Rifle Scopes Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL

I’d try out a 1-8 if they would make one.
I’d love to see an Arken 1-10x30 VPR MIL LPVO with the 34mm tube with exposed turrets. Would be awesome for my AR’s. I bet with the light transmission from the HD glass and that big 34mm tube, it would be awesome with a thermal or NV clip-on for hog hunting. 👌🏼
 

Here ya go. Im impressed for 400$
He literally beat the turret back straight and it worked. Lol
The PST Gen 2 is not going to handle that.


...LOL, I like this vid if only it, like the one by IRAQVET88 did, that shows the "extremes" of possible experiences ones scope may encounter. The water test was interesting, but more so that Arken used the data collected to investigate and make "product improvement" changes rather quickly, kudos to them. I don't know if the cost of the scope plays a factor in the level of "abuse test methods", but I wonder how frequently the same abuse testing is done on the $2K-$5K scopes. The only other "abuse" vid I remember was the one done, IIRC, on an Aimpoint RDS that was dropped from a helo...
 
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...LOL, I like this vid if only it, like the one by IRAQVET88 did, that shows the "extremes" of possible experiences ones scope may encounter. The water test was interesting, but more so that Arken used the data collected to investigate and make "product improvement" changes rather quickly, kudos to them. I don't know if the cost of the scope plays a factor in the level of "abuse test methods", but I wonder how frequently the same abuse testing is done on the $2K-$5K scopes. The only other "abuse" vid I remember was the one done, IIRC, on an Aimpoint RDS that was dropped from a helo...
I’d like to see some of the most popular scopes go thru the turret hammer test and the 24 hour submerged in deeper water test.
 
I just watched that VSO video... He did beat on it pretty good. Much more than normal abuse. I did laugh when he beat the turret back straight... After watching the test, I expected nothing less than the most delicate and professional tools and procedures. 😏 😂

That's great to know that Arken has solved and fixed the water proof issue. That means if I ever have an issue with any of mine, they would be sending back an updated version with the WP fix. Good to know. 👍🏼
 
I just watched that VSO video... He did beat on it pretty good. Much more than normal abuse. I did laugh when he beat the turret back straight... After watching the test, I expected nothing less than the most delicate and professional tools and procedures. 😏 😂

That's great to know that Arken has solved and fixed the water proof issue. That means if I ever have an issue with any of mine, they would be sending back an updated version with the WP fix. Good to know. 👍🏼
I know I’ve seen scopes that cost much more fail with a lot less abuse.
I’ve seen several under the turrets that would not take one hit like that let alone several hits. I’m talking about scopes up into the 12-1500$ range that I would not want to see take a hit like that. Even when he was having to really crank on the turret to get it to turn, it still worked!!
He beat it to death and it still worked, then he basically fixed all the issues on the fly in the field. Think about a combat optic or a hunting optic taking a fall 6 miles from your back up rifle and what is needed to keep it functional in the field. I’m amazed with this 400$ scope.
 
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I know I’ve seen scopes that cost much more fail with a lot less abuse.
I’ve seen several under the turrets that would not take one hit like that let alone several hits. I’m talking about scopes up into the 12-1500$ range that I would not want to see take a hit like that. Even when he was having to really crank on the turret to get it to turn, it still worked!!
He beat it to death and it still worked, then he basically fixed all the issues on the fly in the field. Think about a combat optic or a hunting optic taking a fall 6 miles from your back up rifle and what is needed to keep it functional in the field. I’m amazed with this 400$ scope.
Oh yeah, I bet if that was put against most of the current military sniper scopes in an abuse test, it would surpass most, if not all, of them. I know for a fact the Leupold MK series would have been KO'd VERY early into that test. And the S&B wouldn't be too far behind. The NF scopes might have a chance, they're pretty beefy...But I've never seen one with a turret that damn solid! The design of it is purpose-built to be strong. That blew my mind, as I've never taken the cap off of any of my Arkens...Never had the need.

I feel A LOT safer selling my HS-T's and upgrading those rifles to Arkens now...Espeically with the WP fix.
 
