Arken rifle scopes?

[CharlieNC]

I went back to Athlon and Vortex. Cleaner glass. Better reticles.
And illuminated reticles that you can actually use and see during daylight.

No flaming, just different strokes for different folks. Funny I sold my Athlons (including a Cronus) and Vortex GE because i was not satisfied with their performance, especially for the price. I'm quite pleased with my three Arkens and plan to keep them.

 

[nakneker]

Amazing value. I have some EPLs and SH4 gen 2s. I use them on ling range rimfire set ups and some rifles that I let others use. I’ve never had on issue with them. They are already a good value but when they go on sale its A good time to buy.

 

[Minshooter]

There are a plethora of ARD's on amazon, some for 56mm objectives. Ratings are hit or miss. However, if you can get your hands on any ARD you can at least use some painters tape to get a really rough idea of if an ARD will work for your glare issues. If that goes well, perhaps there is a way to source the honeycomb material pre-cut. Then cut your self and install in the sun shade. Just some ideas...

Thanks for the comments.
It isn't the 56mm diameter, it's the thread size.
I think there's a secret room where all the scope companies meet to make sure their front threads are so often incompatible.

A coincidence: I just talked today with a 3D printer person, who might be interested in experimenting.

 

[jxb]

I have an EP5 that I like just fine on a chassis rifle, but pay attention to the weights as they are a brick. That's not a dig on them, many others of the same size/power are about the same but coming from light scopes I was shocked at the weight. Works great on the chassis, more weight the better, lol.

You know when you have too many scopes when you completely forget you bought one. Last year I got an EPL4 4-16x44 kit for something I had planned then here some weeks back I got a reminder asking for the review and I was like, I don't have one of those do I? looked in e-mail, sure enough. Some searching later there it was NIB... I probably should mount that and see how it works.

OP, if you decide to get one be sure to get a coupon code. Last one I got was 25% off Sometimes it's just for the kit or everything. Either way it's like getting the kit for free.

 

[mtncwru]

I have an EP5 that I like just fine on a chassis rifle, but pay attention to the weights as they are a brick.

In both scopes and camera lenses, I'm reminded of the adage:
"Lightweight, good picture, inexpensive: pick two."

Seems like Arken is taking the same path as Sigma: options 2 and 3

 

[jxb]

In both scopes and camera lenses, I'm reminded of the adage:
"Lightweight, good picture, inexpensive: pick two."

Seems like Arken is taking the same path as Sigma: options 2 and 3

I get your point but in this case many of the others that cost thousands more are nearly as heavy. The EP5 is only a little heavier, it's fit/finish where it's lacking IMO, but for the price I would never expect it to compete there. It holds zero, tracks, is clear enough, parallax is manageable, good tactile turrets that are easy to read. Would I take one big game hunting, not on your life. Regardless of weight, but for targets or varmints, sure.

Go look up the weight of ten 5-25x56mm scopes with most of them high end scopes. They aren't light, the EP5 might be 39oz, but many of the others will be 34-38oz and nearly all the others 30oz or more. A couple will be 27-30oz. I think I had one scope at 27oz before getting it and all the others were in the 13-18oz range so I was pretty shocked how heavy it was. Then I looked up others and realized most are simply heavy.

 

[mtncwru]

Go look up the weight of ten 5-25x56mm scopes with most of them high end scopes. They aren't light, the EP5 might be 39oz, but many of the others will be 34-38oz and nearly all the others 30oz or more. A couple will be 27-30oz. I think I had one scope at 27oz before getting it and all the others were in the 13-18oz range so I was pretty shocked how heavy it was. Then I looked up others and realized most are simply heavy.

Ooh, I gotcha. That all makes sense. And I definitely didn't intend that as a dig on Sigma lenses (or Arken scopes): I've always loved the Sigmas I've shot, and Arken is on my radar for next time I need a scope.

 

[RED DIRT]

Which level/brand line of Athlon, seems like their products run the gammut from okay-ish to $800+. I'm trying to see where in that lineup you prefer the Athlon scopes vs the Arken you bought. Also, which arken was it?

There is a lot of love in this thread for arken, so i`ll bow out. Arken just isn`t my thing, i`ll leave it at that.

