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Rifle Scopes The Arken Optics Thread (merged)

I was considering them until reading about some of the various issues. Usually quality control suffers when someone is trying to meet demand.
Honestly, this issue is more widespread than I thought, as I've seen others having the same issue back in March of 2020...

I had a parallax issue with a Nitro and Bushnell upgraded my Nitro to the most expensive Forge because they didn't have my Nitro in stock.

That was earlier this year during the pandemic, that's great CS!
So far Arken hasn't impressed me...
 
I received an email today from Arken announcing that they had the sh4-16 ‘s went to their website and it still had the 10 week back order time frame. Decided to gamble and went ahead and ordered one maybe I get lucky...
 
Hope you get a good one :) Waiting on my return shipping label...
 
I have a EP 4 6-24 it’s a good scope,when you compare to others twice as much. Great glass, the turrets are good power and parallax are smooth eyebox is great. The reticle is too thin at low power but at 10 up it’s fine. I really like nice glass but I don’t have the income to be able to afford the upper tier scopes even the 1200-1500 price range is tough to be able to outfit 4-5 rifles
 
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New User Posting as to build credibility as non-shiller:
I purchased an Arken SH4 6x24 in MIL for POF Revolution DI in .308 or my Mossberg Patriot in .308
Purchase date: Nov. 26th, 2020.

I'm currently running on my POF a Primary Arms 1x6 SFP ACCS which I feel like I should be just fine with in SHTF or just general plinking out to 500 yards (haven't taken it past 100 yet, things have been crazy in ohio as far as me finding longer ranges to shot) but after watching the Texas Plinking and Tiberious Rex infomercials for the SH4 well....I had to buy one. I'd been wondering about the VORTEX VIPERS because my friend runs one, but I am just getting into longer distance shooting and i've also spent so much money this year on new guns, ammo, magazine, etc. I'm really hoping that 1. the scope doesn't have any of the minor issues that people have been posting about whenever I finally get mine and 2. that it is somewhat durable.

Like a lot of you the Lifetime warranty kinda sold me for the price, but ALSO i'm super excited that I was able to get a throw lever and bubble lever bundled in! (i'm such a new shooter that I just found out about bubble levers and cosign indicators etc).

Anyway, lol 7-10 weeks from now when I get my scope i'll let you all know.

OH yes, question: has anyone in this group won one of their scope giveaways?
 
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For those that have experience with the SH and EP. Was there a noticeable difference? This would be for the 24x models shooting at 1,000yds.
 
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I could be wrong but.......

Someone makes a brand new account...

The next day that someone makes their first post in an otherwise obscure thread.....

No other posts about hello or any other questions or introductions, just straight to the thread that has been a magnet for shilling....

Their post uses quite a few key phrases of the recent Arken shills that have been plaguing us here like: " I was looking at spending over $1,000 for the features I got in this Arken.".......

When you check their profile their status mostly shows "Viewing the Arken thread"........

Also only posting in that thread......

So there is a chance I could be wrong and jumping the gun, BUT this is pretty much the pattern we've come to see and expect from the Arken company who seems hell bent on doubling down on ways to get your potential customers to associate your company name with spam/shill...

So if I'm wrong, sorry for the rough welcome. Welcome to the hide and try hanging out in some of the other threads.....
If I'm not wrong, please go tell those you are working for that the gig is up and most probably think the worst of them at this point.

I haven't been following this thread so take this opinion for what it is.

I bought a Ruger Precision Rifle years ago, and before I could take delivery due to backorders I was a new member and was only reading and posting on Snipershide in the RPR thread...because that was what brought me here.

Not saying its not a shill but I'm just reflecting on myself with the RPR
 
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I’m with you, Smoketheclay. XM54/XM-338 basically described me to a tee. I just joined the hide, only posted and have read up on this thread, and have basically nothing negative to say about this scope that I bought here. It’s almost like there’s a new company making a competitive product that there is limited user experience with due to the quantity produced. The reality is that objectively speaking, the features absolutely kick butt for the price. The turrets feel amazing. I hear the new Midas TAC, and Ares ETR are comparable, both of which are much more expensive. I have no real experience with other higher end scopes, but have handled a lot of scopes at gun stores. Most turrets are crap compared to these. My only complaint is glass quality. I compared this side by side with a Viper HS LR 6-24x50. While the Arken had a much wider field of view, great color, bright image, and limited chromatic fringe, clarity (probably the most important feature) was noticeably worse.
 
