TESTED: Athlon Ares BTR GEN2 4.5-27x50mm Riflescope
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Want to see a preview of the next generation of rifle optics testing? HERE IT IS! This video will show you an in-depth look at the Athlon Ares BTR GEN2 4.5-27x50mm Riflescope, and some tools I'm developing at Ultimate Reloader to take optics testing to the "next level".
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Ultimate Reloader LLC / gavintoobe Material Connection Notice:
The following Ultimate Reloader partners are featured in this video:
- Athlon Optics
- Bergara Rifles
Ultimate Reloader partnerships involve one or more of the following:
Product supplied for evaluation + testing + features in videos/articles, paid advertising and promotions, engineering and product development services, scientific testing and evaluation, external media production and related marketing services.
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We're truly living in the golden age of decent affordable glass!
Optics are expensive outside of the USA due to exchange rates. But your glass should always cost more than the rifle...
HAVOC not always
Truth. I have Vortex optics on all of my rifles, including AR's. Can't beat em with the VIP warranty
This Ares BTR might not be considered affordable at $800 but there's nothing made in China sold by other brands that can beat this scope at any price. My only gripes are they don't even include scope lens covers or a sunshade that automatically come with the junk Chinese scopes sold by other brands.
@@commonsense5709actually this scope is made in China😂 things have changed over the past few years in the optics’s industry. Now some scopes that made in China are even better than those made in Japan.
Haven't had a chance to test if it holds zero, but mounts just fine and has nice clear glass. Centered vertically true to a plumb line with the crosshairs which is always a plus!It's a great th-cam.com/users/postUgkxc4K63Fd5LglDMObu7-Bgapxp_ef0W8hE scope. There's no parallax adjustment or focus ring, so may be limited to 3-7x, have to see how it is on the range. Also be aware that the rings are "look through" so you can still use irons, but they are really tall if you only intend to use the optics. On a 22LR no biggie since I'm not shooting competitions or worried about a hard cheek press. Will boresight and range test, if all goes well, I'll leave it at that!
Gavin, I was practically laughed off of a forum for asking questions about the exact thing you have accomplished with your testing set-up. Outstanding work, you set a new benchmark. Thanks again for your work.
I run 2 of the 4.5-27's and one of the 2.5-15 (mils). They are unbelievable for the price. They have tracked without issue, and the reticles and overall design are great. I would highly recommend them.
The fact that you take things way too far and do such a great job with your reviews and information is greatly appreciated
Great Video. Your methods, educational delivery and quality are excellent. Just started reloading, you have the best channel i have watched.
Best youtube channel i've ever seen 👍👏👏👏
I’m a landscape photographer - what you want for you testing setup is a loupe such as the Hoodman loupe. You can place it over your G5 display and focus the scope, it blocks our sunlight and magnifies so you can dial in focus.
I mixed up inch-pounds and ftlbs once when I was putting the clutch in my motorcycle... I also now happen own a set of easy outs
Hahahaha oh, I have been there. Good one
Thank you for your Athlon reviews. love this channel
Really enjoy the informative and detailed videos. I have that same scope on my 224. One thing that was not mentioned was the LIFETIME WARRANTY!
As a photographer, videographer, and shooter myself, I am in the same thought process as you with evaluating scopes. You have accomplished what I have always wondered about with scope evaluation. Outstanding review and testing of this scope. I am seriously looking at the 2.5-15 Mil version of this one. Thanks again!
you prolly dont care but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account..?
I was stupid lost the password. I would love any tricks you can offer me.
@James Bowie instablaster ;)
@Crosby Ethan I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm.
Takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
@Crosby Ethan It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you saved my account :D
@James Bowie You are welcome =)
My biggest suggestion... use one (whatever you pick) as a control for visual. Vortex Razor, Nightforce ATACR, Leopold Mk6... just something to show everything against a constant.
Huge Athlon fan! Also a DSLR shooter so I love how you married the two. Genius.
I work in the image sensor industry. You might want to look at some of the characterization equipment and “targets” for image quality. I think you are starting down a great path that can be very interesting.
