Are Arken scopes actually good?

[arnut]

I would say it is your scope then. Mine is not all that bright when using it in daylight. I don't notice any bloom during the day and I have to crank the brightness up all the way before I notice any bloom in a dark room. But then again I will get a bloom with any brand scope when I have the brightness turned all the way up in a dark room.

I don't think what I'm seeing is actually bloom. Thinking about it, I don't think I've done a good job at accurately describing what I'm seeing. Maybe a better way would be: if there were, say, 9 or 10 sheets of thin glass, each with an identical image of the illuminated crosshairs stacked all together behind the actual crosshair. If looking straight on, all you would see is the actual crosshair. But move your eye just a slight bit to one side or the other, then you would start to see a little bit of the other identical images of the crosshairs all standing next to each other. The more off center you move, the more spread out they are. All those spread out images of the illuminated crosshairs kind of light up the spaces around the center of the reticle. It's almost like walking into a mirror maze and looking into a mirror where you see multiple images of yourself going into infinity. I couldn't figure out how to get the video to show that in sufficient detal. That's why it looks like blur or bloom.

 

[GravelRider]

I just received the SH4 in the mail today. It is quite hefty and solid-looking and feeling. The turret clicks are very nice. The glass looked good enough at first look, but it was dark outside, and testing a 6-24 inside just didn't really give me a feel for the quality of the glass. I'll report back once I get a chance to play with it a bit.

 

[arnut]

Well, I finally decided to return the scope to Arken for replacement. The turnaround time of 6 days was very fast considering it was in the heart of the Christmas shipping melee and included a weekend. Unfortunately, the replacement scope has the same issue with the illuminated reticle moving flare. That's two scopes in a row so I'm starting to think it might be a design problem.

 

[arnut]

I just received the SH4 in the mail today. It is quite hefty and solid-looking and feeling. The turret clicks are very nice. The glass looked good enough at first look, but it was dark outside, and testing a 6-24 inside just didn't really give me a feel for the quality of the glass. I'll report back once I get a chance to play with it a bit.

How's the illumination on yours? Do you notice a bright flare at the highest illumination setting that seems to move around as you move your eye within the eyebox?

 

[GravelRider]

How's the illumination on yours? Do you notice a bright flare at the highest illumination setting that seems to move around as you move your eye within the eyebox?

No. I didn't notice this at all. I did get a chance to go the range with this scope over the weekend, and shot 100 rounds with it. I used the illuminated reticle for probably 30-40 shots, and was VERY happy with it. The first few targets I had were all black. Once I shot them, I switched to ones with an orange bullseye, and the illuminated reticle was lost in the bullseye, so I turned it off. I had absolutely no complaints about the illuminated reticle at all.

I'm 40 with perfect vision, usually 20/16 or even better, which I get tested annually, FWIW. Wondering if maybe it is your eyes? Or did you get unlucky and get two bad ones in a row?

EDIT: And as far as the the rest of the scope goes, I was very happy with it, though the only two complaints I have are that the eye box is quite tight, and at higher magnifications, it doesn't let in enough light... Though it was an overcast day when I was shooting. All in all, I think both of these are quite reasonable sacrifices for a $300 price-point scope with all these features. I only shot out to 300 yards with it, but was able to stay under 1 MOA out to that distance in a cheap PSA AR-10.

I decided to get out of my comfort zone and go MRAD, and it is quite an adjustment to start training my brain to think in MRAD instead of MOA, which I've shot all my life...

 

[12Bravo20]

Wondering if maybe it is your eyes? Or did you get unlucky and get two bad ones in a row?

I'm thinking it could be his eyes.

I've heard complaints about the illumination on Arken scopes but the complaints have been opposite of arnut's experiences. The complaints are usually about the reticles not being bright enough for daylight use. And those complaints are definitely valid. I find the illumination on Arken scopes to be on the weak side when compared to other brands. Take the Swampfox Optics scopes (both LPVO and high power). The illumination on them is very bright and will wash out the reticle and bloom on the highest settings. I find the illumination of Primary Arms scopes to be the same as the Swampfox scopes.

 

[theButcher]

Arken definitely punches above. The reason we're getting them for the bargain of $500 is because there's no middle man in the mix. Arken IS selling direct to us- same price they would be selling the scopes to dealers/wholesalers. Otherwise we would be seeing prices of $800-$900+.

When you go to your local LGS, Bass Pro, Cabela's etc or your favorite online vendors, you are paying the higher prices. Your supplier of choice sometimes deals factory direct , many times not & are buying from wholesale distributors.

Perfect example, my Trijicon Accupoint TR23-2G i retails for $1399.00!
My local LGS played only $880.00 for it. They don't deal direct with Trijicon, they get it through a wholesale distributor. What I DONT KNOW, is what price the wholesaler paid directly from Trijicon. To guess, probably approximately $550-$600?. Seeing my point yet?

The Arken is being sold straight to the consumer @ factory direct price. Factor in middle man & retailers stepping on the price like other brands & price would be at least double to the consumer.....us.

Lol I have seen people say to buy Arken because "they are a veteran owned company". Uh, I'm pretty every single scope of theirs comes from the peoples republic of china... So how does that make it better? And everything I've seen about them reads like an infomercial lol.

Just get a Vortex Viper series on sale, they are made in the Philippines (better than China) and my three Viper HS #4319s are bright as heck and are very clear even at 24x zoom. I'd put them against a Leupold VariX/Freedom series all day long.