WP fix?

BTW, I did buy the 6-24 just to check it out. With the $100 off, I figured I couldn't lose.
Now my poor ass wants to buy the 4-16.
Go figure.
WP = Water Proofing fix. The original SH4's had a slight leak that allowed water to get in when they were fully submerged for long periods of time. Granted, your average person will never have an issue, but there's always that one time that "shit happens" moment while hunting, so for me, it's more of a peace of mind thing.

Everyone was hating on them before, but it's nice to see folks coming around, trying them, and seeing they are quality optics.
 
Finally got everything in & mounted on the RPR.308.. Need some time to get to the range now😎.
Screenshot_20211206-212015.jpg
 
Got an SH4 6-24

put it on a 6 creed

zeroed

ran following in misty conditions w/ 4-9mph , 5oclock wind

6" plate @ 455yds.
8" plate @ 502yds.
10" plate @ 590yds.
10" plate @ 762yds.
12" x 20" @ 891yds.
18" x 32" @ 1007yds.

100% first round impacts

Shot dialing then holding! both 100%

Glass is ehhhhh.. a lil dark. Eye box is better than first gen 1 vortex pst but not as good as athlon midas tac 5-25

scope feels like a solid piece! Turrets feel really good to me!

LOVE the reticle!!! My everyday scope is a cronus & this arken reticle is an almost thoughtless transition!

Zero stop is a refreshing simple design that just dangit works!!!
 
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Got an SH4 6-24

put it on a 6 creed

zeroed

ran following in misty conditions w/ 4-9mph , 5oclock wind

6" plate @ 455yds.
8" plate @ 502yds.
10" plate @ 590yds.
10" plate @ 762yds.
12" x 20" @ 891yds.
18" x 32" @ 1007yds.

100% first round impacts

Shot dialing then holding! both 100%

Glass is ehhhhh.. a lil dark. Eye box is better than first gen 1 vortex pst but not as good as athlon midas tac 5-25

scope feels like a solid piece! Turrets feel really good to me!

LOVE the reticle!!! My everyday scope is a cronus & this arken reticle is an almost thoughtless transition!

Zero stop is a refreshing simple design that just dangit works!!!
Yeah, I wish they would put the Jap ED glass in the SH4 line, and put the 10 MIL turrets from the EP4 on the SH4. Other than that, it's a great scope. The IR is a bit lackluster, as well, and doesn't work at all for daytime use. But, for the price, it's nearly impossible to beat.
 
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Got an SH4 6-24

put it on a 6 creed

zeroed

ran following in misty conditions w/ 4-9mph , 5oclock wind

6" plate @ 455yds.
8" plate @ 502yds.
10" plate @ 590yds.
10" plate @ 762yds.
12" x 20" @ 891yds.
18" x 32" @ 1007yds.

100% first round impacts

Shot dialing then holding! both 100%

Glass is ehhhhh.. a lil dark. Eye box is better than first gen 1 vortex pst but not as good as athlon midas tac 5-25

scope feels like a solid piece! Turrets feel really good to me!

LOVE the reticle!!! My everyday scope is a cronus & this arken reticle is an almost thoughtless transition!

Zero stop is a refreshing simple design that just dangit works!!!
Man I'm torn. I have a Midas tac in my 7mm that I love but I want to replace the scope (Argos) on my Grendel. I know the grendel will not have the distance shots at the 7. How much of a difference is the midas glass to the arken?
 
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I'm waiting on my 3rd to be delivered this week. Ordering my 4th before December 31st, with the $100.00 off. I ran one of mine this weekend in a Match. I dialed and shot off the reticle to 741 yards getting 1st round hits. You definitely get more than what you pay for.
 
Man I'm torn. I have a Midas tac in my 7mm that I love but I want to replace the scope (Argos) on my Grendel. I know the grendel will not have the distance shots at the 7. How much of a difference is the midas glass to the arken?
I would put the Arken on the 7mm, given that it has more elevation travel, allowing you to really stretch-out that 7mm. And put the Argos on the 6.5G AR.
 
