sorry for the confusion, I see this was cleared up
i would never expect any of the arken scopes to be cheaper than they just where for December — that $100 off is gonna be hard to beat
I bought 3
Rifle Scopes Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL
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sorry for the confusion, I see this was cleared up
i would never expect any of the arken scopes to be cheaper than they just where for December — that $100 off is gonna be hard to beat
I bought 3
Odd numbers are bad luck, you need a 4th!
Why do you think I "needed" an EP5 (Arken #4)... That evened things back out.Odd numbers are bad luck, you need a 4th!
Except you lose 20 MOA of extra elevation. The Arken 34mm AR mount has 20MOA built into it. And on an AR where the bore-to-center or reticle is already so high, that extra 20MOA helps a lot.
My other option is to leave the scope setting it's current height and mount , adding the Magpul PRS 3 stock (& additional 2+lb)
You think I'd run out of elevation to 800-900 yards without the 20 moa?
These were on sale a while back so I grabbed one for $17. It works well on a light Magpul CTR stock. With a cheek pad on top adds some height. Put whatever extra elevation filler under the pad. 
www.anarchyoutdoors.com
Caparison Cheek Piece Pads
Increase the comfort of your setup with an Anarchy Outdoors cheek pad. This stick-on foam cheek piece adds style and a cushion between the shooter and the gun.
www.anarchyoutdoors.com Not sure, but maybe...
Only 1 way to find out... If you currently have it zero'd at 100, then check how many MILs or MOAs you have before the scope tops-out. Then when the rings come in. Mount it. Zero it. Then do the same test. If you lose MILs or MOAs, then you can calculate exactly how much dialing distance you will be losing. Then you'll know for a fact.
I cancelled the ring order for now. Going to do a little more measurements & thinking .....
Had a lot of fun today comparing my 624 SH4 G2, 416 EP4 and 525 EP5. 50F and partly cloudy in a holler at the range. Scope through pics didn’t represent the view accurately. You can see the illumination which is bright on setting 6 today on the EP5 whereas it was unusable on the SH4. The SH4 continues to impress out to 300. I do find the EP’s a little brighter. The SH4 seems more finicky in the eyebox at highest mag. More prone to the whitish glare if your not in the perfect spot. That’s really annoying to me. There were a couple deer on the range around 175 yd out. It was nice to watch them through the three different scopes. It wasn’t obvious that the resolution was much different at that distance I didn’t think.
I really like the new turrets. They seemed to track well and return to zero.
The parallax on one of my EP5’s in inaccurate as labeled. Works fine down to 25 yd but the 100 yd comes clear around the 60 yd label and 200 yd becomes clear around the 100 yd label. Not a deal killer but worth mentioning. My EP4 and SH4 are accurate. I haven’t tried my second EP5 yet.
All in all, definitely worth the extra $ to me but I still don’t think the SH4 can be beat for the price. The sales were just giving them away practically.
*Edit
My 2nd EP5 parallax is on the money.
I really like the new turrets. They seemed to track well and return to zero.
The parallax on one of my EP5’s in inaccurate as labeled. Works fine down to 25 yd but the 100 yd comes clear around the 60 yd label and 200 yd becomes clear around the 100 yd label. Not a deal killer but worth mentioning. My EP4 and SH4 are accurate. I haven’t tried my second EP5 yet.
All in all, definitely worth the extra $ to me but I still don’t think the SH4 can be beat for the price. The sales were just giving them away practically.
*Edit
My 2nd EP5 parallax is on the money.
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Oh wow! That's clear! I agree, for the sale price they had on the SH4's, it was impossible to beat. Those scopes really do hit way above the $450 MSRP. And if the EP5 is that much clearer, then it will definitely be worth more than $550... I'm glad I got one now. I can't wait for it to ship and get here.
I think it will be a fine addition on my 5R .260 Rem, and putting that Sh4 on my 6.5 Grendel AR.
If it's that clear through a phone camera, then it will probably blow away my Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C... Because I already think the SH4 Gen2 glass is directly on-par with the SE 5-25x56.
I think it will be a fine addition on my 5R .260 Rem, and putting that Sh4 on my 6.5 Grendel AR.
If it's that clear through a phone camera, then it will probably blow away my Strike Eagle 5-25x56 EBR-7C... Because I already think the SH4 Gen2 glass is directly on-par with the SE 5-25x56.
My SH4 get 2 has serious chromatic aberration. I emailed Arken about sending it in for QC check. Waiting on the arken reply.
I think this is what Arken NEEDS to fix. Consistency.
My SH4 was from their latest batch but I use the 4-16 vs the 6-24…the 4-16 is superior to the 6-24 in my opinion…
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Just a question for those that have received the EP5 5x25. What size rings are you using on a 20 MOA pic rail?
