Arken EPL4 or…?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Hangtown-Shooter

Hangtown-Shooter

Member
Jul 25, 2020
313
263
Northern California, United States
I’m in the market for a new scope and I am considering placing an order for one of these new “lightweight“ 30mm Arken’s…. Anyone here using one of these yet?
How do you like it?

EPL4 6-24x50 FFP MIL VHR Illuminated Reticle with Zero Stop - 30mm Tube

www.arkenopticsusa.com www.arkenopticsusa.com

I am still open to other recommendations for something similar/comparable as well. Looks like these Arken’s are 2-4 weeks out on shipping currently...
This will be going on a Brocock Sniper XR Magnum in .22 for reference and I’d like something with 20+ power but I’d also like to keep the weight down.

Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hangtown-Shooter
Upvote 0
From my understanding of many arken reviews the benefits are tracking and recticle. Both very good. But for the price point,its not great glass quality, OK, useable.... But not your high-end Japanese glass or high end Leopold night force ect.. So the 4-16 range is much more useable than higher magnification 6-24. Higher powers need better glass. For the money ,I'd take a chance. My experience with night force bench rest scopes were excellent glass reliable tracking.but I still tore the tracking out of multiple night force be scopes when using them. This arken probably has better tracking than many other high end scopes but the glass isn't magic for the price point .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hangtown-Shooter
Upvote 0
Reedmosser said:
From my understanding of many arken reviews the benefits are tracking and recticle. Both very good. But for the price point,its not great glass quality, OK, useable.... But not your high-end Japanese glass or high end Leopold night force ect.. So the 4-16 range is much more useable than higher magnification 6-24. Higher powers need better glass. For the money ,I'd take a chance. My experience with night force bench rest scopes were excellent glass reliable tracking.but I still tore the tracking out of multiple night force be scopes when using them. This arken probably has better tracking than many other high end scopes but the glass isn't magic for the price point .
Click to expand...


i don't know what reviewers you were watching,
but my arken certainly has very good glass.

in guessing you have never looked through an arken?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 850renxrs, orangeokie and lhandy
Upvote 0
starlingassn said:
i don't know what reviewers you were watching,
but my arken certainly has very good glass.

in guessing you have never looked through an arken?
Click to expand...
I’ve owned both the 6-24 and 4-16. If you have t looked through high end glass, I can see how you would think the Arken has “good” glass.
It’s not terrible for the price, but that’s just it. It’s good for the price.
I kept the lower power 4-16 for the better glass, and awesome tracking. My Midas tac is leaps and bounds better in glass, and not much more expensive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RM.510bigbore and Teber66
Upvote 0
I ordered a ELP 4-16 sight unseen when they first were offered last November. I'm normally not a patient person, but I waited at least 3 months before I got it.

The glass on this scope is different then the glass on the older versions of Arkens. There are very few reviews on YT on the new scopes, due to the fact that the supply on the new scopes is limited.
So, to say that there are several reviews online on the new scope line is false. Cyclop and Rex has previewed the 6-24X

In my opinion, the new ELD glass is on par with a Nightforce 3-10 that I have on a deer rifle. And it seems that the edge-to-edge clarity on the Arken is better than the NF. The NF cost me around $900. Is the NF a high-end scope? The price is for sure.

Things I don't like about the Arken is the illumination is low light only, not very bright during the day. And the on-off knob on the illumination is very tight. Arken told me that as its used, the knob will loosen up over time. And its a FFP scope, the reticle is "thin" on lower powers. I use my airgun to pest, and I would prefer a SFP reticle.

I will also say that I've also purchased one of the new Athlon Heras scopes, 2-12X SFP. (Athlon also has a 4-20 that might be good for you.) Really a great scope, I like the glass quite a bit. Seems like Athlon has geared these scopes to the air gunner market. The comparable Helos is FFP. Not sure if the Heras and Helos use the same glass….
To my eye, I give the nod to the Arken for depth of field and clarity.

The turrets on both the Arken and the Heras are great, the Arken are a bit tighter with less "play" between clicks than the Athlon.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 850renxrs, Headshots, orangeokie and 4 others
Upvote 0
starlingassn said:
at only twice+ the price :cool: lol
Click to expand...
If your budget is around $400, then the Arken or Athon Argos or Sightron S-Tac are fine scopes. If you are a nit-picker or just want something better without breaking the bank, you can be patient and shop around for a Midas-Tac and get one for $500-$600. If you are a veteran or LEO, call Athlon a nice discount.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hangtown-Shooter
Upvote 0
I have the Arken EPL4 mounted on my Daystate Air Wolf. The glass is very good. I am very happy with this scope and feel it is a very good value. It is relatively light weight for its capability as well, which is important to me. I had it on my FX Crown before, but I did not like having to mount it so high to clear the magazine, so I switched it to my Daystate with SportMatch rings. Mounts much lower and easily clears the magazine. I ended up with a Leupold on my Crown, mounted with the rings that came with my PARD DS35, which allows better scope clearance. This is where the adjustable comb on the Crown comes in handy.

Arken EPL4 (2).jpg


Arken (2).jpg


Leupold 4.5x16 (2).jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Hangtown-Shooter and Mr.H
Upvote 0
Hangtown-Shooter said:
I’m in the market for a new scope and I am considering placing an order for one of these new “lightweight“ 30mm Arken’s…. Anyone here using one of these yet?
How do you like it?

EPL4 6-24x50 FFP MIL VHR Illuminated Reticle with Zero Stop - 30mm Tube

www.arkenopticsusa.com www.arkenopticsusa.com

I am still open to other recommendations for something similar/comparable as well. Looks like these Arken’s are 2-4 weeks out on shipping currently...
This will be going on a Brocock Sniper XR Magnum in .22 for reference and I’d like something with 20+ power but I’d also like to keep the weight down.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I've got one 30mm tube, first my ONE dislike, the capped windage knob is small ok one more, I have a bit of an issue with the parallax, to me a touch harder to get than on my Elements . My likes, I LOVE the turrets, they go CLICK CLICK, huge positive clicks, you know when it's moved. The eye relief is a bit better in my opinion than the Elements. Glass is good, maybe not great but good enough even in low light. I love the reticles, clean simple with a .3 MOA dot, illumination works well. Clarity is very good edge to edge, I see no aberrations in any light. I shoot at orange/yellow paper targets, some use VERY light and small squirrels, zero issues in low light early evening light. I like that they support the SEALS. Their customer service is good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 850renxrs and Hangtown-Shooter
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu