Got one on my T1X with 40moa base mdt medium rings. I got 23 mils adjustment left with a 50yd zero. Really nice scope. I replaced a SH4 4-16 and it’s not even that much bigger or heavier with double the magnification. I typically use 12x in competition but the 35x is awesome for punching paper or just checking targets.
Thanks Josh. Very effective showing the full illumination. Those of us in the northern midwest can use that during these upcoming two months of gray skies and blowing snow. I like the Arken too- but bright edge-to-edge illumination is a welcome add. I just grabbed one from DNT.
I managed to get one of the first Arken branded 7-35x56 with the TOR reticle which landed here in Australia before they decided to split these off to DNT. A couple of Aussie shooters I know worked with the distributor on the TOR reticle
Awesome review! It makes one wonder how much cheaper would be if one where to just buy these scopes from the overseas direct source. From what I was told, oversea scope conventions are held where a customer can see unbranded scopes, add features and reticle design and brand name the product for resale
Same thing happens in the fishing industry, rods, line, lures etc but you have to be a bulk buyer or it's a no go. Also have to be careful of Re manufactures who just buy the tubes add cheap components & copy the paint scheme. It can be a minefield.
Same thing for guns in Turkey. Literally. A lot of guns on the market today are bought in lot sized bulk, negotiated from many makers. Then qc and branded and sold. The qc is where its at in the scheme
By the time you had your own QC team you would have to buy a lot of scopes to make it worth the effort and you are now responsible for any issues after they are sold.
I have a couple of Arken non-illuminated scopes, and they have both been removed and put on the shelf. I'm an older shooter and the reticles are just too fine to see. I do like the Mechanics of these scopes though. The glass is so so. This DNT sounds interesting. I really appreciate this channel.
I shoot Tangent Thetas. A buddy had one of these at a practice match. I was blown away by the quality for the price that I bought one for a budget build. Don't have a lot of time with it but it is fantastic for the money. I think this is hands down the best budget optic you can get for PRS style.
Hi Josh. Happy New Year! I've been waiting for this video from you. Excellent as usual. Recently, I have acquired the DNT, the Arken 7-35, 4 EP5s 5-25, SH4J, and a few more Discovery PRS Gen lls. I no longer compete or hunt. I have 2 private ranges and just love shooting groups/steel. I agree 100% with everything you said. My favorite is the DNT. It's on a Rem 700 243 Varmint rifle. To be 100% honest, my #2 favorite would be the Discovery, ESPECIALLY for the $. I don't mind the size factor one bit. Just to reinforce what you said about the OEMs...... During the Amazon sales period, I spotted a 'new' scope called Orcair. It has the same specs as a LOT of 5-25X56 34mm scopes. Read al the gushy TH-cam reviews and when they were asked if this a rebranded Discovery, they replied, "NO, we a firm with no ties". Funny thing, on the Amazon ad, it shows a 'spec card', that has a Discovery header on it. Plus, the picture of the turrets, is 180 degrees reversed. Not a bad glass, but very close to the PRS price. Thank you!!!!
Thanks for clarifying, Josh. I thought they called the 7x35 Arken The one. I just purchased the Arken haven't had a chance to try it out yet . Wish I would have known about the DNT I liked there retical better. I have 3 Arkens now and in my opinion for the money you do any better but if I had one complaint it would be the illumination. Nice job brother.
Did you know that. DNT was part of Arkens until last year? Arken sold the Zulus HD, but now that DNT stepped away from Arken, they are exclusive. Same products different name. Also manufactured in the same spot.
I picked up one of these about a month ago. Had it out yesterday. Cloudy drizzly dreary day here on the Texas gulf coast. Shooting at 200, 300, and 600 yards on a 300winmag. No trouble spotting hits on paper at 16-25x out to 300. Even made out hits on shoot n see's at 600 at 25-30x. I was pretty surprised. By contrast, my US built xtr3i on my 308 totally sucks compared to the DNT. At twice the price, I was extremely disappointed. Strugled to spot hits on shoot n see's at 300, forget about it at 600. The xtr's days are numbered. Not sure it'll be replaced with a DNT because of that rifles intended use, but it's a gonner for sure. I will put a DNT on my vudoo, though.