I ordered the SH-4 4-14 Gen 2 yesterday. Cant wait to give it a try.
 
After further evaluation of my optic, I am having the exact same parallax issue as you are...
Looks like we'll be sending both of ours in for repair.
Man, I hope their turnaround time is good.

I called and then texted 8336580070 but you can also email them.
Obviously I look to get a response after Thanksgiving...

My gen 1 SH4 has parallax issues as well. Cant focus beyond ~150 yards. Would have been the best sub $400 scope ive ever used if not for that.
 
As long as they can't figure out their parallax / quality control issues they're crap.

If they sort this out (before they ruin their own business by keeping up pumping out of spec scopes onto the market) then it's a great optic in this price range.

These described parallax issues are no incident with these Arken scopes. More and more actual user reviews (not from shills but actual buyers) pop up with people describing out of spec scopes

 
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Yes. I have one on my grendel. Tracks really well and the glass is very clear. Also the turrets are very tacticle, and the zero stop is easy to implement. All reasons why I am going to be a dealer for them. BEst Sub $500 scope I have seen thus far.


HERE IS MY REVIEW:


Thought also I would expand on what I saw out of the Arken SH-4 4-14x44 FFP 30mm Optic.. Lets do a quick break down via important areas when it comes to scopes.

1. Initial first impressions: The Arken 4-14x44 comes in what I would consider a standard box in line with what you would see from any reputable optics company. Well packaged, and an added bonus I was unaware of is that the optic comes with a Sunshade ( nice!). Feel and finish wise it is your standard 6061-T6 matte black finish. I talked to the guys at Arken and they told me that the final version will have a look similar to what the razor HD has currently color wise. I am excited to see what that looks like!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

2. Glass: Probably up there with the most important feature when I look at an Optic, Arken touts its Lanthanum Multi Coated glass as " providing better optical performance than similar products" ( took quote verbatim that right from the box). Now I don't know a whole a lot about Lanthanum glass, but I do trust my eyes to pick out good glass when I see it. So, I mounted this SOB onto my 6.5 Grendel and had some fun. First test was a basic test out in the arid desert near my house during mid day shooting hours. I wanted to see what the optic garner clarity wise out in the field. To my surprise, the glass was as advertised. The edge to edge clarity was as good as many optics I have seen costing twice this much, including the vortex viper gen 2, and the Midas/Ares line from Athlon ( more on that shortly). Good first pass... but I wasn't done!

I have a Midas TAC ( HD glass, comparable to a Nikon FX1000, PST GEN 2) and wanted to line these up at dusk to see what the low light level gathering was like. I felt like this was a good comparison as the Midas Tac has a similar setup ( 4-16x44, 30 mm tube). Side by side I focused on the same cactus at 500 yards later that evening... Here is what I saw:

15 minutes til sunset: No real difference in the clarity or light gathering, and not shocking, as light was still very available

Sunset: Oddly enough, expecting to see some difference, as I am get impressed with the Midas tac, the clarity of the object in focus and the amount of light both scopes produced was virtually identical.

10 minutes past sunset: With light almost gone, I rotated looking through both scopes back and forth for a good five minutes, and they both provided the same amount of clarity and light as the other. Now this is to say they are not on par with a S and B or other high end optic, but I expected the Midas to give me more since it retails for $590.. This left me intrigued.

