The SH4 in higher magnification is generally considered underwhelming — the SH4 in 4x16 is a different story...
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Arken Optics - new line
- Thread starter mercado
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I have the new EPL-4 (30mm tube version) 6x24. I’ve also got a Midas Tac 6x24.
I just got a 2nd RTI PP yesterday, so today I can do some side by side comparison of the glass quality. Its a sunny day.
One cool thing about the illumination on the Arken EPL-4 is that it only requires one click to turn off illumination - no matter which illumination setting you choose. As you can see in the picture, there is an “off” detent between each illumination setting.
On the downside of this, I find myself constantly trying to turn the illumination, rather than the parallax, as they are on the same “knob” - it will take some time to get used to this.
I just got a 2nd RTI PP yesterday, so today I can do some side by side comparison of the glass quality. Its a sunny day.
One cool thing about the illumination on the Arken EPL-4 is that it only requires one click to turn off illumination - no matter which illumination setting you choose. As you can see in the picture, there is an “off” detent between each illumination setting.
On the downside of this, I find myself constantly trying to turn the illumination, rather than the parallax, as they are on the same “knob” - it will take some time to get used to this.
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Ive placed order for EPL November 29th, still nothing, phone aint working, two emails no response.
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What is your take on the IQ at 24X on the new EPL4? Is it close to the Athlon Midas at 24X or not really?
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Well, I’ve been holding off on offering an opinion on the glass until I can spend more time in various lighting conditions and distances.
I’ll give you my impressions to date. I just checked and have been using the Arken at 24x and the Athlon at 20x for target shooting at 45 yards.
I put some high contrast (black on white) targets up both in direct sun and shade. I had some extremely small print on both targets - the size print on a prescription meds bottle - and I was able to read it with both scopes.
I was most concerned about chromatic aberration - hoping the lens coatings on the Arken were like the Midas Tac, where I find little to no CA.
To my surprise, I found the Arken coatings very good - with no noticeable CA.
So both fine detail resolution at 45 yards and CA were similar.
Now a thought on the scope body - I prefer the Arken over the Athlon (and I love Athlon scopes and own at least 7). The reason is weight - I have the two scopes mounted on identical RTI Prophets and the difference is immediately noticeable. The Arken is much lighter- making the rifle handle nicer and feel better balanced.
Of course, there may be much more noticeable optical differences at 100 yards and beyond. I will test that in the Spring. But at regular airgun distances of 50 yards and in, I’d have to say the Arken is very comparable to the Athlon Midas Tac. Plus it’s lighter, less expensive, has illumination and came with a sunshade (my Midas Tac didn’t come with a sunshade).
Reticle… I like the Christmas Tree reticle in the Midas Tac better, but that’s just personal preference.
Turrets… both scopes have turrets with a precision feel. Zero stop on Arken is super simple to use - but I never use a zero stop, lol. I like the feel of the Midas Tac turrets better, but again both scopes have a nice tight precise feel .
Conclusion - at my usual airgun target shooting distances of 25-60 yards, I’d buy the Arken for $400… wouldn’t think twice about it.
Hope this helps your decision process.
-Ed
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Wow, the info is much appreciated.
I'm searching for a 24X power scope for my Weihrauch HW97K springer that will give me an edge for precision in FT out to 60 meters. The Athlon Midas Tac 6-24X that I was running I found to be fantastic but it didn't have illumination which I discovered meant the reticle under 10X was almost unusable. I ended up selling it almost by accident on Ebay(I didn't really want to sell it and had it listed at a price that I thought wouldn't sell
and so this seems like a likely competitor for a slightly lower price, especially considering the trinkets that come with. What I heard you say is that the difference in IQ inside of 50 yards was almost imperceptible, thanks again!
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Thanks for that review, EPG. One matter puzzled me. Without looking at exact numbers, I think the M-TAC is just over 26 ounces and the Arken is 23 and change. Correct? Are you saying three ounces made a big difference in hand? Thanks! S7
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Thanks for pointing that out Scantify - I feel like a horses ass…
…Midway through my testing, I swapped out the .25 LW barrel in the Prophet with the Arken for a .177 LW barrel. The .25 was 600mm and the .177 is 510mm.
The 90 extra millimeters of solid steel is no doubt that I’m feeling - more so than the scopes.
However, I do remember holding the two scopes in each hand before I mounted them and thinking that the Arken was noticeably smaller and lighter.
-Ed
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Any updates on these? Moving some scopes around on my powder burners and the 4-16 30mm scopes look promising for some of my guns being left without a scope.
It is down to the arken and the athlon helos 2-12.
It is down to the arken and the athlon helos 2-12.
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I got in my ELP-4 6-24x50 FFP 30mm a few weeks back, a cursory look was...a smidge underwhelmed. Sadly they sent me a 34mm ring set not a 30mm, been waiting, I ordered some online and got it mounted today, then I discovered that the flip up lens covers were the wrong size. I think the lens is brighter but it's been raining here so....can't really check. It feels turrets feel fine, the nice big Arken clicks and the eye box seems fine. When it stops raining I'll give it a good go.
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I see Cameralandny is now an Arken dealer so when they get the 30mm scopes in I will give Doug a call and have them go over one for me. It appears Arken is using the end user for QC and if you have issues, they just switch out the scope for a better one.
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I have the same scope as @HogKiller and have been using it now for a number of weeks. It was my only FFP scope in the pack. I recently bought a Riton 7 4x32x56 FFP and took both out in a very bright day. One can really tell the difference in the glass between the 2 scopes. In good conditions, the Arken performs well and I had no trouble setting my zero stop at 25 yards then setting the positions for 50 and 100. I really like the scope for that price range.. Mine came with no problems whatsoever. I already have adjustable mounts so I didn't get the Arken "kit" with the scope. I was looking at the 4x16x44 for a "shorter" range scope but got a ridiculous deal on a 34mm Continental x6 3-18x50 that I had to go for it. I also looked at the new Helix HDLR 2x16 and the new Vortex Strike Eagle 3x18x44. Tough making choices these days!
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I finally got out for a few minutes before it rained again, I can say that the optics ARE brighter, my target was in the shade and it was dark cloud overcast, I saw NO issues with the lens when at 24x magnification. Only got 20 shots off before it started to rain again. One small thing and it's not so small, I have a hard time getting the parallax set on both of my Arkens, it could simply be me, my Elements seem easier to get nailed.
Edit, got the parallax issue sorted out, seems my reticle focus was off just a smidge, got that fixed and parallax settled right in. It would be very nice if they had locking reticle.
Edit, Got one of my Titians out, the Arken eyebox is easier at 24x
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I finally got a shopping notification today on my 4-16 ELP! Should be able to compare it to my other scopes next week
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