I would put the Arken on the 7mm, given that it has more elevation travel, allowing you to really stretch-out that 7mm. And put the Argos on the 6.5G AR.
I have plenty of elevation in midas for the 7mm as it has already touched a mile, plus the 20moa rail helps. I thought about removing the argos from the 6.5G and putting it on a BB gun as I really have started to dislike the scope and replace it with the Arken.
How long will Arken run the $100 off code? Do they plan to do anything in 2022?
 
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I need to stay out of this thread, reading this makes me want to go ahead an toss my Argos in the trash and try the Arken.
I have plenty of elevation in midas for the 7mm as it has already touched a mile, plus the 20moa rail helps. I thought about removing the argos from the 6.5G and putting it on a BB gun as I really have started to dislike the scope and replace it with the Arken.
How long will Arken run the $100 off code? Do they plan to do anything in 2022?
The Argos is a cheap scope that works but the Arken out classes it. It’s hard for me to buy any thing else in the 500$ and under price range. The code is good till the end of the month.
 
I have plenty of elevation in midas for the 7mm as it has already touched a mile, plus the 20moa rail helps. I thought about removing the argos from the 6.5G and putting it on a BB gun as I really have started to dislike the scope and replace it with the Arken.
How long will Arken run the $100 off code? Do they plan to do anything in 2022?

...scroll back to post #247 in this thread, codes listed there..
 
I have plenty of elevation in midas for the 7mm as it has already touched a mile, plus the 20moa rail helps. I thought about removing the argos from the 6.5G and putting it on a BB gun as I really have started to dislike the scope and replace it with the Arken.
How long will Arken run the $100 off code? Do they plan to do anything in 2022?
They didn't go into any details, but I was told that the EP4 line is done-for after 2021. What's available is what's available (if anything is left) and that's it. They said they hope to be releasing the new EP line sometime before summer 2022. I'm guessing more features, or improvements based on some of the feedback from the SH4 Gen2 torture tests, and EP4 warranty repair trends.
 
Spent a lil range time over past few days w/ the SH4 6-24.
Dialing & holding from 100 zero to 1007 yds. and all in between.
LIght conditions from full sun to full clouds & in between.


I still really like the turrets - wish they were 10mil per turn instead of 8 but not a big problem.
I LOVE the zero stop!!
Parallax correction is actually decently forgiving - was able to run speed drill from 455 to 1007 yds without a change
Still like the reticle but wish the center section was the same line thickness as rest of reticle!
I seem to prefer to keep the power about 16-18x below that & center is too bold/thick , above & image seems to wash out..??
( not a big deal to me cause I run my daily driver scope @ bout 15-18X... )
Across mutiple dial ups & downs I get a complete return to zero everytime!!
Side by side w/ Athlon Midas Tac 6-24 -- LIke the Arken turrets better / Like the Tac 6-24 glass a wee better
Side by side w/ Athlon Midas Tac 5-25 -- Like the Arken turrets better / Like the Tac 5-25 glass a bit more better
Side by side w/ 2013 Vortex Viper PST f1 -- this scope ( Arken ) wins HANDS DOWN! My opinion / beat on me if you must !!
I find the eye box to be OK.. I spent a lil time mounting scope to correct eye length & setting cheek piece to correct height.. No issue for me..!!

I still think its a helluva buy!!

time will tell if it holds up! Gonna leave it on my switch barrel rig for a while & we shall see!!??

Hope this helps!!

Haha.. still havnt put battery in for illumination LMAO!!
 
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Thinking about ordering a 3rd one... But can't decide... I use BC flip caps, and I only need the bubble level and throw lever, but it's only $40 less than just buying the scope at full price, and adding the new $170 bundle, and then getting it for free with the "Save$170" code... I don't need all that stuff, but it would be nice to get it for free. I can't figure out which is the better deal... $100 off, and add the lever & level, or full price + new PP for free. ???????
 