Great Video Gavin
I love my Ares BTR I have it mounted on my M1A National match
The first thing I do Gavin, when I click on your videos, is smash that like button!
I like where youre going, a few things to note. scope will function best in their center 1/3rd of the reticle so a larger target will show more error. And I'd set the minimum acceptable travel be 30 MOA or approximately what a .308 would do at 1k or you can set your scope to optical center (objective down into a mirror) and check its outer limits on the tracking target. you'll also need 3 targets, Mil, MOA and IPHY. Frank Gallie has a pretty good list of scopes tacking and hes using a beefy mount. there are a few videos of him testing as well...
What would I like to see? A scope ranking list forming with every scope you test in term of glass quality firstmost, then turret and reticle ranking. With every new scope you test compare it against one of previous scope on list to find its place on ranking list. If you dont have all of the old scope just place that scope on list with area it could be between two tested scope.
I personally believe the Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 is hands down the best sub $1000 Chinese made scope that money can buy. We did a lot of scope testing across the board regarding Chinese and Japanese scopes from a lot of different brands and models. No other made in China scope from any other brand at any price we tested could match the Ares BTR on high magnification while still offering 80moa elevation of elevation with repeatable turrets as well as a nice positive zero stop. Other scopes of Chinese origin from the competition simply could not keep up on high magnification. The other scope of that significantly outshined every other brands regardless of price (regarding Chinese made scopes) is the Athlon Midas Tac 6-24x50. I usually prefer to buy Japan made scopes but these two Chinese made Athlons are the very best we have ever tested. The Athlon Ares BTR was even better than the Japan made Element Nexus for roughly half the cost as a result of that head to head scope comparison.
I own this scope and have it mounted on a 6.5 Grendel AR. It has a BSF carbon fiber barrel and shoots .38 MOA with factory Hornady Black 123 grn. I built this gun as more of a tactical or target rifle than a hunting rifle. It’s for this reason I bought this scope.
Personally, I believe a hunting scope features are:
1. magnification for a maximum hunting range of 350 - 400 yards. A hunter should be able to stalk within ethical range of an animal. Low magnification is more useful than high due to the larger FOV.
2. A duplex reticle. No time to range a distance using the reticle normally. Within that 350-400 yard distance, a flat shooting cartridge and a scope sighted for MPBR will negate the need for a ranging reticle.
3. Turrets with caps. No chance of bumping them during the stalk. Also see #2.
For the money this scope is amazing and I suppose it can be used for hunting but personally I think there are scopes with different features that suit me better.
I have loved my athlon ares btr scope. Mine is the first generation with 6-24 x50 but it helped me take my first elk at 465 yards. I'm glad to see a great review of athlon products.
Athlon makes unbelievable scopes for the $$. 80% of a vortex for 40% of the price.
I think they have surpassed vortex in bang for the dollar. Mid range Vortex have dropped in quality and Athlons gotten better.
Thanks for the review, your methods of testing are on solid ground. I really appreciate your unbiased evaluation of rifle scopes, keep up the great work.
Very cool. Have had a B14 Wilderness in 6.5prc in the safe just hadn’t decided on a scope. Have decided on this very scope and decided to hop on the tube to see if there was any reviews. You solidified my decision. Thanks for the video!
I bought an althlon talos 4x16x40 with mildot (good scope) then bought 2 neos scopes put them on 2 rifles. Put less than 20 rounds through each and destroyed them. Sent them to athlon got back 2 extremely used scopes(remember mine were new) one of them the paralax was not funtioning straight out the box sent it back(keep in mind every time I send one back it is $20). This time the one I recieved was is so beat up that I refuse to mount it to my gun! So I have been through 6 and only have 1 good one not very good odds. You decide if you want to waste your time and money
I can only recommend Athlon's Midas HD line and above for better quality.
I wish they came with the sun shade, and covers
I know you did a zoom for light gathering on the tree but a target zoom test would be a good little addition to see if the POA and distortion changes, some of the cheaper ones do. Great review and it would be great to be able to compare the different clarities/distortions of the scopes you test, but I guess the weather and time of day will affect that!
