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Sub $500 scope for 100 yds benchrest?

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Stretch

Stretch

Member
Jan 27, 2019
407
165
Virginia, United States
I can't afford the $2-3,000 for really good glass and my old, tired eyes need something more powerful than my Vortex Viper's 24x. I found a fixed magnification Sightron SII 40x that might do, but I don't love the dot reticle and worry about the 1" tube not letting in much light. I also found a Falcon T50 that looks pretty good also, but apparently it doesn't have much elevation range. I gave a Chinese "Konus Pro" a try and the glass and reticle were fine, but the turrets were mushy and it wouldn't hold zero, so I returned it. So I really want to avoid Chinese scopes. Any other suggestions?
 
I think this is an easy answer, however it’s really subjective to each person their likes and dislikes and the options they want on the scope. With illumination not needed I say the Element Helix 5-25. If illumination is wanted I say the Riton X3 Conquer 6-24.

Chinese glass is good from the right manufacturer. I wouldn’t discount it, especially in your price range. I have looked through “American made” Chinese glass and been happy with the results. 


if you can find one, the Crimson Trace Series 2 is amazing in 6-24. It’s Japanese glass and very very nice for the price. Should be able to get one for $500 or used for less.

If you want to say well below $500, Discovery makes really good scopes that will serve you well, but may not hold up as long as the others. I would get this one. https://airgunopticsplus.com/collections/scopes/products/discovery-hd-5-25x50-sfir-dltw-ffp-ir-mil-tactical-optics-riflescope-shooting-and-hunting-rifle-scope-with-illumination-2
 
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Take a look at Athlon Optics. Specifically, the Athlon Argos BTR Gen 2, 10-40x56. The things you’re looking for, high magnification and good optics for under $500 are going to be hard to find. My son and wife both have an Argos 10-40x56 and really like them for the price. All of the Athlon scopes have a seemingly bright white image that makes them seem brighter than they really are(as opposed to especially European optics with very saturated colors). They’re all great scopes, don’t get me wrong, the Argos is just not one of the higher end models in the Athlon line up though. It is still a very nice scope, especially for the money. As someone already mentioned, as magnification increases, the exit pupil decreases, meaning less light gets to your eye. This is figured by dividing the objective by the magnification you’re using. That is true, but at least you’ll have a large objective, 56mm and up to 40x magnification to help you see things better at a distance. My boys, wife and I shoot past 100yds often and like high magnification scopes too. I think the Athlon Argos BTR Gen. 2 10-40x56 will meet all of your needs. It’s also got a lifetime warranty and they’re a great company. The scope retails for $537 but actually sells for quite a bit less than that. They can be found on E-Bay for $300-$350 or so fairly often. Here’s a link to the Athlon website and the Argos BTR Gen 2 10-40x56. https://athlonoptics.com/product/argos-btr-gen2-10-40x56-blr-sfp-moa-copy/ Other than the Argos BTR, there are some higher magnification Hawke Sidewinder scopes, Falcon and Sightron but they’re all a lot more expensive. Good luck with you’re scope hunt, let us know what you decide.

Stoti

This is the Athlon Argos BTR Gen 2 10-40x56 on my son’s FX Maverick.

7A520C95-B60E-4341-B335-34AC1CA7C961.1632117663.jpeg

 
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I have Athlon and Vortex scopes in the $350 range. Hint, I called Optics Planet and asked questions about the Vortex a couple years ago. When I declined to buy, they offered an extra 10% discount if I would buy right then.

Both scopes, glass is clear, parallax focus down to, I believe 10 yards, I typically don't use above 18x or so, normally, back down in the 10 or 12X. Higher magnifications magnify my wobble too much!

Both are Mildot reticles with Mildot turrets (Mil reticles with MOA turrets drive me nuts). Both are incredibly clear and track well. What more can I ask?

Lastly both are on Eagle Vision adjustable rings. both are lifted 2 or 3mm on the back to give the elevation I need to pretty much keep the scopes optically centered at 75 and 100 yards.

For what I shoot, I see no reason to break the bank.

Now if on a powder burner like a 338 Lapua, yes I see a $2300 NightForce scope Neighbor likes to shoot at 1 mile and more. For that, I get the higher end scopes, but not for what I do.
 
