Arken SH4 6-24x50 (Yes, I'm going there)

[Mongoose67]

The Arken came up on sale for $299 with free shipping. They even threw in the precision pack for $35. This includes a magnification lever, rings, bikini covers, flip up covers, bubble level and a little swab. This and my research was enough for me to give it a chance. I got it yesterday and have not had a chance to take it to the range yet. These are my first impressions:

The good:
- Good glass for full sun
- Decent eye relief even at 24x
- Tons of vertical adjustment
- Solid construction
- Great nob adjustments
- Good Zero Stop
- Still a very serviceable scope at 24x
- Nice fast focus eye piece
- I find the Reticle to be acceptable, especially at high magnification.
- 25 yard parallax adjustment
The bad:
- Poor at low light, lens gets cloudy.
- Illuminated reticle is limited to the center crosshair and only visible in low light
- Heavy for hunting (fine for bench rest or long range
- Scope rings are solid, but lug is only for picatinny rails (lug is to wide for weaver style bases)

I put this side by side with my Japanese Bushnell Forge in 2-16x50 with HD glass. This was about a $900 scope which I got on closeout for $500. The glass and eye relief are better on the Arken. The turrets feel/sound about the same. The Arken has more room for adjustment.

I plan on putting this on a 22LR to begin playing around with PRS. I think it will be optimal for this and a good option for base class NRL22.

I've seen videos of people using these on 300 Win Mag and even 50 BMG and claim they hold up. The most I would put this on for my purposes would be a .308. For a 22LR, no worries. For all those saying this beats a $2K scope, spoiler, it doesn't. It does probably beat some $800 scopes and certainly many $500 scopes. At $300 I would be shocked if anyone can match it for quality, options and clarity. I've seen side by side comparisons to the EP5 and that does have better glass than the SH4. If that does on sale under $400, I'd pick one up. I know there are fan boys out there for Arken and serial haters that aren't happy unless they are talking about $2000 glass. I own Leupold, Bushnell, Burris and Arken. I'm happy with the purchase and especially the price and recommend it (except for hunting, its a beast of a scope).

From Western Colorado - Mongoose

 

[Randy04eglide]

I ordered the complete package for $329.00 on the SG Gen 2 Thursday and it will be here Tuesday. I watched a lot of reviews and it’s one of those to good to be true deals, the tracking is what impressed me.

 

[z71rat]

That makes for a crazy good deal!! Right on!!

 

[Randy04eglide]

Yes sir I hope it lives up to the hype

 

[Mongoose67]

Just got back from the range shooting 50 yard IBS rimfire targets. Its certainly worth the $299 I paid, however above 20x it gets dark and the eye box is very finicky. From 16x down the glass is clear and sharp and the eye box is good.

 

[Randy04eglide]

That’s great how was the zero stop and tracking?

 

[Mongoose67]

Zero Stop is easy to use. Didn’t do a box test, but it held accurately for 100 rounds.

 

[db2000]

Just got back from the range shooting 50 yard IBS rimfire targets. Its certainly worth the $299 I paid, however above 20x it gets dark and the eye box is very finicky. From 16x down the glass is clear and sharp and the eye box is good.

Moving up to the EP5 improves this considerably. Also adds $120 of found on sale. Illumination is significantly improved also if that matters to you.

 

[Randy04eglide]

Good deal

 

[Mongoose67]

I ordered the complete package for $329.00 on the SG Gen 2 Thursday and it will be here Tuesday. I watched a lot of reviews and it’s one of those to good to be true deals, the tracking is what impressed me.

You’ve had it awhile, what do you think?

 

[Tikkaguy]

I think they are good scopes. For the price they can’t be beat. That said, do I run them on anything serious? No. Have one on my 22 lr I used to shoot elr out to about 500 yards. Tracking works good. The glass and controls were very nice. I’ve looked through a lot of
Of scopes in various price ranges. Now a days I’m kind of a glass snob anymore. I buy and sell a lot of scopes just so I can play with new ones. I think the glass is a about as good as you can ask for. It’s maybe around the 500 price range I think. Put it against a 3-15x weaver tactical. Bushnell ers 3.5-21. It falls pretty short of both of those. My mains Guns run pmii 3-20, and a mk5 hd and a few steiners. Once you run alpha scopes and get a taste for the glass you have a hard time using cheaper scopes. But for someone who doesn’t want to invest much into a scope that just works. They are great. Are they a 2-3.5k scope like some people say ? Not even close. Will they Probly do 90% of what you need? Yes Probly. 0-500 yards you won’t be held back too much in good conditions. But when ur shooting 1000+ yards plus on a shitty day I’ll stick with my expensive scopes. I don’t treat my scopes very nice. I take them to the range and I hunt with them in in the field, they get bumped and beat, and dropped in the snow, rained on, and used in the cold subzero degree winters for a week at a time. And when I need them to work they do and I don’t worry about them. Plus the pmii in particular. I sold most my spotting scopes because the glass is good enough to replace it. That said I can’t afford to have a alpha scope on every gun I own either

 

[Rock Chucker]

i picked one up recently, not the Japanese glass but for the money i am impressed. Brought it for a 22 or 223 not for anything more serious. Optics have certainly come a long way in the last 10 years, is it at the same level as my 5.5-22 Nightforce or 4-16 S&B PM2? But even with chinese glass, its alot of scope for the money.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Brought it for a 22 or 223 not for anything more serious

I’ve seen some pretty serious 22s and 223s. Can you please expound on why you wouldn’t run it on anything “serious”

 

[Rock Chucker]

Sure, because i have no time behind the scope other than mounting and bore sighting. Once i find the time to put some rounds downrange that position may change. My eyes dont do any scope justice any more, i read a reply on another thread that wasnt complimentary at all about the SHV 6-24. I disagree with that position completely.

 

[Rock Chucker]

And the 22 /223 i had in mind wasnt a PRS or NRL rifle, just a stock T1x or T3x Varmint