I bought an Athlon years ago. Love it. Then saw tibosaurusRex do a review of it a couple years later, now you! Looks like I was ahead of the curve! Definitely buy another. Best scope I own.
The bergara is awesome
I have the athlon Aries etr 4.54.5-30x56mm and this scope is awesome! For the cost, this scope delivers beyond what you would expect
Does your etr have locking turrets
Absolutely love Athlon Optics ! I'm using the Argos BTR Gen2 10-40X56. Incredible optic and quality in the $400 range. My next scope is an Midas Tac 5-25X56.
I just bought the 10x40x56 for my benchrest rifle, I haven't mounted it yet but excited to see how well it does. I have the 4,5x27 on my 6,5 Creedmoor...love the athlon optics.
@@redraiderreloading7612 you'll like the target dot, it's great for benchrest. I can easily see .17cal holes at 100yds
I did a tracking test on the Argos and was really disappointed. How does yours track?
@@Potatogambit which argos
Red raider reloading Argos btr 6x24. It was off by almost 10%. 30 moa dial was actually 28.
I owned the first Gen of these scopes. They have a great reputation for listening to consumers and sorted the turrets. Love the features on that scope but did find it a little picky at full mag.
I’ve been using this scope on my 6.5 creed for about 8 months, very pleased for what I paid for it.
Would love to see a comparison between different tube sizes, would be able to see how much more light is gathered by a 34mm or 40mm tube at higher magnification
Nice work Gavin I'm sure it took a lot of time to set this one up.
I like a lower power on the low end. Sometimes in dense woods in low light, 3x is even too much.
Great video! I love your optics review instrument. Finally a tool that can provide an objective method to evaluate a scopes performance that I can see for my self. This represents a quantum leap ahead consumers of firearm optics! This is how the professional photographers evaluate expensive lenses. You got me to subscribe to your channel.
Just put one of these on my 6 CM. Love it
Great review. Aside from the actual scope, which definitely looks promising, your procedure to test is very nice. Than you.
The jig and testing is going to be amazing! Would love to see you check scopes for their total adjustment and see if they actually hold true out to the limits. For example when a scope says 80 MOA worth of adjustments do you get all 80 or does it start getting off track at 78 moa.
Cool test rig. I look forward to more scope reviews. 👍
During The grid test the reticle looked sharp but the grid looked slightly out of focus. Perhaps a different f stop would help with that? Can't wait to see some side by side scope comparisons 😃
Illuminated scope is useful not just in low light situations but against dark backgrounds as well.
Gavin, are you ever going to review the Ares ETR (maybe the 3-18x50)? 🤔
I like the way this one only light's the crosshair. I was thinking of the ares etr for an upgrade on my argos but honestly this may be the one instead.
That setup is awesome Gavin. Looking forward to more scope reviews with it.
I run an ares etr and love it. Tracks well good glass and alot of bang for the money
Very nice to see the views thru the scope!
I think the "side focus" is not the issue; if the chart at 100 yards is not exactly perpendicular (90 deg.) to the rig then one side will look off. My guess is that the right side of the target is offset about 1" back - enough to make the right side of the reticle outside the chart line.
Very COOL!! Gives me an idea to eval my own scope and how best to do that. Thank you Gavin!!
I have the Athlon Talos 4-14x44 FFP MIL scope on my 24" 6.5 Grendel AR and it's great. Helped me get cold bore shots at 100, 200, and 300 yards on a half size steel IDPA target. Looking to pick up the Argos to top my Noreen ULR 50BMG. Took that out hunting in Dayton, WA last year, but didn't bag a buck. Hoping for one this year.
I’m thinking of buying the same scope.
Great video, Some things to add to the consideration list. It may be worth developing a scope cradle that has x and z axis adjustments. This will allow you to start with the scope optically centered in the tube. The cradle would then be used to bring the crosshairs to the target center. This will also resolve issues with fine tuning the between clicks issue on the turrets.
Do you have a way to verify the target board is perpendicular to the shooting bench/ scope? Many laser "tape measures" can read to the 1/16 of an inch. Most won't do 100 yards. Possible a reduced scale target at a shorter range.
