Rifle Scopes Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL

I am getting mixed input and this seems like a good place to ask this. lol

I am mounting an EP5 on a SIG Cross in .308 with a 16" bbl. What height rings would ya'll recommend? ETA the Cross has a built in 20 MOA rail.

I am also mounting an SH4 GEN2 4-16x50 on a Aero Precision M5 16" bbl (AR10 .308) build. I also want to put a 45 degree RMR mount on it. What height would you recommend for that? Or would you just use the one piece?
Don’t know about the Sig, but the AR10, I’d use the 1-piece 20MOA mount.
 
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....before finalizing, I'd suggest you mock-up where on the upper you want the scope to generally locate the free space between the power adjustment ring & elevation/windage turret and free space between elevation/windage turret to objective bell . Depending on your length of pull, buttstock used, desired eye relief, you want to make sure you can keep the rings/1-piece mount on the upper and not bridge across the upper & handguard juncture.

If you do a search thru this thread there are some examples and pics of the different Arken rings in use. Good luck.
 
This is the 4-16 on the aero m5.
 

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Thank you for the input. I am pretty sure I am going to use the .92 low rings that Arken offers. Hopefully I don't strike out!! lol

You could run the higher rings as I saw a Cross last weekend and it has an adjustable cheek piece, right? I can tell you that I've run the 1.26" rings on Ruger Americans and since they have tapered, fairly thin barrels the scope is quite high.
 
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Let us know how it is, I did look through an EP5 - Glass was a lot better than I expected.
The 2nd EP5 they sent me to replace my first one, has been amazing. The glass is exceptional for the price-point. I've been very impressed with it. I hope the EPL4 is as good, or better, since it's designed for hunting. Glass clarity and coatings are paramount for a good hunting scope. So I hope they deliver. If not, I'll send it back and get them to send me another one. They come with a warranty...If you're unhappy...Utilize it. That's what it's there for.

A lot of folks are embarrassed to use a warranty...I'm not. Hell, I just went to pickup my Jeep from the body shop this afternoon after work, after them having it for over a month (hit a deer), and it did like $6K worth of damage. I wasn't happy with the quality of the work they did, and told them to fix it right, and got in my other truck and left. Known the owner a long time, good friend of the family, and I've always been happy with their work in the past, but this looked amateur at best...Orange peel, a scratch on the freshly painted door, the new door wasn't lined up properly, and there was a 15" long dark paint run in the door, and the metallic paint had hardly any metallics or depth to it in the sunlight. And when you're talking about a 2 year old $65,000 (current value) Gladiator Rubicon that only has 11,000 miles on it, that shit better look 100% factory (or better) when I get it back. It ain't a Lambo or Bentley, but it's the most expensive (road) vehicle i've ever owned...So, to me, it might as well be.
 
The 2nd EP5 they sent me to replace my first one, has been amazing. The glass is exceptional for the price-point. I've been very impressed with it. I hope the EPL4 is as good, or better, since it's designed for hunting. Glass clarity and coatings are paramount for a good hunting scope. So I hope they deliver. If not, I'll send it back and get them to send me another one. They come with a warranty...If you're unhappy...Utilize it. That's what it's there for.

A lot of folks are embarrassed to use a warranty...I'm not. Hell, I just went to pickup my Jeep from the body shop this afternoon after work, after them having it for over a month (hit a deer), and it did like $6K worth of damage. I wasn't happy with the quality of the work they did, and told them to fix it right, and got in my other truck and left. Known the owner a long time, good friend of the family, and I've always been happy with their work in the past, but this looked amateur at best...Orange peel, a scratch on the freshly painted door, the new door wasn't lined up properly, and there was a 15" long dark paint run in the door, and the metallic paint had hardly any metallics or depth to it in the sunlight. And when you're talking about a 2 year old $65,000 (current value) Gladiator Rubicon that only has 11,000 miles on it, that shit better look 100% factory (or better) when I get it back. It ain't a Lambo or Bentley, but it's the most expensive (road) vehicle i've ever owned...So, to me, it might as well be.
I tried to use the warranty with Arken for my 2 - SH4 GenII 6-24x50 for strange CA on the edge of white targets, green boxes , purple streaks etc - needless to say they refused to do warranty with out pictures (Like WTF - I asked how I suppose to do this and was told to use my camera on my iPhone), which is total BS - Not sure why they would think I would lie about something like that, this kind of shit is what turns me off on companies, I was seriously considering the EP5 over the Burris's XTRIIIi - in order to save money - but the reviews from a lot folks on here and elsewhere - along with the poor warranty experience with the SH4 GenII, - I won't buy from Arken or recommend their products to anyone else based on my poor CS experience.