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....IMHO, I think Arken may have had the PRS circuit in mind when they came out with their initial scopes, especially the "Production" class and the dollar limits involved. I think that class had the greatest potential to have the largest amount of participants, those that had more limitations on resources, especially time and funds.

..right now the LPVO market is pretty saturated and prices are very competitive. IMHO it is probably the largest market at this time...
 
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Spent a lil range time over past few days w/ the SH4 6-24.
Dialing & holding from 100 zero to 1007 yds. and all in between.
LIght conditions from full sun to full clouds & in between.


I still really like the turrets - wish they were 10mil per turn instead of 8 but not a big problem.
I LOVE the zero stop!!
Parallax correction is actually decently forgiving - was able to run speed drill from 455 to 1007 yds without a change
Still like the reticle but wish the center section was the same line thickness as rest of reticle!
I seem to prefer to keep the power about 16-18x below that & center is too bold/thick , above & image seems to wash out..??
( not a big deal to me cause I run my daily driver scope @ bout 15-18X... )
Across mutiple dial ups & downs I get a complete return to zero everytime!!
Side by side w/ Athlon Midas Tac 6-24 -- LIke the Arken turrets better / Like the Tac 6-24 glass a wee better
Side by side w/ Athlon Midas Tac 5-25 -- Like the Arken turrets better / Like the Tac 5-25 glass a bit more better
Side by side w/ 2013 Vortex Viper PST f1 -- this scope ( Arken ) wins HANDS DOWN! My opinion / beat on me if you must !!
I find the eye box to be OK.. I spent a lil time mounting scope to correct eye length & setting cheek piece to correct height.. No issue for me..!!

I still think its a helluva buy!!

time will tell if it holds up! Gonna leave it on my switch barrel rig for a while & we shall see!!??

Hope this helps!!

Haha.. still havnt put battery in for illumination LMAO!!
I agree. The Gen1 Viper PST was basically the same scope as the HS-T, as far as tubes, glass, reticles, etc... The main differences being FFP vs. SFP and illuminated reticle. I have a bunch of HS-T's I bought 10 years ago, because they were the best bang for your buck for the longest time. It was nearly impossible to beat the value you got with them, at a time when most quality scopes with target turrets and zero stops were fetching $1,000+. They're still great scopes, but the technology is a bit dated in them now, since things seem to be moving along at warp-speed in the optics world.

And after comparing my Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50's and my Strike Eagle 5-25x56, to my old Vortex HS-T 6-24x50 scopes ($950 MSRP), the Arken and the SE are hands-down better scopes. There's no way in hell I would buy an HS-T today, after discovering the new SE and the Arkens. I could literally outfit/upgrade 2 rifles with Arkens for the cost of one new HS-T scope.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in selling-off my HS-T's, as they are perfectly good scopes. But, I'll just wait until they crap-out, and then pay the upgrade fee with Vortex and have them send me Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C scopes in their place, like they did recently with my old Viper HS that was discontinued. And they make excellent varmint rifle and rimfire scopes for LR .22 and .17 HMR varmint and target shooting, so I will most likely keep them, but will be slowly upgrading my LR centerfire rifles to Arkens as time goes on.
 
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I agree. The Gen1 Viper PST was basically the same scope as the HS-T, as far as tubes, glass, reticles, etc... The main differences being FFP vs. SFP and illuminated reticle. I have a bunch of HS-T's I bought 10 years ago, because they were the best bang for your buck the longest time. It was nearly impossible to beat the value you got with them, at a time when most quality scopes with target turrets and zero stops were fetching $1,000+. They're still great scopes, but the technology is a bit dated in them now, since things seem to be moving along at warp-speed in the optics world.

And after comparing my Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50's and my Strike Eagle 5-25x56, to my old Vortex HS-T 6-24x50 scopes ($950 MSRP), the Arken and the SE are hands-down better scopes. There's no way in hell I would buy an HS-T today, after discovering the new SE and the Arkens. I could literally outfit/upgrade 2 rifles with Arkens for the cost of one new HS-T scope.
I agree, the strike eagle is really growing on me. I’m going to run it on my 338 lapua for one year to test its durability or complete failure whichever comes first. Lol
If it fails I’ll send it back and make a decision, but once I lose confidence I’ll probably dump it.
Everything about it is pretty nice for 700$. I hope it’s as durable as they claim.
 