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Thanks Stoti, I may just have to give that Athlon a try. It hits all the buttons for what I'm looking for and I found it at a couple vendors with good return policies. I also saw one review that swapped the Sightron I'm looking at for this because the Athlon had much better glass.

Here's my Impact Mk 2.5 before I added the bag rider and 20 MOA rail.

My Impact Mk II.1632139357.jpg

 
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Stretch,

I forgot to mention, the reticle on the Argos BTR 10-40x56 Gen 2 is awesome too, it is a SFP which is almost always the case with scopes that have high magnification.

I’m sure you’ve already seen what others have said but it’s so true…Optics can be very, subjective. Look through as many as you can and find out what you really like. The more the better. You’re definitely on the right track being willing to buy and return scopes if you don’t like them. It’s a great way to try them, see what you like, what you don’t, to check the eye box, clarity, brightness at various magnification settings and to experiment with the features like the turrets, parallax, the fast focus eye piece, etc.

There are a whole lot of knowledgable people here on AGN who have tried about every scope out there and can share their past experiences with them…What they like, don’t like and why. In the internet era, there are so many that will give their opinions or recommendations even though they have never used any of the scopes in the discussion. They read something on the internet about a scope, watch a video online or even read a past post or review here on AGN and then share that info, good or bad! Not quite first hand experience. I’m not speaking about any person in particular, just saying that some really know what they’re talking about based on first hand experience, others will reply to posts based on what they’ve seen or read online. 

The point is, opinions vary, and what we like about a scope is going to be different from what others like. Over time, you’ll learn who has similar taste in optics and who’s opinions you respect and value. AZRover, Centercut, Steve123, zx10wall, Edosan, MtnGhost, Motörhead, Tominco, BigRagu, BucketBoy, GlemChally, HeavyImpact and Ackuric are just a few of knowledgeable people here on AGN who know what they’re talking about and who’s words I always trust. There are so many, I just threw out a few names that came to mind.


Have a great day! Stoti

 
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Look forward to your thoughts when you get the Athlon Stretch. Thanks for the recommendation Stoti. I robbed my BSA from my Logun Solo to put on my Huben when I got it and haven't replaced it yet. Might put the BSA back on the Logun and get the Athlon for the Huben.

Fuss

Wish I could find another deal like I did for my last Sightron. Had a friend let me buy his for half what he paid for it new. 10-50x60 SIII I've got four of them now. Bought first two new and last two used. By far my favorites of any I've had


 
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Ha, me too. I hope I didn’t oversell it! 😂 

Have a good one.

Stoti
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I don't think I'm that fussy about optics. I would have kept the Konus Pro if it was able to hold zero and the turrets were more definite. I only shoot in bright daylight and at paper targets so I would think decent optics should work pretty well. If the Athlon doesn't work out, I'll probably just go for the Sightron single magnification 36x. I think it's the only Japanese made scope in my price range.
 
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I had both the Sightron 36X and 45X scopes. Both were very good quality scopes but the down side was the extremely small eye box which was like a light switch trying to find it. However, once you did the scopes were great. I actually like the thin cross hairs and target dot without all of the complicated hold over hash marks. I just got used to using the rings for hold offs and it works pretty good. If the Athlon doesn't work out look at the Mueller scopes too. They are very inexpensive and have great glass and turrets for the price.
 
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Well I will say stoti did not steer you wrong. This is the scope my wife uses on her 100 yard rifle and she kicks my ass every time. Great scope for the price and the warranty on Athlon is top notch....I was mounting my Mitas Tac at work and a recruit came by and bumped the table and the scope fell and bend the front optic....No damage to the way the scope worked at all.....A quick email to Athlon asking if they could fix it and was told to send it in. A week later a new Midas Tac was at my front door....Can't beat that at all. All of our rifles have Athlons on them except my impact which has a Vortex.

Tony P.
 
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You will find that the higher the mag, the darker the image is gonna be. This is where the more expensive glass comes in. If at all possible look thru it at distance before buying or get from some place you can rerurn it!! Good luck...
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Yep, good advice. The on line companies I'd be buying from have great return policies.
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Many years back I worked with a gent from Burris on getting a scope set up. Onecthing he showed me really paid off....take a small business card with the small printing and set it out at distance like 50 or 75 yards then look thru your scope at it. The printing will quickly show which scope is clearer and easier to read. Print is easier for the eye to distinguish rather than treebark or a target. It works!! And works well !! Was into Cabelas some years back looking at spotting scopes and found buisness cards attached to various points in the store as far away as possible. Set up a few spotters on the counter, wow....didnt take long to realize which scope was more clear and easier to see thru. Hope this helps.....
 