3. Eyebox: In a phrase, very comfortable. Even at full zoom I did not have to fidget a whole lot to line up my target comfortably and fire away. The only downside I see for now is that Arken only has one reticle and one increment choice ( mil). For me this is not a big deal, but for some it may be a deal breaker. That being said, Arken tells me there are other scope configurations in the works, and I am excited to see what those look like. the SHR MIL reticle is simple to use, and I really enjoyed it, as I am not a huge fan of the Xmas tree style reticles that have become so popular.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

4. Turrets: Arken touts itself as having a "turret tracking guarantee". I inquired a bit more about this, and the fellas over there tell me that the turrets will track to a 99% degree of accuracy. Now I did a simple box test, as well as some range time dialing from 100, to 300, and 500 yards respectively, and the scope performed just fine. Also I will add that the turrets are very tactile and crisp.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

5. Price: If you are like me, you are always looking for a good deal on an optic that will perform without having to sacrifice your child's college fund. The $349.99 price point Arken offers is what had me intrigued. I was skeptical that the quality of the optic and available features would actually stack up to other optics in the same general price range. To my dismay, it performed neck and neck with my Midas Tac, and having spent plenty of time behind mid tier optics ( $600-$1000 price range) from Burris, Leopold, Sig, Vortex, among others, I truly believe that this scope will hold its own against any of them. Compared to optics in the same sub $400 price point? There isn't anything I have looked through that I would purchase other than this. I know, sounds crazy right? To my eyes, this is my stance.

Rating: 9.5

Summary: All in all, the Arken SH-4 exceeded my expectations in every category. For $349.99, I have yet to see an optic with this kind of clarity, eye box, turret crispness, and overall quality in this price point. Is it a S and B or Nightforce? No.. But they aren't trying to be either. I will be using more of these in my line up with out any doubt.

To learn more about Arken Optics go to there website:

https://arkenopticsusa.com


Thanks for your Time AOG
Arken’s are 8 weeks out according to the link above
 
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Friday I got my sh4 6-24 that I ordered on 10/30. Mounted it up and got it zeroed. Pretty impressed so far. Glass is surprisingly clear for the price.
 
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How's the parallax adjustment?
So far it seems to be good. Haven't had it too far yet but spotting and dialing it seemed to work well. Was able to test it to about 400 yards. I'll definitely do more testing and report back though.
 
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So far it seems to be good. Haven't had it too far yet but spotting and dialing it seemed to work well. Was able to test it to about 400 yards. I'll definitely do more testing and report back though.
Many of us new to Precision Rifle Marksmanship are looking for performance at affordable prices and Arken is very nice for the price. This thread contains several good and some bad reviews on Arken. Overall, Arken fixes issues from what I've read, you may just have to wait a bit for the fix. Seems like a promising company. Definitely report back. Thank you.
 
Arken SH4 FFP VPR MIL - Asking current owners of this scope to let us know how bright your illuminated reticle is when set on max illumination? I know that only the center cross lights but mine is so dim that even on max power it cannot be seen at all in overcast daylight when set to 6x. If I dial it up to 24x, I can only tell that the reticle is lighted by turning it on and off. It is only truly visible to me when used in very lowlight conditions. Is that normal? My battery is new but I also had two new batteries that were dead. All of my other lighted scopes can be turned up to a brightness which made the lighted portion visible even in bright sunshine. This one is very subtle. It that is normal, fine but it just seemed different to me.
 
Arken SH4 FFP VPR MIL - Asking current owners of this scope to let us know how bright your illuminated reticle is when set on max illumination? I know that only the center cross lights but mine is so dim that even on max power it cannot be seen at all in overcast daylight when set to 6x. If I dial it up to 24x, I can only tell that the reticle is lighted by turning it on and off. It is only truly visible to me when used in very lowlight conditions. Is that normal? My battery is new but I also had two new batteries that were dead. All of my other lighted scopes can be turned up to a brightness which made the lighted portion visible even in bright sunshine. This one is very subtle. It that is normal, fine but it just seemed different to me.
Mine seems bright in low light, but definitely not daylight bright.
 
Mine seems bright in low light, but definitely not daylight bright.
Thank You JymB. Can you see the lighted cross in the center when turned up to 10 max brightness and with the scope set to 6x on a cloudy day? Or is it only visible during the twilight hours or in the shadows of deep woods? I would appreciate the observations of other owners too.

