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It's been awhile since I reviewed any scopes and I am thrilled to present these two gems. I recently acquired an Athlon Argos 1-8x24 and an Athlon Midas 1-6x24 just to see if I would like them or not. Up front I am happy to tell you that I truly love both of these scopes and will be keeping them on my rifles for a long time to come. I had already downsized the scope on my Wildcat about a year ago to a fixed four power, but I always wondered what the 1-6 and 1-8 power scopes were like so I decided to give them a try. One of the things I was concerned about was the fact that they both are fixed parallax scopes with no focus adjustment.
So the first thing I discovered is that there is nothing to adjust except the power ring on these scopes. That simplifies a lot of things already...the next thing I discovered is that on 1 power something even three feet away is in perfect focus! And that if something is slightly out of focus all I have to do is adjust the power until it is in perfect focus. Granted I am only shooting out to fifty yards standing offhand, but for close to medium range shooting these scopes are perfect...for several reasons.
One of the reasons I fell in love with these new scopes is their weight...or rather the lack of it! The Argos only weighs a mere 16 ounces and the Midas weighs in at 18 ounces. That's a whole lot less than my Sightron STAC for sure - my Sightron weighs 30.6 ounces, so that is 14.6 ounces less than my Argos...almost a whole pound less! Which is huge when you are standing up shooting the rifle offhand.
One of the other things I really like is the clarity of the glass...it is crystal clear. And I like the turret caps that prevent accidentally changing my point of impact on the target if they get bumped. I like that the adjustments are 1/2 MOA and are crisp and clean. I like that the white lines line up with each other...something that bugs the crap out of me if they don't. I like that I can use a nickel to loosen and tighten the big fat screw in the center of the turrets to take them off and set them at the zero mark, instead of having to deal with three or four little teeny tiny screws to reset my turrets when I re-zero my scope for different projectiles. Mostly I like the fact that after using them for the last two weeks as much as I try I cannot find one single thing to criticize about either one! Some of you guys know how critical I can be at times, but this is not one of them!
Last but not by any means least, let me show you these fantastic reticles! The Midas 1-6x24 comes with two different reticles to choose from - one is a traditional looking reticle with holdover hash marks and the other is a dot reticle. The Midas is the one with the ATSR16 SFP MOA Reticle - https://athlonoptics.com/product/rifle-scopes-midas-1-6x24-atsr16-sfp-ir-moa/ , and the Argos I chose has the ATSR5 SFP MOA Reticle - https://athlonoptics.com/product/argos-btr-gen2-1-8x24-atsr5-sfp-ir-moa/. I have the Midas 1-6x24 scope on my Wildcat .25, and the Argos 1-8x24 scope on my highly modified Impact .30 Dragon Slayer.
Unlike many other scopes with illuminated reticles, the reticles in these scopes are both what I call "Sunlight Bright"! Even on a really bright sunny day here in South Florida these reticles are not just visible, they are brilliantly bright! The same as prism sights with brilliant daylight bright reticles. And the absolutely cool thing about the Argos dot reticle is that all the holdover dots below the center dot also lights up just as brightly as the center dot does. So no problem picking out the hold overs on either one of these scopes.
I am a minimalist at heart...in many things I believe less is more. I got tired of big heavy scopes that only allow me to use my rifles sitting at a bench. I had to be honest with myself and admit that 95% of my shooting is at 50 yards...not 100 yards or more. The only place I can possibly even shoot out that far is at a public rifle range...which costs $16.00 a pop for three hours, and invariably they sit me next to some guy on one side of me shooting a .338 Lapua, and someone shooting a 7mm Magnum on the other side of me...both with giant muzzle brakes that blow my hair back and startle the crap out of me every time they fire them! So for me going to the rifle range isn't fun...it is a grim exercise of willpower just to sit there and shoot at 100 yard targets once in awhile.
My point is that I realized I don't need all that magnification and the weight that goes along with it. So if you are thinking about downsizing to something lighter, brighter, and more maneuverable with variable power, that allows you to actually stand up and shoot your gun with your own two hands rather than with it sitting on a bench all the time, then I highly recommend you give either one or both of these great low magnification scopes by Athlon Optics a try.
They come with a lifetime warranty with no registration required...if there is a problem they will fix or replace your scope with no questions asked. And as always I like to recommend MidwayUSA for all your scope and other shooting supply purchases. Their policy is simple: "If you’re not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return products for an exchange or refund, at the original purchase price plus applicable sales tax, within 90 days of purchase".
