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Rifle Scopes My arken 6-24 just got here
- Thread starter cageli
- Start date
I sold one previous scope, bam, all of sudden I have money for 3 of these! And rings too? What I do?
It is somewhat unusual to just buy three of the same scopes from an unknown company, but to each his own.
ILya
It is also unusual for scope company to send 3 free scopes to internet reviewers. Understand the suspicion and concern, I will try my best to be neutral with this. I did take one with me while the rest of family spending time in mall. The good news is that at least this one’s parallax works as it’s supposed to.
Three free scopes to internet reviewers is not all that unusual.
When you get a chance, post some through the scope pictures of what the reticle looks like on low power.
ILya
Hi,
So did you purchase them or they were sent to you for review????
I must be misreading something in my translation, sorry.
Sincerely,
Theis
So did you purchase them or they were sent to you for review????
I must be misreading something in my translation, sorry.
Sincerely,
Theis
It is really hard to see the center part of reticle at 6 power. I absolutely don’t think this would work for hunting stuff.
No, you're correct to be confused. He said he sold 1 scope and had money for 3 of these Arken things...
Then he kind of said he got 3 scopes for free to review..
We share confusion at inconsistent statements.
Mounted on the rifle. I do think it is a good looking scope. I fuddled with it and will do some write up tonight. So far no major disappointment yet, but the glass is not as good as I hoped for either, need to figure out how to put some words with it.
Haha yeah I really did that...people seemed to be okay , who cares... we got a Leica shop in the mall and people look through their range finder spotting scope all the time.
OK, got bunch of things to do tonight so let me put up with my initial observations on good, not so good and ugly.
The Good:
1. My current observation, is the reticle is way too thin for low power use. 10x is the minimum you would want to use this.
2. The finish is OK, definitely there is visible difference between this and $1500 scope.
3. The glass clarity, is not as good as I have hoped for. I need to do more thorough comparison the next few days when I can. It is definitely clear and usable, but could be my standard being too high, I need to go out to my 600 yard range to carefully look into it. I indeed hoped it will have similar glass like Weaver tactical, that's my expectation.
4. The focus knob is a bit tight to turn. Hope it will ease out over time. Also I think it does not focus very close, at least 25-30 yard based my results. May not be a good news for air gun and .22
The ugly:
1. They did a horrible marketing job, ruined the initial reputation, and somehow fucked the new owner like me as well. Feel like I'm the Trump supporter among Demo's these days, on this website.
2. No illumination is a challenge for thin reticle, and significantly limit the use scenarios. It may mean additional cost though.
3. Long term durability is unknown, how long the company will exist is unknown. So do not buy 3 scopes at one time like me - it's risky.
If you're like me, have couple nice rifles built out but could not afford putting $2K glass on all of them, I think it's a pretty good solution.
The Good:
- The turrents are amazing. Best I've used. Line up perfectly, no wiggle, no fuss. Very mechanical. Better than my SB, Kahles, Hensoldt, ETR, and the list goes on. I did not have a chance to use TT yet, so not sure about that. Point is, for this price, its crazy that they got these kinda of turrents. Smart design, good execution, very cost effective with good results. A real treat to turn those huge stubby things.
- The eyebox is huge. Only seen similar thing on Hensoldt. Very easy to get behind, taking photo with cellphone is remarkably easy, comparing to my other scopes. I really like their optical design from this perspective.
- The mag ring takes right amount of force to turn, and has clear stop. Eye piece ring is a little small for big hands, a little hard to get out of its initial rotation but otherwise I like it to be tight so it does not turn easily by accident, as it is not locked.
- The through scope view is beautiful. The edge is very thin and present a sense of huge FOV, but I have not been able to measure it to validate what Arken says on their website.
- Comes with sunshade, not too bad. The included scope covers are interesting as they are see through style with real glass ends, never seen real glass on this type of thing, always plastic stuff.
1. My current observation, is the reticle is way too thin for low power use. 10x is the minimum you would want to use this.
2. The finish is OK, definitely there is visible difference between this and $1500 scope.
3. The glass clarity, is not as good as I have hoped for. I need to do more thorough comparison the next few days when I can. It is definitely clear and usable, but could be my standard being too high, I need to go out to my 600 yard range to carefully look into it. I indeed hoped it will have similar glass like Weaver tactical, that's my expectation.