I have the SH4 FFP Mil in 6-24x and really like the scope but have had issues with the lighted reticle being so dim that I cannot tell when it is on or off unless I point it at a very dark tgt in lowlight conditions. I was not sure that was normal. And is useless when attempting to light the cross to make it easier to pickup fast on low mag (i.e. 6x) while running a fast paced PRC match in daylight. It is like the resistor on the illumination control is too high and is lowering the voltage from the battery too much. If this is normal, I will make it work. Arken customer service is very responsive. I had an issue with the first one and they replaced it quickly. Any product can have issues. The good companies respond in a timely manner and fix the issue. Arken is trying to do the right things and for the price point make a good product.

They told me that the EH4 production was halted so they could focus all resources on the roll out of the SH4 product. I am expecting that the EH4 will return at some point with maybe an updated and/or lighted reticle but am not sure. I am curious why they were banned from the forum?
 
After watching LowLight's review I decided to give one of the Gen 1 scopes a try and it was impressively good clarity for the price. The reticle was unusable at the low-end, which seems to have been corrected in the second generation.

I didn't end up mounting it as I didn't love how stiff the magnification was, and sold it for what I paid.

I ordered a Gen 2 4-16 recently (still waiting on it) and their 34mm scope mount.

The scope mount is very poorly made, hopefully they get the scope right.
 
For those getting theirs recently, how long ago did you order? I ordered mid December
 
can only speak for mine, but I tested mine before it was mounted.
I did see a video review on you tube, the reviewer did specifically mention parallax issues, but it tracked like it was on rails, he said the glass was very nice as well.
 
I received my EP-4 6-24x50 today, and I am very impressed. Have read about stiff power ring, diopter, parralax, but mine was perfect. The turrets are really good and the clarity was far better than I expected. It could be the very best value in the market today. It would be an impressive scope for twice the price.
 
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Ok I'm in, I just ordered an SH4 4-16X50 GEN2 FFP MOA VPR Today. After reading all of this and doing some research I decided to try one. Now to just forget about it and be surprised when it comes in. I was all set to get a Vortex Viper PST but EV didn't have any in stock and couldn't order so I started looking around.
 
I received my EP-4 6-24x50 today, and I am very impressed. Have read about stiff power ring, diopter, parralax, but mine was perfect. The turrets are really good and the clarity was far better than I expected. It could be the very best value in the market today. It would be an impressive scope for twice the price.
What date did you place your order on? I have 2 SH4's on order, coming up on 9 weeks.
 
I ordered the SH4 a month ago and now I’m contemplating cancelling my order to buy a Bushnell Elite Tactical DMR II instead.
 
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So, I ordered an SH4 6-24 Mil genII back on 11/22. Got it today.

Seems good except the illumination does not work. I'm going to go get a new battery to see if that's the problem.

Otherwise, turrets feel good, parallax knob is a little stiff, but really smooth. magnification dial turns nicely.

Hoping I just got a dead battery with the scope.
 
So, I ordered an SH4 6-24 Mil genII back on 11/22. Got it today.

Seems good except the illumination does not work. I'm going to go get a new battery to see if that's the problem.

Otherwise, turrets feel good, parallax knob is a little stiff, but really smooth. magnification dial turns nicely.

Hoping I just got a dead battery with the scope.
Did you order it from Arken? I ordered mine on 11/23 and haven't heard anything :(
Still patiently waiting I guess.
Anyway, congratulations, sorry about your reticle hopefully it worked out!
 
I did order directly from Arken.

I reached out to them 1/25 and he said they had shipped out to 11/12 and mine would be shipped in the next couple weeks. I got shipping notice 2/4.

I’m really hoping it’s just a dead battery. I can’t find my fluke meter to test it.
 
I did order directly from Arken.

I reached out to them 1/25 and he said they had shipped out to 11/12 and mine would be shipped in the next couple weeks. I got shipping notice 2/4.

