How does the Arken EP5 compare to Burris XTR II or RT25, the Vortex ViperPTS or Venom, the Athlon Midas TAC. Glass quality, tracking? They all are in the $5 to $700 range. Is the Burris XTR III that much better? I am not a serious competitor but appreciate good glass. Will be used on a 22rf, and several CF's. Just looking for the best bang for the buck.
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The ep5 is great for the money, I’d choose it over the venom any day, I used to say I’d choose it over the pst 2, but I’ve seen sales where you can get the pst2 for a little over 600$. That changes things, I couldn’t ever justify the price difference, yiu just weren’t getting that much more for the 1000$ price. The Athlon helos gen2 6-24x56 has better glass, better eyebox, better FOV and less sensitive parallax adjustment, so I have no doubt the Midas is better since it’s a step above the helos gen2. I haven’t looked thru a RT25 but the xtr2 is better in eyebox and probably glass, I haven’t looked thru one in years. The xtr3 is not even in the same category as the others mentioned. I can tell from my 5.5-30x56 that Burris put a lot of time in refining this scope. It’s the one to beat right now. The Arken is the best option at 500$ and under no doubt. It’s got good enough glass and it tracks.
I'm gun shy about the EP5. After I was told the SH4 was just so awesome and I thought it a let down.
Burris XTR III, Trij Tenmile, solid. I wasn't impressed with RT25. Even felt cheap. Diamond in the rough is the DMRIII line. I have a DMR II. Bought a DMR III after liking the DMR II so much. Well, the DMR III glass is noticeably better.
Burris XTR III, Trij Tenmile, solid. I wasn't impressed with RT25. Even felt cheap. Diamond in the rough is the DMRIII line. I have a DMR II. Bought a DMR III after liking the DMR II so much. Well, the DMR III glass is noticeably better.
I own both the EP5 and Burris XTR-II 5-25x50 SCR. Get the Burris. The mechanicals are better, the turrets are better (no spring-back), the zero-stop is solid, the glass is better, the parallax is more accurate, it’s still got a 34mm tube, and plenty of adjustment travel. Right now EuroOptic has the XTR-II 5-25x50 on close out for $650 (MSRP $1,499). Spend the extra $100 and get the XTR-II.
I also have an XTR-IIIi 5.5-30x56 SCR 2, and you can definitely tell where the extra money went over the XTR-II line. But we’re also talking about a scope that costs 3x as much as the Arken. If you have XTR-III money, get the XTR-III.
Two actually. The reticles would never get crisp as I am accustomed with the reticle focus and the eye box shadow drove me nuts.
I’ve got 2 XTR II presently, had a 5-25. Tracking good. Glass ok. The parallax dials on the XTR II mushy AF. Parallax never fully dialed in for me. XTR III all the way! Glass is wow compared to XTR II glass. Dials great, parallax tits!
If you had a Gen1 XTR-II (8 MIL turrets, all-black ocular housing) the glass and turrets were well-known to be “meh” at best, and Burris corrected that with the Gen 2.
But the Gen 2 (10 MIL turrets, tungsten ring around the ocular housing) the glass is much better.
Current best bang for your buck is the Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 for $565 with free shipping and free returns through Walmart online. It's got slightly better glass than the Midas Tac and adds illumination with one ounce of added weight 27.3oz and 25MILs/85MOA total elevation travel with first rate very tactile reliable turrets. I've never had any issues so far with my Athlon Midas Tac 6-24x50 nor any of my multiple Athlon Ares BTR scopes and I'm admittedly a glass snob while most Chinese made scopes just don't do it for me these specific Athlon's didn't give me any eye fatigue and I actually I prefer using Japan made scopes for this very reason. Arkens gave me really bad eye strain and fatigue with headaches after using the SH4s while the EP5 wasn't as stressful to use but even this higher lever scope gave me eye fatigue when used on it's higher magnification. The new Bushnell Match Pro ED was also a real personal disappointment especially after comparing it to my Midas Tac and Ares BTR which appear to be at least another few levels up in quality by comparison. Avoid the Match Pro ED unless you're ok with below average glass on high magnification and mushy turrets.
Good news is you're buying a $859.99 typical street price scope with an MSRP of $1087.49 for only $565 with free shipping and free returns within 30 days if you aren't 100% satisfied with it. Or you could sell it on eBay for more than what you paid for. You certainly won't lose money buying it at this ridiculously cheap price that's for sure especially if you use Burris XTR Signature rings that never require lapping and won't leave a single blemish or witness mark on your scope. It will look brand new as though it's never been mounted before and add more MOAs of total elevation travel too if you want with it's included offset insert kit you won't ever need a separate 20moa base.