You can take it for what it's worth and say I am being an asshole about the warranty and should give them another chance, not happening. They are on my list of don't buy from again.

I learned a lesson and not going to be cheap anymore on scopes even though I am a poors - I will wait a little longer and save money and buy a better scope from a brand that will honor their warranty when I have an issue, not make up a line of shit in order to intentionally make a warranty claim difficult.
 
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I tried to use the warranty with Arken for my 2 - SH4 GenII 6-24x50 for strange CA on the edge of white targets, green boxes , purple streaks etc - needless to say they refused to do warranty with out pictures (Like WTF - I asked how I suppose to do this and was told to use my camera on my iPhone), which is total BS - Not sure why they would think I would lie about something like that, this kind of shit is what turns me off on companies, I was seriously considering the EP5 over the Burris's XTRIIIi - in order to save money - but the reviews from a lot folks on here and elsewhere - along with the poor warranty experience with the SH4 GenII, - I won't buy from Arken or recommend their products to anyone else based on my poor CS experience.

You can take it for what it's worth and say I am being an asshole about the warranty and should give them another chance, not happening. They are on my list of don't buy from again.

I learned a lesson and not going to be cheap anymore on scopes even though I am a poors - I will wait a little longer and save money and buy a better scope from a brand that will honor their warranty when I have an issue, not make up a line of shit in order to intentionally make a warranty claim difficult.
I have not heard of any CS experiences that were negative with them...This would be the first. They have always had great CS for me...And I'm nobody special. I've always heard great CS stories from them.

You can buy what you want, I'm not affiliated with any company...So it makes no difference to me what you buy. I don't care if you spend all your money on hookers and blow and live the Charlie Sheen life. And I can understand your bad experience, even though I have not heard of anyone having a bad CS experience with them, so far.
 
I received a 1 year anniversary sales pitch email from Arken, a few email exchanges later , even though they were hesitant to replace the scope - they generally left that up to me. Completed the RMA form / waiting on the shipping label and RMA to include in the box.. We will see if the replacement scope has the same CA issue...ETA….. Arken offered to upgrade me to either an EP5 or EPL4 to get me into the Japanese glass. for 150 or 100 depending on the model, I was surprised by this, after some thought I decide to accept the upgrade offer for 2 EP5’s. The person I dealt was great and wanted to get the issue resolved to my satisfaction.. Needless to say I was wrong in my previous post , they stood behind the warranty and resolved the issue for me in more than satisfactory manner.
 
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Bought one around 2 years back because of the price point and features. Mounted it, got it zeroed at the range, overall for the money I was overly impressed. Then it was opening day of rifle season and I went to my hunting hut (small hut not far from the house) that I have power ran to with a heater. Yes I’ve got around 200 or so foot of drop cord coming out of the house that went to it because I hate the cold. Anyways it was blistering cold that morning and I took the rifle and scurried to my hut with heat. And when I got settled I noticed the scope had fogged. It fogged inside and outside of the lens. Sent it back and it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth so I haven’t tried one again.
 
