Arken EPL-4 4-16x44mm Q&A

[flyfisher117]

Have there been any further tests on this scope? Debating on one for a semi precise gas gun.

 

[Formidilosus]

Have there been any further tests on this scope? Debating on one for a semi precise gas gun.

It’s been shot a bit. It sorta, kind of works.

For sure, based on this sample I wouldn’t buy one unless it was a basically a toy.

 

[Weldor]

I just bought one, for the sale price could not pass. It will be taking a couple hundred mile ride and shot at altitude then back to 3600ft. It's on a 7mm 08, I guess I will see?

 

[Weldor]

Back from a 2000 mile round trip, Rifle held zero. We always check before we hunt. 100 yrd. zero, right on the money after the ride there. Ranch roads and pavement, concrete, hardcase rear seat 2500 ram. Dialed for 356 and returned to zero. I will keep this one.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I needed the RS 1.2 that was on my CZ 457 .22 trainer, so I picked up one of these EPL-4's in Mil off of Amazon Prime for $329.

I mounted it in Hawkins rings on the CZ and got it zeroed at 40 yards. I then proceeded to do a turret test, spinning up and down a 5 times between each shot in a string of 10. All landed well within an inch.

I then set the padded gun case down on the concrete patio at my house from where I was shooting suppressed and with sub sonic ammo. I dropped it 3 times from waist height on the case on the left side, fired 3x, then repeat for the other side. I did this cycle twice. The group was within an inch.




To finish off the box of ammo I was using, I then chose a small dot on the cardboard to shoot a final group into and fired 6 rounds, below.




For a very budget scope, I found this to be pretty good for its intended purpose.
The reticle and form factor are actually really close to the RS 1.2. The floating center dot is a bit smaller, but that works great for a precision .22 rifle. As a trainer, it will do just fine. I'll knock it around a bit as I continue to use it and report back.

 

[RWT]

Following. I have the SH2 on my 10/22 and do like. It allowed me to start dialing for reasonable $. You HAVE to finish off the last few in a box of 22’s once you get to the last 20 or so. Just too much fun not to.

 

[rfroese]

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

Sorry, Not trying to start an issue especially since this is an old post but this is nonsense.

Wind alone can shift a 100 yard zero by an inch depending on the caliber. Even a super high BC projectile like a 143 grain ELD-M fired at 3000 from the 6.5 PRC has a .6" wind drift at 100 yards from only 15 mph winds which equates to .2 mils.

That doesn't include temperature sensitive powders, altitude changes, pressure changes and other lesser known issues from the sun hitting the scope at different angles which can cause up to .1-.2 mil shifts as well.

 

[mddat]

I doubt he was talking about wind when saying “environmental changes”

 

[rfroese]

I doubt he was talking about wind when saying “environmental changes”

Maybe so? I'm not sure. Having said that, there are lots of other factors that can push your zero off by .1-.2 mils which is about what most of the these "lost zeros" amount to. I highly doubt that riding around in a truck would consistently shift a zero in one direction or another. I am not sure on the methods used for testing but I have found the exact same shifts in many of my rifles without even riding around in a truck. Literally just from one day to the next shooting slightly different due to environmental changes, temperature differences and like I mentioned, the sun... Most people don't even know that the angle of the sun in the sky can change the zero of your rifle.

 

[freddyG]

Maybe so? I'm not sure. Having said that, there are lots of other factors that can push your zero off by .1-.2 mils which is about what most of the these "lost zeros" amount to. I highly doubt that riding around in a truck would consistently shift a zero in one direction or another. I am not sure on the methods used for testing but I have found the exact same shifts in many of my rifles without even riding around in a truck. Literally just from one day to the next shooting slightly different due to environmental changes, temperature differences and like I mentioned, the sun... Most people don't even know that the angle of the sun in the sky can change the zero of your rifle.

I doubt these evaluations are done in wind. The sun shifts your POI by .2 mils @100 yards?

 

[walk2112]

The electromagnetic radiation crashing through the atmosphere gets scattered across the back of the clouds but then the radiation converges at the openings in the clouds and the combined/focused radiation merges into invisible tractor beams that pull the muzzle end of free floated barrels towards the source of the radiation!
Suppressors and muzzle devices only make it worse… that’s why old military rifles had steel barrel bands around the barrel and fore-end of a firmly bedded barrel…

 

[Formidilosus]

Maybe so? I'm not sure. Having said that, there are lots of other factors that can push your zero off by .1-.2 mils which is about what most of the these "lost zeros" amount to. I highly doubt that riding around in a truck would consistently shift a zero in one direction or another. I am not sure on the methods used for testing but I have found the exact same shifts in many of my rifles without even riding around in a truck. Literally just from one day to the next shooting slightly different due to environmental changes, temperature differences and like I mentioned, the sun... Most people don't even know that the angle of the sun in the sky can change the zero of your rifle.

No. Your zero is shifting due to something in your system shifting. Environmental (that does not mean wind when it is referenced), is not causing a POI shift. And no, sun versus clouds do not cause a zero shift with scopes.

 

[rfroese]

No. Your zero is shifting due to something in your system shifting. Environmental (that does not mean wind when it is referenced), is not causing a POI shift. And no, sun versus clouds do not cause a zero shift with scopes.

Maybe you should do a little research or talk to some people that actually know what they are talking about. It absolutely does and the fact that you say environmental factors don't affect the POI is just wrong.