I ordered the Arken high rings but I'm having second thoughts about switching to the med. rings. Hoping mine
gets sent in the next few days. It'll be 2 weeks tomorrow.
I ordered the Arken high rings but I'm having second thoughts about switching to the med. rings. Hoping mine
gets sent in the next few days. It'll be 2 weeks tomorrow.
I put a Strike Eagle 5-25x56 (34mm tube as well), on my R700 5R Milspec (heavy barrel) with an EGW HD 20 MOA rail in a set of Seekins/Vortex Precision 34mm Low 0.92" rings, and it fits just fine, even with Butler Creek flip caps. The Arken Lows are also 0.92", and should work just fine. That's the height rings I ordered with my EP5.
Only thing I’ll add is that Arken’s turret housing sits much lower than most optics. With a low ring…you will maybe have 1mm of clearance between your scope rail and housing…which depending on the scope rail design…it might interfere with the side erector knob that is sticking out the side…I personally wouldn’t go anything below 1.00”…
I ordered the Arken 1.26" rings for My AR10 off Amazon midnight last night, will be here tomorrow. If I don't have the elevation I need, (vs the 1 piece mount I'm removing), I'll reinstall the 20 moa mount & order the PRS 3 stock.
What platform rifle? AR, bolt action etc?
My Ruger Precision with the 1.5" mount & only the 50mm objective, leaves 3.7mm of clearance. If you got a Ruger American or something else, you'll need lower.
I've got the Ruger Precision so with a 56mm objective you think I'll need the high rings 1.45in is the highest Arken has.
Not sure. I have the Arken 1 piece mount on mine which is 1.5". I figured the 56mm would be tight, leaving about 1 mm of clearance.
What GEN RPR do you have? I got a Gen 2 with factory hand guard. Not sure of the diameter of gen 1&3's or how much clearance you have to work with
I've got the gen 2 but switched the hand guard to a Mid West?
Measure the diameter of your original one against the Mid West.
Well, my Arken 1.26" rings for my AR10 showed up earlier today. They are some damn nice looking rings! Pretty solid for $59. However, they're going in the scope parts bin for now. Shortly after they arrived, I got an email from Primary Arms poking & enticing me about the Magpul PRS 3 stock I'd been looking at on their site. On sale for $200!! Rotten enabling fuckers!!!
Long story short, PRS 3 stock will be here Wednesday......
Long story short, PRS 3 stock will be here Wednesday......
Went and shot through my SH4 Gen2 on my .260 Rem, and the conditions were shit. We actually had snow this morning in Alabama... It was cloudy, overcast, pissing rain, sleet, 40º (felt like it was 25º), and windy, it was just absolutely the opposite of ideal shooting conditions. At 200 yards, it was still clear as a bell. Every time I take this scope out in less-than-stellar conditions it always surprises me. My HS-T on my CA Ranger 22 did pretty good, as well. Not as good, but still did pretty good given the conditions. The FOV on the Arken blows away the HS-T even all the way up to 24x (both are 6-24x50's).
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I know he's a bit "shilly" sometimes, so I don't watch many of his videos anymore, but he does give very thorough reviews...Much more in-depth than most folks do, which is why I do still occasionally watch one of his videos.
He’s hard to listen to. His accent is annoying, but that’s like reticle choice I guess. Most will never make it past him immediately comparing this to those other scopes, like the Steiner and PMII, which I know you think the PMII is “shit” or “garbage”. They also don’t sell for $4k like he claims, so not sure where he’s shopping.
EP5 is a great scope for the money and compares to others in a $1000 range probably. That’s the bottom line that most people get and others will hate on for one reason or another.
I never said they were all shit or garbage... I said the last 6 (from the same batch) that I looked through were. And yeah, his accent is kind of irritating, but everyone talks differently from different places.He’s hard to listen to. His accent is annoying, but that’s like reticle choice I guess. Most will never make it past him immediately comparing this to those other scopes, like the Steiner and PMII, which I know you think the PMII is “shit” or “garbage”. They also don’t sell for $4k like he claims, so not sure where he’s shopping.
EP5 is a great scope for the money and compares to others in a $1000 range probably. That’s the bottom line that most people get and others will hate on for one reason or another.
You're right, I wouldn't say they're up there with those other brands, like he does, but the Arkens do hit well above their price. I think some people who spend money on the big name scopes, just refuse to accept that fact, so they love to hate on them, because they're an easy target.
He made a pretty good point about how they keep the costs low, and about not having any middle-men, or a fancy website, or dealers... So, that probably does help with keeping costs down significantly. I mean, I would honestly hate to see how much just the Vortex Marketing department spends each year.
Arken hooked up with some big name YouTubers and social media influencers, got a FB and IG page, and boom, they were off to the races. Free advertising, other than the cost of a few scopes per reviewer. And when you're scopes only cost between $400-550 retail, then you're not out a ton of cash.