You channel definitely speaks to science geek/ machinist side of shooting that I love.
At 1:17 you said 4.5 magnification would allow you to hunt densely wooded areas. I’ve found it difficult to hunt dense woods with 2.5 and 3 power magnification; and I usually choose a rifle with a 1-3, 1-4, 1-6 or just open sights. Maybe your dense woods differ from mine; but I often can’t see more than fifteen yards. Even from a tree stand laurel thickets and pines can hide deer, bear, turkeys, bobcats and coyotes. So your explanation might mislead the neophyte into thinking this scope would be suitable for Virginia to Florida in the thick understory and swamps. It isn’t going to be my choice for woods; and I might select it for groundhogs and coyotes in the open pastures.
Really love your videos, just picked up a slightly used Sightron S111 6X24x50, very nice glass and built like a tank.
The Japan Made Sightron SIII 6-24x50 starting at $600 simply can't be beat. It's like getting $1000 Japanese scopes for $600. The Japan made scopes sold by Tract Optics can't be beat for their price as well.
Awesome setup, rifle and test setup.
Pretty neat idea. Liked it real well.
I'd imagine if you could get a way to mount the camera and scope to a small granite surface plate, it would be heavy enough you wouldn't need to worry about it moving while using the dials and it would be fairly thermally stable.
How about testing the Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56?
Great video ! Excellent content as always !!!
I'm interested in how you get the house lights to go off and back on, using simple hand gestures.. (LOL)
It's a new biological intelligence system developed over many years. I believe it only took two people to develop the system over the course of 9 months or so before it began to just learn things by itself enough to understand hand motions and basic instructions to actuate light switches.
4:51 *me staring at my broken scope and mounts after using my Snap-On torque wrench* well damn
Thank you so much for what you do!
Get teamed up with Fireball Tool and get a fixture plate and build that test stand like a tank!!!
Im happy with my Athlon Midas tac :) but this might be my next purchase
After buying my Midas Tac 6-24x50, my Athlon Argos BTR 6-24x50s seem to have even more terrible glass.
The Ares BTR has just as nice glass as the Midas Tac with more magnification and illumination. It has only 5moa less elevation 80moa vs 85moa which is negligible.
Gavin love your channel 6.5prc. I just just got a Begala custom ..have not shot yet
Gavin
I need your help. I have spent hundreds of hour researching a scope for my fx impact m3 rifle.
I want to shoot in my back yard. I also want to hunt varmits, and coyotes. This air rifle can shoot long range, so as I learn I want to explore longer distance shots. Thats a lot to ask for a scope. Im sold on Athlon, the midas tac 6-25 -50 is one that I might pull the plug on. It has a 10 yard min focus. I also like the Ares 4.5-27-50 the fact the 4.5 for back yard over the midas 6-25, but the min focus is 25 yrds. Since you have own both do you have a suggestion. I don't have the chance to touch or see these scope in my hands and rely on You tube for help. thank you
The Ares BTR Gen 2 is a lot easier to see the FFP reticle especially with illuminated reticle whole the Midas Tac is very hard to see the reticle unless you crank it at least to 10x magnification. You can easily see under 10 yards if you back the magnification down on the Ares BTR. I think you can do 6-8 yards at 4.5-6x and up to 10x at 10 yards and 15x at 15 yards and 27x at 25 yards if memory serves. I had one on a 10 meter match rifle at one point and the 25 yard minimum focus wasn't an issue. If you can deal with a SFP reticle the cheaper Midas BTR Gen 2 4.5-27x50 has a 30 yard minimum focus parallax but it's really easy to see the reticle and use it for dialing in every shot and keep the magnification below 15x when shooting under 15 yards.
Excellent work. Thanks.
Very interesting. Great video. Thanks.
Please do a test on the Delta Optical Stryker 30 power version.
Search the scope model, these tests are out there. A better comparison is the ETR or Cronus to the Stryker. DLO just put one out on the BTR or ETR vs Stryker, and there is a newer 2020 version Stryker as well from the European dist., easy to spot, different logo.