This is more well known among the benchrest community. You know, the guys who actually shoot competitions and rely on precision to win competitions...

Next thing you know I will get laughed at for saying that a canted reticle, or even gasp, a canted rifle leads to a POI shift as well....

Here's just a few instances of these topics being discussed if you want to look as some other people discussing the same things.

POI Shift w/ Light?

I’ve seen this a few times mentioned in threads and experienced it myself recently, so I thought we could start a thread and discuss. Earlier this month I brought two rifles on a hunt and checked zero at camp. I was racing against the setting sun and checked the Terminus Kratos Lite/Ti with the...

www.longrangeonly.com

You are being redirected...

Light- and it's effects on POI

Hey all- was letting my mind wander last night (wife said I looked stoned out of my mind) and thinking about something I read somewhere that said something about lighting-conditions and possible effect on accuracy. So for those of us that haven't the foggiest idea where to start- How do...

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[rfroese]

Video explaining rifle cant on POI shift.

 

[rfroese]

Here's another video talking about shifting POI due to the angle of the sun. You have to skip to 11:14 in the video when he begins to talk about it. He also talks about getting POI shift from your gun getting bumped around as well which I never said doesn't happen.

I am not saying that some rifle scopes won't lose their zero from being bumped but what I am saying is that there are many other factors that can lead to a small .1-.2 mil shift in a zero as well and so to definitively say that it is a scope issue is wrong unless all other factors are identical in the testing environment. So when the testing is done 80+ days after the test before, there are sure to be some factors that are not the same that can also affect the POI.

 

[walk2112]

That first link, if you read through it, the OP’s rifle of question is a 30SMPP, with an NX8. His first shot arrived at his intended POI or pretty close anyway, and then the next 3 were 3.5” high, and off to the right a bit (1” IIRC). If light were causing that… assuming similar enough lighting conditions between all 4 shots… why was the first shot close to zero and then the next 3 shots 1 mil high and off to the right? My guess is it’s more to do with rear bag control and being in a rush at sunset.

 

[rfroese]

That first link, if you read through it, the OP’s rifle of question is a 30SMPP, with an NX8. His first shot arrived at his intended POI or pretty close anyway, and then the next 3 were 3.5” high, and off to the right a bit (1” IIRC). If light were causing that… assuming similar enough lighting conditions between all 4 shots… why was the first shot close to zero and then the next 3 shots 1 mil high and off to the right? My guess is it’s more to do with rear bag control and being in a rush at sunset.

Correct, the determination was made that the POI shift was not from light but if you pay attention to what some of the other guys are saying, most would conclude that POI shift from light is closer to 1/2 MOA. Which again, is close to .2 mils... As I was saying...

 

[T_Widdy]

Correct, the determination was made that the POI shift was not from light but if you pay attention to what some of the other guys are saying, most would conclude that POI shift from light is closer to 1/2 MOA. Which again, is close to .2 mils... As I was saying...

What has your testing shown and what equipment are you using?

 

[walk2112]

Correct, the determination was made that the POI shift was not from light but if you pay attention to what some of the other guys are saying, most would conclude that POI shift from light is closer to 1/2 MOA. Which again, is close to .2 mils... As I was saying...

I see. I just don’t put a lot of faith in claims as such just because a benchrest guy on the internet or a YouTuber says so. I haven’t watched the videos yet but plan to.

Call me cynical but I think at some point content creators get creative in trying to find more fodder for content. For example, I saw one of them claim that your position/form behind the rifle has no effect on POI… but then proceeds to clamp the rifle in two vices and positions himself in different ways behind the gun… could have pulled the trigger with a string and the gun wouldn’t have moved. I’ll never get those 5 minutes back haha

I’ll have to test it out myself with 10+ shot groups and a known tack driver.

Thanks for giving me another excuse to park myself at the range from high noon thru sunset once we get further through winter and I can actually see the sun again!

 

[rfroese]

I see. I just don’t put a lot of faith in claims as such just because a benchrest guy on the internet or a YouTuber says so. I haven’t watched the videos yet but plan to.

Call me cynical but I think at some point content creators get creative in trying to find more fodder for content. For example, I saw one of them claim that your position/form behind the rifle has no effect on POI… but then proceeds to clamp the rifle in two vices and positions himself in different ways behind the gun… could have pulled the trigger with a string and the gun wouldn’t have moved. I’ll never get those 5 minutes back haha

I’ll have to test it out myself with 10+ shot groups and a known tack driver.

Thanks for giving me another excuse to park myself at the range from high noon thru sunset once we get further through winter and I can actually see the sun again!

I understand that completely. I initially got into this exact topic years ago because I was having issues with my zeros constantly being off by a few clicks even though I knew I hadn't bumped the rifle or done anything to cause it to lose zero. Also, I know there are plenty of youtubers that do everything for content. Having said that, if you watch and research enough, you can learn to wade through the BS and find quality information.

Took several research classes in graduate school and had to do tons of research on my own practicum for college. Learning to wade through the nonsense and find the important information is relevant no matter what topic you are trying to learn about.

I am not a youtuber, avid competition shooter or anything like that. I know a few guys who are but what I am is a bit of a nerd and I love to research as well as enjoy reloading and shooting a bunch. In the past few years I have done more hunting than reloading but I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the intricacies of accuracy and precision when I did some small time competitions and handloading.