Mine too, but figured it was just lead paint or asbestos residue left over from the manufacturing process
Rifle Scopes Arken SH4 Gen2 6-24x50 VPR MIL
- Thread starter FuhQ
- Start date
I was about to use this code, then keep reading and seeing people getting used / returned scopes at new prices ??Use the code #GoBrandon and that will get you $100 off + Free shipping.
Interesting, where are you seeing/reading all these claims of people receiving used merchandise? Thankfully mine appeared to be brand new, not a mark on it.
See, that's all it takes is someone making one post about something, and then all of a sudden it's "I keep reading..." Nobody else in this 350+ post thread has posted about supposedly getting a "used" or "returned" scope from Arken. Herd mentality is a mind-blowing thing.
I just checked my 3rd one again, brand new. No ring marks. Some slight dust, but it's nothing I haven't seen from any other manufacturer, including S&B, NF, Minox, Steiner, even down to Tasco and BSA. I used to sell optics at the gun store. Dust is dust...It doesn't mean it's used. Dust exists everywhere in the world, you inhale dust every time you breath... Have you ever built a brand new house? It's brand new, but that SOB is dusty the whole time, and starts getting dusty the very second after you clean it, before moving in.
I'm not offended, because I have no affiliation, I just want honesty and transparency, and saying stupid things like "it had dust on it" is not a qualifying factor for something being used. Now, if it was covered in dirt or mud, scratches, obvious ring marks, wear, etc... sure, that would qualify as used.
yea mine has ring marks
i just figured as you started this thread and seem to be a pretty good fan boy, you might have a little more knowledge of them. well i just looked at my NF, Kahles, Tract, Athlon, Vortex & and even my SWFA. None have that "fill tube" ( I wonder if the guy designing these worked at a gas station and thought that neck on the gas tank works, so why not with these to fill them) which keeps me from mounting them in probably the best mounts out there unless i want to get one that's 1 1/2" high, then my scopes a good 1/2" high off the barrel. Not really what i was wanting. For all the good points they have, this feature is really really piss poor. I guess that's why they sell rings to go with them. I've never been a ring fan, but it is what it is. That or try to pawn them off at the next gun show.
the dust doesn't bother me hell the way the wind blows around here that's no big deal , but the used looking part does. Hopefully i didn't get someone else's problem
Not ALWAYS true. Back in my younger bar hopping days, a hot cougar with a ring mark on her finger was a guarantee of FUN with NO "strings attached ".
Here are the first 3 scopes I could find that weren’t mounted on anything…
Top-to-Bottom: Arken SH4, Simmons Whitetail Classic, SWFA SS
They all have nitrogen ports in the same place. The SWFA has a “tamper-proof” sticker over theirs, so they know if you fucked with it, and will void your warranty. They don’t all use the big plug, but some do. Arken is one of them. It’s all in what the OEM uses in their scope production. Every OEM is different.
This is very true! LolNot ALWAYS true. Back in my younger bar hopping days, a hot cougar with a ring mark on her finger was a guarantee of FUN with NO "strings attached ".
She either WAS married and wants no strings attached, or she IS married and no strings attached. Lol
Either way.. lol
Dust, not a big deal, but I agree... Ring marks are unacceptable. I would definitely contact Arken and let them know, and they'll probably swap you out a new one, or refund you some of your money back? Getting a "used" Arken for $250 wouldn't be too bad.
Well... Got bored and setup my 3rd Arken... She's mounted, leveled, bubble'd, and ready to go on whatever rifle I decide to stick them on. I still haven't put the 2nd one on a rifle yet... Still debating. But the $100 off deal and the SAVE$170 deal was too good to pass up. LOL
Got 2 brand new setup Arkens just sitting here ready to go. Wish I could makeup my mind.
Got 2 brand new setup Arkens just sitting here ready to go. Wish I could makeup my mind.
No biggie, you'll change your mind & switch them all around next week anyway
Hey, give me more credit than that... Probably at least a month.No biggie, you'll change your mind & switch them all around next week anyway
That's what's great about having my Badger Ordnance Dead Level... I can mount and fully-level scopes without a gun right there. So, once they're setup, they're set. And I use the same brand of scope bases (EGW) on all my rifles, so the rings are always in the right place, so all I have to do is swap it around between the rifles, re-bore sight, then re-zero at the range...And done. The exception being AR's, those use 1-piece mounts, and requires starting over with mounting and leveling, so I try not to swap those around too much.
