Leaupold mk4 hd vs Athlon ares ETR

[Coleredding00]

For the last 3 weeks, i have been beating my head against a wall looking for what scope i want to put on a 18” 22GT coyote rifle I’m having built at the moment, hoping to stay under $1500 for the optic. Primarily going to be a coyote calling rifle but I’m also going to dabble in some local prs style matches.

So far, I’ve narrowed it down to the leupold mk4 hd 6-24 and the Athlon ares ETR 4.5-30.

The locking turrets on the mk4 are a big win in my eyes, mk5 glass, no illumination I’ll never use anyways. Sub 30 oz is nice but the 38 of the ares is not a dealbreaker. I was leaning heavily towards the mk4, until i stumbled on the thread here of leupold repeatedly not holding zero, and overall having high failure rates, whereas the Athlon seems to have glowing reviews here and on snipers hide, even compared to razor gen 2s and nx8s, but there is overall less information out there about them even though they’ve been out for 5 years vs the mk4 only being out for a few months.

Would i be daydreaming to think that a Chinese Athlon could compare or rival a leupold that is ~$400 more? I REALLY wanted to leaupold but if if I’m spending $1500 on a scope, i would like to think it can ride in the truck without a wandering zero.

 

[wapitibob]

The Mark 4 is less than $1500 when you send an email to Eurooptic sales and ask for a quote.

 

[Coleredding00]

The Mark 4 is less than $1500 when you send an email to Eurooptic sales and ask for a quote.

I can get one for $1450, so it fits the budget but I’m just unsure of the quality at this point.

 

[JohnnyB]

Of the two I prefer the Athlon ETR. For anything serious in that price range, I use a Trijicon Tenmile.

 

[Coleredding00]

Of the two I prefer the Athlon ETR. For anything serious in that price range, I use a Trijicon Tenmile.

I looked at the 6-24, but man that reticle is not too appealing.

 

[JohnnyB]

It’s pretty appealing to not have to worry about your zero. I wish the Tenmile had better reticle options but it works.

 

[Coleredding00]

It’s pretty appealing to not have to worry about your zero. I wish the Tenmile had better reticle options but it works.

The Athlon just dipped in price to $1000 on Amazon. With prime i get free returns. I’m thinking I’ll just order it and spend some time off the rifle checking it out and if i don’t like it I’ll send it back.

 

[wapitibob]

I can get one for $1450, so it fits the budget but I’m just unsure of the quality at this point.

uh, yea, send an email
The PR3 is a good reticle for me, only avail in mils

 

[Coleredding00]

uh, yea, send an email
The PR3 is a good reticle for me, only avail in mils

I just don’t think i can tolerate zero shifting, i never put a rifle in a case EVER they get banged around pretty much every time they’re used. I have never had zero shift issues with my vortex venom that this will be replacing and i just don’t know if i can bring myself to spend 3x the amount on a Leupold without being certain that I’ll see the same results in durability…

 

[wapitibob]

I understand completely.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Your timing is great as we just started our July 4th Sale. It's our pleasure, as a long standing supporting vendor here, to discuss the different scopes and special opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have the time. Thanks