have 2 and they rock. want to upgrade to etr/cronus etc. but @ $550 shipped? thinking about just sucking it up and having all scopes samemid level quality optics.
Rifle Scopes Ordered a Ares BTR 4.5-27 for $549
- Thread starter Lawless
- Start date
Yes sir, I have the same problem. My Argos BTR is actually much better. I will be calling Athlon to send mine in too. Other than that these optics are very clear and repeatable.
I think the general consensus (though not officially confirmed) is that they’re either dropping the BTR model Ares or heavily redesigning it soon.
Curious to know if you remove the o-rings, are you preventing any moisture barrier they may provide?
Most likely this is eliminating a method of "sealing" the turret from water. Time will tell whether this is an issue I can mitigate through modified preventive maintenance. Or, it could never become an issue. Time will tell. The increased feel is worth the risk to me.
True. Before reading your response, I found an answer in a Cronus BTR post and it said they are submersible with the o-rings in. Thanks for weighing in ... I appreciate the response.
In the case of the classic SWFA scopes, the 3 Allen screw turrets can come loose and slip and they can be hard to get lined up perfectly with the hash marks. The single top screw style has splined turrets so all the top screw does is hold the turret down.
I assume the older Athlon is made similarly in that the screws bite into the post to hold the turret knob.
Interesting. Supposedly they use the same glass.
Does anyone who has one already in use know how centered optically they are? Asking because my Argos (totally different body design) isn’t.
In other words, how much elevation is left once zeroed and what cant is your rail/mount?
They just might, but there is an obvious difference when looking though the two. Both my shooting partners noticed it too without me saying anything. As to your question, I’d imagine they’re pretty well centered as on my Howa with a 20 Mia rail, it zero’d at 200 yards with 1.5 mils from bottomed.
When I tested Ares BTR, it was clearly not as good optically as PST Gen 2, but clearly better than Gen 1. I suspect that manufacturing costs between Philippines and China right now are not too dissimilar and depending on how the tariffs work out, China might be more expensive soon.
Ilya
The same "glass" is a very generic term in a couple different ways. For example the Steiner TX and MX have the same "glass." But the military scopes have different coatings, giving them a considerably better image. With the Ares and Midas it could be the same glass, same coatings, but I think it takes more lenses to to make a 6x mag scope than a 4x mag scope. So you would loose light looking through more lenses.
I'm a big fan of the fixed SWFAs but yes, it's a pretty big upgrade and worth it iMO. It's got:
1) better glass (HD)
2) a better (if not perfect) reticle than the workable-but-outdated mil quad
3) illume
4) a bigger objective
5) 10 mil per rotation
6) a true zero stop
7) and of course the biggest value-add of all: a HUGE adjustment range from more than double the FOV of your 10x on the low end to nearly three times the mag on the top end. It's simply capable of A LOT more.
The SWFA fixed 10x is a great scope but yes, the $550 Ares BTR is worth the outlay and the upgrade.
The PST Gen 2 in 3-15x though, right Ilya? Not the PST Gen 2 in 5-25x?
Don't know what the tariff situation will do to the price going forward but right now it's $550 and that's a steal.
I compared it to the 5-25x PST Gen2.
At $550 Ares BTR is an absolute steal. I thought it was a very good deal at $750-$800. $550 is a little crazy.
ILya
In addition to what has already been said, another consideration is the turrets. As a big fan of SWFA, their non-HD line uses the 3 screw turret cap and there are drawbacks. The post is marred by the screws and at times it can be hard to re-zero the turret exactly on a hash mark because of previous damage to the post.
They can also slip unexpectedly if the screws work loose over time.
I own 2 SWFA HD scopes and they use the splined turrets with single screw holding it down, if they would upgrade the fixed scopes and 3-15x with the newer turret style they would again be the value leader.
Me - comparing them
My opinion only but I think the Ares BTR's were originally designed to beat the G1 PST, which it does. The industry adapts quickly though, so when the G2 PST arrived on the scene it came out slightly superior to the Ares in some ways.
For whatever reason I am more pleased with the glass, the prescription ???, of the Midas TAC line glass over the Ares BTR glass and no doubt the TAC turrets came out better than the Ares. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks this but the Ares BTR does not pull off 27x well at all.
If I were to guess there's a new Gen Ares coming next year, rightly so....
Heck, the Argos BTR glass is better than the SWFA non HD glass. My eyes "HATE" that line's glass!!!
Since I hardly use illume I'd rather see the APLR3 reticle in the TAC line and save some money. To me that's the end all be all of price per scope happiness. Quite superior to the Argos line for not much more money.
For many of us this price range is a sweet spot, by getting into a full featured FFP scope! Sure, the $550 price of the Ares does make it a steal.
My opinion only but I think the Ares BTR's were originally designed to beat the G1 PST, which it does. The industry adapts quickly though, so when the G2 PST arrived on the scene it came out slightly superior to the Ares in some ways.
For whatever reason I am more pleased with the glass, the prescription ???, of the Midas TAC line glass over the Ares BTR glass and no doubt the TAC turrets came out better than the Ares. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks this but the Ares BTR does not pull off 27x well at all.
If I were to guess there's a new Gen Ares coming next year, rightly so....
Heck, the Argos BTR glass is better than the SWFA non HD glass. My eyes "HATE" that line's glass!!!
Since I hardly use illume I'd rather see the APLR3 reticle in the TAC line and save some money. To me that's the end all be all of price per scope happiness. Quite superior to the Argos line for not much more money.
For many of us this price range is a sweet spot, by getting into a full featured FFP scope! Sure, the $550 price of the Ares does make it a steal.
I agree, 27x is useless especially on a sunny day. It also gets nearly impossible to see through at that power as my Ares BTR got the heavy black circle in the eye piece on 24x and above. Even adjusting the eyepiece had no resolve. I just got this scope Friday and by the end of that night I had removed my Midas TAC and installed the btr. Shot all day Sunday and as soon as I got home from shooting I put the TAC back on.
Got it mounted and leveled. From my back porch looking at 200 yards or so I am very happy with the image. It is clear and the reticle is much nicer looking in person than online.
I removed the o-ring from the elevation turret and the clicks are very tactile and audible.
This particular scope has 20.4 mils of total elevation travel.
I removed the o-ring from the elevation turret and the clicks are very tactile and audible.
This particular scope has 20.4 mils of total elevation travel.
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