If you live in the USA you need to check how the warranty is going to work before buying this brand. They don't have a warranty facility in the USA.
U need to turn off auto iris. Set it for a focus point and f stop. Then u can track light through the tube. Set and forget it.
Running full manual. No “auto anything” :)
Great vid. I would love to see a review on the Athlon Cronus BTR Gen 2. It’s very interesting to see what other smaller companies are producing for the money.
The Cronus line are the only scopes that are made in Japan while all other Athlon scopes are made in China. The Cronus isade at the LOW factory in Japan and is similar to the Tract Toric, Delta Stryker, Maven, Trijicon Ten Mile, among other similar 4.5-30x56 Japanes made scopes. I have the Cronus and the Tract Toric ELR and the Tract ELR is a better scope compared to the Cronus for around the same price and (the Toric ELR) includes a sunshade and press fit scope lens covers while the Cronus doesn't include either of them. I own several other Athlon scopes and what I don't like is for the price I paid for Chinese made scopes and the Japanese Cronus didn't include scope lens covers nor sunshades which many other brands automatically include. I think that's being chinsy on their part when spending so much money for their scopes compared to other similarly prices brands.
I have the Athlon cronus 4x27, good scope, its good glass too
Great video but I really like the primary arms scope for the 6.5..
I was almost convinced to buy a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25 but doing my research I've come to the conclusion that 90% of the reviews I've read/watched are biased in some way. How would you stack up this BTR Gen 2 with the Strike Eagle? (If you have hands on experience with the Vortex).
The Athlon Ares BTR is nicer than the Vortex Viper PST 2 and of course the Strike Eagle as well. There's no comparison. You're trying to compare the best sub $1000 Chinese made scope to a mediocre one that's on par compared to the $450 Arken EP5.
I subscribed. I like your reviews, always using your brain and seems like even if there was bias (seems like none) the review is just about facts. Now please review Leupold and Tract!
I really like the Tract Torics since I prefer Japan made scopes over Chinese and am on my 3rd Tract Toric now. I'm also on my 3rd Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 as well ironically. I think the Athlons models specifically with the HD glass are the only nice Chinese scopes that are actually worth buying. The rest of the well known brands selling Chinese scopes seem to be lacking in some way or another in regards to glass quality or lack of reliable tracking and overall quality control regardless of price. Fine if they cost under $300 consider they are made in China it's expected but certainly not when spending more than $300. There are a number of sub $300 scopes that seem to perform as good as scopes that cost a lot more.
@@commonsense5709 I already did my buying a long time ago. I have a Tract Toric and an Athlon Ares BTR. I like both but never really got the chance to use the Tract yet. The glass on the tract is German I believe. The Athlon actually is Chinese but it’s awesome. I also have some Element scopes that are Chinese. Seems you can get some decent scopes from China. I do a lot of .22 shooting and when trying for precision distance shots you need great stuff with zero stop, power and lots of adjustment. BUT you also need to parallax down to close distance and my favorite scope manufacturer Leupold doesn’t think that combo is necessary. So I was forced to look elsewhere and glad I did. Trijicon also makes some great stuff. They also use Light Optics Works in Japan. GOOD STUFF. I think the Tract and I know Night Force is made there.
So should I take this one over the vortex tactical 6-24x50 or the primary arms SLx 4-14x 44? Oh never mind the AResis in a totally different class
Once you but the Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 you'll think the other cheaper scopes such as the Vortex Diamondback Tactical is really junk. Buy at least the Athlon Midas Tac 6-24x50 instead of the Diamondback Tactical or Venom I can guarantee that you won't regret it.
My BTR has been a good scope but I have experienced the turrets gumming up and being stiff and hard to move at first. Detents could not be felt at first, seems I had work the grease loose inside. Windage adjustment would not respond at first also.
I'm curious how this scope compares to the new Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 FFP
in my opinion there is no comparison, the athlon is hands down better
I'd say the Ares BTR is 2 or 3 levels above the Strike Eagle.