4. The focus knob is a bit tight to turn. Hope it will ease out over time. Also I think it does not focus very close, at least 25-30 yard based my results. May not be a good news for air gun and .22
The ugly:
1. They did a horrible marketing job, ruined the initial reputation, and somehow fucked the new owner like me as well. Feel like I'm the Trump supporter among Demo's these days, on this website.
2. No illumination is a challenge for thin reticle, and significantly limit the use scenarios. It may mean additional cost though.
3. Long term durability is unknown, how long the company will exist is unknown. So do not buy 3 scopes at one time like me - it's risky.
If you're like me, have couple nice rifles built out but could not afford putting $2K glass on all of them, I think it's a pretty good solution.
Thanks, I was afraid of that. I'll wait until they have an illuminated version or a different reticle before I do a review on one. That will really help on low power.
Ilya
I pulled the trigger on the 4-16 for my Tikka. I don't expect it to show up until next week, since I ordered it Monday. I don't expect it to be a S&B, but I'm hoping for a solid bang for the buck, especially since it checked all of the boxes I wanted, without extras I didn't need.
I have the 4-16.. definitely a bang for your buck scope that’s for sure.
My magnification ring was so stiff that it’s nearly unusable one handed with it on my cantilever mount. I just sent the scope to MK machining the other day for him to make up a throw lever for it, so they should be offering them fairly shortly. A must have - atleast for my particular scope.
OP’s review is pretty spot on with the 4-16 model also.
only photo I have of the scope right now till it gets back from MK
Attachments
After debating it for months I decided to buy an Arken scope. When these first came on the scene they appealed to me because of the price point and the features they boast. However, the shills hawking these fuckers on this forum and others killed it for me. Then a buddy got the SH 4-14x44 for his AR, and he loved it. Based his feedback, and the fact that founder Michael Reilly, @ArkenOpticsUSA I think, is a veteran whom I have followed since watching the 500 Miles documentary a couple of years ago I decided to try one. I lucked out and found a 6-24x50 EP-4 at my local gun shop Monday, and I put it on my Elk Meadow 6.5x284 Norma. (Before anyone starts hating on me I will readily admit that this gun deserves WAY better than a $600 scope, but I wanted to test it on a rifle that I knew was a super shooter). I also bought the Arken rings for it, mounted it, and I have shot about 100 rounds out of it over the last couple of days. I love several things about this scope, but I absolutely HATE a couple, too.
On the love side, the price was great, it is FFP, the scope is asthetically appealing, the glass is REALLY nice for the money, it is great in low light, and the turrets have the best feel I have ever seen in a scope under $1,000. I also really like the zero-stop, and it tracks dead on.
On the hate side, the parallax focus is extremely stiff, and the reticle focus is almost impossible. They are so stiff that my wife does not have the hand strength to turn either, making both almost worthless in the field. Also, the reticle is a joke in a couple of ways. I like the Christmas tree (I have always been a fan of the Vortex EBR 2C), but the V range finder dumbs it down in my opinion. Even worse, the reticle is so thin that it unusable on low magnification or in low light. This is compounded even worse by the fact that the scope lacks illumination. This evening right at sunset I had a dozen deer at 450-500 yards, but I could not take a shot because even at 20-22x power I could not find the center of the damn reticle!!!
Bottom line: Arken has some great features in this value priced scope, but the stiff focus knobs and too thin reticle severely limit what could otherwise be a very nice optic.
On the love side, the price was great, it is FFP, the scope is asthetically appealing, the glass is REALLY nice for the money, it is great in low light, and the turrets have the best feel I have ever seen in a scope under $1,000. I also really like the zero-stop, and it tracks dead on.
On the hate side, the parallax focus is extremely stiff, and the reticle focus is almost impossible. They are so stiff that my wife does not have the hand strength to turn either, making both almost worthless in the field. Also, the reticle is a joke in a couple of ways. I like the Christmas tree (I have always been a fan of the Vortex EBR 2C), but the V range finder dumbs it down in my opinion. Even worse, the reticle is so thin that it unusable on low magnification or in low light. This is compounded even worse by the fact that the scope lacks illumination. This evening right at sunset I had a dozen deer at 450-500 yards, but I could not take a shot because even at 20-22x power I could not find the center of the damn reticle!!!
