Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 vs Athlon Argos BTR 1-8

[SteelBanger]

I need to put a scope on a new 350 Legend AR I've built and I think I have it narrowed down to these two scopes. I love LPVO's for short to mid-range shots and with the land I'm on I can't ever see a shot over 200y, and realistically most would be under 100y. Illumination is a must for low light shots and I don't really care about SFP vs FFP for this application. I'd prefer a more traditional illuminated crosshair vs the BDC style reticles these scopes have, but it's not that big of a deal for me to worry about it.

I've always been a Vortex guy and don't have any reason to try something new, but I'm not so much of a supporter to not consider other options. Athlon's seem to get decent reviews but I've never had hands on one. Price between the two is a wash so what say you on quality and reliability, or what other options should I consider? For this gun I don't see the need to spend more than $400 for what I need it to do so I'd like to stay under that price point .. otherwise I'd go up to the Gen 2 Viper PST 1-6 or even the 2x10 with a reticle I like better.

 

[JLB-MT]

I have the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 and would not recommend it to anyone. For me the glass is not clear especially at the higher powers. Mine has been back to Vortex for tracking and other issues. It seems that I am not alone with problems with this scope. Recently there was a thread on AR15.com where many negative comments concerning the Strike Eagle were posted.

I cannot comment on the Athlon but if I were to do it again, I would give them a serious look. You also may wish to give consideration to the Burris 1-6.

 

[SteelBanger]

I have the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 and would not recommend it to anyone. For me the glass is not clear especially at the higher powers. Mine has been back to Vortex for tracking and other issues. It seems that I am not alone with problems with this scope. Recently there was a thread on AR15.com where many negative comments concerning the Strike Eagle were posted.

I cannot comment on the Athlon but if I were to do it again, I would give them a serious look. You also may wish to give consideration to the Burris 1-6.

Good to know about that Strike Eagle so thanks for the heads up! I know you get what you pay for so when you drop into that budget optic price range it's always a gamble. I actually like the looks of that Burris reticle but I wish the vertical stadia was mil based and not BDC based on some random 5.56 bullet trajectory.

For that matter, I don't get how BDC's got so popular since the odds of your particular rifle shooting to perfectly match that BDC is nearly zero. Of course you can figure out your dope to know how the BDC correlates to your rifle and ammo but you can do the same thing with a MIL / MOA based stadia ... but I digress so I'll get off that soap box for now!

 

[74honker]

I can't speak for that particular model but the Athlon scopes that I have used have been very good. If you could get somewhere that has one you can put your hands on to do your own eye test is always a good idea. Vortex makes some really good products also so not knocking them at all but if you haven't looked through an Athlon yet I think you really should lol.

 

[CLeriger]

Have you been able to get yours hand physically on either? That's going to be the deciding factor.

 

[SteelBanger]

Have you been able to get yours hand physically on either? That's going to be the deciding factor.

Not yet, went to bass pro last night but they were sold out of the vortex, am heading a little south next weekend and will hit up a Scheels and see what they have, but I don't think there are any Athlon dealers near me.

 

[74honker]

I know Scheels carries some Athlon products, whether or not they will have them in stock is another question.

 

[vortech347]

For a 350 Legend why not look at a 1-4 or 1-6 Viper PST? You will get a lot better glass than the Strike Eagle. I have a 1-6 SE and it's "decent". Does it's job on my 6.8 AR but I would rather have a 1-4 PST instead.

 

[SteelBanger]

For a 350 Legend why not look at a 1-4 or 1-6 Viper PST? You will get a lot better glass than the Strike Eagle. I have a 1-6 SE and it's "decent". Does it's job on my 6.8 AR but I would rather have a 1-4 PST instead.

The Viper PST is definitely one I want to look through, I actually like it's reticle way more than the BDC reticles the others have. Just not convinced I want to spend the extra couple hundred on it for what I need.

Was also looking at the Vortex crossfire II 3-12x56 AO Hog Hunter online last night and like the looks of it and I like the reticle as well. It's about the same price point as the lower end LVPO's, but being a crossfire I'd give up some glass quality. I'd really love the Viper PST 2-10x but I know I don't want that price tag on this rifle.

 

[vortech347]

I still think you are tryong to get too much magnification.

I habe yet to need more than the 6x on my 6.8AR and has a lot more range than your 350L.

When I bought my 1-6SE I was thinking the same. Get more mag and save almost $200. Have regret it ever since. The Viper and other scopes in the same price range have much better glass.

 

[SteelBanger]

I still think you are tryong to get too much magnification.

I habe yet to need more than the 6x on my 6.8AR and has a lot more range than your 350L.

When I bought my 1-6SE I was thinking the same. Get more mag and save almost $200. Have regret it ever since. The Viper and other scopes in the same price range have much better glass.

I hear ya, honestly for the 350L I think a simple fixed 3x would be just fine. I'll give the PST 1-6 a hard look, I have 2 other higher mag PST's and they are great glass for the money so I'm sure the 1-6 would be perfect for this rifle ... just gotta convince myself to increase the budget!

 

[SteelBanger]

I still think you are tryong to get too much magnification.

I habe yet to need more than the 6x on my 6.8AR and has a lot more range than your 350L.

When I bought my 1-6SE I was thinking the same. Get more mag and save almost $200. Have regret it ever since. The Viper and other scopes in the same price range have much better glass.

Was finally able to get over to a big box store and get my hands on some scopes. I looked through the 1-4x crossfire, 1-6x strike Eagle, and the 1-6x viper ... once I looked through the first two it was a no brainer the moment I put the viper up to my eye. Clarity and crispness was far better than the other two, unfortunately they only the MOA version so I'll have to order the MRAD version online but that's the way I'm going. Budget or no budget I don't know how you could look at all 3 and pick either of the lesser scopes.