I bought a Nightforce NX8 4-32x50 then an Athlon Ares BTR for almost 1/3 the price of the NF and after comparing them, I bought 2 more Athlon Ares scopes instead of another NF NX8 and I paid $700 for the Ares and thought it was a good deal at the time but they weren't $565. I feel kinda sick now especially since they're still made in China and there goes my resale value.
If your eyes aren't sensitive to crappy glass then the Arken EP5 may be good enough if you buy them for $424 when they go on sale for 25% off again. I wouldn't pay more than that though since realistically it's a decent extra heavy 5-20x scope and past 20x image quality starts to go bad. Buy it only when it goes on sale and only if you deliberately want to add weight to your gun. Reliability is still questionable and there's confirming evidence of YouTubers admitting they had to have theirs replaced under warranty due to failures and some even multiple times.
Oops another reason I didn't buy another NF is they only have a 3 year warranty on their illuminated reticle electronics while the Athlon warranty is a bumper to bumper type lifetime warranty including their electronics.
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Yeah, I had the gen II. I also got bored once and ordered 15K worth of scopes just to demo. NF ATACR 7-35 glass geezo! I didn't like the ocular mag dial feature though. Burris XTR III almost ATACR level in glass. Trijicon Tenmile dials were like stereo feel, the whole scope just reeked solid quality. Glass was a toss with XTR III. I did use a strip club billboard from 6 miles as a test target! Total science.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one that has actively doing it over the last decades. Good news for everyone else who get to buy open box demos for a lot cheaper prices though. They should all thank us.
Ive picked up several NIB to mint condition $400-$420 EP5’s in the PX for budget scopes for cheaper guns laying around. Work great and easy warranty. I think the glass and features are great at that price. If you’re buying one scope go with advice above. I’ve read conflicting opinions on the Ares BTR vs EP5 glass quality. Not much more than one opinion on the XTRII vs EP5 glass quality but may have not seen other opinions. Just what I’ve noticed on here. My DMRIII AND XTRIIIi are levels above but also in price so a moot point unless you want to spend $1000 then highly recommend either.
I'm not sure the Arken is the best sub $500 scope anymore. The Bushnell Match Pro 6-24 is now priced at $349 which is very hard to beat.
I like the deploy mil reticle of the MP. But it comes down to what guys like or need.
I like 34mm scopes, a lot of guys are running the arkens on 22s because of the 30 plus mils of elevation travel. 18 mils total elevation travel of the Mp limit a lot of shooters in that regard.
Interesting experiences and opinions on last page of this thread regarding MP and MPED.
Introducing The 5-30x56 Match Pro ED
Very tempted to replace a Midas TAC 5-25 on a .22 for a little extra power. Has anyone compared the glass between the two? I expect a little better on the Match Pro but how much?
www.snipershide.com 
I had an ep4 and sh4. Won't own another arken. Glass was not great on either one. I fell for the reviews saying the scopes were comparable to optics twice as expensive. Both mine were worse than other optics in the same price point.
I got the Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 for $565 from Walmart. Mounted it in Burris Signature high Z rings and shot it a little. Will need a wheel on the parallax adjustment for my crippled fingers. Not sure yet if it is much better than the Vortex Strike Eagle, time will tell. It is well built and the turrets are crisp. More to follow after I compare it to the Meotopa 06 and Leica glass. It is too heavy for a hunting rifle, but much lighter than the Arken ep4.
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I'm looking at that Walmart Athlon Ares deal. Seems like a great price on what is purported to be a good scope. I tried to buy a Riton X7 in 4-32 for a great price, but I lost my chance. I had a PST Gen 2 and sold it for my DMR II which had better glass for less money.
I got a ares btr coming today from Amazon. 606$ on sale. I had the gen 1 ares btr and it was one of the best sub 1k$ scopes I ever owned. I’m anxious to compare it side by side to the gen2 helos. Looking forward to your comparison.
Any updates on this yet ?
I got mine in, it’s just as I remember. Good glass, eyebox is better than the ep5 which is why I got away from it. Turrets are definitely improved over the gen one, they have decent clicks, nothing like the Arken but they are smaller in diameter so the clicks are closer together. No lash in between clicks, the turrets marking line up with the markings on the scope body thru the entire range of the turret. Illumination is great, no bleed off and the glass has no imperfections/inclusions as to where the illumination will highlight it when used in the pitch dark like some were saying about the bad batch of ETR glass. I’m very happy with my choice, I was going to get this or the xtr2 5-25 or another helos gen2. I want to add the eye relief is very good. I haven’t got it mounted yet, but it’s a winner, I might pick up another one while they’re on sale. Although I’d pay full retail for it I had to.