Bottom line: Arken has some great features in this value priced scope, but the stiff focus knobs and too thin reticle severely limit what could otherwise be a very nice optic.
Same observation as mine. I think the reticle is a bigger problem than focus knob as I can leave focus to some distance and forget about it, but the reticle is way too thin. They need to at least double if not triple the thickness, which I believe is not hard, as etching thin reticle actually requires better equipment.
Care to clarify these statements?
I’m still confused how you bought these scopes but you were given them for free to review. Is that how they fucked you? You thought you were getting them for free and then they charged you?
I meant to ignore the provoking comment made by some, but I think you are really confused. Let me make it simple for you: I bought these scopes with my own money, based on my free will. And so far I'm very pleased. Yes there are issues like thin reticle and stiff focus knob, but not really a problem for my use case.
Hid did not say that he got them free, Just a counter response to someone saying it's odd for a body buy 3, unknown, untried scopes..and his opinion on that.
His being Fkd by the MFG was because of the other 2 or three threads with several newbs (same person?) touting them as the greatest thing in the market , and hyping Lowlights turret tracking video as "Snipers Hide Endorsed/Approved". Makes a person anathema just saying they bought one...or three, let alone anything positive about them.
I miss the days when people actually read and understood posts and multi string conversations within a thread.
Then again I could be completely wrong on all of that...
I however am still in the camp at the moment of waiting to see how they hold up, and legitimate side by side comparisons to $1500 class scopes. Right now I'll spend the extra $100 ish on a Refurb Vortex Gen II PST first if I had to do it tomorrow.
Thank you for the introductory reviews and pictures, gentlemen.
It looks like we are finally getting some reasonable opinions on the product, which, hopefully, will overcome the silly rollout efforts.
ILya
It looks like we are finally getting some reasonable opinions on the product, which, hopefully, will overcome the silly rollout efforts.
ILya
That's where I was at too. I was going to buy the refurb, but didn't need the illuminated reticle. Plus AA only had it in MOA, and I use/prefer MIL. I don't mind the busy reticle, but we'll see if it's too fine for me.
Thanks for reading lol.
I would not really compare this with $1500 scope, maybe on some factors but not all around. I do think it is a very good buy for the money if you don’t mind the thin reticle. The glass is definitely better than pst2 I have seen. Second tier JAPAN glass is what it is. The best use would be bench/target shooting. PRS practice match maybe.
That’s what I figured, but since he never responded to the initial 2 comments about whether he got them for free left some uncertainty.
Unless I just wasn’t real happy with or couldn’t justify spending 1500$ on a scope, I’m still perplexed at selling a scope to get an unproven optic to replace it, let alone 3. That just seems strange and leaves me to think there’s more to this. Factor in that this is the same poster that said the Vortex Razor G2 was known to be bad optically raises more suspicion. I could be wrong though.
It’s always good to have more options, and affordable options are welcomed, but there’s also no free lunch with scopes. Not yet at least.
I would like for an unbiased person to put these up against a Sightron SIII to see how they compare optically.
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I’ll be glad when some more reviews come out that seem trustworthy. Every larger YouTube channel seems to have been given one or two and have had glowing reviews. Every comment section on those videos is full of weird comments full of positivity that smell a lot like bot comments. I saw one vid today where a guy had an elevation turret issue and was shipping back. Really really want these to be good but find myself super reluctant to try one just yet.
When mine shows up, I'll give an unbiased review. I have no qualms about admitting that I made a bad purchase (if it goes that way). I'm no PR superstar, and my youtube page only has home videos of my family and my dogs. I was trying to wait for more reviews myself, but needed an optic for my CTR.
I read all the threads. I just ordered the 4-16 and the 6-24, and two sets of rings. With free shipping it was $1269. THIS WAS MY OWN MONEY that I spent. I have not so much as spoken to or seen a picture of anyone employed by Arken. When I get the scopes I will test them on 22lr, 223, 6.5, and 308. I will likely start my own thread. Stiff controls won't be an issue unless they are ridiculous. The matches I shoot I have plenty of time to adjust the scope. Thin reticle will be a plus for rimfire, and as long as it is usable at 10x and up I should be ok. Tracking, glass quality, zero stop function, eyebox, parallax correction are all important to me, and eye relief. If both scopes score well in those areas then I will be satisfied. Durability will become known in time.
