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Rifle Scopes Athlon Heras SPR 2-12 First Range Trip

wcoats

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Minuteman
Jun 30, 2020
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Apex NC
I just purchased an Athlon Heras SPR and took it for its first range trip. I was excited about the scope but was nervous my hopes for the scope might be too high for the price point. I was also skeptical of the claimed 21 mills of elevation adjustment with a 1” tube. Fortunately, the scope actually exceeded my expectations.

Tracking: I zeroed it, set the zero stop then checked how much usable elevation I have and was excited and surprised to have 20.2 mills of elevation adjustment from my zero stop(using a 20 MOA base). Dialed back to zero and return to zero was perfect. I dialed up 6.5 Mills which was the most I could fit on my target and checked that what I dialed matched the reticle and it did.(I’ll do a full tall target test on a future range trip). I moved to the 1000 yard range to check my dope starting at 600 and moving all the way out to 1000. It was spot on out to the 9.5 mils I was dialing at 1000.

Glass: The clarity and focus were good and I could see impacts on a freshly painted target all the way out. The parallax goes to infinity shortly after 500 so I was looking for focus or parallax issues but was happy to not have any. The glass quality and clarity are good and I didn't find myself hindered by or annoyed at any point by the glass. I had a DMR II Pro with me and obviously the glass was slightly better in that scope looking at the same targets back-to-back. I'd be interested in looking through this scope and something like a Viper PST II back-to-back as I think the glass might be in that range.

Overall I'm very happy with the scope. I like the 10 mil per rotation elevation turret with a zero stop and that the windage adjustment is locking. Though I would prefer just a simple capped windage turret for the application this scope seems to be targeting. The turrets are good with positive clicks, but it almost feels to me like they tried too hard to make the turrets have loud distinct clicks. I prefer the turrets on my DMR II that are loss audible when dialing but that's personal preference. The parallax and magnification adjustments are very smooth and don't require much force which I like.

Context/Intended Use: I was looking for a scope to put on a Bergara HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor that I cut down to 18”. My intent for this rifle is to have something shorter that I can both shoot steel for fun with out to 1000 yards and that I could take deer hunting. I saw the Heras SPR come out and thought it could be a fit for this application and especially liked the idea of the 2-12. I had been looking at the Helos Gen 2 2-12 or a used Bushnell HDMR 3-12. I normally associate FFP scopes with long range shooting but with a max magnification of 12x I figured SFP could work as I could just go to max magnification to use the reticle to hold. After my range trip I have no regrets going with a SFP scope for this application. It worked well shooting steel on 12x and I like that the reticle is easy to see on 2x as well.
 

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Nice write up!

I also got the SFP Heras SPR 2-12 in MIL a few weeks ago.

First I mounted it on a pcp air rifle then a few weeks later I put it on a 22 magnum.

I couldn't be happier for the price and what this scope encompasses! The .2 mil hashes are seeable and usable on 2x which is cool and unique. Yes I actually used those hashes on my 1.5" steel at 50Y when the scope was on the airgun. Pellets blow in the wind a lot so a hold reference helped. Doing this at 2x was more of an experiment than anything else and a fun one at that.
I tried 4x, 6x, 8x,10x and 12x.
I liked the magnification on 8x for offhand practice. That wouldn't work for me with most FFP scopes on 8x.
Pretty neat having actual .2 MIL holds at 12x and the reticle being full sized.

The scope also worked well out to 250Y on all sizes of steel as I experienced the scope on my 22 magnum. New meet old but IT was a perfect fit for this light weight rifle and transformed it into a good tool for anything I could want to use the rifle for.
I had a Nikon 3-9x32 on this rifle previously and was always held into the PBR scenario.

As you can see the Heras is the same length as the Nikon not including the sunshade.

The turrets on mine are seriously very distinct and line up well with the indicator mark on the housing.
I've had a lot of scopes costing "many times" more than this scope and with turrets of inferior feel, etc, compared to these turrets!

I can't fault this scope in any way.
20230426_104525.jpg
 
I sent Athlon an email letting them know that the 2-12X42 models need an illuminated reticle.
Now that I think about end use as a hunting scope, Second Focal Plane would probably be a better choice with the "True Mils" in the reticle at 10X with a detent to give tactile feel when you're at the right magnification.
At this price point, they would sell a ton to the the AR-15, 300 BO, Straight Wall Cartridge and .22LR hunters.
 