Here are some photos of my new Athlon's on my Wildcat .25 and my Impact .30 Dragon Slayer...
All the best, CHUCK
Here are a couple of photos of a friends rifle that recently had the Argos 1-8x24 scopes installed on his Impact .30 Buffalo Gun...
So the first thing I discovered is that there is nothing to adjust except the power ring on these scopes. That simplifies a lot of things already...the next thing I discovered is that on 1 power something even three feet away is in perfect focus! And that if something is slightly out of focus all I have to do is adjust the power until it is in perfect focus. Granted I am only shooting out to fifty yards standing offhand, but for close to medium range shooting these scopes are perfect...for several reasons.
One of the reasons I fell in love with these new scopes is their weight...or rather the lack of it! The Argos only weighs a mere 16 ounces and the Midas weighs in at 18 ounces. That's a whole lot less than my Sightron STAC for sure - my Sightron weighs 30.6 ounces, so that is 14.6 ounces less than my Argos...almost a whole pound less! Which is huge when you are standing up shooting the rifle offhand.
One of the other things I really like is the clarity of the glass...it is crystal clear. And I like the turret caps that prevent accidentally changing my point of impact on the target if they get bumped. I like that the adjustments are 1/2 MOA and are crisp and clean. I like that the white lines line up with each other...something that bugs the crap out of me if they don't. I like that I can use a nickel to loosen and tighten the big fat screw in the center of the turrets to take them off and set them at the zero mark, instead of having to deal with three or four little teeny tiny screws to reset my turrets when I re-zero my scope for different projectiles. Mostly I like the fact that after using them for the last two weeks as much as I try I cannot find one single thing to criticize about either one! Some of you guys know how critical I can be at times, but this is not one of them!
Last but not by any means least, let me show you these fantastic reticles! The Midas 1-6x24 comes with two different reticles to choose from - one is a traditional looking reticle with holdover hash marks and the other is a dot reticle. The Midas is the one with the ATSR16 SFP MOA Reticle - https://athlonoptics.com/product/rifle-scopes-midas-1-6x24-atsr16-sfp-ir-moa/ , and the Argos I chose has the ATSR5 SFP MOA Reticle - https://athlonoptics.com/product/argos-btr-gen2-1-8x24-atsr5-sfp-ir-moa/. I have the Midas 1-6x24 scope on my Wildcat .25, and the Argos 1-8x24 scope on my highly modified Impact .30 Dragon Slayer.
Unlike many other scopes with illuminated reticles, the reticles in these scopes are both what I call "Sunlight Bright"! Even on a really bright sunny day here in South Florida these reticles are not just visible, they are brilliantly bright! The same as prism sights with brilliant daylight bright reticles. And the absolutely cool thing about the Argos dot reticle is that all the holdover dots below the center dot also lights up just as brightly as the center dot does. So no problem picking out the hold overs on either one of these scopes.
I am a minimalist at heart...in many things I believe less is more. I got tired of big heavy scopes that only allow me to use my rifles sitting at a bench. I had to be honest with myself and admit that 95% of my shooting is at 50 yards...not 100 yards or more. The only place I can possibly even shoot out that far is at a public rifle range...which costs $16.00 a pop for three hours, and invariably they sit me next to some guy on one side of me shooting a .338 Lapua, and someone shooting a 7mm Magnum on the other side of me...both with giant muzzle brakes that blow my hair back and startle the crap out of me every time they fire them! So for me going to the rifle range isn't fun...it is a grim exercise of willpower just to sit there and shoot at 100 yard targets once in awhile.
My point is that I realized I don't need all that magnification and the weight that goes along with it. So if you are thinking about downsizing to something lighter, brighter, and more maneuverable with variable power, that allows you to actually stand up and shoot your gun with your own two hands rather than with it sitting on a bench all the time, then I highly recommend you give either one or both of these great low magnification scopes by Athlon Optics a try.
They come with a lifetime warranty with no registration required...if there is a problem they will fix or replace your scope with no questions asked. And as always I like to recommend MidwayUSA for all your scope and other shooting supply purchases. Their policy is simple: "If you’re not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return products for an exchange or refund, at the original purchase price plus applicable sales tax, within 90 days of purchase".
Here are some photos of my new Athlon's on my Wildcat .25 and my Impact .30 Dragon Slayer...
All the best, CHUCK
Here are a couple of photos of a friends rifle that recently had the Argos 1-8x24 scopes installed on his Impact .30 Buffalo Gun...