Bought one around 2 years back because of the price point and features. Mounted it, got it zeroed at the range, overall for the money I was overly impressed. Then it was opening day of rifle season and I went to my hunting hut (small hut not far from the house) that I have power ran to with a heater. Yes I’ve got around 200 or so foot of drop cord coming out of the house that went to it because I hate the cold. Anyways it was blistering cold that morning and I took the rifle and scurried to my hut with heat. And when I got settled I noticed the scope had fogged. It fogged inside and outside of the lens. Sent it back and it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth so I haven’t tried one again.
They have come a LONG way in 2 years...
 
Let us know how it is, I did look through an EP5 - Glass was a lot better than I expected.
I have a SH4 and EP5 and was looking at the ELP4. I'm a little disappointed in the lack of details available on their glass. The just say HD, ED, ELD, nothing additional. All my other scope manufacturers provide details on their lenses (fully multi-coated, rain, scratch resistant, light transmission, etc.) When I put my EP5 next to my Bushy Forge with ED glass or my DMRII, the EP5 falls short. The EP5 does have noticeably better glass than the SH4. I would assume based on the price point, the ELP4 glass falls between their HD and ED glass.
 
You will enjoy the SH4, they're good scopes. From my experience, you should find it to be VERY close with the Strike Eagle. I have found that my EP5 glass is slightly better than my Strike Eagle.
In my experience the Strike Eagle has brighter glass than the SH4, but not the EP5. However the Strike Eagle seems to suffer from QC issues.
 
The EPL4 6-24x50 came in yesterday…. Didn’t get much time with it, other then setting it up in some rings on my Dead Level, and getting everything ready to mount. I’m fairly impressed with the scope in my hands so far, but can’t comment on the glass, as I haven’t looked through it outside in real conditions.

A couple of gripes… First gripe… The Arken throw lever screw is defective. The head is shallow and oversized. It is now pretty much stripped and will not tighten all the way.

And gripe #2… Arken sent me a 34mm bubble level, instead of a 30mm bubble level. Not complaining, as I was in need of a 34mm bubble for my PA SLx 1-10x28 that I just put on my new RAR .300 BLK. But a 34mm bubble doesn’t do me much good on a 30mm scope. 🤦🏼

I will be contacting them about both issues.
 
The EPL4 6-24x50 came in yesterday…. Didn’t get much time with it, other then setting it up in some rings on my Dead Level, and getting everything ready to mount. I’m fairly impressed with the scope in my hands so far, but can’t comment on the glass, as I haven’t looked through it outside in real conditions.

A couple of gripes… First gripe… The Arken throw lever screw is defective. The head is shallow and oversized. It is now pretty much stripped and will not tighten all the way.

And gripe #2… Arken sent me a 34mm bubble level, instead of a 30mm bubble level. Not complaining, as I was in need of a 34mm bubble for my PA SLx 1-10x28 that I just put on my new RAR .300 BLK. But a 34mm bubble doesn’t do me much good on a 30mm scope. 🤦🏼

I will be contacting them about both issues.
Hit them up. I have the throw lever and it was flawless. I have not used the level yet as I am picky about those. Cs is pretty good with me so far, my biggest complaint is their rings, they look good till ya line em up. Not sure they do line up.
 
Rail showed up, and got it mounted and boresighted and ready for some temporary fun living on a really nice rifle for the next week, until my new Zeiss shows up for it. 👍🏼

Even with the Nomad-LT, heavy HAD thermal wrap, and beefy scope setup with the new EPL4 6-24x50… This rifle is so lightweight that it still feels like a toy! This would make an amazing rig for rough terrain or mountains hunting, or somewhere where you’d be walking a lot.

I’m going to do some initial load development tomorrow with the Berger 175 Elite Hunters & Varget in Nosler brass. So, we’re going to see how well she groups tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t take very many shots to break-in and settle the barrel for groups.

I’ll give my initial thoughts on the EPL4 after having actually used it. 👍🏼

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Rail showed up, and got it mounted and boresighted and ready for some temporary fun living on a really nice rifle for the next week, until my new Zeiss shows up for it. 👍🏼

Even with the Nomad-LT, heavy HAD thermal wrap, and beefy scope setup with the new EPL4 6-24x50… This rifle is so lightweight that it still feels like a toy! This would make an amazing rig for rough terrain or mountains hunting, or somewhere where you’d be walking a lot.