I am going to let everyone know about 2 overlooked scope manufacturers that have great products One is Hawke. The other that blows me away is GPO (German Precision Optics). The owners of GPO were engineers for Zeiss, they have the best scopes bar none for the price I ever looked thru I have a few of their scopes in the price range of 400-800. I have the Passion line scopes by GPO. They have lines much higher priced as well. I also just recently bought a Burris Veracity great glass for the money. I got one am not overly impressed by Vortex they have quality issues - I have picked up a Vortex scope looks great pick up another one and it's not of the same quality.

 

[InTheSwamp]

The mechanicals on it are excellent, and the glass is better than average for the price range.

Yep! On par with scopes much more expensive. Holds zero, and tracks like a boss. A steal for the price.

 

[LoonWulf]

I am going to let everyone know about 2 overlooked scope manufacturers that have great products One is Hawke. The other that blows me away is GPO (German Precision Optics). The owners of GPO were engineers for Zeiss, they have the best scopes bar none for the price I ever looked thru I have a few of their scopes in the price range of 400-800. I have the Passion line scopes by GPO. They have lines much higher priced as well. I also just recently bought a Burris Veracity great glass for the money. I got one am not overly impressed by Vortex they have quality issues - I have picked up a Vortex scope looks great pick up another one and it's not of the same quality.

I've had a couple of Hawke scopes that I've been very happy with, they were the cheaper ones though. I know the air gun guys are pretty hot on them also.

I've had one GPO. A 3-9x42 and optically it was very good.... Keep thinking about buying another one but I haven't seen em go on sale when I've had cash.
My only real complaint about that 3-9 was that the eye relief was a little on the short side...
375 would come back and touch me pretty much every time I fired it. I ended up putting on the 527 and it worked really well, I left it on there when I sold the gun and as far as I know the guy that bought it still loves the whole rig.

 

[InTheSwamp]

I've had a couple of Hawke scopes that I've been very happy with, they were the cheaper ones though. I know the air gun guys are pretty hot on them also.

I've had one GPO. A 3-9x42 and optically it was very good.... Keep thinking about buying another one but I haven't seen em go on sale but I've had cash.
My only real complaint about that 3-9 was that the eye relief was a little on the short side...
375 would come back and touch me pretty much every time I fired it. I ended up putting on the 527 and it worked really well, I left it on there when I sold the gun and as far as I know the guy that bought it still loves the whole rig.

CameralandNY has them all on sale through the duration of SHOT.

 

[LoonWulf]

CameralandNY has them all on sale through the duration of SHOT.

That was supposed to say WHEN ive had cash...


But yeah ive been avoiding CLNY like the plague, no money and every time i look i buy stuff lol....

 

[WVRJ]

Put an eye chart up somewhere that you're looking almost directly into the sun.Stay there until the light starts to fade.Compare scopes like that and you'll soon glean the wheat from the chaff as far as the optic quality goes.Right at sundown when you're dealing with dirty light,you'll be getting some idea of how different scopes stack up.Checking the tracking is easy,as is eye relief and exit pupil.Weight is also something to keep in mind,especially with the huge scopes out there.Put a heavy scope on a hard kicking rifle and you'll prove out your mounting system.I have a Vortex Venom and an Arken on rifles in the shop right now,and I'm going to put them up against each other in the morning.I can already say that my VX5HD Leupold is in the same magnification range at about half the weight,twice the resolution and better turret design,but its not close to the price range of either scope.Not a fair comparison,just wanted to see how it stacks up to scopes that are 1/4 the price.I used the Venom for the first time at longer range and tougher light conditions,and I wasn't surprised or impressed.It tracks good.Tomorrow will show what the Athlon will do.As far as the lifetime guarantee goes,it'll probably be for the lifetime of the companies making these lower priced scopes,some of which will likely fail,leaving the owners with no options should the scope fail.

 

[LoonWulf]

I don't think what I'm seeing is actually bloom. Thinking about it, I don't think I've done a good job at accurately describing what I'm seeing. Maybe a better way would be: if there were, say, 9 or 10 sheets of thin glass, each with an identical image of the illuminated crosshairs stacked all together behind the actual crosshair. If looking straight on, all you would see is the actual crosshair. But move your eye just a slight bit to one side or the other, then you would start to see a little bit of the other identical images of the crosshairs all standing next to each other. The more off center you move, the more spread out they are. All those spread out images of the illuminated crosshairs kind of light up the spaces around the center of the reticle. It's almost like walking into a mirror maze and looking into a mirror where you see multiple images of yourself going into infinity. I couldn't figure out how to get the video to show that in sufficient detal. That's why it looks like blur or bloom.

How's the illumination on yours? Do you notice a bright flare at the highest illumination setting that seems to move around as you move your eye within the eyebox?

Had to dig to the back of the safe today so I had all my illuminated reticle scope out and didnt notice either complaint...well not EXACTLY.
I rarely use the illumination on any of my scopes unless I absolutely have to because it creates a very slight "double image", down and left. Dosent make the reticle look blurry exactly but its not defined. All of mine do it tho, and I've always just assumed it was my astigmatism, same reason I dont generally like red dots.

Another thing i noticed that maybe someone can answer....Ive got 3 of the rifles set up to reach a mile, which means 40moa of cant on the rails for what were shooting...scopes arnt bottomed out but they are cranked down pretty low to zero at 100yds. It SEEMS like the illumination has more bleed over now than it did when I was running them closer to the optical center.
Question is, does having the optic set at one extreme or another affect the way the illumination appears?