Arken 4-16 vs Athlon 4-14

[yosemite_sam]

I want to hear y'alls thoughts comparing the Arken EPL-4 4-16X44 and the Athlon TALOS BTR GEN2 4-14×44.

Currently I'm running the Primary Arms SLX 4-14x44 with the R-Grid 2 reticle. For $200 shipped I don't think that I could have found a better optic. However, holding wind with the R-Grid 2 sucks. There are no good horizontal reference points until 2 mil. Between the chevron and outer horse shoe is 1 mil, and there is no horizontal line. You're kinda just holding out in space until 2 mil, which is not ideal.

My main reason for wanting to upgrade is reticle. I am very happy with my $200 PA scope otherwise as far as durability, clarity, function. I use it to great effect out to 600 yards no problem whatsoever, except if its windy. I'm very open to suggestions of other optics but before you suggest please know that this is going on a m12 type AR. I do not need any magnification higher than 16x and and want mag down to 3x or 4x at a minimum. Must be MIL-RAD reticle and must have horizontal stadia for wind holds. I'd like to use my 30mm QD rings. Illuminated is highly desirable but possibly not a deal breaker. $500 shipped is my upper limit in budget. I don't like nice or fancy things, I like good things that work good enough for my purposes, which will not be shooting past 600 yards.

I don't need "alpha glass". Happy for dudes who have the time/money for such things but that will never be me. Anyways...

Arken Pros
Capped windage turret
reported longer eye relief than Athlon
Zero stop
Illuminated reticle

Arken Cons
Some poor impressions of the optic are abundant and people dislike their marketing scheme.

Athlon Pros
Shorter/smaller than Arken and Primary Arms
Whole reticle is illuminated
Zero stop

Athlon cons
windage turret is open

Let's hear the opinions! Also FYI if this turns in to a bash Arken thread I'll delete your post. There are enough of those out there. If you had a bad experience with Arken let me hear it, but I'm not here for your vitriol. I'm looking from objective experiences from people who have USED these optics on their rifles for medium range shooting. Thank you.

-Sam

 

[M260]

Side by side in low light comparison the 4x16 epl4 beat a helos 4x20 and meopta optica 6 3x18. I hunt with epl4

 

[spife7980]

I’ve only got 6-24 Arken and the first gen talos but I prefer my talos.
I’ve still got the athlon on my offhand 22 and the Arken I have to my sister who shoots one deer a year.
I much prefer the talos reticle and glass is a toss up.

 

[rdramsey8]

I don’t have experience with that particular Arken scope, but I have a EP-5 5-25 on my 6.5 and a SH-4J 6-24 on my .22. I’m happy with both scopes. I snagged both up at a good price and have no complains so far.

 

[yosemite_sam]

At this point I’m leaning towards the Athlon due to the reticle being fully illuminated, and the illumination control is separate from the parallax adjustment.

I don’t like how the Arken is set up like that. Do folks ever accidentally adjust the illumination when adjusting parallax?

 

[steve123]

OT a bit, and over budget too, but the new Athlon G3 Ares BTR 2.5-15 is an absolutely killer scope for the money!!!

It's got very good everything, but not quite daylight bright illume, and a great .2 mil reticle that is slightly thicker at .06 mil and the new turrets feel like they belong on a $3000 scope!

I've had a Talos 4-14 and a friend has that PA. For holds yeah the Talos, for seeing the reticle on low mag the PA gets the nod.
No comment on the Arken because I haven't been behind that scope.

I'm serious about this, keep saving, because that G3 is just too good to not have, and that Talos is waaaay behind it. I've said in the past that some Athlon scopes you are getting twice the scope for your money compared to some other brands but this G3 is at least 3 times the scope.
Call Doug at Camerland and see what he can do for you.

 

[yosemite_sam]

OT a bit, and over budget too, but the new Athlon G3 Ares BTR 2.5-15 is an absolutely killer scope for the money!!!

It's got very good everything, but not quite daylight bright illume, and a great .2 mil reticle that is slightly thicker at .06 mil and the new turrets feel like they belong on a $3000 scope!

I've had a Talos 4-14 and a friend has that PA. For holds yeah the Talos, for seeing the reticle on low mag the PA gets the nod.
No comment on the Arken because I haven't been behind that scope.

I'm serious about this, keep saving, because that G3 is just too good not have, and that Talos is waaaay behind it. I've said in the past that some Athlon scopes you are getting twice the scope for your money compared to some other brands but this G3 is at least 3 times the scope.
Call Doug at Camerland and see what he can do for you.

Thanks for the rec! I feel at twice to cost as the Talos and a 50mm objective, this may be more scope than I need at the moment but thanks for sharing!

 

[TonyAngel]

You're talking about two low cost scopes that are about on par with each other. Get the one that has the bells and whistles you want.

Since you're online asking about them, I'm gonna guess that you've never had hands on either. The best thing you can do is try to get some hands on time with both and make your own decision. Or maybe order both and return the one you like the least.

I think the Arken is a bit more refined and you can feel it in the controls. I have two EPL 4s and I like them a lot, with one caveat. If you are going to be using rings on some sort of pic rail, you have to be sure that everything is perfectly straight. If it isnt, the parallax adjustment will bind up and you'll know it because the parallax knob with give you a clicking sensation when you adjust it. If youre going to be using a one piece mount, this will likely not be an issue.

If you need a sub $500 scope, id either be looking at one of the Arkens or the Athlon Helos 2-12. The Helos is a pretty nice scope.

 

[yosemite_sam]

You're talking about two low cost scopes that are about on par with each other. Get the one that has the bells and whistles you want.

Since you're online asking about them, I'm gonna guess that you've never had hands on either. The best thing you can do is try to get some hands on time with both and make your own decision. Or maybe order both and return the one you like the least.

I think the Arken is a bit more refined and you can feel it in the controls. I have two EPL 4s and I like them a lot, with one caveat. If you are going to be using rings on some sort of pic rail, you have to be sure that everything is perfectly straight. If it isnt, the parallax adjustment will bind up and you'll know it because the parallax knob with give you a clicking sensation when you adjust it. If youre going to be using a one piece mount, this will likely not be an issue.

If you need a sub $500 scope, id either be looking at one of the Arkens or the Athlon Helos 2-12. The Helos is a pretty nice scope.

I actually really like the Helos 2-12 but the MIL reticle doesn’t have any horizontal stadia until 1 MIL from the center dot. Same issue I have with my PA scope currently.

I’m leaning towards the Athlon Talos because I’m pretty sure it’s the same chassis as my PA SLX 4-14 but with the reticle I like. It’s specs and appearance are almost identical.