I'm looking to buy a Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24. I have a few Athlon scopes and really like them. What, if anything should I also look at, or just buy it?
Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24 vs ?
- Thread starter Corvid_hunter
- Start date
It's a great scope if a bit heavy. Still good IQ but down a hair from the MT line.
It's good enough that I left it on my $4000-ish 22rf instead of putting a tier 1 scope on that rifle.
It's good enough that I left it on my $4000-ish 22rf instead of putting a tier 1 scope on that rifle.
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I have 2 of them, great scopes, great close focus as well. Decent turrets and IQ. They are big, but I really like them.
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Hi Corvid_hunter. I'm sure you've researched the heck out of the Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24x56 (34mm tube) scope, but not yet been able to actually look through one. So what things about the "advertised" specs, etc. are you concerned about that you might not like once you get one? I have one (mil reticle), so I might be able to answer some questions, although I'm definitely not an authority on scopes and I don't own other scopes to compare it to. Four years ago I had to do all that on-line research myself to buy my first good scope. This scope checked all the boxes and I pulled the trigger on this $630 (USD) scope and kept my fingers crossed that it would be good for long range and short range shooting in all kinds of lighting conditions. I definitely got my money's worth and have been happy with it -- no complaints -- no regrets.
I do know that, for some people, the reticle lines are a bit thick. It's good for some people and not so good for others. If you want locking turrets, then your choices of scopes is limited and this scope does have locking turrets. The full reticle illuminatioin is excellent and is usable even in broad daylight when your target might be in a shaded area in a high-contrast situation. A lot of other scopes only illuminate the center dot or cross hair, but this scope illuminates the entire reticle nicely so that you can hold over in situations where you need illumination. The 56mm objective lens brings in a lot of light for a scope that maxes out at 24x magnification -- meaning that, even in low light, you can still use that 24x magnification. This scope is heavy, like steve123 said. Because it uses "not the best" Chinese glass, Athlon made up for it by increasing the diameter of the objective lens and that increases the weight.
I'm sure there are other folks here on AGN that have the helos btr gen 2 6-24x56 and other scopes to compare it to. They will probably be more helpful than I am.
stovepipe
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I bought the Helos because I wanted a lighted reticle. Coming from the Aztec Emerald 5.5-25x 50 . This scope is fantastic. It can range better than anything I have ever used. And I can see mirage in the air . 34mm tube and 56 mm objective give a noticeable increase in light. It’s like looking at an HD tv
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Athlons are tough to beat at any price point! I do like my older Discovery scope but the newer ones have a 15yd parallax min which I don't care for. But, I really do like my Athlon Gen2 ARES BTR 2.5-15x50 FFP...there is a newer gen3 that is better. I have looked through Arken scopes and they are similar to Athlons is their respective price points.
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Hi Corvid_hunter. This might seem like an off-topic post, but it actually does apply to scopes with large objective lenses. As you already know, this scope has a 56mm objective lens that pulls in a lot of light. The light goes through a lot of glass from a wide range of angles. Refracted light is prismatically problematic -- causing chromatic abberation -- different colors get bent at different angles. So you might see reviews of this scope saying that it has more chromatic abberation than some other scope they are comparing it to -- usually the other scope has a smaller objective diameter. Chromatic abberation will manifest itself as a view that shifts colors (very subtle) as you try to get the target in focus. When close to being in focus, things might not seem to get clearer or have better contrast as you really try to nail the focus. In other words -- there's a wide range of focus that's all about the same.
There is a simple way to combat this problem when your target is way brighter than your scope needs it to be. Decrease the diameter of the objective lens. You can cut a hole that is smaller than 56mm in a piece of cardboard and tape it to the front of the scope. You'll be surprised at how small the hole can be when your target is really bright and you're still getting enough light -- the smaller the hole, the less chromatic abberation. The less chromatic abberation, the better the contrast and focus.
I've used this same simple trick when photographing planets with large-objective telescopes -- they were pulling in way more light than I needed for the particular "target".
I've never needed to use this "trick" with the Athlon Helos BTR Gen 2 6-24x56 (34mm tube), but there have been times when I could have used the trick to get better contrast and focus than I needed -- I just didn't need it to be better.
stovepipe
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Another thing I like about it that needs mentioning is the line thickness of the APRS6 MIL reticle is .05 which means it's easier to see on lower magnification but not intrusive on higher magnification.
Many other reticles are from .025 to .04 mil thick which I personally don't like if ever below 12x or so.
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If you don’t really need the additional 4x, the Helos BTR Gen 2 4-20x50 is a great scope in its own right. They’re lighter than the 6-24, and they’re only a 30mm tube (rather than the 34mm). I’ve got a couple of them, on both airguns and PBs, they’ve performed flawlessly.
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One thing seldomly mentioned with Athlon is the same APRS reticle on different models have different thickness. The “same” reticle on my Cronus is thinner than the one on the Ares ETR. At same magnification.
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The Athlon Heras SPR BTR gen 2 in the same 6-24x56 size ofifers a SFP version which helps with reticle size issues.
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As some have mentioned above the 4-20 and the 6-24x56 are in my opinion very good scopes. Im no scope expert but i use a 4-20 for field target and find it focuses a tiny bit better than a 6-24. I an currently using the 6-24 for high power ft and an ares 4-30 for benchrest. Like all 3
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