I didn't see the Gen 2 on walmart site for 565. I saw the gen1 but not the gen 2. Can you send a link please, thats a smoking deal.
You should still add an XTR-II 5-25 to that lineup. If you want eye-relief, it's got it in spades... Like 4.5" of it. Really bothered me at first, and I'm still getting used to it, but it's not bad once you get familiar with it and know what to expect. My XTR-IIIi 5.5-30x56 is a much more normal eye relief (3-3.5").
Won't let me post a link. Just search the walmart site. https://www.walmart.com/search?q=Athlon+Ares+BTR+Gen+2+4.5-27x50
Thanks for the link. I saw that earlier but not the gen 2. My mistake. I have the Argos on a 22 trainer and the glass is actually decent for a budget scope. I would assume the Ares glass is several times better?
Every single Arken scope I've used including their EP5 and EPL4s gave me eye fatigue and stress. Normally I get eye stress/fatigue/headaches from using poor quality glass mostly Chinese with few exceptions such as Athlon Midas Tac and Ares BTR and Burris Signature HDs and a few others but most of the Chinese made scopes regardless of brand give me eye fatigue and the worst ones give me headaches. The Chinese Vortex are scopes my shooting eye can no longer tolerate not as bad as Arken though. The new Bushnell Match Pro ED gave me eye fatigue too.
The Argos BTR has terrible quality glass. I have two of them and both are equally terrible. I'd rate them as terrible as the Vortex Diamondback Tactical in glass quality and worse than the Arken SH4 6-24x50. The Midas Tac and Ares BTR Gen 2 are leaps and bounds better I'd say at least two or three levels higher quality compared to the Argos BTR and for $565 at Walmart online The Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 a real no brainer. It's clearer and overall better quality than the new Bushnell Match Pro ED I recently compared to.
Be glad you missed the $649.99 Riton X7 Conquer 4-32x56 sale it's a real unreliable POS and belongs in the TRASH CAN. It's very difficult to believe they're actually made in Japan. Probably Japan final assembly using 100% Chinese made parts and very poor quality parts at that is my best guess. The Apex Rival and Blackhound version are also made at the same Japan Optical JOL factory FYI and so are the Brownells MPOs.
The Meopta Optika 6 is leaps and bounds better than the Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 and comparing a $565 Athlon Ares BTR vs $799 or $850 Meopta Optika 6 it should be. No idea what's the purpose of a Leica comparison either. Better to compare the Athlon Ares BTR to a Nightforce NX8 to appreciate the value in this much cheaper Chinese Athlon. Also keep in mind that most people are actually paying $869.99 for their Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2s who simply aren't aware of the current deals from Walmart online and Amazon.
TBH I would have not been as sorely disappointed with the new Bushnell Match Pro ED if I don't already own the Athlon Midas Tac and Ares BTRs and of I never compared them all side by side but I would have most definitely noticed the sub par glass used in the Bushnell MPED for sure when cranked to it's high magnification that's for sure. It should have been designed as a 4-24x56 instead of a 5-30x due to obvious limitations of the crappy glass they use.Interesting experiences and opinions on last page of this thread regarding MP and MPED.
Introducing The 5-30x56 Match Pro ED
Very tempted to replace a Midas TAC 5-25 on a .22 for a little extra power. Has anyone compared the glass between the two? I expect a little better on the Match Pro but how much?
The helos turrets are every bit as good as the ares turrets, probably feel a little better in my opinion. The locking feature is a little stiff but it’s leaps and bounds better in the turret department than the strike eagle 5-25 and 3-18. I think the locking feature gives it a one up on the ares honestly. The turrets on the helos gen 2 is some of the best turrets I’ve ever felt on a scope. They are right there with a good representation of the Arken turrets. Most who reviewed the helos gen2 with the ares btr say they are very close in the glass, just because one has HD glass and the other doesn’t, there’s way more in play into determining how glass performs in a scope. Like erector systems and how glass is aligned, for instance a 6-24 power scope being a 4x erector can have excellent performance in the eye box and how it handles glass quality, compared that to 4.5-27 power 6x erector, it probably needs to have HD glass to perform as good because of the nature of that erector assembly. In other words the helos g2 can outperform the ares g2 in several different ways just because of the simplicity of the assembly, my rings are going to be here today so I’ll get to compare, but I do know with both right here on my bench, that the helos gen 2 is every bit as good, I’m not sure if you are taking about the same scope. The helos g2 beat the ep5 and ep4 in eye box and glass, and those two got a few extra points above the strike eagle 5-25 and 3-18, so they got sold and I kept the arkens. Maybe you’re confusing it with something else. That’s how close they are, there’s not a huge distinction between the two.
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