After about a year of looking over every single scope that seems to exist on planet earth, I decided to pull the trigger so to speak on a new scope for my .300 win mag. My previous scope was a Vortex Viper HSLR 4-16x50 with the BDC reticle. I was looking to move up in the magnification range, and wanted something with a Front Focal Plane reticle, as I planned on maybe shooting a few competitions if time allowed. I also found that as I got better at shooting LR, having the extra magnification helped on the shots that were 900 plus yards, especially at smaller targets. I eventually decided on a scope, but the stars did not align and the delivery date on that scope was an uncertainty. So I decided to go out on a limb and go with a little known company that just came to the market. I need to make it known that I am in no way a professional marksman, nor what I would call a "high end scope expert". I do however like to shoot, and would say I probably put about 50-100 shots down range per month. I routinely shoot with folks who run several other higher end scopes like Nightforce and the Vortex Gen 2's. My expectations on my new scope were fairly reserved, since I really had no first hand knowledge of them. I have read a few reviews of other products before and the majority of the information is subjective, this will be no different. In a nutshell, I am really impressed. I have had a chance to look through it in all different types of light conditions, next to my old scope, and a Vortex Razor Gen 2. It really isn't fair to compare it to the Viper HSLR, it is in a completely different class from a price perspective. It did compare extremely favorably with the Gen2 however, at about 700 bucks less. I do think the Gen2 has some features that are definitely nice (locking turrets, revolution indicator) but it is completely up to the consumer if they want to spend the extra for those features. I'll run through a few major features of the scope that I really like.
Turrets-They aren't very large or bulky compared to the other scopes I have seen and have a nice grip to them. Numbers are easy to see and they have gradations up to 50 MOA. You can get 25 MOA per turn, and I counted 114 MOA of total adjustment when the scope is bottomed out. When I first received the scope the clicks are really solid in my opinion, but weren't as audible or tactile as some of the Nightforce scopes and the Gen 2s I have operated. I asked Athlon about this and they sent me a new o ring assembly for the turrets that "helped" this significantly. I do think this is pretty subjective however, the turrets by no means feel sloppy, they just weren't as audible as some of the other scopes I have handled. The zero stop is solid as a rock and is really easy to set. I ended up setting mine to a minute below zero, and then just click up.
Mag rings and other controls- I like the mag ring a lot. It feels really solid and for me takes just the right amount of effort to manipulate. There is an extrusion on it you can grab onto firmly. The parallax adjustment has the same feel to it, and is easy to grasp and control. I believe the parallax goes from 25 to infinity. The top end of 500 and above is closer together, but easy to control. The illumination controls are the only part that is not as audible or "clicky" feeling. I have never shot an illuminated scope before, I don't really feel a need for it at the moment. One thing I did notice is when the illumination is on, it is really crisp. Much more crisp than some of the other illuminated scopes I have looked through.
Glass and reticle- For me this is where I was frankly blown away by how big of a difference it was from my HSLR. To my eye everything is really crisp and sharp, and extremely easy to read. It has a floating center crosshair with 1 MOA hold offs and is extremely intuitive for me to use. I had this scope side by side with my buddies Gen2 looking into a fairly dark hay field at some deer and it gives absolutely nothing up to the Gen2. Both he and I agreed they are equal optically to our eyes.
Fit and Finish- Right on par with the other big name brands I have been around. It feels solid out of the box and everything is well done from an aesthetic perspective. The scope has more of a matte black finish to it, so it shows a little dust maybe a hair more than other scopes. This wasn't really a big deal for me.
I haven't done a box test with it yet, but have taken it out to about 890 yards and haven't had a problem getting multiple hits on sub MOA targets. When I get some ammo loaded up I will run it through a box test and see how it does. I will also say my dealing with the folks over at Athlon have been really positive. Very helpful. You can tell they are a small company, which is kind of nice actually. I won't get into the specs on the scope from a size and weight perspective, those can be looked up on their website. It's considerably lighter than the Gen 2 and considerably heavier than my HSLR.
All in all I am pleased so far with my choice. Time will tell how it performs through a hunting season and more use. Let's see if I can get some pictures to post:
Turrets-They aren't very large or bulky compared to the other scopes I have seen and have a nice grip to them. Numbers are easy to see and they have gradations up to 50 MOA. You can get 25 MOA per turn, and I counted 114 MOA of total adjustment when the scope is bottomed out. When I first received the scope the clicks are really solid in my opinion, but weren't as audible or tactile as some of the Nightforce scopes and the Gen 2s I have operated. I asked Athlon about this and they sent me a new o ring assembly for the turrets that "helped" this significantly. I do think this is pretty subjective however, the turrets by no means feel sloppy, they just weren't as audible as some of the other scopes I have handled. The zero stop is solid as a rock and is really easy to set. I ended up setting mine to a minute below zero, and then just click up.
Mag rings and other controls- I like the mag ring a lot. It feels really solid and for me takes just the right amount of effort to manipulate. There is an extrusion on it you can grab onto firmly. The parallax adjustment has the same feel to it, and is easy to grasp and control. I believe the parallax goes from 25 to infinity. The top end of 500 and above is closer together, but easy to control. The illumination controls are the only part that is not as audible or "clicky" feeling. I have never shot an illuminated scope before, I don't really feel a need for it at the moment. One thing I did notice is when the illumination is on, it is really crisp. Much more crisp than some of the other illuminated scopes I have looked through.
Glass and reticle- For me this is where I was frankly blown away by how big of a difference it was from my HSLR. To my eye everything is really crisp and sharp, and extremely easy to read. It has a floating center crosshair with 1 MOA hold offs and is extremely intuitive for me to use. I had this scope side by side with my buddies Gen2 looking into a fairly dark hay field at some deer and it gives absolutely nothing up to the Gen2. Both he and I agreed they are equal optically to our eyes.
Fit and Finish- Right on par with the other big name brands I have been around. It feels solid out of the box and everything is well done from an aesthetic perspective. The scope has more of a matte black finish to it, so it shows a little dust maybe a hair more than other scopes. This wasn't really a big deal for me.
I haven't done a box test with it yet, but have taken it out to about 890 yards and haven't had a problem getting multiple hits on sub MOA targets. When I get some ammo loaded up I will run it through a box test and see how it does. I will also say my dealing with the folks over at Athlon have been really positive. Very helpful. You can tell they are a small company, which is kind of nice actually. I won't get into the specs on the scope from a size and weight perspective, those can be looked up on their website. It's considerably lighter than the Gen 2 and considerably heavier than my HSLR.
All in all I am pleased so far with my choice. Time will tell how it performs through a hunting season and more use. Let's see if I can get some pictures to post:
