data-csrf="1711648060,d96e89d56060f03cbdfde00e6e83c897" Athlon first impressions.... | As Real As It Gets

Athlon first impressions....

Al Nyhus

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2008
445
61
....well, not exactly as I have a couple other Athlons already and have been impressed.

This one is their Argos Gen II 10-40X56 BR scope with the long range BR reticle. W/E clicks are more like clunks...very, very solid. The parallax is smooth, adjusts well and repeats. Ditto on the occular focus. Glass is very nice even at 40X. The reticle is a bit busy for me but the center dot at .09" @ 40X should be about perfect. Fit/finish is on par with scopes at triple the price.

Tomorrow is going to be a little stormy so Thursday looks like a earliest chance. It's going on one of my 22BR's so it won't be hard to tell if all is copacetic. -Al









 

Painless

Administrator
I picked up the Athlon Ares BTR 4.5x27x50 GEN 1 a few years ago while I was waiting on an NF I had on order to come in. I put it on a heavy 223AI and the damn thing just works. Glass is good, very repeatable at the time I was in it for less than 900.00 bucks so it has been well worth the loot.
 
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Al Nyhus

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2008
445
61
Scope tracked perfectly and returned to zero every time. Parallax corrected nicely with a large 'sweet spot'.* Glass is clear and sharp and the reticle stays sharp after adjusting the occular.

Good shootin'.:) -Al

*How fussy the parallax is after correcting is a good indication of lens alignment on any scope that has a parallax correction...whether it's on the objective, side or at the rear.
 
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hangunnr

Administrator
Dec 12, 2007
1,912
77
Flatlandia
Looking at their 2-12 offering, like everything about it until you get to the reticle. Put a standard Mil, MOA or even basic duplex and they would be damn near perfect in that price range.
 

hangunnr

Administrator
Dec 12, 2007
1,912
77
Flatlandia
Just can’t like the donut.....

Used a similar reticle in a Vortex (gasp😳) on my AR for several years and just couldn’t warm up to it.
 

Al Nyhus

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2008
445
61
Looking at their 2-12 offering, like everything about it until you get to the reticle. Put a standard Mil, MOA or even basic duplex and they would be damn near perfect in that price range.
If you can do a 1" tube, the Argos has a Duplex available. I've got one of those and like it. The price is stupid cheap. -Al

 

Dan In Alaska

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2007
3,366
64
Anchorage
With all this Athon talk, I finally caved. I ordered a 6-24x Cameraland is closing out: Athlon Optics Argos BTR 6-24x50 - ATMR FFP IR MOA

That's a whole lot of letters for $250, so it has to be good, right? :LOL:

I'm going to slap it on the 6.5 I had built this past winter, and see how it compares with the SWFA 10x that's on it, now.
The scope arrived today, and I thought that was mighty fast for Cameraland's free ground shipping option. Well played.

The 2-12x BTR Gen2 Mil is your bitch.

Plum amazin'.............
I wanted to try a little more magnification, this go-round. A buddy is trying to get me to join him at some 600yd matches next summer, shooting on JBER, so I hoping this scope works out well-enough for that game. I guess we'll see.
 

Big Stick

Well-known member
Nov 18, 2007
42,650
465
Paradise
Can't know,as I've never seen/shot one. In broad brush strokes,MOA is a Bitter Pill...though that reticle is MUCH better than most.

Whirl/twirl and spill your guts................
 

Dan In Alaska

Well-known member
Nov 30, 2007
3,366
64
Anchorage
Shot my 6.5 with the new Athlon scope today. Sight-in was easy. I peered down the bore, lined it up with the target at 100yds, and got on paper with the first shot. To zero, I counted the 1" squares on the target, and dialed accordingly. Two shots, and I was done.

The side parallax adjustment was smooth and easy to dial. The rear focus took care of the rest, so everything was sharp and clear.

I shot my fixed 10X SWFA side-by-side with the 6-24x Athlon (I put the 10x on one of my .223s). Right off, I noticed that the Athlon had a much more forgiving eye-box, even at higher magnifications, than the SWFA. The Athlon provided a better image, as well. I've always liked the 10x SWFA, but it kinda sucked in the side-by-each comparison. That surprised me.

I didn't do any turret dialing, tracking tests, or anything like that. I will check it out next time, though.

My overall impression of the Athlon is very good. I could do without the illuminated reticle, and the ugly "knob" on the eyepiece. But, for $250, I like this scope more than my fixed 10x. At this price, I can see me getting another one for my heavy-barrel 223. I'm also more inclined to try some of Athlon's other offerings. I wonder how the Argos BTR 1-4x compares to SWFA's 1-4x?


In broad brush strokes,MOA is a Bitter Pill...though that reticle is MUCH better than most.
I need to find a tutorial on MOA versus MIL, and see what all that jazz is about. I just haven't had a strong need to fool with any of this stuff before, but I should probably learn what there is to know.
 
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CaptArab

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2021
175
19
Rolled the dice on some Arken chinesium.
$350 shipped with code "salute".

Generally not a Hubble guy but for $350 thought I'd roll the dice. Buddy of mine bought a gen 1 at $700 and said good things.

 

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