Rifle Scopes Athlon Ares ETR vs everything else for PRS rimfire.

[dcmdon]

Hi all, I've been looking for a $600 ish scope to get me started on PRS Rimfire.

I'm a pretty experienced shooter, but long range and PRS in particular are pretty new to me. In short, I know enough to know that I don't know much.

I was considering the Arken EP-5 5-25X56 FFP as well as the Burris RT 25 and XTR2.

I'm eligible for some pro discounts so I did some searching on ExpertVoice and found that the Athlons are 60% off.

With 60% off I can get the Athlon ARES ETR UHD 4.5-30×56 for $575. This seems to be the winner. Just a bit more than the Arken, but a significant step up.

What are your thoughts. I've not looked through any of these scopes but the Arken seems to get good reviews as a $1000 product. At $575 it appears to be a steal.

Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[hafejd30]

My vote is for the Athlon. Arken is decent to but the Athlon ETR is probably the best Chinese scope on the market for your use. Glass is excellent

The XTRII are rock solid optics. Built in the Philippines. I still have my 3-15 and love it. The 4-20 and especially 5-25 suffered a lot on the top end of the glass.

The Arken EP5 and Athlon have a dot (.) reticle vs a cross (+) in the XTRII. I prefer the dot

 

[dcmdon]

My vote is for the Athlon. Arken is decent to but the Athlon ETR is probably the best Chinese scope on the market for your use. Glass is excellent

The XTRII are rock solid optics. Built in the Philippines. I still have my 3-15 and love it. The 4-20 and especially 5-25 suffered a lot on the top end of the glass.

The Arken EP5 and Athlon have a dot (.) reticle vs a cross (+) in the XTRII. I prefer the dot

Thank you. You have confirmed what I suspected.

I have a Sightron with a dot reticle and also prefer that.

I can also get the Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56 for only $385.

Is it worth spending the extra $200 for the Ares ETR??

 

[FuhQ]

Hi all, I've been looking for a $600 ish scope to get me started on PRS Rimfire.

I'm a pretty experienced shooter, but long range and PRS in particular are pretty new to me. In short, I know enough to know that I don't know much.

I was considering the Arken EP-5 5-25X56 FFP as well as the Burris RT 25 and XTR2.

I'm eligible for some pro discounts so I did some searching on ExpertVoice and found that the Athlons are 60% off.

With 60% off I can get the Athlon ARES ETR UHD 4.5-30×56 for $575. This seems to be the winner. Just a bit more than the Arken, but a significant step up.

What are your thoughts. I've not looked through any of these scopes but the Arken seems to get good reviews as a $1000 product. At $575 it appears to be a steal.

Any wisdom is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Burris XTR-II 5-25 will beat the Arken EP5 for sure. I had both, and kept the Burris. Not an Athlon fan…

 

[hafejd30]

Thank you. You have confirmed what I suspected.

I have a Sightron with a dot reticle and also prefer that.

I can also get the Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56 for only $385.

Is it worth spending the extra $200 for the Ares ETR??

I personally haven’t messed with the cheaper athlons. I’ve used the ares ETR and have owned and used a couple Cronus. The ETR was impressive though. I think the cheapest I’d go based on reviews is the Walmart ares BTR. But your discount puts you in the same price range of the ETR. Which although Chinese isn’t far behind the Cronus Gen 1 I had

 

[A.sosa]

I have an ares spotting scope, and I love it. I did buy one of their cheaper line of scopes and it was garbage. If I was looking for a new scope, I'd be interested in the ares line.

 

[dcmdon]

Now we're splitting hairs.

AFPRS1 or AfPRS6 reticle.

The S1 has more numbers and a .03 moa center dot.
The S6 has fewer numbers and a .05 moa center dot.


I'm thinking the smaller center dot

 

[steve123]

I prefer the Athlon turrets, apparent build quality, and Athlon warranty just in case.

Had a older ETR 4.5-30 and sold it because of the odd reticle design but otherwise it was a great scope.

Have a SFP ETR 15-60x56 and the IQ is super nice, like right there with my S&b nice, I'm not exaggerating either as friends have confirmed. The controls, especially turrets, are way above what the price point should allow for. I consider this a G3 scope although I don't think Athlon would admit that publicly because how else is it so well done??

Friend has a ETR 3-18 and I don't know how it could be improved marginally without doubling the price, it's that good.

Also I have a couple Cronus G2's and these are only a hair more stout feeling than the ETR but yes awesome turrets and ones I've favored over scopes costing lots more.