Now I need to order two 34mm bubble levels. What got me off the mark was the tracking review by tibasaourus rex, and the form factor of these scopes. They look good.
Now I need to order two 34mm bubble levels. What got me off the mark was the tracking review by tibasaourus rex, and the form factor of these scopes. They look good.
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Who cares how he got them, stop stirring the pot and move on. Just read his review....or dont
More disclosure. I sent them the following in an email. Hopefully, they will comply.
“I just ordered two scopes and two sets of rings. Please do three things for me out the gate. 1. Put a note on the package for the carrier NOT TO DELIVER TO MY FRONT PORCH. The package will be stolen. DELIVER TO THE REAR PORCH. 2. Reports are that the ocular ring and parallax knob are stuff to the point of being ridiculous. Please do not send me scopes with this problem because I will review them and then return them. QC check them, please. 3. Reply to this email so that I know I have been heard. Thank you. I look forward to using your scopes and wish you whatever success you earn in the marketplace.”
“I just ordered two scopes and two sets of rings. Please do three things for me out the gate. 1. Put a note on the package for the carrier NOT TO DELIVER TO MY FRONT PORCH. The package will be stolen. DELIVER TO THE REAR PORCH. 2. Reports are that the ocular ring and parallax knob are stuff to the point of being ridiculous. Please do not send me scopes with this problem because I will review them and then return them. QC check them, please. 3. Reply to this email so that I know I have been heard. Thank you. I look forward to using your scopes and wish you whatever success you earn in the marketplace.”
I have a 4-16 and a 6-24 en route.
Figure if they suck, return them for a refund or pass them off to the shills on Facebook. If they’re halfway decent, you’ve got a couple of cheap solid optics. Either way you’re covered.
I have a tendency to believe this will end up somewhere between “dUde IT beATs GeN2s aLl DaY evErY DAy” and “I’d rather have a Sightmark” for whatever that’s worth.
Figure if they suck, return them for a refund or pass them off to the shills on Facebook. If they’re halfway decent, you’ve got a couple of cheap solid optics. Either way you’re covered.
I have a tendency to believe this will end up somewhere between “dUde IT beATs GeN2s aLl DaY evErY DAy” and “I’d rather have a Sightmark” for whatever that’s worth.
I have the 4-16. The first one I got had a loose screw on the magnification ring I email the company and called. I talked to the owner directly and after some talk he was worried that the gas inside the scope might of leaked out and my scope could fog up with changing climate. he put a new scope in the mail with a return label for the scope I had. He let me keep the scope I had until I received the new scope so I could shoot an upcoming match because the scope worked perfectly fine. Which I thought was pretty cool that he had trust in me to send the scope back. I received the replacement scope a day before the match so I was able to use it. The reticle is very thin as stated above but it is usable at around 10/11 power. The parallax was a little finicky from about 300/400 yards to 1,000 plus. The knob is maxed out or pretty close but in a super short scope is expected ( for this price point imo) getting the reticle adjusted clearly was a little tough. I don’t know if it’s just my eyes I do have a pretty good astigmatism. Everyone’s eyes are different and people are going to have different options on this issue but I can tell you that the adjustments work so people might have different Experiences. I’m still impressed with the glass clarity and brightness. The turrets are crisp and loud. My parallax and magnification ring is tight but not to tight. I’m sure it will wear in over time. I’ve done multiple tall target tracking tests and all have been spot on. Time will tell on the durability but I don’t think you could go wrong buying one. In my experience the customer service is excellent. The owner wanted to make it right and called my cell phone to ask a few clarifying questions after the first time I talked with him and sent multiple emails asking me if I got my replacement scope and how things were working out.
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Your expreience, and Arken's reaction to your issues, played a big role in my ordering one for myself. An owner that does things like this speaks volumes in my book
I’ve had a similar experience as Bryan marks, I emailed him last night at around 7pm and by 8pm he responded with an answer that shows he’s aware of the issue, they’re working on correcting it, and offered to make it right once they’ve found a better solution. Also asked for additional feedback on the optic. He ended up responding to my response at about 2am ?. Kudos to Arken
say what you want about Arkens’ marketing strategy, definitely can’t knock the guy for customer service; that’s for sure.
say what you want about Arkens’ marketing strategy, definitely can’t knock the guy for customer service; that’s for sure.