 

[kyotekiller25]

I wouldn't put one on any kind of rifle with heavy recoil, or a serious big game rifle that's for sure. For a 22 LR, or maybe even a 22/6mm varmint rifle then sure. But they just seem overall kind of chincy to me. I'd never own one. I'll stick with my Leupys, NF, and Zeiss anyday and twice on Tuesdays. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[jxb]

The Chinese are getting better at making stuff, but you can certainly tell it's Chinese made. That said if you want a higher power scope in FFP, with illimination, parallax, clear enough glass, tracks, holds zero, has zero stop, don't mind the size and weight, and all for <$600 well that pretty much says it all. I got the EP5 early in their life more as a curiosity than anything and I was really put off by the size and weight, but I had a Tikka TAC A1 and I figured that would be a good place to try out the beast. It's done well enough it's still there a couple years later. The TAC A1 is kinda raw boned too, so they seem to fit together. lol

I'm sure there's copies that have flaws, but seems lots of folks have got good copies. Mine works fine so far, no idea about illumination as I've never put the battery in it. If it fails at some point and I need a club it will certainly handle that job too.

Not sure I'll buy any more of them though. I've scratched that itch, pretty sure I won't.

Maybe I'm missing something, but don't you need a long eye relief scope for your XP 100 R?
A rifle scope might have 4" at best.

 

[Varmint Shooter]

People have different likes and dislikes. Be your own man and get what you
want/like. Positives are ahead.

 

[Dimner]

There is a lot of love in this thread for arken, so i`ll bow out. Arken just isn`t my thing, i`ll leave it at that.

Just because there is a ton of love for Arken in this thread doesn't mean constructive dislikes about their products will foster animosity. If you have information that could help someone, I suggest posting it.

I'll start with constructive dislikes. I hate Christmas tree reticles and I'm not a fan of FFP scopes.

However, with that said. I bought one over the weekend. I had an amazon gift card and figured what the heck.

Well, if it aint the brightest scope I have every mounted on one of my rifles. Keep in mind though, I do not own any new high end scopes. The best I have is a Sightron S2, leupold VX2 and Vortex Strike Eagle (not even apples to apples). General positive reputation, price, and warranty were my main factors in buying. It was between this and a much higher priced TRACT scope. Although, I still plan on getting the 1" Tekoa Hunting scope with the SHOTT glass for a different rifle.

 

[Michaël T]

I had two of these scopes and already sold the sh i still have an epl-4 that I would like to get rid off, not even a year old
has been used on my ATC gun

 

[dakotaman]

I tested the EP5 thoroughly. It is an amazing value for around $500. I did a side-by-side compare to the Nightforce ATACR which sells for over $3,000. The Arken weighs 2 ounces more but compares favorably on almost all other features. I wouldn't say the Arken is better but both are top notch high precision scopes and you could easily buy five Arkens for the price of the ATACR.

The only issue I had is that this is a 1st Focal Plane scope and its Horus style reticle has a center dot that will cover up a prairie dog at 500 yards on 25X magnification. It covers so much of the 10 Ring that you can't use it to aim in competitions like 600 to 1,000 yard F-Class or Benchrest. You could easily hit a coyote in the head at 1,000 yards though as long as you and your rifle are good enough. The scope is just as accurate as the Nightforce, with both shooting in the .1 MOA to the .2 MOA for me out to 500 meters. There are typically only a few rifles out of a thousand that can benefit from such high precision because the rifles and the shooters themselves can't shoot that well. I tested it on my competition rifle and it shot as well as any scope I've used given the right target for a 1st focal plane scope. My biggest concern is whether the company will stay in business to do a repair should one be needed. This is the same risk for any new company so we shall see. I risked $500 and I think I have a top quality scope for the rest of my life. I'm using mine to shoot steel and targets with a six inch diameter (just so I can see it around the center dot) out to 1,000 yards and it is perfect.

I don't use it in Benchrest or F-Class simply because I prefer 55x to 60x magnification for that. Anything you can do with a Vortex Viper Gen II, you can do with this scope as long as you can handle the 1st Focal Plane and fat reticle.

 

[Michaël T]

it's so funny
I had this scope for sale five months ago for less than half of what I paid for it, and got responses from two different members both telling to drop the price and guess what, I still have it