Rifle Scopes Sticky power ring on Athlon Ares BTR

[CajunRPR]

Fellow hide members,

I have an issue with a very hard to turn power ring (magnification zoom) on my Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27 x 50 mil scope. I installed a throw lever to help, but it is still very hard to turn and can feel it “sticking” at points in the zoom.

This issue is only present when the scope is mounted on scope rings (using Larue LT112). When the scope is sitting on a table, the power ring turns effortlessly and perfect.

Per Larue, the TQ specs are 25-30 in/lbs. I called Athlon and they said the TQ spec for their scope was 18 in/lbs.

Mounted scope using Wheeler fat wrench, and tried to come down on the TQ to 20 in/lbs - issue still present but not as bad. Came down to 15 in/lbs - issue still present but getting barely noticeable. At 15 in/lbs, it feels like the scope is barely set in the rings and could potentially come loose or move throughout shooting.

One side note, the power ring “sticky” issues are only present when the rear (between the eyepiece and turrets) scope rings are tightened down past 10-15 in/lbs. I can crank the front (between the turrets and objective lens) scope rings down to 25-30 in/lbs and have no issues with turning the power ring.

Suggestions or feedback? Would the scope be ok with the front scope rings torqued to 30 in/lbs and the rear torqued to 10-15 in/lbs?

Rifle is a 224 Valkyrie AR-15, so recoil is fairly light.

Thanks!

 

[Olen_4504]

25-30 seems excessive.

I always use 15lb, but i've also never used larue.

something is binding the scope up. which could also give you major tracking issues.

i'd either try 15lb and see how the scopes stays put under "recoil"

or change your mount.

 

[spife7980]

Since it is the rear ring that seems to be giving you issues, can you move the mount back on the rail but the scope forward in the mount (or vice versa)? That way the scope is still mounted where you need it over the rifle for eye relief but the rings are grabbing the scope in a different location? Maybe that could mend your issue.

 

[502Chevelle]

Some thing is wrong for sure, I’d send that one back. Athlon should help you out with that. If you decide to change mounts, MPA makes a very nice one piece. Very smooth and streamlined. It’s a little pricey, but not as expensive as some others.

 

[supercorndogs]

You are saying you tried it both ways correct. 30inlbs in the front, 15 on back then, 30 on the back and 15 on the front. And it only resolved with the 15 inches on the back. Giving us feed back that the mount is straight and not binding the tube. If this is all correct. I would torque both ends to 15-20 and go shoot. I would guess 30 is too much for the scope tube.

 

[CajunRPR]

Since it is the rear ring that seems to be giving you issues, can you move the mount back on the rail but the scope forward in the mount (or vice versa)? That way the scope is still mounted where you need it over the rifle for eye relief but the rings are grabbing the scope in a different location? Maybe that could mend your issue.

Hey Spife, I tried moving the scope in the rings from almost touching the turrets, in the middle , and almost to the eyepiece in the rear. Nothing seemed to help.

 

[CajunRPR]

You are saying you tried it both ways correct. 30inlbs in the front, 15 on back then, 30 on the back and 15 on the front. And it only resolved with the 15 inches on the back. Giving us feed back that the mount is straight and not binding the tube. If this is all correct. I would torque both ends to 15-20 and go shoot. I would guess 30 is too much for the scope tube.

Hey Supercorndogs, thanks for your feedback. Yes! I tired exactly what you mention (25/25, 25/20, 25/15, 25/10 and then various combinations like 20/25, 15/25, and 10/25). The only thing that ever helped the power ring not stick was removing torque from the REAR scope ring mount.

I haven’t measured the LT112 mount to see if it’s true and flush, but I have another Larue QD mount I can try. I also haven’t tall target tested this scope with the binding ring, but can do that as well.

 

[spife7980]

Hey Spife, I tried moving the scope in the rings from almost touching the turrets, in the middle , and almost to the eyepiece in the rear. Nothing seemed to help.

Well that takes away the easy answer.

And outside of the mount entirely it is perfectly fine?
If so then it is a ring issue IMO, do you have another set of rings you can try?

 

[supercorndogs]

You might call Athlon and ask them about that much torque on the tube. Trying different rings would be a quick check as well, and let you know if there is something wonky with that rear ring.

 

[Gohring65]

Rings are too tight.
But, I would suspect the scope has been compromised. Now there will be doubt introduced into your platform.
I would send it back and start over.,

 

[supercorndogs]

Rings are too tight.
But, I would suspect the scope has been compromised. Now there will be doubt introduced into your platform.
I would send it back and start over.,

The introduction of doubt into the platform. STFU

There is tested and not tested. There is absolutely no reason to send it back without testing it.

 

[rsb]

Troubleshooting idea:
Use Athlon recommended torque.

1. Swap the mount with the same scope. Did the problem go away? If yes, it's the mount/rings, if no, its the scope.
2. Swap the scope on the same mount. Did the problem go away? If yes, its the scope, if no, it's the mount/rings.

 

[HKanton]

Did you find a solution to this problem? Just recieved my midas 2,5-15x50 and have the same issues. Magnification knob becomes hard to turn between 5-8x magnification when mounted to the rifle. Have been using 3 other scopes with this rifle before without problems and it has been shooting like a dream so don’t think there’s an issue with my mount. I have to torque the rear base ridicously low (<15lb inch) or loosen the ring screws to not have issues with the Athlon scope.. think I will return it and look else where even though I really like it..