Shit, I've bought 3 myself, and no telling how many hundreds of sales my thread caused... I wish they'd put me on that list, too.
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New Arken Offering
- Thread starter fdkay
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I've had one sitting in the cart since they were announced. It's just staring at me, waiting.
Same... My third SH4 arrived 2 days before they dropped the EP5 unexpectedly...
This is my take on this. Feel free to disagree. It's a free country.
I'm not even a little tempted to buy anything Arken, nor any other small/new scope maker. Brand survivability is more important to me than saving a few bucks. There's a short list of major brands I'm fairly certain will be here for the long haul. That's where my money will go.
I'm not even a little tempted to buy anything Arken, nor any other small/new scope maker. Brand survivability is more important to me than saving a few bucks. There's a short list of major brands I'm fairly certain will be here for the long haul. That's where my money will go.
....Nikon used to be a major brand at one time...
I remember when Athlon first come out.
Nobody wanted to let them in the club either.
Nobody wanted to let them in the club either.
I remember when people said that about Vortex, then Athlon.
The company isn’t that new. They’ve proven their worth in CS and durability despite having to take quite a few returns early on for parallax issues mainly. They made it right in a fast, 2 week time for myself. The 4-16 EP4 is damn near as good as my DMR3 without tunneling. All other features are comparable. Reticle is personal obviously. I can spend $450 per rifle to outfit vs $1100 used for DMR3. Serious rifles get serious glass but that’s another conversation. Although, I’ve run $4K glass on a $400 hunting rifle, I don’t make a habit of it. For those happy with SH4, this means only $350 per rifle. SH4 is comparable to $700-$800 retail class from what most owners, not YouTube reviewers, have said repeatedly.
While by many accounts their customer service sounds very good (kudos to them!), I believe Halberdier’s point is that the company is under 3 years old and he personally prefers to purchase from longer standing companies.
I do not have a dog in this fight, but I feel many people share his sentiment.
I do not have a dog in this fight, but I feel many people share his sentiment.
Like Weaver, Simmons, Tasco, and even Redfield?
Okay, that was a cheap (pun intended) shot, but I couldn't resist it.
When it comes to Arken, it's impossible for me (personally) to differentiate between honest customer experiences and coordinated shilling by "influencers" who aren't disclosing a relationship with the company.
So with no way of knowing if what I'm reading is an advertisement or someone's honest experience (that they aren't being compensated to share), I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
As I said, I have no dog in the fight.
I do not currently plan on purchasing an Arken, as I am not in need of any of their offered products. If that should change in the future, I will reevaluate and research if they have an offering that interest me.
I do not currently plan on purchasing an Arken, as I am not in need of any of their offered products. If that should change in the future, I will reevaluate and research if they have an offering that interest me.
I can appreciate that. For the record, I have no affiliation with Arken, nor anyone I know. It does make you wonder from some of the threads on here though.
I’ve gambled way more than 350-450$ and lost on lots of shooting items.
If this scope last two years it will be a year longer than my wife’s 450$ China made Dyson sweeper.
If this scope last two years it will be a year longer than my wife’s 450$ China made Dyson sweeper.
It's the old "can't get a job without references, can't get references without a job."
Vortex and Athlon overcame this, but some others haven't. Arken will have to overcome the hurdles the same way Vortex and Athlon did. They're not anywhere near there with a three scope lineup.
Even better... Remember when Vortex came out? Everyone called them shill scopes, and temporary, and cheap junk, etc... Then the Razor line came out, and their the largest scope maker in the US now... USO, March, ZCO... All smalltime brands making elite-tier products and are all well-known in the industry. Just because a company is small doesn't mean they don't/can't produce a quality product. And typically it's the small guys making the highest-quality products because they're trying to grow, so they want to produce quality over quantity for brand recognition.
I'm not saying Arken will be Vortex, but damn, at least give them a chance to be something, instead of writing them off completely just because they're still smalltime right now, or because they only offer 2 lines and they're made in china. Who knows, they might start making some top-end lines like the Razor one day? I'm not saying go buy one, I'm just saying be open-minded.
Absolutely. I was curious so I bought 2 of the SH4's. They seem like a good value. I will be putting them to the test this year. When I can get an EP5 I will try one of those, also. I have spent money on a lot worse things. Even if I end up hating them I can sell them used and still get most of my money back, so there is not much to lose either way.
Exactly. I lost $10,000 on a boat I bought used and then sold a couple years later. I got such a deal on it, I should have MADE $10,000-15,000...But Obama fucked up the economy so bad, everything plummeted. I lost $15,000 on my first Mustang GT trade-in deal. Learned that lesson. I've probably lost well over $50K in bad investments (mostly vehicles, boats, motorcycles, and 4-wheelers) over the last 20 years. Gambling with $350 for a scope made in china is not exactly life-changing money, IMO.
If it flies, floats or fucks, you're losing money on it.Exactly. I lost $10,000 on a boat I bought used and then sold a couple years later. I got such a deal on it, I should have MADE $10,000-15,000...But Obama fucked up the economy so bad, everything plummeted. I lost $15,000 on my first Mustang GT trade-in deal. Learned that lesson. I've probably lost well over $50K in bad investments (mostly vehicles, boats, motorcycles, and 4-wheelers) over the last 20 years. Gambling with $350 for a scope made in china is not exactly life-changing money, IMO.