I’m going to do some initial load development tomorrow with the Berger 175 Elite Hunters & Varget in Nosler brass. So, we’re going to see how well she groups tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t take very many shots to break-in and settle the barrel for groups.

I’ll give my initial thoughts on the EPL4 after having actually used it. 👍🏼

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Well shit... My plans got delayed for another week... I was planning on spending all day tomorrow and Monday shooting and doing what I needed to get done, so I postponed today due to weather... But apparently my local range has decided to take this week off because the manager is going out of town. Seriously??? On the week of Christmas when most folks take off work, and want to shoot guns or spend money shooting the machine guns? Nobody else can fill-in for him for 2 damn days while he's out of town? (They're only opened Fri-Mon as it is). Yep, that's smart business practices... 🤦🏼

Oh well... Not a damn thing I can do about it. So they won't be opening back up until Friday, but I have to work that day, so Saturday at the earliest is when I'll be able to get out there. I've got to break-in the new 7mm-08 barrel, get it settled, and then do load development for it, and more on my .280 AI. Plus, a full-evaluation on the EPL4... So, next weekend will be packed full of shooting at the range.

On a positive note, my Zeiss V4 6-24x50 ZMOA-1 (matches my other 2) will be here on Wednesday, so I'll be able to mount and boresight it before going to the range. I am very tempted to put the new EPL4 on my Christensen Arms Ranger 22 to upgrade over the old Vortex Viper HS-T 6-24x50 that is on it, since it has better turrets, glass, zero-stop, and FOV. And I like the reticle better. Hopefully it will be a winner.
 
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I have two SH4 6-24x MIL VPR scopes. These are on 22 training rifles and perform great. I have the EP5 5-25x MIL VPR on my centerfire rifle. The EP5 is bigger, heavier and most noticable is that the illuminated reticle is actually visible in the daylight. The lighted reticle in my first SH4 was so dim that I thought it was defective. Arken replaced it without issue but the 2nd one was the same. Even at level 10 is must be dusk to get any benefit from it. The EP5 is more like what I prefer. As for clarity, the EP5 is great but the SH4 is just as clear to my eye. It just has a slight color shift that frankly is not an issue at all. I have had multiple PRS shooters look thru my SH4 and say that it is the clearest scope they have seen and one guy sold his Strike Eagle and got an SH4 after trying mine. I shoot a lot of BR and a FFP optic is not the hot ticket for the BR game. But the Arken is so clear and precise that it can be used for BR if you want, but is not its forte. With a 20MOA base on my 22, I can dial to 24MIL elevation with a 50y zero. With hold over it is effective to 400y with std vel ammo. It is easy to score paper tgts at 200y with it. I have never tried out further but can score hits on steel at 300y and sometimes 400y if the light is good.

I bought a SH4 in 4-16x this fall when they were on sale. I have plans to mount it on my FAL if it does not end up on a squirrel rifle first. Arken - Here is a new product idea. How about a 8-36x 2FP or a 36x Fixed Power BR Optic with tgt dot and 1/8moa turrets for us BR rats? You clearly know how to make great scope as a modest price point and have a strong following. Even a 10-50x 2FP would be a seller I think. Even a 6-24x 2FP with a tgt reticle would be a winner. Clarity over power is a winner in my book. Leave out the illumination for the BR scopes. Not needed. Good turrets - yes and finer adjustment.

Your optics made me a better marksman at longer ranges and have been winning matches when I might otherwise have missed the mark. Thank you! I think for me to get a better scope I would have to buy a Vortex Razor at almost 10x the price. There are others but they are all in the $1500+ price point. Kudos to our friends at Arken.
 
Using the SH4 Gen 2 4-16 from 4-13x is a dream...it gets a little unforgiving passed 14x...but usually I just leave it at 10-12x....for what it is worth...it behaves exactly the same way as my M5XI 3-15....great up to 12x...passed that it kind of was lackluster...
 
