Athlon Ares HLR

[nebhunt]

Has anyone tried this scope out yet. Any reviews on them like what Form does? I'm thinking of getting one to put on my 6.5 PRC for elk hunting.

 

[grfox92]

Has anyone tried this scope out yet. Any reviews on them like what Form does? I'm thinking of getting one to put on my 6.5 PRC for elk hunting.

They dont have a reputation holding zero.

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[nebhunt]

I currently have a Trijicon Tenmile on my elk rifle and it has worked just fine. The reason I was thinking about making a change was to save a little weight.

 

[BLJ]

They dont have a reputation holding zero.

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This specific scope?

 

[tx270]

Since this scope was literally just released, I doubt it

 

[06 SB]

They have not even shipped to retailers yet. Supposed to be soon though. I have used several Athlons and they hold zero and track perfectly every time, at least out to 1000 yards and back many times.

 

[grfox92]

This specific scope?

Nope. Just athlons in general. Both from the test on this forum as well as in the PRS world.

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[BLJ]

Nope. Just athlons in general. Both from the test on this forum as well as in the PRS world.

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I must have gotten the half a dozen good ones.

 

[hunting1]

Nope. Just athlons in general. Both from the test on this forum as well as in the PRS world.

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I must have gotten the half a dozen good ones.

You read it on the internet so it has to be true. Glad the ones I have and abuse are running strong.

I will say though, PRS is hard on scopes and the little I played I had some high name optics that had to be doctored.

 

[grfox92]

I must have gotten the half a dozen good ones.

You have never had to re zero one of your athlons? Which models?

To be fair I have a Vortex Diamondback 3x9 that stayed zeroed on a rifle that was used and abused for 4 straight years. Never once lost zero, and those things have a much worse reputation.

There are plenty of guys on this forum that claim their Leupolds dont lose zero ever, and there are guys that have proven they lose zero riding in the back seat of a truck. I have a Mark 5 that wanders all the time.

So I dont doubt your experience.

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[BLJ]

You have never had to re zero one of your athlons? Which models?

I’ll put a small asterisk beside what I said earlier.

I currently have (5) Athlons on rifles at the moment.
(2) Midas Tac’s on PRS 22’s. (2) Ares BTR’s. One on an 22 and the other on an 308. (1) Argos on a 223.

The Midas Tac’s are going on 3 and 5 years respectively.
The Argos is going on 4(5?) years.

The Ares have been bounced around between rifles.
The last time in shot the one on my 308, it was with a new load and haven’t shot it since. It worked for a couple years on a 22 prior to that.
I shot the one that is currently on the 22 on Sunday and it was right where I left it.
Actually shot 10 rounds spinning up and down in between each shot with no issues.
I don’t ever remember having issues with these but I can’t pinpoint a real time or round duration.

The Midas Tac’s have been spun and bounced off of stuff. A lot.
The Argos was on the truck gun up until about six months ago. Sometimes in the cab and sometimes in the bed. In a padded case.
The Ares on the 308 has been in the truck for the last 6 months in the cab in a padded case.

The asterisk mentioned above is because I’ve never dropped them.
I understand that is the standard here and I haven’t done that with these.

They’ve functioned for me for what I’ve asked them to do.

I’m planning to shoot tomorrow or Saturday.
I’ll shoot the Ares/308, Argos/223 and Midas Tac/22 to see what they look like.

Hope I haven’t veered to much for the OP.

 

[06 SB]

I had one Vortex and a couple of Leupolds lose their zero and have to be reset. They got sold. My Athlon Helos BTR 4-20, 2-12 and an Ares ETR 4.5-30 have all been zero'd and stayed there. The first and last ones have both been dialed out and back many times. I neither baby them nor abuse them. Just walking in the woods with the occasional slip & slide plus riding on an ATV. The ARES ETR is on a target rifle so it gets babied.

I ordered one to try from Camera Land and will get some better info when I can.

 

[BLJ]

Ares made a liar out of me this morning.
The 10 shot group to the right was my zero a couple months ago.
Been in the back seat of the truck vertically in a padded case.
That zero group was after I put the scope on the rifle and in a different stock.

Not saying full scope betrayal at this point, but definitely not ruling it out either.



Argos did a lot better (IMO) on the RAR 223.
Trending slightly right/low. But, for this rifle I’m okay with it.
Roughly measured 3/8”-1/2” shift.

Thanks @grfox92. I hope you’re happy.

 

[Formidilosus]

View attachment 1020787
Ares made a liar out of me this morning.
The 10 shot group to the right was my zero a couple months ago.
Been in the back seat of the truck vertically in a padded case.
That zero group was after I put the scope on the rifle and in a different stock.

Not saying full scope betrayal at this point, but definitely not ruling it out either.

View attachment 1020788

Argos did a lot better (IMO) on the RAR 223.
Trending slightly right/low. But, for this rifle I’m okay with it.
Roughly measured 3/8”-1/2” shift.

Thanks @grfox92. I hope you’re happy.

Lots of thing “aren’t so”, when it gets tracked.


Thank you for the honest update.

 

[nebhunt]

I think I might wait a few months before getting the HLR and see if a few more reviews come in. My second choice would be a Trijicon Credo. Third choice and maybe the best choice would be to just keep the Tenmile on my elk rifle.

 

[BLJ]

Lots of thing “aren’t so”, when it gets tracked.


Thank you for the honest update.

Agree.

Absolutely on the update. I didn’t want to see the zero shift, but it was there.
Can’t not say anything just because it wasn’t in my favor.

At this point I feel very confident the scope is the issue.
I’m going to take the rifle apart and start over just to make sure.

I was happy with the Argos. Considering the components and how it’s treated.

Would it be a 50% failure rate or a 50% success rate???????

 

[Formidilosus]

Agree.

Absolutely on the update. I didn’t want to see the zero shift, but it was there.
Can’t not say anything just because it wasn’t in my favor.

At this point I feel very confident the scope is the issue.
I’m going to take the rifle apart and start over just to make sure.

That’s a good idea. Rifles, mounts, rings are generally just as suspect as scopes until proven.

I was happy with the Argos. Considering the components and how it’s treated.

Would it be a 50% failure rate or a 50% success rate???????

Haha. Well, I’m 1 for 5 on Helos 2-12’s. The one that hasn’t broken- is the only one that wasn’t dropped. grin.

 

[Pookie]

I've got 2 ares etrs, and mped, and a razor gen II. The MPED is closer to the razor than the Athlon is to the MPED. There are high mirage situations where I can see detail with an MPED or razor that just turn to colored blobs in the Athlon. The Athlon is not bad, the MPED is just stupid good for the price.

 

[Jack's Dad]

I've been generally super pleased with all my athlons except for the Cronus, their highest end model. For some reason I would get a lot of eye fatigue when using it no matter how I adjusted everything. They've been flawless for me and are my favorite reticles in the tactical scope game.