Athlon,vortex or arken?

[Dildobaggins]

Looking at getting a new scope. Narrowed it down to an athlon Argos BTR gen2 6-24, a vortex venom 5-25, and an arken sh4 6-24. Anyone have experience with comparing any of these scopes? Is the athlon or vortex worth the extra $150-200 compared to the arken? Thanks.

 

[danatkins]

Athlon in that range

 

[gr8fuldoug]

As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

 

[Simonsza1]

I have a gen 2 Argos, sh4 and an ep5. Few of my opinions. The Argos seems to be the better of the three overall but the things better about the arkens is the mill per revolution. The ep5 also has really nice glass compared to the other two. Both reticles are good but the illumination at night is way crisper in the Argos. You do get a little haze in the Argos but the reticle is much more clear. In both the arkens the reticle is just not nearly as clear or usable under illumination and just seems overdone. The Argos and sh4 are on 22lr and both have been rock solid with absolutely zero issues. The ep5 is on a Valkyrie gas gun and don’t have enough time on it yet to comment on durability but assuming it’s better then the sh4 I don’t expect any. I’d say if you don’t care about the amount of mills per revolution on the turret then the Argos is a better choice. That would be the only reason I would pick the sh4 instead. Also the post above from Doug at cameraland is a great place to buy the Argos. If you have any other specific questions I can try to help.

 

[Dildobaggins]

I have a gen 2 Argos, sh4 and an ep5. Few of my opinions. The Argos seems to be the better of the three overall but the things better about the arkens is the mill per revolution. The ep5 also has really nice glass compared to the other two. Both reticles are good but the illumination at night is way crisper in the Argos. You do get a little haze in the Argos but the reticle is much more clear. In both the arkens the reticle is just not nearly as clear or usable under illumination and just seems overdone. The Argos and sh4 are on 22lr and both have been rock solid with absolutely zero issues. The ep5 is on a Valkyrie gas gun and don’t have enough time on it yet to comment on durability but assuming it’s better then the sh4 I don’t expect any. I’d say if you don’t care about the amount of mills per revolution on the turret then the Argos is a better choice. That would be the only reason I would pick the sh4 instead. Also the post above from Doug at cameraland is a great place to buy the Argos. If you have any other specific questions I can try to help.

I probably wouldn't even end up using illumination to be honest. How's the clarity of the Argos when zoomed all the way in?

 

[Simonsza1]

It’s fair. You have to consider the price point your shopping in. No better or worse really then the arken. Once you get north of 16 the crispness goes away a little bit it’s still fine zoomed max power. Not like you can’t see your target just fine but it’s not a high end scope either. Another thing I thought of that I don’t like on the arken is that the parallax knob, illumination knob and the battery cap are all the same. I can’t tell you how many times I go for parallax adjustment without looking and the battery cap starts to unscrew instead and I have to readjust my grip. Sounds minor but I think it’s a terrible design.

 

[FuhQ]

Looking at getting a new scope. Narrowed it down to an athlon Argos BTR gen2 6-24, a vortex venom 5-25, and an arken sh4 6-24. Anyone have experience with comparing any of these scopes? Is the athlon or vortex worth the extra $150-200 compared to the arken? Thanks.

Spend a little extra and get the Arken EP5. Worth the money over the Venom and SH4. Better glass then my Strike Eagle 5-25x56, and about on par with the PST Gen2 5-25 i looked through a few months back. Just my $0.02…

 

[Simonsza1]

The ep5 is really nice glass for the money. That freekin 3 in 1 parallax knob on all the arkens is lame though. I like my arkens a lot but that design blows. Fuhq I know your a fan of the arkens and just curious what your thoughts are also on the illumination? Not nearly as clear as my Argos. None of my high end scopes have illumination so I can’t personally compare to my expensive stuff.

 

[Dildobaggins]

I'm going to sit on it for a little. Or maybe a couple weeks and see what the black Friday deals bring. I'm also going to start looking at the EP5.