I just finally mounted my EP-5. The nitrogen fill plug tumor is a PITA. It did fit in a MPA BA 34mm x 1.250". The plug has to sit between the pic rail clamps so there is no sliding the scope.
So far so good.

Then I go to adjust diopter, check & then I see an issue WTF.

Increase mag & reticle cants slightly (about 1-2 deg), but the even bigger issue is that the reticle goes blurry. Pull magnification back down & reticle straightens back out level and reticle comes back into focus.

Doesn't matter where in the mag range you are.
Up mag = blurry & canted
Adjust down 1-2x and it's clear and level.

Haven't shot it yet but This thing will be going back for sure.
 
I just finally mounted my EP-5. The nitrogen fill plug tumor is a PITA. It did fit in a MPA BA 34mm x 1.250". The plug has to sit between the pic rail clamps so there is no sliding the scope.
So far so good.

Then I go to adjust diopter, check & then I see an issue WTF.

Increase mag & reticle cants slightly (about 1-2 deg), but the even bigger issue is that the reticle goes blurry. Pull magnification back down & reticle straightens back out level and reticle comes back into focus.

Doesn't matter where in the mag range you are.
Up mag = blurry & canted
Adjust down 1-2x and it's clear and level.

Haven't shot it yet but This thing will be going back for sure.
I'll say this is Arken's chink in its armor...consistent QC...

Vortex had the same issue one time on Gen 1 PSTs...the reticles would cant as you increase magnification...
My SH4 Gen 2 4-16 is an absolute rocket when you are talking about price to performance ratio...I use it like my old Bushnell LRTS 3-12....but as a 4-13X...and it behaves, feels and looks the same as the LRTS...so I am happy...with a better reticle...14-16x...it gets tight...like my Steiner M5XI did...so I just back off...
 
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I just finally mounted my EP-5. The nitrogen fill plug tumor is a PITA. It did fit in a MPA BA 34mm x 1.250". The plug has to sit between the pic rail clamps so there is no sliding the scope.
So far so good.

Then I go to adjust diopter, check & then I see an issue WTF.

Increase mag & reticle cants slightly (about 1-2 deg), but the even bigger issue is that the reticle goes blurry. Pull magnification back down & reticle straightens back out level and reticle comes back into focus.

Doesn't matter where in the mag range you are.
Up mag = blurry & canted
Adjust down 1-2x and it's clear and level.

Haven't shot it yet but This thing will be going back for sure.
Sounds like my first EP5 that was a lemon right out of the box... Contact Arken CS and they'll send you a new one. The replacement they sent me has been perfect.
 
Decided to mount and boresight the EPL4 on my Ranger 22 using my previous zero on the old scope before removal. We’ll see how she does at the range on Sunday & Monday. Weight-wise it is nearly identical to the old Viper HST 6-24x50, but is slightly shorter (which I like), and it’s FFP, and has IR. The turrets & zero stop are light years ahead of the old Viper. If the glass is good, it might just end up on there permanently. Only time will tell…

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Well... Finally got to look through the new EPL4 6-24x50 outside and in the daylight... From 6-16x the glass is great. From 16x-24x it starts getting progressively darker, but the image is still very clear...If that makes sense. It's almost like the clarity is still there, but it's like it develops a gray tint the higher the magnification goes, and the eye box gets REALLY tight above 16x. Anyone else noticed this with their's?

Granted, I didn't get much time to spend behind it, just a few shots, but I will shoot it more tomorrow at the real range when I go to do some real actual work. Today was just shooting it messing around at some friends' property just to kill some time this afternoon.

I will say this, even in dark shady woods (where the target was nailed to a tree), even dark as the glass got at 24x, I could still very easily see .22 caliber bullet holes. So clarity is there. It just seemed to be darker and the eye box got VERY tight above 16x. The glass had edge-to-edge clarity, and I really like the reticle for hunting.

