ARKEN EP5 Dominates: The Ultimate Optic Choice

4

3

Riton PSR

Athlon APRS5

Riton 5 CONQUER 5-25×56

2. Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 I’ve reviewed a lot of Vortex scopes in the last two years and find they offer some of the best scopes in this category. This one is no differ- ent. It easily has the best edge-to- edge clarity and definition of the group. Combined with its wide field of view, the scope seems to disap- pear, and you feel like the image is directly in front of you. Although the image was a little washed out in shadowed areas with an increase in magnification, it was usable to 25X. Its tracking deviated by 1 percent. This is a good scope that will serve a shooter a long time. MSRP: $900 vortexoptics.com

Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56

Glass

HD, fully multicoated

Left: The zero stop is located inside the cap.

Tube Diameter

34mm

Glass

XD, fully multicoated

Total Elevation Adjustment Total Windage Adjustment

31 mils

Tube Diameter

34mm

Right: The removable throw lever can be

Total Elevation Adjustment Total Windage Adjustment

31 mils

31 mils

Turret Features Zero stop Adjustment Per Revolution 10 mils Parallax

23 mils

installed on one of two ring locations.

Locking turrets, RevStop zero system

Turret Features

20 yds. to infinity

Adjustment Per Revolution

10 mils

Eye Relief

3.5 in.

4. Athlon BTR GEN2 HD 4.5-27×50 The BTR GEN2 HD with its 30mm maintube is the little riflescope that could. The glass on this scope was so similar in definition and color tones to the Vortex scope. This tells me they most likely share the same lens maker. The field of view was very close to the Vortex and Arken, which have the same magnification. When combined with the forgiving eyebox, I thought I was behind a larger scope. The scope got milky in shadowed areas around 15X and usable beyond 20X. Since the Athlon had perfect tracking, it remained a close fourth. MSRP: $1,087 athlonoptics.com

3. Riton 5 Conquer 5-25×56 V2 The 5 Conquer 5-25×56 was intro- duced in May 2023 and replaced the 5 Conquer 5-25x50. I had the old model for a while, but the new version is noticeably better. Aside from a larger objective lens, the glass is improved and slightly better than the Athlon at high magnifica- tion. The image was a little milky in shadowed areas at higher power but usable to 25X. The tracking was within 2 percent of 36 inches, which is acceptable. The Riton has a slight price advantage over the Athlon, and the turret clicks felt better. It also has a quality look and feel. I wish the turret body had revolution markings. MSRP: $960 ritonoptics.com

Parallax

15 yds. to infinity

Reticle

PSR

Athlon BTR GEN2 HD 4.5-27×50 APRS5 FFP IR MIL

Eye Relief

3.7 in.

Illuminated

Yes

Left: 24 mils of elevation travel is plenty for shooting out to 1,000 yards. Right: The zero stop is an easy-to-set brass locking plate.

Reticle

EBR-7C (mrad)

Length

15 in.

Glass

HD, multicoated

Illuminated

Yes

Weight

37 oz.

Tube Diameter

30mm

Length

14.6 in.

Field of View @ 100 yds.

27 to 3.4 ft.

Total Elevation Adjustment Total Windage Adjustment

24 mils

Weight

30.4 oz.

Field of View @ 100 yds.

24 to 5.2 ft.

24 mils

Turret Features

Zero stop

Vortex EBR-7C

2

Adjustment Per Revolution

10 mils

Parallax

25 yds. to infinity

Eye Relief

3.9 in.

.2 mil horizontal, .5 mil vertical

Reticle

Illuminated

Yes

Length

13.8 in.

Weight

27.3 oz.

Field of View @ 100 yds.

22.7 to 3.8 ft.

Precision Scope Roundup

134

135

Budget Guns

2023

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