I bought a Burris XTR II from La Rue back when they sold scope/mount packages. I figured if La Rue sold it I should have a good optic and after all it's a Burris. I already owned a MTac and a Fastfire red dot both are fine optics. The XTR didn't turn out so good. I sent it back they sent it back to me and said it met their specifications. The XTR just has a terrible image the reticle is ghosty it has a haze around it no matter what the situation is and I constantly have to focus both the eyepiece and the parallax. The range values on the parallax dial don't even match actual ranges. It won't even focus to fifty yards more like seventy. Very disappointing and I replaced it with a Vortex Strike Eagle it's not as bad but there is a lot better out there. The Burris dials from what little I used them were very repeatable the Vortex is too it's just what I see in the two scopes that disappoints me. I recently bought an Arken SH 4 and tested all three of these scopes out to 500 yards for clarity and the Arken won. I had some numbers on a target of varying sizes from 4"" to less than 1" for the test. Afterwards I brought out two Meopta scopes I have and both of them were able to distinguish the numbers slightly better than the Arken but it was close. The Meopta scopes I have are second focal plane their FFP scopes are much more expensive than the DNT or Arken.
Great Review. I've done some review of them both also. Aside from getting into the inner business practices of the two companies...only real difference is retical. Is worth cost increase?......meh😢
@@RugerGundog yeah I actually asked them if they were sister companies etc because it's basically the arken 7-35 with a different reticle etc. I do think the reticle alone is enough for prs and nrl shooters to get the dnt over the arken
If you git a 2nd gand Delta Stryker for less than 600.00 you hit a home run. I HAVE 3. ONE LIKE YOURS AND TWO OF THE 5-50×56 Which is what I run on my 22LR
I agree, that is one reason I recently upgraded from my element helix. I shot a night match last fall and had to do a little red neck engineering with glow sticks to be able to see my reticle. I went with an Sh4j from Arken to get illumination and quite a bit more elevation travel.
I’m going down a rabbit hole on your channel. I was originally considering the T1x but after watching your videos on the CZ I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to go with the CZ 457 At-One. What would you recommend between the 16.5” or 24” barrel? TIA
you should do a review on discovery optics. I know the 5-25 prs is awesome and almost half price of the ep5 same size. also love the zero stop. it is just like the athlon.
I was able to find the Arken for $599, but the DNT was $800 to $900…that was with a quick search. I am pretty sure, with a deep dive, might be closer in price. I hope.😅
Nothing like budget scope that the performance is a good as a 800 to $1000 etc scope. I found that. Believe it or not a Vector Sentinel 10-40x50E-SF for $268.00 was as good if not better than some of my $500 to $800 scopes. Great find and thank you for letting others know👍
@PursuitofAccuracy ik I've been going back and forth I have an ep5 5x25 and wanted a little more zoom range and a better radical I'm about to start PRS matches. I shoot bench press matches now and I didn't know if there was anything between the two you'd say brakes or makes the difference?
@@josiahwright6590 the match pro Ed has locking turrets if that's a consideration of yours. Both good scopes. I'd say the match pro Ed is slightly better overall but it's also a little more money. If you want 35x go with the dnt
@@PursuitofAccuracy I appreciate the info and I've appreciated all the videos you've put out and how invaluable it's been to my journey into this sport. Thanks for all the great videos and help Josh
Appreciate your content. I’m passively looking for another scope and this one has got me curious. Have you tried or heard of the other budget scope company, Discovery? I have a couple set of their rings and it is really nice.
Josh, where is the glass made? Does the reticle look blurry to you when the illumination is turned on? How do you feel that it compares to the Bushnell Match Pro? I know its not an apples to apples comparison. I have tried to tell Arken to do exactly what the DNT has done to the reticle but they dont pursue it. I came across the DNT about 2 or 3 weeks ago and was impressed but havent had my hands on one yet. If the glass is chinese that might be a demerit against them with Arkens japanese glass. That said, the chinese are getting really good at making glass as experienced in the Athlon Ares ETR against the Athlon Cronus.