I've been looking at the Heras line of scopes on Athlon's website since I first received notification of their availability, but have yet to order one. These positive reviews make it a whole lot more likely that I'll be ordering in a few of them soon. I'm looking at the 4-20x50 for use on a precision 22RF (CZ457 VPT w/glued-in Shilen straight .863" dia bbl, EPS chamber). Also like to put one on a Howa Mini I built for myself with a Krieger 1-8tw in 223AI. Currently have a nice old Weaver Super Slam 4-20x50 on this rifle, but it's got 1/8 min clicks and no zero stop.
 
Is this basically a Helos BTR G2 in SFP, without illumination and 1" tube to reduce weight?
 
I sent Athlon an email letting them know that the 2-12X42 models need an illuminated reticle.
Now that I think about end use as a hunting scope, Second Focal Plane would probably be a better choice with the "True Mils" in the reticle at 10X with a detent to give tactile feel when you're at the right magnification.
At this price point, they would sell a ton to the the AR-15, 300 BO, Straight Wall Cartridge and .22LR hunters.

The way I look at it is if this scope was on a modern centerfire, with the application of hunting inside 250Y, and by chance I needed the extra FOV, I'd just put it on whatever magnification seemed most appropriate, then shoot away. I say this because the wind drift of most cartridges won't blow the bullet off enough to matter on medium sized game in this scenario.
Farther out than that the FOV on 12x should be plenty, yes - no?? For PRS, which is very dynamic shooting, I use 15x and find targets well.

For straight walled cartridges most people would be taking shots inside 100Y and stretching it to 175Y once in a while, right? The 175Y shot would probably be from a stand so people should be able to use 12x as well.

22rf, I feel the same, lower magnification for closer and faster like on rabbits, squirrels in trees, etc.
Long range on colony varmints or steel, its 12x.

I'm all in for illumination but price and weight would increase.
 
Is this basically a Helos BTR G2 in SFP, without illumination and 1" tube to reduce weight?


I have two of the HG2 DMR 2-12's also. Some of my favorite scopes!
These are great scopes for fast shooting or if you have to see the reticle in practically any situation. It's a MPVO if there ever was one.
I do wish the illume was daylight bright just because it'd be cool but as is its fine for low light. That'd cost quite a bit more as well, so....
The big center dot and circle of death reticle doesn't wash out if there is any contrasting background at all. Heck I can see it plainly on black painted steel.
Basically a very niche optic. It's one of those things where people love it or hate it, lol.

The reticle appears to be thin on the Heras 2-12 even though its not. The reticle is a tad more precision oriented than the HG2.
The dots are .07 mil and with this type of scope I personally wouldn't want them or the reticle any thinner/smaller.
For most of my shooting I don't want a thin reticle. Not even on my long range rifles with 5-25's, etc. Maybe on a BR rifle but that's another topic.
 
The prices on Chinese Athlons seem to be going up and up and up without even upgrading their glass quality. I really like my Midas Tac and Ares scopes but want something like a FFP Helos 2-12 that at least has better HD glass with perfect IQ at it's 12x max magnification. I think the Helos, Argos and this new Heras use the same non HD Chinese glass. I'm just asking for better glass and lighter weight with the Helos 2-12x FFP illuminated reticle. I was tempted to buy the Helos 2-12x I saw on sale for $370 with free shipping a few weeks ago then I thought I wouldn't be happy with the glass and I pretty much hate my Argos 6-24x50s due to very poor IQ on high magnification. It's like how disappointed I am with the new Bushnell Match Pro ED poor IQ on high magnification really foggy haze on high magnification when looking at long distances past 800 yards which my Ares and Midas Tac has no issues and without the fogginess the Bushnell has.
 