I have a Helos G2 on my most expensive 22rf and have won a few matches with the combo. Also have a Cronus G2 on my long range airgun and won some matches with it too.

The Midas TAC's don't have illume or locking turrets and I can't tell the difference in IQ compared to the FFP ETR's. There might be but it'd take someone with great vision to see a difference.

Basically if you don't like floppy flish feeling turrets, lash, or lines on the turret not lining up with the line on the turret stem then you have the best bet with Athlon 2nd and 3rd gen turrets.

The last few years I have tried a few other brands like March- yes that's right, Vortex, Vector, and Meopta, and these did fall short in my satisfaction per money paid quandary. Sucks I had to find that out the hard way. I'm not saying any of these I own were bad but I can point out each aspect, or combo of I'm not enthused about. I only paid $699 for the Meopta so out of those I'm not put out much.

Okay, yeah, some bias going on but if I don't like something, or it falls short in some aspect it shouldn't, I'll sell it. Or sell and sometimes I just buy updated scopes to try it.
I guess right now I didn't feel the need to sell but one of my Athlon scopes. I sold my Helos G2 2-12 to a friend that had to have it then hoping for something to come out that'd fit my need better. And well too many scopes and not enough guns.

 

[steve123]

Now we're splitting hairs.

AFPRS1 or AfPRS6 reticle.

The S1 has more numbers and a .03 moa center dot.
The S6 has fewer numbers and a .05 moa center dot.


I'm thinking the smaller center dot

The APRS6 has all .2 mils so no .5's mixed in. I like the congruity in the 6 for holds.

 

[dcmdon]

Steve,

The APRS6 has all .2 mils so no .5's mixed in. I like the congruity in the 6 for holds.

Thank you. I think the .2 mil hashes off the center are worth having a very marginally larger dot. Great point.

 

[hafejd30]

Now we're splitting hairs.

AFPRS1 or AfPRS6 reticle.

The S1 has more numbers and a .03 moa center dot.
The S6 has fewer numbers and a .05 moa center dot.


I'm thinking the smaller center dot

I believe it’s .03 vs .04 center dot.

 

[Rob01]

Another scope to look at in that price range is the Bushnell Match Pro ED. Not sure what you can get off it's price butit's a pretty nice scope in that under $1000 category.

5-30x56 Long-Range Scope - Match Pro | Bushnell

zero stop optics, locking turret scopes, longest range scope, 5-25 scope

www.bushnell.com

 

[BLJ]

Wife and I have 5-25/6-24 Midas Tac’s on our 457’s and 2 friends have the Ares you’re referring to on their rifles. Unbelievably solid for the last 4 years.
I think for the price your getting the Ares would be hard to beat.

 

[NewsShooter]

I've got a couple Ares and a couple Cronus scopes, I think they're a good choice and I like the reticles.

 

[lastshot12]

+1 on the Ares ETR!! They are great scopes nicer turrets & superior product quality control

 

[flatland1]

I'd been shooting with 6-24x50 Midas TAC scopes on a few of my Howa Mini customs, got curious about the 5-25x56 version, so got one and put it on a 223AI that is an excellent shooter. I'm getting up there in years - now 72 - but I could still easily see the difference between the Midas TAC 5-25x56 glass and Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 and Cronus 4.5-29x56. IMHO, the Ares ETR is worth every penny of the price difference between it at the Midas TAC. I've also got several of the big Cronus, on several Vudoo repeaters & a couple of CF PRS-type rifles, ranging from the original Cronus to the BTR to the G2 BTR. You have to get to the G2 BTR before you get to windage & elevation knob click detents as distinct as those of the Ares ETR scopes. Though I have very good confidence in my opinion of the difference in glass quality between the Midas TAC 5-25 & Ares ETR 4.5-30, I'm not so sure about whether the Cronus is that much better than the Ares ETR, and it's been awhile since I got rifles with both scopes out to compare them. Would do it today, but we've got 25mph with gusts to around 40mph today, with dust in the air - don't think it'd be a good day to go outdoors to do a comparison...besides, I'm only on the computer while taking a break from dialing in a Shilen select match ratchet 22RF bbl for a new Vudoo V22S RB/LP action...and need to get my tired old butt back out to the shop.

 

[Emerson0311]

Thank you. You have confirmed what I suspected.

I have a Sightron with a dot reticle and also prefer that.

I can also get the Athlon Midas TAC 5-25x56 for only $385.

Is it worth spending the extra $200 for the Ares ETR??

Yes.