Of you turn up the illum all the way it will become less sharp but only because it's crazy bright. You can for sure step down and clearly see the reticle and the illum. It's just far brighter than it needs to be, which is a good thing
It’s not a “clone” it’s the same thing made by the same manufacturer with different parts speced. Arken and any of the other Chinese scopes aren’t an optics developing company. They are an importer. We see the same thing in car audio. These companies with no r&d, no proprietary designs, no effort just find a manufacturing facility that says “we can make you this for this much money.”
What is the $2000 scope (or scopes) that you're referring to by comparison? Considering how similar the DNT and Arken are so similar, what are the odds that these are coming out of the same factory?
DNT is actually a part of Arken optics, both are Chinese Companies. The Arken or DNT love US gun owners to test and review their products since guns are strictly banned by CCP. THEY MAKE THE SCOOE, AMERICANS TEST, REVIEW AND BUY IT. 😂😂😂
Yeah it’s too busy and hard to find just the basic mils because theirs so many similar size lines. I got this on a t1x. I just ordered a PST gen2 for my cz455 100% for that vortex reticle.
This is nothing more than a marketing gimmick by Arken to justify price increases for their scopes. Doing the old switcheroo with their branding to try and justify the price hikes. DNT is a subsidiary of Arken, literally owned by Arken. DNT is the “split off” company that is supposed to be their digital NV (Zulus), thermal, ballistic app, etc brand. Curious why they would make an identical scope to the Arken with nothing more than a reticle change and a few hundred extra dollars. Not worth it in my opinion. They make pretty good stuff, really wish they’d stay out of the greaseball slimy marketing campaigns. It’ll be the ruin of their company!
@@TexasFirearms I asked the guys at DNT if they were affiliated or sister companies with Arken. They told me they were a clean split and we're not associated with Arken at all. I think some guys formerly at arken left arken to create DNT but can't say that for sure as I don't know.
Got one on my T1X with 40moa base mdt medium rings. I got 23 mils adjustment left with a 50yd zero. Really nice scope. I replaced a SH4 4-16 and it’s not even that much bigger or heavier with double the magnification. I typically use 12x in competition but the 35x is awesome for punching paper or just checking targets.
Thanks Josh. Very effective showing the full illumination. Those of us in the northern midwest can use that during these upcoming two months of gray skies and blowing snow. I like the Arken too- but bright edge-to-edge illumination is a welcome add. I just grabbed one from DNT.
I managed to get one of the first Arken branded 7-35x56 with the TOR reticle which landed here in Australia before they decided to split these off to DNT. A couple of Aussie shooters I know worked with the distributor on the TOR reticle
Awesome review! It makes one wonder how much cheaper would be if one where to just buy these scopes from the overseas direct source.
From what I was told, oversea scope conventions are held where a customer can see unbranded scopes, add features and reticle design and brand name the product for resale
Same thing happens in the fishing industry, rods, line, lures etc but you have to be a bulk buyer or it's a no go. Also have to be careful of Re manufactures who just buy the tubes add cheap components & copy the paint scheme. It can be a minefield.
@@EagleEyeShooting I'm sure it's a lot cheaper but a lot of headache
Same thing for guns in Turkey. Literally. A lot of guns on the market today are bought in lot sized bulk, negotiated from many makers. Then qc and branded and sold.
The qc is where its at in the scheme
By the time you had your own QC team you would have to buy a lot of scopes to make it worth the effort and you are now responsible for any issues after they are sold.
I have a couple of Arken non-illuminated scopes, and they have both been removed and put on the shelf. I'm an older shooter and the reticles are just too fine to see. I do like the Mechanics of these scopes though. The glass is so so. This DNT sounds interesting. I really appreciate this channel.
I shoot Tangent Thetas. A buddy had one of these at a practice match. I was blown away by the quality for the price that I bought one for a budget build. Don't have a lot of time with it but it is fantastic for the money. I think this is hands down the best budget optic you can get for PRS style.
Do you like it better than the Arken?
@@alanmeyers3957 I have not been behind an Arken. But the reticle in the DNT is infinitely better for my use case.
That was a solid review Josh. I think anyone starting out should consider the Arken scopes as a first solid buy optics.
your wind adjustment are so on point, very impressive.
Like that reticle Josh impressive, great presentation
Hi Josh. Happy New Year!