Stupid simple. Plus the range is 3 minutes from my house... So, that helps.
Last edited:
Send a picture of the ring Mark's to them. Text or email. I'd like to see them. I'm fixing to buy my 4th.
I’m gonna wait. I was going to buy another one, but something tells me these close out price codes is just making room for something coming early next year, maybe SHOT.
Yep...That's why I stopped after 3, even though they're better than my HS-Ts that I'm wanting to slowly weed-out off my big bores and cetnterfires, and put them on smaller cartridges, like my .22's and .17HMR's, and stuff that I don't plan on shooting past 200-300 yards. Not that the HS-T can't do it, just that it's old technology, and the FOV and turrets just aren't even in the same ballpark as the Arken. It is what it is. And I've always been a big Vortex fanboy since they first hit the scene, but facts are facts. None of the 1st Gen Viper series can even compete with the Arkens.
Last edited:
I know something cool will come out and I’ll be stuck with scopes I can’t sell cause everyone will want the new ones. lol
Last edited:
I'm definitely buying a 4th before New Year's eve. Next year I will end up with the new replacement for the EP4 or a Vortex Strike Eagle.
I sold my special ordered 2013 Mustang GT Track Pack 6-speed with 7,500 miles on it in 2015...Mint, looked like it rolled off the showroom floor, no wrecks, no nothing...100% clean. I lost $15,000 on that deal, because in 2015 the S550 body style came out...And everyone wanted those, and book value went down faster than Kamala at a wealthy nursing home giving out free viagra. I learned that lesson the hard way...
When I buy something gun-related, I never worry about resale value. Because if I like it, and it satisfies my needs, I'm happy with it. And if I decide to sell it down the road, then it is what it is. Also, I don't sell guns...If I get tired of one, I buy something else, and shelf the old one in the safe, because someday I'll get back around to it, rebuild it in a different way, modify it, church-it-up with a new scope, rebarrel it, etc...
R700 and 700-footprint bolt-actions are the infinite rifle. It's the AR15 of the bolt world. You can build it, snatch it apart, repeat. You could have bought a brand new 700 in 1967, and 60 years later, you can rebuild it into a cerakoted precision heavy-barreled LR machine. So, that's why I never sell 700's and 700 actions. Especially because I can't buy them now for what I paid for them over the last 20 years, leading up to 2020 when prices went all retarded. I used to buy used 700 ADL's for $250, then snatch it apart, and build a custom LR tack-driver for about $1,000 total investment. Can't do that now... Hell, just a 700 action is $600.
Life is cyclical anyway. The sooner we learn that, the happier folks will be. One day we'll all be worm food, and it won't have mattered one bit if you had $1.00 or $1 Billion...Because you'll be dead, and money doesn't make through that portal to the afterlife.
Last edited:
True story. I love mine, but through my eyes, the Arken hits right there with it, and the glass looks damn-near equal to me, so if I can buy 2 for the price of 1... You know...
Trends!I sold my special ordered 2013 Mustang GT Track Pack 6-speed with 7,500 miles on it in 2015...Mint, looked like it rolled off the showroom floor, no wrecks, no nothing...100% clean. I lost $15,000 on that deal, because in 2015 the S550 body style came out...And everyone wanted those, and book value went down faster than Kamala at a wealthy nursing home giving out free viagra. I learned that lesson the hard way...
Buying, selling and trading scopes is probably 75% of my hobby. I like trying out new scopes then sell it or trade it. I’ve managed to get into a groove where I can move scopes pretty easy. I always have something new coming to check out. You just gotta move them when they’re hot or you’ll get stuck with them. I got stuck with a weaver 6-30 and a crimsons trace 3-18 series 5 for a couple years. Both exceptional scopes! They finally sold for a lot less than I paid. I want to look thru and fondle them all!! LolWhen I buy something gun-related, I never worry about resale value. Because if I like it, and it satisfies my needs, I'm happy with it. And if I decide to sell it down the road, then it is what it is. Also, I don't sell guns...If I get tired of one, I buy something else, and shelf the old one in the safe, because someday I'll get back around to it. Life is cyclical anyway. The sooner we learn that, the happier folks will be. One day we'll all be worm food, and it won't have mattered one bit if you had $1.00 or $1 Billion...Because you'll be dead, and money doesn't make through that portal to the afterlife.