The comparison of glass is boring to me, don’t really care if it’s S&B quality, if I can see the plate I’m good, I’m all about tracking. If this thing tracks to less than 1/2 percent, I’m sold. I can work thru glass issues.
I met the Arlen guys at Shot Show today, had a chance to handle their scopes and look through them inside the building. I think they provide good value. They are made in China. The scopes struck me as as good as the Vortex PST Gen 1, as a base point. But I have not shot them. Just a reaction seeing features, clicking turrets and observing features.
So where is Rex’s accent from?
I haven’t really seen a video from him since he was younger so it is pretty funny to see him all puffed up
I do respect the bloke because he asked a lot of questions and provided some answers that really weren’t common back in the day
I haven’t really seen a video from him since he was younger so it is pretty funny to see him all puffed up
I do respect the bloke because he asked a lot of questions and provided some answers that really weren’t common back in the day
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He’s from up north I believe.
People can like it or not, but you’re right. He’s brought more people into this sport than anyone I can recall off the top of my head. He was one of the first to stress reliable and precise equipment, it raised the beginners standards and got them on the right track right out of the gate.
There’s plenty of blow hards in this sport,and he tries to be a gentleman about it, he’ll give credit whee it’s due, and call out popular brands if they are fucking up, and I can respect that.
Dude has some nice toys.
People can like it or not, but you’re right. He’s brought more people into this sport than anyone I can recall off the top of my head. He was one of the first to stress reliable and precise equipment, it raised the beginners standards and got them on the right track right out of the gate.
There’s plenty of blow hards in this sport,and he tries to be a gentleman about it, he’ll give credit whee it’s due, and call out popular brands if they are fucking up, and I can respect that.
Dude has some nice toys.
I think like Idaho or something? He puffed up after he had cancer and went through chemo. Same thing that happened to that lady who announces football…I think her name is Holly Rowe.
Shit, I feel bad about saying that now
If you pay careful attention to what he’s saying you‘ll see he's not saying the Arken is comparable to tier1 glass. He’s saying Arken is comparable to $2000 and under glass and has better turrets.
It’s comparable to 700 dollar glass. I guess if comparable includes losing it’s comparable to 2k dollar glass
Edit* appears theirs some misunderstanding here. I’m literally talking about the glass. The actual optical performance.
Edit* appears theirs some misunderstanding here. I’m literally talking about the glass. The actual optical performance.
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To which scopes in the $1000-2000 range does it lose and how?
DMR3. Glass clarity, brightness. But EP4 and 5 don’t tunnel so… otherwise very similar imo
Lrts, lht, amg, mk5, drm2, dmr2 pro
Color rendition, clarity, resolution.
It’s a good scope, the glass is as good as a 550 new scope can be imo. But it struggles a lot past 20, it is a bit milky and bland, and the eye box is tight.
It’s very bright low in the range and I think from 5-18 it’s really good for it’s purchase price. I just don’t think it matches 1k+ dollar glass. My optika 6 was better. Again, it should be.
The feel of the scope is great for 550$, the glass is good for 550$ if it tracks and hold zero it’s an awesome option. I think the company needs to work on feeling legit and not like someone that does Tupperware parties started a Facebook page.
Color rendition, clarity, resolution.
It’s a good scope, the glass is as good as a 550 new scope can be imo. But it struggles a lot past 20, it is a bit milky and bland, and the eye box is tight.
It’s very bright low in the range and I think from 5-18 it’s really good for it’s purchase price. I just don’t think it matches 1k+ dollar glass. My optika 6 was better. Again, it should be.
The feel of the scope is great for 550$, the glass is good for 550$ if it tracks and hold zero it’s an awesome option. I think the company needs to work on feeling legit and not like someone that does Tupperware parties started a Facebook page.
Yes
You are only looking at glass. There is also illumination, how the controls feel, size, mag range, etc. The Mk5 is a straight pos with idiotic 10.5 mil turrets and costs way more if you get illumination. The AMG is more than $2000. The lrts is not illuminated and the knobs feel cheap. The dmrs aren't illuminated either.
I’m not saying the ep5 is better. Just that the more expensive scopes have shitty controls.
Yeah no shit this whole thing was about the glass. That’s why I said “glass”
From my very little experience with the Arken 5-25, I am really surprised at how well the controls function and feel, also the turrets feel really good and are very tactile and of good size. I can't stand mushy ass turrets, I think Arken did a fantastic job on these. The glass I haven't stretched it out yet so I can't comment on how it will look downrange but at 100 sighting in it looked pretty damn good for the price. This is the first and only Arken I have owned, but I will probably be grabbing a 4-16 too for a rimfire now that I've seen this EP5.
Dmr2 does indeed have an illuminated reticle. I don't think you know what you're talking about.
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