I've been waiting for this video from you. Excellent as usual. Recently, I have acquired the DNT, the Arken 7-35, 4 EP5s 5-25, SH4J, and a few more Discovery PRS Gen lls.
I no longer compete or hunt. I have 2 private ranges and just love shooting groups/steel.
I agree 100% with everything you said.
My favorite is the DNT. It's on a Rem 700 243 Varmint rifle.
To be 100% honest, my #2 favorite would be the Discovery, ESPECIALLY for the $.
I don't mind the size factor one bit.
Just to reinforce what you said about the OEMs......
During the Amazon sales period, I spotted a 'new' scope called Orcair. It has the same specs as a LOT of 5-25X56 34mm scopes. Read al the gushy TH-cam reviews and when they were asked if this a rebranded Discovery, they replied, "NO, we a firm with no ties".
Funny thing, on the Amazon ad, it shows a 'spec card', that has a Discovery header on it. Plus, the picture of the turrets, is 180 degrees reversed.
Not a bad glass, but very close to the PRS price.
Thank you!!!!
@@RonBussiere-c2t thanks for watching brother. Yeah the budget price point optic space is a wild one for sure
I have two of the Arken 7-35 already and this may be my next 7-35.
That DNT reticle looks fantastic.
Very good review 👍🏽👍🏽. I have one but have not installed it yet, is going on a Cz457 build. Thanks for video.
thx a lot ! i just started in precision and looked for a good optic. perfect video!
Thanks for clarifying, Josh. I thought they called the 7x35 Arken The one. I just purchased the Arken haven't had a chance to try it out yet . Wish I would have known about the DNT I liked there retical better. I have 3 Arkens now and in my opinion for the money you do any better but if I had one complaint it would be the illumination. Nice job brother.
Did you know that. DNT was part of Arkens until last year? Arken sold the Zulus HD, but now that DNT stepped away from Arken, they are exclusive. Same products different name. Also manufactured in the same spot.
I picked up one of these about a month ago. Had it out yesterday. Cloudy drizzly dreary day here on the Texas gulf coast. Shooting at 200, 300, and 600 yards on a 300winmag. No trouble spotting hits on paper at 16-25x out to 300. Even made out hits on shoot n see's at 600 at 25-30x. I was pretty surprised. By contrast, my US built xtr3i on my 308 totally sucks compared to the DNT. At twice the price, I was extremely disappointed. Strugled to spot hits on shoot n see's at 300, forget about it at 600. The xtr's days are numbered. Not sure it'll be replaced with a DNT because of that rifles intended use, but it's a gonner for sure. I will put a DNT on my vudoo, though.
I bought a Burris XTR II from La Rue back when they sold scope/mount packages. I figured if La Rue sold it I should have a good optic and after all it's a Burris. I already owned a MTac and a Fastfire red dot both are fine optics. The XTR didn't turn out so good. I sent it back they sent it back to me and said it met their specifications. The XTR just has a terrible image the reticle is ghosty it has a haze around it no matter what the situation is and I constantly have to focus both the eyepiece and the parallax. The range values on the parallax dial don't even match actual ranges. It won't even focus to fifty yards more like seventy. Very disappointing and I replaced it with a Vortex Strike Eagle it's not as bad but there is a lot better out there. The Burris dials from what little I used them were very repeatable the Vortex is too it's just what I see in the two scopes that disappoints me. I recently bought an Arken SH 4 and tested all three of these scopes out to 500 yards for clarity and the Arken won. I had some numbers on a target of varying sizes from 4"" to less than 1" for the test. Afterwards I brought out two Meopta scopes I have and both of them were able to distinguish the numbers slightly better than the Arken but it was close. The Meopta scopes I have are second focal plane their FFP scopes are much more expensive than the DNT or Arken.
Thanks fer the solid review.
Appreciate the good honest review.....
Awesome review Josh
Thanks brother
Great Review. I've done some review of them both also. Aside from getting into the inner business practices of the two companies...only real difference is retical. Is worth cost increase?......meh😢
@@RugerGundog yeah I actually asked them if they were sister companies etc because it's basically the arken 7-35 with a different reticle etc.
I do think the reticle alone is enough for prs and nrl shooters to get the dnt over the arken
I was looking at getting this, but a 2nd hand Delta Stryker 4.5-30x56 came up for less.