@@commonsense5709 I actually have the Strike Eagle 5-25X56, and the Ares ETR 4.5-30X56 now. From my comparison, the Ares ETR is only slightly clearer. I would consider it one level higher. I actually like the turrets on the Strike Eagle better. The ETR's turrets clicks are so close I some times skip over some clicks. I have also been able to compare both these to a Nightforce ATACR, in which the Nightforce I would consider on more level above the ETR, but glass clarity was about the same as my ETR.
In addition to proper alignment, scale, accuracy, repeatability, and registration of reticles it would be beneficial to see a truly objective assessment of the optical quality of the glass in scopes evaluated. This should include resolution, chromatic aberration, variation in edge to edge light transmission, color rendition and some assessment of the effectiveness of lens coatings for comparison. Manufacturer buzz words like ED, HD, APO, a multitude of coating specs, etc. applied to their products as commercial selling points are seriously imprecise parameters and tell us nothing about the quality of glass from one scope to the next. This type of information is common as it relates to photographic equipment. If anyone on TH-cam can do this intelligently Gavin can.
Yeah I caught the 18ft/lbs but figured you misspoke since the screwdriver was small and probably only capable of in/lbs
Looking at scopes for MY bergara hmr. Too cool!
Is this scope still worthy of $630 new in the box in today's market?
That's a really good deal if its the gen 2. Lowest I've ever seen them were $695. The gen 1s were selling on clearance for around $400 and resellers were profiting by selling gen 1s for close to the gen 2 prices which is a rip off. The most a gen 1 should cost brand new should be $400 since it's a discontinued model.
Update the lowest I've seen these are $565.49 with free shipping and free returns within 90 days at Walmart online and Amazon but not as long of a return window as Walmart.
Your comment of “HD quality glass” may be a bit confusing and based on a lack of knowledge on what that stands for. HD does not mean the same thing in the optics world as it does in... say... flat screen TV context. It actually refers to “high density” glass. This always yields a better image than non-HD options, hit this is definitely confounding marketing speech.
Your comment may be loaded with assumptions about what I meant…
The Chinese HD glass used in these Ares BTR Gen 2 scopes are clearer than many Japan made scopes such as the Zeiss V4, Sightron SIII, Trijicon Tenmile 4-24x50 and 6-24x50 models and most Chinese and Philippines made scopes when compared side by side on high magnification. Speaking of Chinese, the Ares BTR Gen 2 with it's Chinese HD glass is clearer than the Arken EP5 and EPL4 and their new SH4J which uses Japanese ED glass and clearer than the new Bushnell Match Pro ED with Chinese ED glass as well as many other Chinese made scopes sold by other brands which supposedly use ED glass such as Vortex Strike Eagle and Philippines made Viper PST Gen 2.
Take a look at 8020 aluminum extrusions when you go to make your permanent testing rig.
What about the test on the FFP reticle holding the correct hold over points?
Also the ability not to shift off centre while zooming in and out?
I was thinking the target isn’t perpendicular to the bench/fixture which was causing it to be off to the right.
Very Interesting and Informative
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome stuff
Great video and methods. Question- How do you keep your shop so clean? My shop no matter how I try iit s never spotless.
Was your test target grid for the scope true MOA 1.047" @ 100 yards?
Yes!
Gavin, 1 MOA is exactly 1.047" at 100 yards. Are you sure that paper has that distance between moas?
Now I understand why you built a concrete shooting bench.
You have validated my experience with Athlon Optics. I have done the tall target test and various other tests and your find match mine as well. I don’t believe you can buy better optics for even close to the same price.
I am interested in a review of the tracking while on the rifle and being shot.
Really cool setup and tests you have run here. I am really curious to see how the other scopes like NF, Swarovski and Schmidt & Bender do. I spent a lot of money for those brand names several years ago. I have a feeling they may not be much better than the lower $ scopes now.
Unfortunately my guy, the higher tier optics are still, and always will be noticeably better in image and performance. I review many of these (and budget options as well) for Guns America in depth in a similar manner as Gavin has here.
We did a side by side comparison to the $1500 Element Nexus (Japan made) and the Ares BTR came out the sure winner and for almost half the price.