Like I said, this is just the first impressions outside, but looking at a target off into the deep dark woods, very well could have been part of the problem. I will be able to give a better impression once I shoot through it tomorrow at the range when I zero it, as their targets are out in the open sunlight.
 
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I went hunting yesterday. Mine is MOA VPR. I had ranged a pinch point at about 100 yards. So, adjusting parallax and focus, I did not see any darkening but of course the field of view reduces, which is to be expected. Very comfortable to use. However, I am used to 5-25 scopes and a more forgiving eye box.
 
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I went hunting yesterday. Mine is MOA VPR. I had ranged a pinch point at about 100 yards. So, adjusting parallax and focus, I did not see any darkening but of course the field of view reduces, which is to be expected. Very comfortable to use. However, I am used to 5-25 scopes and a more forgiving eye box.
Yeah, I didn’t even play with it or adjust anything. I’ll give It a thorough overview tomorrow when I go to the range, and adjust the parallax and diopter. Today I was mostly just letting other folks shoot suppressed weapons for the first time.
 
Well... Finally got to look through the new EPL4 6-24x50 outside and in the daylight... From 6-16x the glass is great. From 16x-24x it starts getting progressively darker, but the image is still very clear...If that makes sense. It's almost like the clarity is still there, but it's like it develops a gray tint the higher the magnification goes, and the eye box gets REALLY tight above 16x. Anyone else noticed this with their's?

Granted, I didn't get much time to spend behind it, just a few shots, but I will shoot it more tomorrow at the real range when I go to do some real actual work. Today was just shooting it messing around at some friends' property just to kill some time this afternoon.

I will say this, even in dark shady woods (where the target was nailed to a tree), even dark as the glass got at 24x, I could still very easily see .22 caliber bullet holes. So clarity is there. It just seemed to be darker and the eye box got VERY tight above 16x. The glass had edge-to-edge clarity, and I really like the reticle for hunting.

Like I said, this is just the first impressions outside, but looking at a target off into the deep dark woods, very well could have been part of the problem. I will be able to give a better impression once I shoot through it tomorrow at the range when I zero it, as their targets are out in the open sunlight.
My SH4 behaves the same...so I do not run it really from 14-16x....I just keep it below 14...
 
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Finally got to go to the range today and zero and spend some time behind the new EPL4...

Ok... So, what I had initially reported was that the scope appeared to get cloudy/tinted/darker when going above 16x magnification. This is SOMEWHAT true. It is not so much that it is getting darker, as it is a bluish/purple tinting that gets much worse above 16x... This is chromatic aberration. That being said, the glass is still VERY clear from 6x all the way up to 24x. You can very easily see .22LR holes at 100, and impacts at 200 without any issues at 24x. The edge-to-edge clarity is great. And the scope is light, the turrets feel great, and track true. The only real issue I see with the scope is the heavy CA above 16x that creates a very bluish/purple tint that seems to darken the image quality, but does NOT impact clarity. So, it's still very functional, and for $379 I paid for it on sale, I'm defiantly not complaining, but if the CA keeps bugging me, I might contact Arken and see if they'll shoot me out a replacement scope that has been checked for CA up to 24x. Other than that, for $400, it's a damn-nice scope. I really like the VHR reticle for hunting, and .22LR shooting, as well.

Here's a few shitty pics through my iPhone 14 Pro Max... Picture quality is high, image quality is low. This is what happens when you're attempting to take a picture with a camera, basically looking through the lenses of another camera (essentially how a scope is designed). 🤦🏼 Like I said, it's still a VERY useable scope, and to the untrained eye, it might look amazing, but to someone who also owns alpha-tier glass, it's quite apparent the short-comings. But, it's also a $400 scope with features that were really only found on much higher-priced optics in the past. For a budget-friendly hunting scope, I could see it being a very viable option, especially for a precision .22LR or .17 HMR squirrel gun or LR rimfire target plinking or groundhogs, or varmints.