If you git a 2nd gand Delta Stryker for less than 600.00 you hit a home run. I HAVE 3. ONE LIKE YOURS AND TWO OF THE 5-50×56 Which is what I run on my 22LR
@@TexasTrained Yep, I snagged it from a guy needing $ for Christmas. Its a pre 2020 version with the old logo in the black box.
Lost me at 42oz😂😂😂😂 But I do have two Arken EPL4's and they're pretty good. Not anything close to my Mark 5 but for the money they work good!
@@ajdube9967 yeah man. The scope triangle......cheap, lightweight, good glass
Pick 2, can't have all 3 😂
That reticle looks a lot like the APR 2D that is in a lot of element optics which I really like.
I wish Element offered illumination in their lower cost scopes. I like the Helix but even a faint glow would help on lower magnification.
I agree, that is one reason I recently upgraded from my element helix. I shot a night match last fall and had to do a little red neck engineering with glow sticks to be able to see my reticle. I went with an Sh4j from Arken to get illumination and quite a bit more elevation travel.
You didn't mention warranty ......... otherwise great info . Thanks brother
I’m going down a rabbit hole on your channel. I was originally considering the T1x but after watching your videos on the CZ I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to go with the CZ 457 At-One. What would you recommend between the 16.5” or 24” barrel? TIA
@@pbisceglie1 24"
you should do a review on discovery optics. I know the 5-25 prs is awesome and almost half price of the ep5 same size. also love the zero stop. it is just like the athlon.
Like this lol
Precision Rifle Scope Under $400??? Discovery Gen 2 PRS 5-25 Review
th-cam.com/video/YhoSqGZXGSo/w-d-xo.html
I have that scope, it is good. I don't feel like I need to upgrade.
And if it would cost 1300 dollars as it will cost here in Sweden with taxes and everything, is it worth it anyways?
Thx Josh
Would you recommend the DNT over an Athlon Area ETR 4.5-30X56. Athlon can be found for $750.
Do you have any experience with the Steiner T6xi?
I was able to find the Arken for $599, but the DNT was $800 to $900…that was with a quick search. I am pretty sure, with a deep dive, might be closer in price. I hope.😅
@@erickdeetonsr.7200 probably retail. It's sub 700 on there website
Amazon $599
Nothing like budget scope that the performance is a good as a 800 to $1000 etc scope.
I found that. Believe it or not a Vector Sentinel 10-40x50E-SF for $268.00 was as good if not better than some of my $500 to $800 scopes.
Great find and thank you for letting others know👍
@@LHB33I believe Vector also makes scope for several OEMs.
599 on amazon
Great video im curious tho between the Bushnell match pro ed 5x30 and the NDT 7x35 for bench and prs witch would you say is better?
@@josiahwright6590 hard decision there
@PursuitofAccuracy ik I've been going back and forth I have an ep5 5x25 and wanted a little more zoom range and a better radical I'm about to start PRS matches. I shoot bench press matches now and I didn't know if there was anything between the two you'd say brakes or makes the difference?
@@josiahwright6590 the match pro Ed has locking turrets if that's a consideration of yours. Both good scopes. I'd say the match pro Ed is slightly better overall but it's also a little more money.
If you want 35x go with the dnt
@@PursuitofAccuracy I appreciate the info and I've appreciated all the videos you've put out and how invaluable it's been to my journey into this sport. Thanks for all the great videos and help Josh
Appreciate your content. I’m passively looking for another scope and this one has got me curious.
Have you tried or heard of the other budget scope company, Discovery? I have a couple set of their rings and it is really nice.
He has reviewed some Discovery scopes.
42 Oz is pretty heavy... yea I am only going to use it on a bench or tripod bag table but I feel like it might be too top heavy.
I didn't notice it on the rifle but I run heavy rifles
Great review Josh . . . is the eye box better than the similarly sized Arken?
@@GaryKim-id1lv they are the same for everything but the reticle essentially
Josh, where is the glass made? Does the reticle look blurry to you when the illumination is turned on? How do you feel that it compares to the Bushnell Match Pro? I know its not an apples to apples comparison. I have tried to tell Arken to do exactly what the DNT has done to the reticle but they dont pursue it. I came across the DNT about 2 or 3 weeks ago and was impressed but havent had my hands on one yet. If the glass is chinese that might be a demerit against them with Arkens japanese glass. That said, the chinese are getting really good at making glass as experienced in the Athlon Ares ETR against the Athlon Cronus.