 

[FuhQ]

The ep5 is really nice glass for the money. That freekin 3 in 1 parallax knob on all the arkens is lame though. I like my arkens a lot but that design blows. Fuhq I know your a fan of the arkens and just curious what your thoughts are also on the illumination? Not nearly as clear as my Argos. None of my high end scopes have illumination so I can’t personally compare to my expensive stuff.

IMO, I'm not a huge fan of the IR on my SH4 Gen2's for any type of daylight use...It's not super bright. BUT, if you use it at night or low-light (as it was intended, not during daylight hours), then it works really well. The EP5 is noticeably brighter IR than the SH4 scopes, and can be seen during the daytime, but I don't use IR much, due to my astigmatism. Most red dots and IR's look like an exploding red stars to me and really throw off my POA, because I don't know which portion of the dot is the true center. I need to see if I can get that fixed by an optic surgeon...Because it's terrible. At this point, I'm right-handed, and left-eye dominant, because my right eye has sustained so much damage, the vision is fading rather quickly in it.

My astigmatism, is another reason why I like the Arken VMR and VHR reticles so much, because the super-fine open center dot design, surrounded by centering points, helps me REALLY hone in well on the bullseye...Becasue I can see the whole bullseye, but I can put the dot in the dead center of it, and still get some amazing groups with load development and precision shooting.

I know some folks love to hate on the Arkens, but honestly, I really love the VMR reticles, and can't wait to put the new EPL4 6-24x50 VHR MIL on my hunting rifle, to try this year. It has the same open center-dot, with the lines around it, but is more similar to the Vortex VMR-1 reticle. I think it will be an awesome hunting scope, and the fact it weighs in at only like 24 oz. is really nice, too. About the same as my Vortex HST 6-24x50 SFP scopes, which are super light.

The new Arken VHR (Variable Hunter Reticle) in a MIL configuration...

 

[Simonsza1]

Ya I also like the Arken reticle. I don’t ever use illumination during the daylight. Just lighted steel at night. Imo the arken reticle illuminated at night is blurry lines of red. My Argos has nice lines of red.

 

[FuhQ]

Ya I also like the Arken reticle. I don’t ever use illumination during the daylight. Just lighted steel at night. Imo the arken reticle illuminated at night is blurry lines of red. My Argos has nice lines of red.

I have a bad astigmatism... Even a ZCO would have a blurry IR to me.

 

[Alekzandr]

Burris RT25 tbh

 

[Dildobaggins]

Burris RT25 tbh

Looks like a nice scope, but a Little out of price range.

 

[Jack's Dad]

Athlon have some of the best reticles you can get at any price range. Fight me.

 

[Dildobaggins]

Athlon have some of the best reticles you can get at any price range. Fight me.

I have an athlon Talos 6-24. It was dirt cheap, but it's honestly one of my favorite scopes. Haha

 

[Alekzandr]

Looks like a nice scope, but a Little out of price range.

My buddy just got one for 600ish on Amazon, aren't Strike Eagles 799?? Edit - i thought the Eagle was the only 5-25 Vortex made?

 

[Dildobaggins]

My buddy just got one for 600ish on Amazon, aren't Strike Eagles 799?? Edit - i thought the Eagle was the only 5-25 Vortex made?

The vortex venom on midway is $499. Amazon has a Burris rt25 for $639. That's the cheapest I've found so far. I don't know an awful lot about vortex but the venom is 5-25x56

 

[Alekzandr]

The vortex venom on midway is $499. Amazon has a Burris rt25 for $639. That's the cheapest I've found so far. I don't know an awful lot about vortex but the venom is 5-25x56

My mistake, i was unaware of the venom

That being said the Burris SCR2 reticle is one of the few Horus clones with the wind dots on every mil instead of even # only, thats worth the extra $140 imho

 

[FuhQ]

Do not confuse the Venom with the Strike Eagle… They are not the same scopes, and aren’t even the same quality. They don’t use the same glass, turrets, or even the same lenses, or scope body/tube design. The Strike Eagle is superior to the Venom in every way, other than price. If the Venom is all you can afford, save up $65 more dollars and get the Arken EP5 hands-down.