Here's 6x, 16x, and 24x... (Notice how the colors go from natural light, to slightly washed at 16x, and then the bluish/purple CA at 24x.)

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I find that what your eye experiences is more important than how a cellphone camera reacts.
Like I said... Honestly, given how well the rest of the scope is designed, and how well it functions (I like the capped windage turret), if the CA is the only shortcoming, then I give it two thumbsups for a $400 scope. And honestly, the clarity is on-par with my Vortex Viper HS-T 6-24x50 that is made in the Philippines. It's brighter than the HS-T, but the HS-T seems to retain a very neutral color spectrum from 6x-24x. However, the turrets and zero-stop on the Viper HS-T SUCK! I've always hated that mushy-feeling brass shim ZS design they used to use. It was just shitty engineering. 5 MIL rev turrets was kind of a joke, too. The new RevStop ZS system was the best thing Vortex has implemented in a long time, even if it does eliminate some of the elevation travel.
 
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Oh, and forgot to mention, the eye box is WAY better on the EPL4, than it was when I looked through it the other day. I'm thinking it was just the way I was having to bend my neck and head the other day shooting off a 4-wheeler seat just to get steady, because I didn't know we were going to be redneck'ing it that bad, or I would have brought some of my actual shooting equipment to make life easier. I'll know next time, incase they ask me to go over there again. This is why I like the range...They have huge benches, sandbags, and metal folding chairs already there... Makes life simpler when you don't have to drag 1,000 lbs. of equipment with you every time you want to go shoot.
 
Like I said... Honestly, given how well the rest of the scope is designed, and how well it functions (I like the capped windage turret), if the CA is the only shortcoming, then I give it two thumbsups for a $400 scope. And honestly, the clarity is on-par with my Vortex Viper HS-T 6-24x50 that is made in the Philippines. It's brighter than the HS-T, but the HS-T seems to retain a very neutral color spectrum from 6x-24x. However, the turrets and zero-stop on the Viper HS-T SUCK! I've always hated that mushy-feeling brass shim ZS design they used to use. It was just shitty engineering. 5 MIL rev turrets was kind of a joke, too. The new RevStop ZS system was the best thing Vortex has implemented in a long time, even if it does eliminate some of the elevation travel.
I have liked the Vortex Venom for the glass but the zero stop is a trick to set up and easy to lose that ring at a busy gun range. (Been there, done that.)

There is also a limit of elevation. Granted, ELD shooting would have my putting on at least a 20 MOA canted rail.

With my Arken SH4 Gen 2 6-24X50, I have more MOA travel and can dial 1,000 yards on my zero MOA rail.

Thing is, I think I would like the EP5 even more because 5-25 scopes seem more comfortable to my eye. However, I would need to sell the SH4 Gen 2s I have to free up some money and room.
 
Alright... So I shipped-off my new EPL4 6-24x50 VHR MIL scope last week. They got it yesterday, and shipped out the replacement scope today. Hopefully this one will be perfect like my EP5's glass, with no CA, or else it will also be getting sent back, and I will just be buying something else for it. Maybe a Primary Arms GLx 6-24x50 FFP Athena BPR MIL with their premium glass in it.

New scope has shipped, but no ETA from USPS as of yet... And the world holds it's breath... 🙄🙄🙄

Also, I want to give a huge shout-out to the awesome CS guys at Arken. No questions asked when I told them I wanted to swap it for another one, and their response was "If you're not happy with it, then we're not happy with it..." That's the kind of CS that will take a company far. 👍🏼
 
Well, the replacement EPL4 showed up today... Mounted it up, took it outside, and the glass appears to be much better. But I won't know for sure until I get to the range and start looking at targets, and spend some real time behind it. Looking at the lakehouse towards the end of the slough that's about 700 yards away looks pretty decent from 6-24x. So, I have high-hopes.
 
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Shot my SH4 in the snow the other day, and under direct sunlight the target and snow had a very noticeable purple outline of CA. It wasn’t as bad when the sun went away. Normal or worth a call to CS?
 
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