There’s enough money for everyone to win. I bought 3 of these scopes (4-16, 6-24 and 5-25). I’m happy with the 4-16 and 5-25 so far.
When you look at it from the perspective of the consumer, why would anyone be upset with the feature-rich value we are enjoying?
Everyone is free to spend whatever they want on whatever they want and hold their own rationale on it. But I'll never be upset when a company is trying to listen this closely to a budget market, and still back it with quality and a warranty to boot.
Everyone is free to spend whatever they want on whatever they want and hold their own rationale on it. But I'll never be upset when a company is trying to listen this closely to a budget market, and still back it with quality and a warranty to boot.
One more week to go and they should start shipping. I can't remember if they originally said 2 weeks and changed to 2 to 4 after the first day or so or if it always said 2 to 4.
I was going to ask them myself but haven't yet. I figured they are swamped. Does anyone think the glass difference between the EP and SH is worth the difference? I'm still torn.
it is a shame that pic depicts the ret as illuminated , buy it most likely is not any big deal but it is a shame . and I do wonder why only 5x25 when the other was a 6x24 why not a 5x30 or better yet 35 for 600 that might be worth getting to me anyway . I wanna know even more why have not chinese primer companies moved in with low priced primers to suck up the profit of other companies like cci , federal and so many others I am sure stores would welcome a product that actually reaches there shelves in mass rather than a box or so here and there then nothing for another year .
What makes you think the EP5 isn't illuminated. The pictures of the scope clearly show an illumination knob, the pictures of the reticle show illumination, the scope specs show illumination and list the battery it uses.
Dude's made several weird rant comments before in Arken threads. I especially liked how he managed to add in the bitching about China and primers. WTF does that have anything to do with a scope thread?
A rep confirmed to me that the turrets will be the same dimensions as the SH4 earlier this week fyi. I was checking to see if the MKM parallax and illumination wheels will fit. Seems they wheel
View attachment 7772055
What do you guys think of the reticle subtensions?
I nearly bought one of these a few weeks ago but was put off by the fact the turrets are 0.1mil and the lower windage subtensions are 0.25mil. It seems like an annoying mismatch. Maybe it's just me.
I nearly bought one of these a few weeks ago but was put off by the fact the turrets are 0.1mil and the lower windage subtensions are 0.25mil. It seems like an annoying mismatch. Maybe it's just me.
I rather like the VPR reticle with the .25mil subtensions, seems to keep the middle of the reticle nice and open and uncluttered to me. I don't find it difficult at all to use, I've been running a Razor with the EBR-7C with .2mil subtensions for a while now, and I like that too, but I actually think I like the simplicity of the VPR reticle better. JMHO.
I feel the same. I would buy it happily, If the reticle is 0.2mil, similar to NightForce Mil-XT, or XTR III SCR2 MIL, or TRACT MRAD ELR RETICLE.
Decided WTF... You only live once, and it's just money, right? Bought an EP5 and the precision pack. Since I've bought all 4 of my Arken scopes, I have no problems being 100% unbiased comparing them amongst themselves, and my Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C.
....recv'd another txt yesterday repeating the EP5 announcement and SAVE$170 code for "any scope with Combo Pack". I suspect it was a result of them correcting the issues that were being experienced with the website server (reboot?). Just a FYI, there is no expiration date indicated for the code.
...as much as I want to order the EP5, unfortunately the announcement came out too late to compete with my holiday season finances. I'm hoping the pricing holds into the new year when I can realistically look at affording the EP5. The good thing about having to wait is hopefully by then enough people have them in hand and have provided feedback. I look forward to reports from folks that have the EP4's as well so they can provide some contrast and context to the differences.
...I'm also hoping to gain info on how the clearance on AR's is with the new 56mm objective when mounted in Arken's 1 piece AR mount.
...as much as I want to order the EP5, unfortunately the announcement came out too late to compete with my holiday season finances. I'm hoping the pricing holds into the new year when I can realistically look at affording the EP5. The good thing about having to wait is hopefully by then enough people have them in hand and have provided feedback. I look forward to reports from folks that have the EP4's as well so they can provide some contrast and context to the differences.
...I'm also hoping to gain info on how the clearance on AR's is with the new 56mm objective when mounted in Arken's 1 piece AR mount.
My Strike Eagle 5-25x56 34mm tube cleared on my 6.5 Grendel with the Arken AR mount. It was close, but it cleared.
When it comes in, I'll mount it just for fun on my 6.5 Grendel AR and post pics for yall to see how it fits in the Arken mount.
.....I recall that post, even just went back in the posts and reconfirmed what I recalled. Nice rig
, but unfortunately the angle of the photo didn't really show how much clearance was achieved. My questions are how much clearance would be available when configured with & without sunshade attached and if the "Flip Its" are installed with and without sunshade. Sent an e-mail to Arken asking same, probably get an answer "next year" I've not put any rounds down range looking through and Arken, but have looked through one @Mike Casselton just picked up recently a couple of times. Yesterday he threw it on his 6.5 to zero in for a hunting trip next week. Dialed up 25.xx mils for 1752 yards on 16x....pew...ting...pew.....ting..
...is that a "thru the scope" picture of the target at 1752 yards on 16x? ..and was it the new EP5?
No that was a screen shot off my iphone from an SME Bullseye Target Cam the ELR version our range uses. Not sure which model Arken just know it was a 16x flavor
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