Rifle Scopes Can someone compare and contrast Athlon Midas Tac 6.24x vs. Athlon Ares BTR 4.5x27?

[300ATT]

I am thinking of mounting one of these two scopes on top of my tactical .22 for upcoming matches. Typical range is 25-220 yards sometimes will shoot to 400 yards in the daylight (don't think I need illumination but you are welcome to explain otherwise). Budget is less than $800.00 (otherwise I would look seriously at the Vortex Gen II PST).

Either seem like they will work as both have at least 20x magnification, zero stops and offer FFP mil reticles and exposed elevation knobs (will hold wind with the reticle).

Can anyone that has used both compare and contrast them? Specifically, does anyone know how they compare in terms of glass quality and tracking?

Also, are they both made in Japan or is the Midas made in the Philippines?

Appreciate the help ...

 

[300ATT]

@gr8fuldoug was able to answer the questions for me so I will save everyone the time of answering. I ended up going with the Midas Tac based on our conversation. Doug @ Camera Land is a wonderful resource for hide members on the Athlon scopes, I should have called him first ... 516-217-1000 for any that have similar questions.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

A pleasure to "meet" you. Looking forward to your review

 

[Stickshift]

Athlon scopes, with the exception of the Cronus which is made by LOW in Japan, are made in China.

 

[padom]

Athlon scopes, with the exception of the Cronus which is made by LOW in Japan, are made in China.

And your point is? The Athlon scopes coming out of China lately have some damn nice glass for the money...

 

[One1Bravo]

And your point is? The Athlon scopes coming out of China lately have some damn nice glass for the money...

...the OP asked if they were made in Japan or the Philippines...

 

[steve123]

I have the 4-16 Midas TAC and the Ares BTR 4.5-27 so I can give my opinions on those.

Turrets on the TAC are more crisp and audible.
Turret .1mil marks on both scopes line up very well with the mark on the housing.
SZ is the same design.
Reticle is personal preference but I like the .2 mils round about in the Ares BTR so I like that tree reticle. I wouldn't call it/APLR3 a thick reticle but I do know I appreciate it when dialed down to 15x.
The TAC has a simpler reticle with some .2's but they transition to .5's which I don't like, and have obscuring numbers off to the side of the vertical crosshair. The center dot in the TAC is tiny, I vacillate back and forth on whether I like it or not, well not so much when the scope is dialed down to lower mag.
The glass on both is about the same on 16x but on 27x the glass is getting a tad dimmer in the Ares.

I'm glad I have both for different reasons. That TAC is a good fit on my AR and the Ares is good on my long range bolt rifle.

If the TAC had the APLR3 I'd buy it over the Ares because I rarely use illume and it's less expensive.

 

[300ATT]

I love floating dot Reticles ... thanks for the reply @steve123