The prices on Chinese Athlons seem to be going up and up and up without even upgrading their glass quality. I really like my Midas Tac and Ares scopes but want something like a FFP Helos 2-12 that at least has better HD glass with perfect IQ at it's 12x max magnification. I think the Helos, Argos and this new Heras use the same non HD Chinese glass. I'm just asking for better glass and lighter weight with the Helos 2-12x FFP illuminated reticle. I was tempted to buy the Helos 2-12x I saw on sale for $370 with free shipping a few weeks ago then I thought I wouldn't be happy with the glass and I pretty much hate my Argos 6-24x50s due to very poor IQ on high magnification. It's like how disappointed I am with the new Bushnell Match Pro ED poor IQ on high magnification really foggy haze on high magnification when looking at long distances past 800 yards which my Ares and Midas Tac has no issues and without the fogginess the Bushnell has.

Yep everything is going up in price thanks to the current extreme corruption in our gov. All Co's have to raise their prices to compensate for reduced margins.

The HG2 glass is just behind the Midas TAC's. It looks nicer than the Argos line to me.
12x solves any glass issue one might have on the Heras and HG2 2-12's. Both look plenty fine to me.
 
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I sent Athlon an email letting them know that the 2-12X42 models need an illuminated reticle.
Now that I think about end use as a hunting scope, Second Focal Plane would probably be a better choice with the "True Mils" in the reticle at 10X with a detent to give tactile feel when you're at the right magnification.
At this price point, they would sell a ton to the the AR-15, 300 BO, Straight Wall Cartridge and .22LR hunters.
I think Athlon has the HMR version with the Leupold style Firedot reticle but without a zero stop.
 
I've been looking at the Heras line of scopes on Athlon's website since I first received notification of their availability, but have yet to order one. These positive reviews make it a whole lot more likely that I'll be ordering in a few of them soon. I'm looking at the 4-20x50 for use on a precision 22RF (CZ457 VPT w/glued-in Shilen straight .863" dia bbl, EPS chamber). Also like to put one on a Howa Mini I built for myself with a Krieger 1-8tw in 223AI. Currently have a nice old Weaver Super Slam 4-20x50 on this rifle, but it's got 1/8 min clicks and no zero stop.
If it were me especially since I'm admittedly a glass snob and prefer perfect image quality, I'd rather go with the upgraded HD glass on the Athlon Midas BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 SFP for only a few oz heavier and currently around $500 on Amazon and prefer to back the magnification down to get a perfectly comfortable eyebox instead of maxing out a 4-20x at close to 20x since it's not a ZCO. I'd actually prefer the $565 FFP Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 currently being sold through Walmart online TBH, they normally sell for $869.99 pretty much everywhere else. The Ares and Midas BTR Gen 2 have the same fantastic upgraded steel turrets as their Chinese top dog $1250 Ares ETR has. Illumination in the Ares BTR FFP and Midas BTR SFP could be actually useful in certain situations too and have more total elevation travel compared to the Heras.

I have to butt in and say this since I'm still really bummed about my two Athlon Argos BTR scopes having bekow average quality glass based on my own eyes in high magnification it's milky even worse than the new Bushnell Match Pro ED on maximum magnification and regret not spending the extra money to buy the better glass in the first place. Those lower grade Argos aren't being used because I simply can't get past their poor image quality. Contacted Athlon with my dissatisfaction and was told it's not a warranty issue since they all are like this image quality gets really terrible on high magnification and have to at least go with their Midas HD line and up for the better HD glass which I did with a Midas Tac 6-24x50 and boy what huge difference in image quality at maximum magnification super clear it's as though it was manufactured at a different Chinese factory with way higher quality standards compared to the factory which produced the Argos it's unbelievable that such vastly different level of quality is being sold from the same brand. Even their sunshades don't interchange either even if their both 6-24x50 FFP Chinese made scopes one which is fantastic and the other that's pretty terrible. You're better off buying even an Arken EPL4 before buying an Athlon Argos BTR which was one of the worst scope purchases I ever made and I thought the Vortex Diamondback Tacticals were real crap before I bought these Argos BTRs. How are these Argos BTRs relavent? Non HD glass used in their lesser quality scopes below their Midas HD line and I see some of their new Heras ridiculously overpriced especially since they're still Chinese. I'd feel bad for anyone buying their $700+ Heras and not even have HD glass in them when their better HD scopes go on sale for cheaper. I always try to buy more magnification than actually needed so I can just back the magnification down to get a perfectly extra forgiving eyebox and be well within the scope's sweet spot.
 
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