Arken fills a niche, not sure anybody fills it as well. I have some top tier glass but I can’t justify putting that on every rifle I have to dial with, can’t afford that many Gucci scopes. I thought MeOpta was a good value that worked, I’ve been using three of their Optika6 3-18s and have been extremely happy with them. Great scopes for 550-700, FFP Mrad. Still like those scopes a lot.
Like stated earlier in this thread I tried an Arken out of curiosity, now I have a few, mostly EPLs and Gen SH-4s. Most of them are on long range rimfire rigs, the EPLs are on a couple different centerfires. I’ve also set up a half a dozen rifles for friends and family with EPLs. All hunting rifles used in areas where long distance is the norm, areas where 2-300 yards shots are rare.all of those scopes have done very good.
How can you beat Arken for 300.00? Roughly 320.00 delivered to my door when on sale. I understand some guys have had issues with them but I haven’t, haven’t any issues other than a couple turret caps that came loose because someone didn’t torque them down proper, not Arkens fault, my fault. When we are out shooting 200 eggs with 22LRs at ranges from 80-250 yards there’s a lot of dialing that takes place, parallax comes into play and those dang SH-4s just work. Great reticle, good optics. I’m always amazed after we go through a couple bricks of rimfire just how well they do. I honestly don’t know of another scope/optic for 320.00 that comes close.
I understand the where they are made thing, I also understand Vets benefit, they own Arken and Arken certainly helps a lot of guys participate in the whole dial a target scene. I’ve had problems with a lot of good scope companies, I’ve sent back a half a dozen leupolds over the years, had a Burris signature I’ve used for twenty years freeze up on me last time out. Problems arise with all scope manufacturers, even those Gucci scopes. How they handle those problems is key and how often you have problems is key. That’s something Arken has done well, they are still a new company, still learning but overall I think they do a good job. They made some mistakes along the way, that’s true.
7-35x56? Can’t wait to try one. A little over kill for what we use them for but still fun. I’ll probably let you guys be the guinea pigs though. Almost tried that 1-8 and Ledd ended that, lol…