Five years ago, ATK (Alliant Techsystems Inc.) decided to get out of the consumer sport optics business and sold Simmons Outdoor Group to Meade Instruments. This sale consisted of three well-known optics related brands: Simmons, Weaver, and Redfield. At the time an ATK spokesperson stated the consumer division wished to focus on ammunition, as ATK owns Federal, CCI, and Speer ammunition. Now, it appears the company is entering back into the sports optics arena with its introduction of the Nitrex brand of riflescopes and binoculars.

ATK has introduced a new line of optics under the Nitrex brand name. Selection is limited initially with three models of riflescopes and four models of binoculars. The riflescopes available are a 3-9X42mm, a 3-10X50mm shown here, and a 6-20X50mm AO. The binocular line includes the very useful 8X42mm shown here, plus a 10X42 model, and a couple of compacts in 8X25mm and 10X25mm. You can view the complete line at www.nitrexoptics.com

This change of heart at ATK has me wondering if the company ever truly intended to stay out of the optics business entirely or if a new line of optics was planned all along.

It's easier than ever to start from scratch in the optics business. Huge optics manufacturers throughout the world stand ready to produce glass of any quality and price for various customers. With clever marketing and viral Internet practices, quality products can quickly gain a following. Some of the best optics are made in Japan and ATK was wise to go there for their new line. If the new Nitrex line of optics proves half as tough and reliable as the advertising claims it should do well in the marketplace.

But enough speculation on marketing strategies. Let's get down to what truly matters to most shooters. Are the new Nitrex optics from ATK worth considering next time you need a new riflescope or binocular? I have field-tested a production sample of each and my evaluation follows. I will offer an overview of the riflescope and binocular tested then sum up my opinions on Nitrex optics in general.

Nitrex TR1 3-10X50mm Riflescope
Once I got past the pretty packaging I found a huge riflescope in the box and little else. There were no lens caps or luxury cleaning cloth. Just a bare bones matte finished scope in a clear plastic sleeve. This is not a bad thing and set a theme that carried over to the binocular I tested as well. The goal seems to be to offer simple no-frills optics with excellent glass at an affordable price. The scope looks a little retro with its small adjustment turrets and the only accent color is a small red logo on the elevation turret cap. Did I mention it's a large scope? It's right at 15-inches long with the fast-focus eyepiece dialed out to accommodate my tired old eyes and there is plenty of ring space to adapt to most any mounting system.

The TR1 3-10X50mm is a large riflescope with superb optics for low light hunting. For size comparison it's shown here (top) next to a Nikon Monarch 3-9X40mm scope. The Nitrex TR1 riflescope tested is in matte finish but a gloss black finish is available.

There's no adjustable objective and none is truly needed at 10X and under. An adjustable objective is provided on the 6-20X50mm model. All lenses in the Nitrex line of optics are fully multi-coated and a look down the tube showed a large bright and crisp view. There was no tunnel vision effect you sometimes get on lesser scopes. In short, the sight picture is superb. Eye relief is 3.5 inches.