My brother has the ares btr, it’s definitely better glass over my arken sh4. Arken is good for me since it’s on my 22 and am shooting sub 500yards just for fun. I do like the illumination on the arken better as well as the reticle, but both those are subjective.
- Thread starter jeremydc
- Start date
The Arken has a 34 mm tube so your choice of rings is limited. If you order the Arken , add the accessory pack, the put the code CYCLOPS on the order and the accessory pack is free. It includes your choice of rings and a bunch of other stuff. I ordered the one piece rings as they are 20 MOA. I have two Arkens and love them.
Just to add in..
I tested all the following scopes:
-Athlon Argos BTR
-Arken SH4
-Athlon Ares BTR
-XTRIII
On the budget side, I still think it’s hard to beat the Arken. I love the FOV and the reticle. Plus the turrets are great.
The Athlon Argos is a good starter, but will leave you with more to be desired later down the line that you’d want to upgrade after looking behind other glass. Nothing wrong with it, you would probably upgrade down the line.
The Athlon ares is a big step up from the Argos. And in line for the Arken for me. The glass is better than the Argos and the Arken, but I just wasn’t digging the FOV after coming off an Arken and later switching to the XTR. It’s a great scope granted I got a Gen 1, but it’s definitely a step up and the glass is great for what it is.
The Arken has been the longest scope I’ve been behind so I hope I’m not being biased. But the FOV is amazing. I genuinely don’t know why I like seeing more than just the target. Maybe it’s preference. Plus the Arken has a great reticle and great turrets. When you get the scope it’s pretty beefy but I think that’s something I liked in the end. The glass isn’t as sharp as the Ares or ETR but for it’s money, I think it’s probably the best value scope, especially what it’s running for now. This would be my personal go to budget scope.
The XTRIII is just amazing. This was my step up to an “end all scope”. The glass is amazing, the turrets, FOV. This was my “big” purchase scope where it’s considered to me a more refined Arken. Turrets are good and the texturing is very aggressive. So now this is my go to scope as it’s everything I like/want, but enhanced.
So to sum it up.
Your scope of choice clearly depends on your budget and use. If I had a limited budget, I’d got with an Arken, no questions asked. Only speaking from my experience with the SH4. It really is hard to beat this scope at its current price point. Then if I’m going to upgrade from there, I would skip out on the Ares and go straight for the XTRIII. Again the Ares was great, but it wasn’t perfect for me and I wouldn’t want to waste time on the upgrade train.
Just my two cents..
I tested all the following scopes:
-Athlon Argos BTR
-Arken SH4
-Athlon Ares BTR
-XTRIII
On the budget side, I still think it’s hard to beat the Arken. I love the FOV and the reticle. Plus the turrets are great.
The Athlon Argos is a good starter, but will leave you with more to be desired later down the line that you’d want to upgrade after looking behind other glass. Nothing wrong with it, you would probably upgrade down the line.
The Athlon ares is a big step up from the Argos. And in line for the Arken for me. The glass is better than the Argos and the Arken, but I just wasn’t digging the FOV after coming off an Arken and later switching to the XTR. It’s a great scope granted I got a Gen 1, but it’s definitely a step up and the glass is great for what it is.
The Arken has been the longest scope I’ve been behind so I hope I’m not being biased. But the FOV is amazing. I genuinely don’t know why I like seeing more than just the target. Maybe it’s preference. Plus the Arken has a great reticle and great turrets. When you get the scope it’s pretty beefy but I think that’s something I liked in the end. The glass isn’t as sharp as the Ares or ETR but for it’s money, I think it’s probably the best value scope, especially what it’s running for now. This would be my personal go to budget scope.
The XTRIII is just amazing. This was my step up to an “end all scope”. The glass is amazing, the turrets, FOV. This was my “big” purchase scope where it’s considered to me a more refined Arken. Turrets are good and the texturing is very aggressive. So now this is my go to scope as it’s everything I like/want, but enhanced.
So to sum it up.
Your scope of choice clearly depends on your budget and use. If I had a limited budget, I’d got with an Arken, no questions asked. Only speaking from my experience with the SH4. It really is hard to beat this scope at its current price point. Then if I’m going to upgrade from there, I would skip out on the Ares and go straight for the XTRIII. Again the Ares was great, but it wasn’t perfect for me and I wouldn’t want to waste time on the upgrade train.
Just my two cents..
I currently have two Arken 6-24 SH4 scopes and love them. I found an Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24 on sale for $464 and couldn't resist. Ordinarily, they are $650 or more. It's specs are almost identical to the Arken. The glass is marginally better and the reticle is fully illuminated instead of just the middle. Otherwise, for the money, I bought another Arken. These scopes are terrific. The only downside is the weight, but most, if not all, 34 MM scopes are heavy too.
The pack used to be $169.95, so the code to save you $170 made it free.
I either currently own or have previously owned all of these asked about including the XTRIII.
I'd rank them as follows:
XTRIII at the top of this list with the best glass, but its a beast in terms of size and weight. Compared favorably to my Minox ZP5
Midas TAC, excellent all around scope for the money. Not quite as good as the Burris, but less expensive
SH-4, almost as good as the TAC, for 2/3 the price or less
Argos - I wouldn't buy another one
I'd rank them as follows:
XTRIII at the top of this list with the best glass, but its a beast in terms of size and weight. Compared favorably to my Minox ZP5
Midas TAC, excellent all around scope for the money. Not quite as good as the Burris, but less expensive
SH-4, almost as good as the TAC, for 2/3 the price or less
Argos - I wouldn't buy another one