IMO a "Public Apology" for the marketing smear on this forum would go a long way towards redeeming them.
Wish I got responses like you. Emailed them regarding my 6-24 I got on Tuesday and still no response.
Edited: Shortly after seeing this post I had a phone call from Arken. I know emails can be tough to keep track of, so hats off to you guys for having someone on the forum and reaching out to me in short order.
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The ocular adjustment was so stiff the piece that holds the lens in unscrewed. I took it off trying to get a better grip on the ocular and the little rubber seal and lense popped out. I’m sure they'll take care of me just seems like their email response are kind of spotty
Overall I think this is a solid optic and definitely a contender in the $1000 and under price range kind of hard to say it can compete outside of that range without having any time behind it
We've gotten a ton of support and we are very grateful. That said, making time for family is very important to us, especially over the holidays. We cant talk to everyone all at once, but we will respond to everyone in time, as best we can.
I agree totally I didn’t expect a response until next week with the holiday. I was just commenting in regard to the guy that got a response yesterday an hour after sending his email
Pretty darn good Customer service right there. Just got off the phone with Mike. Discussed my issue along with a few other things. They have me taken care of pretty quickly. Sounds like Arken optics is doing a lot of things right. I’m excited to see how this turns out. Running a range here in NW PA allows me to interact with a ton of new shooters and I think it’s great a new shooter can get into a FFP offering with great glass and all the nice features for $600. I will
keep everyone posted on how my warranty work goes
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So to the folks with the 4-16...
The reticle seems to be super thin, like the 6-24, and isn’t super usable til 10x and up?
For folks with either...
How many mils of elevation have you verified?
Is it centered in its elevation range pretty well (On a zero MOA rail is it pretty well in the middle of the adjustment range?)
I would consider trying one for my Kidd if it would have at least 20 mils of elevation left with a 20MOA base zeroed at 50yrds.
The reticle seems to be super thin, like the 6-24, and isn’t super usable til 10x and up?
For folks with either...
How many mils of elevation have you verified?
Is it centered in its elevation range pretty well (On a zero MOA rail is it pretty well in the middle of the adjustment range?)
I would consider trying one for my Kidd if it would have at least 20 mils of elevation left with a 20MOA base zeroed at 50yrds.
The reticle is a bit tough to resolve in the 4-16x, no so bad on paper at 100, but on steel at distance, yes.
I would almost say, it needs illumination to be able to pop it on.
I started getting more into it this past week, shooting it on my Cadex, there is actually a tiny piece in my latest video with the Prime 6CM ammo.
I had to make sure the ocular focus was perfect so I could see it against the variety of targets we have. it depends on the target color and the surrounding area, but I noticed it too.
under normal conditions, this is where i would turn on the illumination, pretty much the same thing for the S&B LRR reticle, it's nicely thin and small but can get lost in the noise of the background.
it needs something close to pop,
reticles are easy to redesign, everyone has an opinion on them, so finding a decent middle ground should be easy. Some people get used a particular design and others find it not so useful, it's subjective, you are asking people to pick a favorite color. With the reticles you really have to get behind them in the scope because on paper they all look great.
I would almost say, it needs illumination to be able to pop it on.
I started getting more into it this past week, shooting it on my Cadex, there is actually a tiny piece in my latest video with the Prime 6CM ammo.
I had to make sure the ocular focus was perfect so I could see it against the variety of targets we have. it depends on the target color and the surrounding area, but I noticed it too.
under normal conditions, this is where i would turn on the illumination, pretty much the same thing for the S&B LRR reticle, it's nicely thin and small but can get lost in the noise of the background.
it needs something close to pop,
reticles are easy to redesign, everyone has an opinion on them, so finding a decent middle ground should be easy. Some people get used a particular design and others find it not so useful, it's subjective, you are asking people to pick a favorite color. With the reticles you really have to get behind them in the scope because on paper they all look great.
I totally agree Frank. The minor things that have been brought up sound like easy fixes. But my experience is that they really care about making a good optic and not all about making money. I know that’s on most Business models but in the long run they’ll make more profit if they stand behind there products.
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