting across the pond – where freehand shooting at close range is often the norm.
In terms of high-end thermal scopes, which often bristle with every techno-function known to man the LTV range are relatively simple devices. Some people (and indeed situations) don’t require all that extra functionality, with many shooters valuing affordable simplicity. All the whistles and bells of the latest ultra-high spec hardware is very nice to brag about but it doesn’t always see that much action out in the field.
With the aforementioned simplicity in mind, I’ll attempt to summarise the LTV 256 in a single paragraph, not something I’d attempt with most thermal scopes.
A simple power button, on/off (no standby). Click-thru zoom selection, brightness, and colour palettes buttons – all of which are adjusted by simple cycling button presses. The mag button for example toggles between the base mag of 3 to 5.4, 7.2 to the max mag of 9x – an improvement on the 3/6/9 of its predecessor. Brightness switches between low/medium and high, while the rear palette button switches between black hot and white hot in a range of colour palettes. The remaining button provides brightness control, again with a click-thru of 4 levels. The central button either NUCs (resets) the sensor with a short press or opens the main menu if held for a little while longer. And that’s it! Well, that’s not strictly true…
There’s the usual dioptre adjustment at the rear and the forward focus ring up-front, plus a USB-C port for changing plus a memory card slot, but in terms of technically geekery those basic button functions are about it. The main menu is also a paired down affair with no ATN carousel, just a selection of four options across the top of the screen with sub-menu items beneath.
NUC settings (auto or manual), pixel repair, six ret styles with seven colour options with three sensitivity and contrast levels offer a means of fine-tuning the sensor. Last but not least we come to zeroing. No one-shot zero ‘freeze frame’ function but it’s very straightforward process. ‘Take a shot and tweak’ positioning provided via the main control pad up-top which is re-tasked to move the crosshairs up, down, left and right as you hold the crosshairs on the centre of the target. There’s also a very handy zoom function within the zeroing menu to help further fine-tune your accuracy.
The Mars LTV 256, like its predecessor, is very simplistic scope. However, the latest incarnation of the LTV now offers pic and video recording, something which the older LTV did not. No wifi connectivity, and no access to ATN’s excellent ABL (optional ballistic laser range finder), but to be fair to ATN they do need to offer a unique ‘higher-end’ upgrade path to temp the big spenders.
Does it shoot? Yes, it shoots absolutely fine, but it doesn’t do a lot else, which is ideal if basic thermal shooting is all you require. Zeroing is straightforward and helped with the zoom function. The image quality is surprisingly good for a smaller sensor and it would be the ideal tool for ratting and rabbiting but caution would be required at extended range, if let’s say, you plan to pop it on a centrefire and do a bit of foxing.
If your customers want a bare bones thermal scope that simply shoots, it’s great. Aside from the larger sensors of ATN’s other offerings with features like freeze frame, which you can certainly live without, I’d say the LTV 256 is a very solid investment.
For example, the fully blown ATN Mars 5 320 3-12 (the closest match running 320×240 sensor) retails at £1,999, that’s £800 more expensive for your customers. A larger sensor admittedly and quite a bit more functionality but that’s a lot of money if you don’t need that extra functionality.
All in all, a very solid ‘no frills’ thermal that does all the basics well and generates a pretty impressive thermal image in the process. Ideal for FAC air rifle, rimfire and the occasional bit of close-range foxing.
Make an order
ATN Europe
02081451986
sales@atnuk.com
www.atneu.uk