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I agree, the strike eagle is really growing on me. I’m going to run it on my 338 lapua for one year to test its durability or complete failure whichever comes first. Lol
If it fails I’ll send it back and make a decision, but once I lose confidence I’ll probably dump it.
Everything about it is pretty nice for 700$. I hope it’s as durable as they claim.
Mine is now living on my old Gen1 700 5R Milspec 24" .308 Win, and I REALLY like it. The pop-up locking turrets is a really nice feature. And the RevStop is pretty good, even though it hinders the elevation range. But I still get, I think, 19.5 MILs of travel after setting it. Plenty for the .308 Win to reach 1,000+. I need to get that damn thing threaded...I bought it back before threading was common on factory rifles (10+ years ago). That rifle shoots 1 ragged-hole groups with everything I've put through it. It's just an absolute tack-driver. Only downfall is it's not threaded...But that will change someday soon.
 
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Mine is now living on my old Gen1 700 5R Milspec 24" .308 Win, and I REALLY like it. The pop-up locking turrets is a really nice feature. And the RevStop is pretty good, even though it hinders the elevation range. But I still get, I think, 19.5 MILs of travel after setting it. Plenty for the .308 Win to reach 1,000+. I need to get that damn thing threaded...I bought it back before threading was common on factory rifles (10+ years ago). That rifle shoots 1 ragged-hole groups with everything I've put through it. It's just an absolute tack-driver. Only downfall is it's not threaded...But that will change someday soon.
I think the locking turrets will help it with durability, seems like it would be hard to knock them offset like what happened to the Arken because of them being tucked into a “sleeve” so to speak.
 
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I think the locking turrets will help it with durability, seems like it would be hard to knock them offset like what happened to the Arken because of them being tucked into a “sleeve” so to speak.
Shit, it took a hell of a lot to knock that Arken turret like that. I've never seen any scope that would handle that type of turret abuse. The closest thing I can see would be maybe a NF NXS, USO, maybe an old March-X Tactical, and a Kahles K-series. But I know an S&B and Leupy would have crapped-out before that test was completed.

The turrets are nice on the SE, and I like the locking feature, but honestly, I still think overall, the Arken has better feeling (positive) and sounding (louder) clicks. But the SE comes in a very close 2nd. As far as locking turrets, the SE are some of the bests I've ever used/owned.
 
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Shit, it took a hell of a lot to knock that Arken turret like that. I've never seen any scope that would handle that type of turret abuse. The closest thing I can see would be maybe a NF NXS, USO, maybe an old March-X Tactical, and a Kahles K-series. But I know an S&B and Leupy would have crapped-out before that test was completed.

The turrets are nice on the SE, and I like the locking feature, but honestly, I still think overall, the Arken has better feeling (positive) and sounding (louder) clicks. But the SE comes in a very close 2nd. As far as locking turrets, the SE are some of the bests I've ever used/owned.
Yeah that Arken has me impressed. I agree about the turret durability“test”. I wasn’t knocking the Arken, I don’t think too many scopes would take that. I just meant it wouldn’t be too much of a issue with the SE because the way the turrets are locked, so I’d think they would be fairly durable as well.
 
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Yeah that Arken has me impressed. I agree about the turret, I wasn’t knocking the Arken, I don’t think too many scopes would take that. I just meant it wouldn’t be too much of a issue with the SE because the way the turrets are locked, so I’d think they would be fairly durable as well.
The only thing that has me worried was that post about the PST Gen2 that the turret just broke right off while he was dialing up. Since they share turrets and design with the SE... But other than that, I think it will be fine. Lemons happen with mass-production. Worst case scenario, Vortex CS takes care of you, no questions asked, and sends you a brand new scope, just like they always do.