Night vision scope

[patw]

I just got an ATN 390 night vision scope.  Our Texas hill country pigs are about to get a surprise this weekend, assuming I can finish sighting in.  FWIW, I had read that you had to sight in at night, but I was able to do it in broad daylight.  The sighting in process was none too easy though.  It seems that when I would get on paper, I would move the crosshairs what I thought was the appropriate amount, and would end up off target altogether.  I finally got on, getting about 2-3 inch groups at 100, about all that seemed possible since the picture was not entirely crystal clear.
Now I have some questions I hope somebody may have the answer to.  Is the scope detachable so that it will be on target when reattached?  It seems to have the same principle as the QD rings, with one solid side.  I tried calling ATN, and it was obvious they had someone answering  questions who had NO idea of what I was talking about.  I also tried to ask what is the right torque to apply when mounting the scope, and I may as well have been speaking Greek.  I would prefer to take the scope off traveling to the blind.  I have QD rings on my normal scope and would like to just switch between the two according to need.

[Graybeard]

Depending on what generation it is, I think we're up to four now but maybe still only three, you might never get it to shoot really decent groups for long range work. I'd not trust the scope to return to zero especially since you have at best a rough zero anyway. Leave it mounted would be my advice.

If it's a Gen III then it should be super nice and should be capable of accuracy at long range. If Gen I then good luck doing much of anything with it. Gen II is I think about the oldest tech worth spending money on these days.

[patw]

It is a gen I.  I think this will be all I need if it will hold on zero.  With the infrared light it looks to be good for 100 yds, maybe a little more.   Gen II is more than three times the price of this one, around $1700.  They do have gen IV, around $5000. 
I went and tried looking through it as it was getting dark, and I think it may be possible to get a better view of the target when the sun is not shining so bright.  I will try to go sight in on Wednesday.  If all goes well, I will take the scope off and put it right back on to see what that does.

[torpedoman]

mounted a night vision monocular behind a regular scope not pretty but it does work. Also works behind a good red dot.

[anweis]

As far as i know, one should not switch on Gen I and II optics during daytime because they could be damaged by too much light (as instructed by several manufacturers of devices that i used in the past).

[patw]

mounted a night vision monocular behind a regular scope not pretty but it does work
Sounds interesting.  Any chance of a picture?

Regarding turning it on during the day, the scope has a rubber cap up front with a tiny hole in the center.  That allows it to be used in daylight.  You have to take the cap off for night time use.  It also has an automatic shutoff if used in bright light with the cap off.

[patw]

Went out shooting today.  Overcast day, picture of the target was clear.  Shot 1" at 100 with the regular scope.  The night vision would not hold zero, not even close.  Got one shot near center at 50, none of the next three hit paper.  I called Cabelas and they were great, no hassles exchanging it.  And they are shipping one out immediately.  It will still be too late for this trip, so next time.  The reviews at Cabelas  list some pros and cons, but overall most said the scope held zero.  I will report on how the next one performs.