There’s a flash sale apparently on some ep4s tonight the 6-24 mils are already out of stock. It must be exclusive to a certain Facebook group, because it won’t let me load the in stock ep4 page unless I go thru the Facebook page. There’s some 4-16s left if your a member of the page. 
Last edited:
Those ep's don't have the illuminated reticle?
Yeah, I saw someone post that the other day. Probably a 5-25x50...Or it could be 6-30x56? Didn't he say something about a 56mm obj.?
As will be all the SH4 sales buyers, myself included. Not knocking the scope, just saying, the EP4 glass is much better for minimal up charge. Assuming future EP Jap glass will be similar or better possibly, there will be a grab on the EP’s for sure.
Why would those be nitrogen ports? I've seen this on other forums. Just curious. My guess as to the function of the angled cap is the erector tube spring.
I’ve always heard this too, I just didn’t comment because I didn’t really know.
Looks like they’re taking 5-25 orders next week. Two week shipping time. I’ll probably wait till late summer or fall to try one. Just because they’ll probably be back ordered for one. Lol
Two, I’ve learned not to take the first run of a new product, wether it be chainsaws or scopes. Lol
Two, I’ve learned not to take the first run of a new product, wether it be chainsaws or scopes. Lol
It's simpler than one might think... Nitrogen gas keeps the internal scope lenses from freezing and fogging up during cold weather and ambient temperature shifts...So you can actually see through your scope.
Check your email mudd.
@ArkenOpticsUSA Sure wish I had known this instead of buying my 3rd SH4... Not really happy about that, considering I just bought it a week ago, and I mounted it in the rings and installed the accessories on it yesterday. Everything is still brand new, and never used. Not even mounted on a rifle... I could have sent it back new unopened and exchanged it for an EP5... 
I guess I still probably could, if they would let me? There's no ring marks on it (because I know what I'm doing), it's still 100% new condition.
I guess I still probably could, if they would let me? There's no ring marks on it (because I know what I'm doing), it's still 100% new condition.
Now you know why I don’t buy two of any scope anymore. Especially when they’re on clearance.@ArkenOpticsUSA Sure wish I had known this instead of buying my 3rd SH4... Not really happy about that, considering I just bought it a week ago, and I mounted and installed everything yesterday. Everything is still brand new, and never used. Not even mounted on a rifle... I could have sent it back new unopened and exchanged it for an EP5...
I guess I still probably could, if they would let me? There's no ring marks on it (because I know what I'm doing), it's still 100% new condition.
Well then nobody would have played along and used the discount codes so they could close out the old stock. The enthusiasm in this thread most likely helped them dump the old gen.@ArkenOpticsUSA Sure wish I had known this instead of buying my 3rd SH4... Not really happy about that, considering I just bought it a week ago, and I mounted and installed everything yesterday. Everything is still brand new, and never used. Not even mounted on a rifle... I could have sent it back new unopened and exchanged it for an EP5...
I guess I still probably could, if they would let me? There's no ring marks on it (because I know what I'm doing), it's still 100% new condition.
Maybe mount them all up and drop them on the concrete and see if they really are as tuff as youtube says they are. Just tell Arken they fell out of the treestand.
I'm aware of the purpose of the Ni or Ar gasses in the scope. They aren't pressurized like a car tire, and don't need a "fill port".It's simpler than one might think... Nitrogen gas keeps the internal scope lenses from freezing and fogging up during cold weather and ambient temperature shifts...So you can actually see through your scope.
After buying the last SH4, I still can't afford to buy the EP5, even with the code... That's why I want to exchange it... Otherwise, I'd just order one.
Not everyone has that kind of money on-hand. Tough times right now man...And the fact it's Christmas time makes it twice as bad.
Last edited:
Maybe ask the question more thoroughly next time... I'm not a mind-reader. When someone asks "What's the nitrogen port for?" that's a pretty broad question.
I didn't ask "why Nitrogen"? I asked "why would those be nitrogen ports"? I'd bet a case of Mountain Dew they are not.
Winner! The angled spring forces the erector tube against the turrets.
Similar threads
