Athlon disappointment! Updated

"jking"I have to concur jland. it wasn't what it was hyped up to be as far as I'm concerned. It was clear enough but the reticle was too thick once zoomed out. Clarity out on the edges was fairly good/average. I'll also consider that this was my first FFP so that would might factor in as well. It was probably my most short owned scope and I've own quiet a few now. Personally I'll take the Hawke tac over the Athlon and I'm thoroughly pleased with my two Sighron SIII's. Yup, no traumatic experiences there. But what do I know......
Jimmy

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You know it in the best way possible - from personal experience. There is no substitute for that with scopes given that we all have different needs and expectations. We use them in different environments and have different eyesite etc. Nobody else is more qualified to say what we each prefer.

It's an area where there is more gray than black and white. I can think of a number of occasions where someone has found a scope blurry that I found clear or vice versa. I think there is also a lot more variation in quality between scope samples than we think sometimes.

From what you've said, you do a lot of your shooting at longer ranges than most here. I start to notice a difference in clarity with better quality optics at longer ranges. FFP scopes are more expensive so to get comparable quality, you have to spend more than with SFP scopes. It doesn't surprise me at all that you find $400-$800 SFP scopes to be clearer than a $370 FFP scope like the Argos. Their Midas range would be more directly comparable to an S3.

I love FFP scopes for the easy and quick range changing - I.e. The ability to zoom in and out without taking my eye off the prize to check what power setting I'm on. It's great for hunting and using a holdover reticle. If I was looking for a pure target scope (for fixed range matches) or to get the best glass within a budget, I'd go with an SFP scope (or a fixed power). 

Kinda like a guy I work with. He was showing me his 10X50 Nikon binoculars, the Walmart series that spent most of there life up on the dash or stuck under the front seat of his camo-skinned Chevy, without the case. I looked through them and I honestly had to close one eye to see out of the other side somewhat. I kid you not. I asked him how he was able to see through them and he didn't know what I was talking about. But......he can spot more deer than the average hunter, just a knack I guess.
jk

"jking"Kinda like a guy I work with. He was showing me his 10X50 Nikon binoculars, the Walmart series that spent most of there life up on the dash or stuck under the front seat of his camo-skinned Chevy, without the case. I looked through them and I honestly had to close one eye to see out of the other side somewhat. I kid you not. I asked him how he was able to see through them and he didn't know what I was talking about. But......he can spot more deer than the average hunter, just a knack I guess.
jk

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Not everyone can appreciate quality optics across the board. You try and show most people how great your expensive scope, tv, projector, camera or binoculars are expecting them to say "wow!" like you did when you first saw how clear they were but instead they give you that tepid "I can't see the difference" response. Then you explain why it's better and cost 10 times more and they go "oh yeah" and give you that "you've got too much time on your hands" look. 

Those people probably should stick stick with the cheaper stuff. My old $80 Leapers scope seemed clear to me until I got a scope that was actually clear. Now that old Leapers feels like I'm looking through a jam jar. It's kinda amazing (and sometimes annoying) how our eyes adjust to things. It's why trying to compare two scopes side-by-side is so difficult. 

The honest answer for someone like your your friend is that if the cheap binoculars allow him to do exactly what he wants to do, he probably doesn't have much to gain from more expensive ones - especially if he can't tell the difference or doesn't care.

I'm actually a little jealous of people like that sometimes. They get to save their cash and just enjoy what they have without spending all the time I do obsessing over how I can make everything just a little bit better.

UPDATE:

Well, the replacement scope is going back to Athlon tomorrow. For whatever reason, the scope has decided to develop a wandering POI, and there's no consistency in where that POI might be. To ensure that the scope is the problem, I went to great lengths to rule out the gun, scope rings, and pellets before dismounting the scope.

When the POI changed, I re-zeroed the scope, and it would hold for xxx number of shots. Then, out of the blue, it would start shooting high/low/left/right, but would consistently group in those areas.

The second issue is that the windage turret was extremely "mushy", and the "clicks" are poorly defined when compared to the elevation turret. Additionally, the white marks on the turret do not line up with each "click".

Lastly, the parallax and windage turrets have a lot of lateral movement in them. I'm assuming that there is a bolt holding the parallax turret to the scope, but I was uncomfortable with trying to pop the Athlon logo off to see if I was correct.

I emailed Athlon, to which they replied: " I do ask that you send it back to us and we will send you an inspectors top pick for a return scope to you.".

I'm rather unhappy right now. It takes me a multitude of hours to properly set up a scope, and I have a custom made parallax wheel that I painstakingly mark out in 1 meter increments. The wheel wasn't cheap. I've also purchased better flip-covers, a parallax wheel pointer, and a sunshade for the scope. I did the zero-stop modification, and it took me quite a bit of time to find the correct fiber washers. I've also paid to ship and insure two scopes back to Athlon.

I might be on the hunt for a 6-24x50 (or thereabouts), FFP, IR, 30mm tube, Mil-MRAD open-turret scope that focuses down to 9 meters. Good luck with that...right?

Zoey I hate hearing that the scope crapped out . Athlon has developed a good reputation for customer service ...Ive seen it first hand ....... But I think I'd rather spend my money on optics that stay on the gun , not in the mail . I'm a tinkerer and love tearing Into my guns and working them over .
With my scopes I'd rather not worry if my loose groups , or changing POI is the scope .
When spending several hundred dollars on a scope it sucks when it can't stay on the gun.
Not trying to be negative . But I'm skeptical when I hear a company is known for their great customer service ......NOT Quality , but known for having good phone skills . I sincerely believe that the Athlon guys want to do right by folks . But I'd rather not have an optics company on my frequently contacted list !
No idea what the number for Weaver , Leupold , Vortex , or Bushnell is . That's a GOOD thing

Oh boy, did I make a monumental mistake this week. I went to a high-end gun shop and peeked through Nightforce, Kahles, Swarovski, and Schmidt & Bender glass.

People, I'm here to tell you...If you don't already own tier 1 level glass, never...ever....do this.

As stupid as it might be, I have the feeling that my credit card is in for a colossal flogging very soon.

Zoey that top tier glass is something that once you own one , you realize that all the scopes ya normally use are nice but that kinda scope is the kind that every time you look thru it you go wow !!
Ive been fortunate enough to have owned them before and not a single regret over the purchase .

Oh sure JWR. That's exactly what I need. Someone to egg me on into living on the couch or in the garage for the next couple of years.

Not the couch .... man I wish !!! There's a reason Bella's in all my videos ...We share an old mattress out back , and my wife sets us out a big box of no-name vanilla wafers once a week along with a block of cheese .
Upside is , I have some badass optics ...

Metaphorically speaking, I pulled the trigger today...

Got room for another mattress in that back yard, JWR? I'm pretty sure I won't be getting Nilla Wafers or cheese unless I can shoot them with my new scope.

*EDIT* Sorry, I'm instigating a thread drift. This shall be my last post in this thread, which is not related to the Athlon saga.

HiJack this thread all u want ..OP is kicked outta here !!! But we wanna hear what you pulled the trigger on , and want a review when it gets here for Sure !!

The "distance marks" on the side focus or AO are "individual eyesight dependent". Changing the "ocular" for a sharp focus of the reticle will also change the focus distance relative to the distance marks. For my scopes I don't pay any attention to the yardage marks because I first adjust the "ocular" (quick focus ring) so the reticle remains "welded" to the aim point when I move my eye from side to side, then I mark the side wheel or AO relative to the poi at different sharp focus points. Most other field target shooters mark their "range tapes" with actual yardages like this.........



LOL....for my simple mind I simply use symbols that tell me which aim point to use.........