Athlon Ares 2000 Yard Rangefinder

[whiskey_papa]

Has anyone used or heard of these? These seem great for ~1000 yard shooting which is what I do. Two notable pluses: 1. Comes with tripod mount (extra $75-$100 from what I've seen if yours doesn't have one) 2. Full lifetime unlimited warranty just like a rifle scope. From what I could tell from Sig, Bushnell, Nikon, and Leica... they don't have this same warranty and usually will exempt their electronics or have a special lower tier warranty for them. With Athlon, it's totally covered. Break it, bust it up, no problem. Send it back and you get a new one. Given the relative sensitivity of electronics this is very intriguing to me.

Currently you can get one from SWFA for $404.99 with their sale going on, ends tomorrow.

Here I've copy pasted the specs for your convenience:

Magnification: 7x
Objective Lens (mm): 23.5
Range Reflective (yds): 2000
Range Deer (yds): 800
Surface Finish: Rubber Armor (Grey)
Accuracy: +/- .5
Max Angle Reading (°): + /- 70
Field of View (°): 7
Eye Relief (mm): 15
Length (in): 4.5
Width (in): 1.5
Weight (oz): 6.75
Power Supply: CR2-3V

Link to Athlon's product page

Just trying to see if anyone has any experience with them or has ordered one... with that warranty, I'm tempted to buy one.

 

[Mordamer]

I wonder what the beam divergence is?

 

[Unknown]

I have one of the Leica 1200's, and it is only a 6X or 7X (I can't remember which). Even when mounted onto my tripod I find it difficult to range many objects at 700-800 yards because it will pick up something behind the target. If I'm trying to range a 10" plate, it often picks up the berm that is 120 yards behind the target plate. I wish I had a range finder with higher magnification and a crosshair rather than the red box that the target is to go inside of. Those two things would make it far easier for me to accurately range items. As it is, I have to use more "primitive" ranging techniques in conjunction with the range finder and use all the data to arrive at the actual range.

That means using the range finder, the MOA scale in the scope reticle, and SWAG (scientific wild assed guess) to determine range. It does force me into using the primitive methods more, which is a good thing (I think).

 

[Mordamer]

I have one of the Leica 1200's, and it is only a 6X or 7X (I can't remember which). Even when mounted onto my tripod I find it difficult to range many objects at 700-800 yards because it will pick up something behind the target. If I'm trying to range a 10" plate, it often picks up the berm that is 120 yards behind the target plate. I wish I had a range finder with higher magnification and a crosshair rather than the red box that the target is to go inside of. Those two things would make it far easier for me to accurately range items. As it is, I have to use more "primitive" ranging techniques in conjunction with the range finder and use all the data to arrive at the actual range.

That means using the range finder, the MOA scale in the scope reticle, and SWAG (scientific wild assed guess) to determine range. It does force me into using the primitive methods more, which is a good thing (I think).

I believe you are mistaken about a cross hair and more magnification helping you range better. The problem you have is due to your lasers beam size. Making your reticle into a cross hair would be less useful. Leica sizes the box in the rangefinder at the same size as your lasers beam divergence. This is so you know that you can be picking up a range off of anything in the box. The best rangefinders under $2,000 are 7x magnification. The magnification does not change the lasers precision. Higher magnification isn't that helpful on a tiny hand held rangefinder most of the time because they are hard to hold stable. I suggest you look into a couple rangefinders on the market that have a very small beam divergence compared to your existing leica. They leica 2400-R and the Leupold 2800 both are in the $500 dollar range and have very small laser beams.

 

[whiskey_papa]

I wonder what the beam divergence is?

Would be cool to know for sure. I saw something in another thread where the beam pattern could be seen against a target through night vision.

I have one of the Leica 1200's, and it is only a 6X or 7X (I can't remember which). Even when mounted onto my tripod I find it difficult to range many objects at 700-800 yards because it will pick up something behind the target. If I'm trying to range a 10" plate, it often picks up the berm that is 120 yards behind the target plate. I wish I had a range finder with higher magnification and a crosshair rather than the red box that the target is to go inside of. Those two things would make it far easier for me to accurately range items. As it is, I have to use more "primitive" ranging techniques in conjunction with the range finder and use all the data to arrive at the actual range.

That means using the range finder, the MOA scale in the scope reticle, and SWAG (scientific wild assed guess) to determine range. It does force me into using the primitive methods more, which is a good thing (I think).

I think that everyone should know how to range a target the old fashioned way. Rangefinders are cool but shouldn't be used as a crutch. What are you going to do when Murphy comes for you? It's a good skill to have.

 

[Unknown]

Would be cool to know for sure. I saw something in another thread where the beam pattern could be seen against a target through night vision.

I think that everyone should know how to range a target the old fashioned way. Rangefinders are cool but shouldn't be used as a crutch. What are you going to do when Murphy comes for you? It's a good skill to have.

What will those who don't know how to range the "old fashioned way when Murphy comes for you?" Answer: probably miss...either high or low.

 

[Unknown]

I believe you are mistaken about a cross hair and more magnification helping you range better. The problem you have is due to your lasers beam size. Making your reticle into a cross hair would be less useful. Leica sizes the box in the rangefinder at the same size as your lasers beam divergence. This is so you know that you can be picking up a range off of anything in the box. The best rangefinders under $2,000 are 7x magnification. The magnification does not change the lasers precision. Higher magnification isn't that helpful on a tiny hand held rangefinder most of the time because they are hard to hold stable. I suggest you look into a couple rangefinders on the market that have a very small beam divergence compared to your existing leica. They leica 2400-R and the Leupold 2800 both are in the $500 dollar range and have very small laser beams.

Mordamer: Thanks for the info....I didn't know that it was beam divergence causing the difficulty. Geez, I thought I wasn't able to hold it steady enough, and it turns out that the beam is more like a flashlight than the tight laser beam I had thought I was using. Like they say, information is power...thanks.

 

[whiskey_papa]

Mordamer: Thanks for the info....I didn't know that it was beam divergence causing the difficulty. Geez, I thought I wasn't able to hold it steady enough, and it turns out that the beam is more like a flashlight than the tight laser beam I had thought I was using. Like they say, information is power...thanks.

This link really helped me out with understanding laser rangefinders. I'm more of a visual learner and PRB gave me great insight into this piece of equipment.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

The specs on the Athlon are good, however, Athlon has not ever had these, they have been on back order since being announced.

The Leica 2400-R and 2700-B would be the best available these days