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I use the "1951 USAF Resolution Test Chart" to check resolution on scopes.

Also find that so-so quality scopes that seem to look very good in stores are lousy in bright sunlight.

If I take one of my Centerpoint 16X scopes and look at that black & white test chart in bright sunlight I can see several colors of the rainbow along the edges of bars on the chart distorting the image. Also all that light bouncing around inside the scope's lower quality glass creates a haze. As the light level decreases so do these effects and the scope is entirely usable.

It take very good glass to work properly in very bright - and of course low light.

A lot of the artificial light in stores does not contain these color wavelengths so it makes resolution/sharpness kinda hard to judge until you get it out in the sunlight,

I think this artificial light thing is what makes my night time targets so sharp and enjoyable to shoot with all my scopes.

ADDED: The highest power scopes I currently have are 2 Weaver T36s. They are fixed power with 1" tubes and 1/8" dot reticles. I find they are very clear and excellent in all but lower light situations. Can easily see .22 bullet holes at 300 yds. I don't think the 1" tube has a lot to do with light gathering ability but affects things like amount of crosshair adjustment. Great value for around $400 but no longer made by Weaver.


 
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My Athlon Argos BTR 10-40×56 Gen 2 arrived late yesterday afternoon. According to Optics Planet's return policy, I can return a scope as long as it hasn't been mounted. So (as best as I could) ran some simple tests with the scope to make sure it functioned OK and that there weren't any glaring issues with it. Seemed to be fine so I mounted it to my Impact Mk 2. It was running late so I just did some visual testing, no shooting. I have targets set up at 25m, 50 yds and 100 yds behind the house so I sighted in on each of these, ran the turrets through a "box" test and zoomed in on old pellet holes for visual clarity. In a word, I'd say Stoti's advice was spot on!

Reticle - I really like how fine / sharp the reticle is. Perfect for what I want to do (shooting paper in daylight). I can see why some folks reported having trouble seeing the reticle against a black or dark background. But it will work fine for me.

Turrets - Nice big knobs, clear markings, very distinct "clicks". Did a 'box" test and it returned to zero perfectly. My only complaint (and I might be able to fix this) was that the zero windage mark didn't line up perfectly.

Optics - The glass was clear and certainly bright enough for me. I tested 10x-40x at each of my targets and focus was clear and sharp. My only complaint (and this is probably my only semi-big issue with this scope) is that if I set the AO to a known distance (for example 50 yds) and try to sight in my 50 yds target, I couldn't adjust the eyepiece for a clear image. My 50 yds target focused at AO setting 45 yds and my 100 yds target focused at AO setting of 110 yds. Fortunately I don't hunt or shoot field target, so this isn't an issue for me. But it might be for someone who does.

I hope to sight the scope in later today and send some pellets downrange. I'll give a follow up report after I've done that.
 
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Ok, I just shot 4 magazines (112 rounds) to 50 yds with the Athlon Argos, so here's my updated feedback:

Reticle - I like it. Very sharp. A bit difficult to see against a solid black bull's eye, but I managed. I'd give it a 9/10.

Turrets - Worked fine. Only issue was what I mentioned before, the marks didn't line up perfectly but not a big issue for me. The elevation turret has a zero stop which prevented me from moving down as far as I needed, so I pulled the cap and removed it. I'd give it a 9.5/10.

Optics - Try as I might, I couldn't get the AO and focus to show range accurately. I also had a hard time focusing above 30x. But this is the first 40x scope I've ever used and some of this might be my 66 year old eyes. I'd give the optics a 7/10. Not horrible but not outstanding either. Even at 25x it wasn't as good as my Vortex Viper HST. On the other hand, the eye relief was very good. With the Konus Pro 30x I had to constantly adjust my head's position to find the "right spot". The eye relief on this Athlon was much better.

Will I keep it? Undecided. Another Vortex Viper will cost me at least 50% more and will only be 25x.
 
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