I own a Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C, and it’s a great scope, and (IMO) bang-for-your-buck is a better deal than the PST Gen2 5-25x50. But bang for your buck, the Arken EP5 with Japanese ED glass at only $565 blows both of them away, considering it’s almost half what the PST Gen2 costs.

A guy at the range had a new PST Gen2 5-25x, and I had my Arken EP5, and my Strike Eagle 5-25x EBR-7C scopes there. We all compared them back-to-back, and unanimously concluded the EP5 glass was on par with the PST Gen2, and both were just slightly better glass than the Strike Eagle, but is the PST $200-300 better than the SE? Was it $450 better than the Arken EP5? That’s up to you.

 

[Dildobaggins]

Do not confuse the Venom with the Strike Eagle… They are not the same scopes, and aren’t even the same quality. They don’t use the same glass, turrets, or even the same lenses, or scope body/tube design. The Strike Eagle is superior to the Venom in every way, other than price. If the Venom is all you can afford, save up $65 more dollars and get the Arken EP5 hands-down.

I own a Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C, and it’s a great scope, and (IMO) bang-for-your-buck is a better deal than the PST Gen2 5-25x50. But bang for your buck, the Arken EP5 with Japanese ED glass at only $565 blows both of them away, considering it’s almost half what the PST Gen2 costs.

A guy at the range had a new PST Gen2 5-25x, and I had my Arken EP5, and my Strike Eagle 5-25x EBR-7C scopes there. We all compared them back-to-back, and unanimously concluded the EP5 glass was on par with the PST Gen2, and both were just slightly better glass than the Strike Eagle, but is the PST $200-300 better than the SE? Was it $450 better than the Arken EP5? That’s up to you.

Thank you for all the info. I'll probably go with the EP5. I have been wanting to try an arken scope for some reason. Maybe in a couple of weeks they will run some black Friday deals and I can get it for a little cheaper.

 

[Simonsza1]

Ask and you shall receive, just now got an email from them

 

[Dildobaggins]

Ask and you shall receive, just now got an email from them
View attachment 7994272

Lol Ordering now!

 

[FuhQ]

Lol Ordering now!

I was just coming here to tell you about the Black Friday sale on the EP5…After seeing it on IG. But someone beat me to it.

 

[Simonsza1]

@FuhQ is probably ordering another one

 

[MissAshley]

Leupold lost my loyalty. Looked for scopes accurate out to 800 yards, budgeting $4k to replace all 3 Leupold scopes, including a Vari X-III 6.5-20x50mm to go on a 300 win mag, .308, and 25-06. Arken caught my attention but I was skeptical because of the low price. I called Arken to get a scope. Wonderful customer service for first impression. Received an EP5 to compare my other choices. Ultimately it’s all about my sight picture. I preferred it over many. Every sales person and gun shop was impressed with it. None had seen one before. I bought the EP5, SH4 Gen 2, and getting the EPL4. Paramount Tactical has a good review comparing Arken to Nightforce. Rugergungog put Arken to the test, even pounding tent pegs, and it still performs. Can’t wait for Arken to challenge the AR platform scopes.

 

[steve123]

Athlon has the G2 scopes out now which are superior to the G1's in various ways. Too me especially contrasted in the Argos line.

There is also the new Heras line but most of these are SFP and oriented more for hunting. Interesting are the .2 mil reticles in a SFP scope.

The Midas TAC's have the best glass in these mid priced Athlon scopes. I want to say this is equal to ETR glass but without the features in the ETR line.

I've mostly transitioned to the Helos G2 scopes. Good in every way for the price. Last year I bought a $900 5-30x56 scope from another company that should compete above my Helos G2 6-24x56 but the turrets were disappointing in comparison and I wouldn't put anything above the HG2 except for having 30x.

It'd be fun to see how the newer scopes of Athlon, Vortex, and Arken, compare in a side by side.