The scope optically is the same as the arken 7-35. In fact the same guy designed both
Of you turn up the illum all the way it will become less sharp but only because it's crazy bright. You can for sure step down and clearly see the reticle and the illum. It's just far brighter than it needs to be, which is a good thing
May as well get a ZULUS HD 5-20X.
...I did!
@mylifecademychannel-wt2sr ✌🏻
Arken clone? Minus the inside footprint?
It’s not a “clone” it’s the same thing made by the same manufacturer with different parts speced. Arken and any of the other Chinese scopes aren’t an optics developing company. They are an importer. We see the same thing in car audio. These companies with no r&d, no proprietary designs, no effort just find a manufacturing facility that says “we can make you this for this much money.”
Thoughts vs Bushnell MPED sir ?
@@Latinrimfire72 the mped is great and if your looking for locking turrets I'd go with it
Pretty sure this is the same people who own Arken they are both in sugar land texas
@@matthewcampbell3199 dnt is completely seperate from arken. They did work with Arken for a bit but no longer.
Competition is good.
Anyone feeling a lighter wallet yet??😂
I’ve been eyeballing this glass for a while now; since before this review was published.
How about discovery
The discovery is pretty similar optically but I prefer the overall look and feel of the dnt more
@PursuitofAccuracy awsome ty sir any more reviews coming on that rpr and how about the hammerli
@ the hammerli is not worth reviewing honestly lol. It's like the 2020, I already know it's not a precision rimfire
What is the $2000 scope (or scopes) that you're referring to by comparison?
Considering how similar the DNT and Arken are so similar, what are the odds that these are coming out of the same factory?
I'm just talking generically about the 2k price point. I would say it's great odds, like bet on that horse odds
Are tge MOA Clicks.125 or .250
I would imagine they are 1/4 .250 clicks but check the website. Mine is mils
@@PursuitofAccuracy I've read specs and it did not say is why I asked
One quick comment. On ALL the above scopes, trash the supplied Allen wrench. Just buy a precision T8 Torx driver. No more loose/stripped screws.
DNT is actually a part of Arken optics, both are Chinese Companies. The Arken or DNT love US gun owners to test and review their products since guns are strictly banned by CCP. THEY MAKE THE SCOOE, AMERICANS TEST, REVIEW AND BUY IT. 😂😂😂
MIL or MOA?
It comes in both. Mine was mil
👍
Arkens biggest flaw, that lousy reticle.
Yeah it’s too busy and hard to find just the basic mils because theirs so many similar size lines. I got this on a t1x. I just ordered a PST gen2 for my cz455 100% for that vortex reticle.
Is it made in China?
Of course. 😂
@@ajheath5123 I'm starting to think you didn't watch the whole video 😂
The one D.N.T. at 660.00 dollars is not much competition for Arken
@@benjaminkiser2938 for prs and nrl shooters it will be. The reticle with .2 mil subtensions works a lot better for that shooting style
This is nothing more than a marketing gimmick by Arken to justify price increases for their scopes. Doing the old switcheroo with their branding to try and justify the price hikes. DNT is a subsidiary of Arken, literally owned by Arken. DNT is the “split off” company that is supposed to be their digital NV (Zulus), thermal, ballistic app, etc brand. Curious why they would make an identical scope to the Arken with nothing more than a reticle change and a few hundred extra dollars. Not worth it in my opinion. They make pretty good stuff, really wish they’d stay out of the greaseball slimy marketing campaigns. It’ll be the ruin of their company!
@@TexasFirearms I asked the guys at DNT if they were affiliated or sister companies with Arken. They told me they were a clean split and we're not associated with Arken at all.
I think some guys formerly at arken left arken to create DNT but can't say that for sure as I don't know.
I posted a direct announcement link from Arken. Did you get it?
@@TexasFirearms I didn't. Be interested to look at it though. Especially after asking dnt before I did the video lol
@texasfirearns 100% agree with you! 🙌🏽