Arken EPL-4 4-16x44mm Q&A

[Formidilosus]

Q&A for the Arken EPL-4 4-16x44mm Field Eval

 

[TxLite]

Seems like it actually fared pretty well for $400

 

[Formidilosus]

Seems like it actually fared pretty well for $400

It’s certainly isn’t the worst performer.

My view is it either works or it doesn’t- price doesn’t really enter the equation as there has been no correlation between price and proper function.

 

[TxLite]

It’s certainly isn’t the worst performer.

My view is it either works or it doesn’t- price doesn’t really enter the equation as there has been no correlation between price and proper function.

I’m interested to see how it does after riding in the truck bed. My vx5 failed that one several times, except it was in a padded case in the back seat.

Thanks for going through the effort to put these together.

 

[ChrisAU]

I've been on the train of I want a scope that passes the tests with flying colors and nothing else - but I gotta be honest, if I drop my rifle from 3'+ 9 times I'm probably going to check my zero.

 

[Formidilosus]

I've been on the train of I want a scope that passes the tests with flying colors and nothing else - but I gotta be honest, if I drop my rifle from 3'+ 9 times I'm probably going to check my zero.

It shows more than that. Scopes that never show any issues even in heavy use, also pass everything in the drop eval. It shows a tendency for working correctly. Scopes that only pass the single 36” drops tend to work ok, for most lighter use, but do show issues eventually with heavy use- or I should say it’s not surprising when they do. Scopes that won’t hold zero through the single 36” drops eventually show issues just from normal western use- issues are relatively common.


Yes, if you want a scope that holds zero from it all, there are not that many to choose from.

 

[Formidilosus]

I’m interested to see how it does after riding in the truck bed. My vx5 failed that one several times, except it was in a padded case in the back seat.

All the scopes that have a zero shift from riding in the truck, are also the scopes that failed some portion of the drop eval. None of the scopes that have passed the whole thing have ever shifted zero from riding in the backseat. Conversely, I believe every scope that has failed some portion of the drop eval, has also had a zero shift at some point from riding in the truck.

The Athlon Helos BTR lost zero from one of the single 36” drops and from the nine 36” drops. After rezeroing, at around 100 miles of forest service roads in a padded seat, it lost zero by .2 mils when checked. There is a trend with all of those if people look at it and take notes. The reason that I rezero them and use them normally even after they failed is to see and show what happens from just normal, light use. Then people can go back and see what it did in the eval and start making connections.

 

[Formidilosus]

Updated.

 

[TxLite]

Updated.

Is that a .1ish poi shift?

 

[Formidilosus]

Is that a .1ish poi shift?

For that group yes. However, remember the 30 round proof group with that ammo was 1.4 MOA. That’s a 1.5” dot, so as long as the rounds stay inside the dot, I can’t really say that there has been a zero shift.

 

[Deerhunter1990]

Can’t wait for my epl-4 x 16 gets here

 

[Bater]

Any updates from riding in the truck?

 

[Formidilosus]

Any updates from riding in the truck?

It’s mounted and been riding, but hasn’t had zero checked

 

[Formidilosus]

Update. Nothing major.

 

[Tullis94]

It isn't perfect but it seems to be doing better than a lot of others. Makes me want to try one out for myself.

 

[Formidilosus]

Updated.

 

[Formidilosus]

Updated.

.2-.3 mil zero shift at 65 rounds.

 

[Formidilosus]

Also, I have gotten quite a few questions about what the rifles go through while riding in the truck on Forest service roads. Some think near pavement smooth, and some thing true rock climbing. Somewhere in the middle. This is about as rough as it usually is-

 

[TxLite]

With the vertical shift, is it possible that it could be due to differences in shooting conditions? Temperature changes, etc?

 

[Formidilosus]

With the vertical shift, is it possible that it could be due to differences in shooting conditions? Temperature changes, etc?

No. Environmental changes do not effect a 100 yard zero.