I like the way your doing the testing with the camera I think that's a great idea . I'm into field target shooting with air rifles . You have to be able to put pellets throw small holes in metal targets to knock them down and get points out to 150 yards in the extreme field target matches and 55 yards for just regular field target matches with close shots down to 10 yards with tiny openings .Most of the scopes used in field target are over 1,000 but I just can't afford that so I'm looking for a sub 400.00 dollars scope in ffp with a 4.7-27 or 6-24 power with side parallax down to 10 yards . I'm also going to be hunting small game with it like squirrels and rabbits in the woods where it can get pretty dark even during the day so I'm wanting some illumination . I'm looking at the Athlon argos btr gen2 ffp with the APMR first focal plane illuminated MIL reticle . Have you done any tracking tests with this scope ? If not will you do a tracking test with your camera test rig setup ad let me know what you think. about the tracking . I'm going to be clicking for the matches in one class and I'll be using the reticle in the hunter class . I need a scope that tracks correctly every time . I'm not sure if thats possible or not at the 400.00 peice range or not but I think this scope might be the closes I can get for the price I'm looking at . Also there is one other scope that might it the bill and thats the new element ffp helix 6-24 element-optics.com/product/helix-ffp/ the only thing I don;t like about it is it doesn't have the illuminated reticle . But it does have a stainless steel turret housing . Which they are saying is better than the regular brass housings . What do you think about that ? Will you look into that scope also and do a tracking test on that scope also . If you can maybe do a side by side comparison of the 2 scopes .
Element Optics brand scopes don't offer a good value for your money spent. I think they are very overpriced for what you actually get when compared to other brands in their same price point. You'd be much better off buying the Athlon Midas TAC 6-24x50 for around $500. It is also made in China just like the Helix and Titan but has superior glass and tracking compared to the Titan and Helix. The Helix has an extremely terrible eyebox with mediocre glass.
The Argos Gen 2 has a better eyebox compared to the Helix and the glass is about the same mediocre Chinese glass just don't zoom to the maximum power then you are fine with the Argos. The Midas TAC has upgraded HD Chinese glass that's night and day better but it's going to be very hard to see the reticle at the lower magnification for hunting as with all other FFP scopes unless you but something like a FFP Meopta Optika 6 with the MRAD 1 horseshoe reticle 3-18x56 if you really need a 10 yard close focus parallax or the FFP Athlon Helos 2-12x but the glass isn't the best at 12x.
A buddy of mine recently bought an interesting Chinese scope for under $160 shipped. It's a 6-24x50 FFP 30mm Ayin brand. He compared it to his Vortex Diamondback Tactical and Element Helix all 6-24x50 models and stated the cheap Ayin had the best image quality and eye box on high magnification and so far has very good repeatable tracking as compared to the others. It does not have a zero stop but include flip up lens covers and a sunshade. Some other friends including me are considering a group buy of 4 or more for under $134 apiece including free shipping. The Element Helix and the rest of the Element Optic line of scopes were recently selling through a well known overstock wholesale outlet for $275 and $325 for the 6-24x50 SFP/FFP and $330 fir the FFP 4-16x44 and $550 Titan 5-25x56 and $1100 Nexus 5-20x50. None of us bought any of them even at their sale prices since we feel they really weren't worth the price compared to other brands that are cheaper.
I have the same scope but the edges are distorted. When I pan the rifle left or right like you would track game for a shot, it has a rolling affect when the image changes distance clarity. Much like when you are on a boat and look out a window at the waves outside. It make my head spin requiring me to stop. Have you notice this on your scope?
I sent to Atthon for repair and they check it and said it was ok.
Buy the optional 50mm Athlon Midas/Ares BTR specific sunshade which should help. I always keep the sunshade on unless I'm shooting in low light conditions.
thanks@@commonsense5709
How did you ensure LOS was orthogonal to the target. This must be established first.
Would it be possible that the horizontal graduations appeared to be off slightly because the target wasn’t 100% square to the optics position? The target is a flat surface and if it were slightly closer on the left, wouldn’t it appear that the right side grew?
Great video. Can you give us some feedback as to why your target with the grid doesn’t look focused? In other words the image looks blurry through the scope.