I’m really hoping it’s just a dead battery. I can’t find my fluke meter to
So, I ordered an SH4 6-24 Mil genII back on 11/22. Got it today.

Seems good except the illumination does not work. I'm going to go get a new battery to see if that's the problem.

Otherwise, turrets feel good, parallax knob is a little stiff, but really smooth. magnification dial turns nicely.

Hoping I just got a dead battery with the scope.
Its posts like this one that really pushed me toward buying a Bushnell Match Pro instead of an Arken. I got caught up in the hype around these Arken scopes and waited long time for the EP series which still isn’t back in stock. I finally just ordered a Match Pro and had it in my hands 4 days later with no issues to report.
 
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Its posts like this one that really pushed me toward buying a Bushnell Match Pro instead of an Arken. I got caught up in the hype around these Arken scopes and waited long time for the EP series which still isn’t back in stock. I finally just ordered a Match Pro and had it in my hands 4 days later with no issues to report.

I can understand a guy being a skeptic: a few hundred bucks is still a few hundred bucks (even if that's almost nothing in the rifle scope game).

That said, IMHO having played with both an Arken SH4 Gen2 and a Bushnell Match Pro, that's not an apples to apples comparison. The Bushnell is like a child's toy or something compared to the Arken (and the EP's are supposed to be even nicer).
 
Its posts like this one that really pushed me toward buying a Bushnell Match Pro instead of an Arken. I got caught up in the hype around these Arken scopes and waited long time for the EP series which still isn’t back in stock. I finally just ordered a Match Pro and had it in my hands 4 days later with no issues to report.

well, now that I’ve really had a little time to play with it, I pulled the battery out and put it back in when I had it switched on. I was messing with it when I looked through it worked. So I put the cap back on... it didn’t work again. So, I pulled the cap back off and bent the contacts out a bit and screwed if back on. Problem solved.
It turns out to just be the contacts on the cap needed to be bent out a touch.

Only time will tell, but everything else seems solid.

I’ll get it on a gun this weekend, but there seem to be no noticeable parallax issue at all.
Other than a scare with the illumination (witch honestly, I don’t see myself using anyway) it’s a damn impressive scope for $400. So far.
 
I have a replacement EP-4 6-24X50 SHR reticle headed back to me from Arken. 6 wks turn around time, not bad considering.
 
Not very reassuring experiences from what I'm reading. My order is already behind schedule. When I do get it I am going to over it with a fine tooth comb, if anything is not right I will be sending it back. Thinking I should of just paid $1k more for proper glass.

Don't know how they are justifying price increases when they continue to have quality issues.
 
Not very reassuring experiences from what I'm reading. My order is already behind schedule. When I do get it I am going to over it with a fine tooth comb, if anything is not right I will be sending it back. Thinking I should of just paid $1k more for proper glass.

Don't know how they are justifying price increases when they continue to have quality issues.

Lol, it’s a $400 scope that is better than most $1000+ scopes if you get a good one... that’s probably why the price went up, chill out a little maybe 🤔 I know guys who’ve had to send Nightforce scopes back, and I’ve had issues with lots of “top-tier” stuff over the years, not everybody gets delivered a perfect example no matter what you buy.

There shouldn’t be so much whining going on about a company trying to deliver more for less and not always hitting the mark while they’re still getting their feet under them, for anyone who wants a deal it’s totally worth the risk IMO... but if you can’t be bothered, yeah, buy a more expensive scope, still doesn’t mean you won’t have any issues.
 
I get that. But now it's $450...not 400. When they bring the EP back will they raise the price on that one too, we shall see. People should not have parallax issues or have to start bending things for illumination to work.
 
From a business standpoint - we are starting to see the preliminary effects of the COVID controlled panic. Gonna get a lot worse in the next couple years across the board.
 
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Received the SH4 ordered 11/23/2021 and mounted on my Bergara B14R this week. Haven't really been able to get a good bright day to make a thorough evaluation on the clarity at high magnification but looks pretty good so far. The turrets are very large and tactile. I worked them hard just to test and return to zero was perfect. At $400, even $450 its so far a great buy.
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