Athlon Scopes - your opinion?
- Thread starter adzmullen
- Start date
I currently have the MIL version of this scope on two air rifles and one on a very accurate .22lr (along with three others on powder burners (up to 7 WSM). I much prefer the MIL reticle and the dot-of-death over the MOA version with the BDC reticle.
Here’s one on a Wildcat .25
Here’s one on a Wildcat .25
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Originally the DMR designation was short for Designated Marksman Rifle.
A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high-precision rifle used by infantry in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at around 300–600 metres (330–660 yd).
But I don't think Athlon(let's label it a MPVO/Medium Power Variable Optic) understood just how much, hunters in general, and also we air-gunners, would like this scope.
The AR-15 types are a hard crowd to convince because they prefer Red Dot's, LPVO's, or mid power scopes with a reflex slight mounted off the pic rail above or beside this scope. But if one doesn't need 1x, or more than 12x, this DMR Helos G2 is a fantastic scope. I know for me 12x wasn't a hindrance when shooting medium sized steel out to 1143Y with my AR in 6mmFatRat.
Other Optics companies have tried to come up with their FFP MPVO's and have largely failed because for some odd reason they are afraid to put a thicker reticle actually designed well for this magnification range while also missing the boat in other key features.
A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high-precision rifle used by infantry in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at around 300–600 metres (330–660 yd).
But I don't think Athlon(let's label it a MPVO/Medium Power Variable Optic) understood just how much, hunters in general, and also we air-gunners, would like this scope.
The AR-15 types are a hard crowd to convince because they prefer Red Dot's, LPVO's, or mid power scopes with a reflex slight mounted off the pic rail above or beside this scope. But if one doesn't need 1x, or more than 12x, this DMR Helos G2 is a fantastic scope. I know for me 12x wasn't a hindrance when shooting medium sized steel out to 1143Y with my AR in 6mmFatRat.
Other Optics companies have tried to come up with their FFP MPVO's and have largely failed because for some odd reason they are afraid to put a thicker reticle actually designed well for this magnification range while also missing the boat in other key features.
Upvote 0
The whole thing, I could live without the Christmas tree.
So far I on my have used the illumination on low magnification at close range. At higher mag in low light I have yet to need the illumination.
Upvote 0
Since I won PFT Hunter and high score at AZ state last Friday with 39/40 using the Helos G2 DMR 2-12x42 I'd say pretty darn good.
Upvote 0
I have 2 mrods, one with and one without the aluminum cylinder. (I did the aluminum cylinder before JSAR
) However Picking both guns up fully dressed, I hardly notice a difference, one is 6 lbs and other is 8 lbs (have other light weight mods done to the lighter one). If those JSAR tubes were closer <$150 shipped I'd probably consider another, but not at $200 shipped, basically cost of another gun or lighter scope. 200$ is asking a lot to go from 8lb to 7lb if you ask me.I'm still waiting for the right Non-wide FOV 2-12x scope with a reticle that consumes a bit more of the optic at max, not a fan of thick lines in my FOV when scoped. Heck you can notice a huge difference in the thick lines of the MOA vs MIL version of the same scope above with both at 12x.
-Matt
Upvote 0
I think a big part of the reason for my success is because of my gun which is my Thomas FT rifle converted to pistol form. Back when I was shooting with team Centercut they'd name their guns, so in rifle form I named it Purple Reign, and in pistol form I named it The Purp, which is a pun on the word Perpetrator. Yes the moniker is silly but it makes me laugh.
Upvote 0
Do you use the same gun and scope for regular FT?
I own a full size Thomas but I have a Thomas carbine on order now since 1 Jan 24 of this year; really looking forward to getting it in my hands. The carbine version will be at least 1 lb lighter than my full size Thomas.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
The stop is just a hand stop that I bought a couple decades ago but I can't remember the brand it is. All I know is it fits a Anschutz rail.
Yes it's the same gun. A little bit of a hassle converting back and forth but then again I saved some money not having to buy a seperate pistol.
A major bad part is I got a new phone a month ago and my guns didn't transfer over in the SHOOTER ballistic app so I had to do all my dope for both pistol and rifle again. The match was Friday at 2:00 and I converted to pistol that morning and figured out my distances, dope, and got it all sorted in the app in a couple hours.
However there was little time to do my rifle dope by Saturday morning and it was slightly off, enough to split twice high at 45Y on a 1.25" KZ about 4 lanes into the match. At least I saw where on the 2nd shot I missed and made a few quick corrections in the app so the match went okay after that, well except the Me part, lol.
Yes it's the same gun. A little bit of a hassle converting back and forth but then again I saved some money not having to buy a seperate pistol.
A major bad part is I got a new phone a month ago and my guns didn't transfer over in the SHOOTER ballistic app so I had to do all my dope for both pistol and rifle again. The match was Friday at 2:00 and I converted to pistol that morning and figured out my distances, dope, and got it all sorted in the app in a couple hours.
However there was little time to do my rifle dope by Saturday morning and it was slightly off, enough to split twice high at 45Y on a 1.25" KZ about 4 lanes into the match. At least I saw where on the 2nd shot I missed and made a few quick corrections in the app so the match went okay after that, well except the Me part, lol.
Upvote 0
Can't go wrong with the Athlon Helos BTR GEN2 2-12X42. The line thickness of the reticle is great for close-in shots on low magnification compared to other FFP scopes. It's a good all around scope. Maybe not the best for benchrest but it does other things great. I have other high end scopes and the glass on this Helos suits me fine.
Upvote 0
Yes the same gun. I ordered it with the intention of converting it back and forth. Almost wish I had ordered the next size down because mine is still kinda heavy.
I use the Athlon ETR 15-60 for FT.
These are worth the wait and Mike N keeps improving them as time goes by.
Upvote 0
I own a number of Athlon scopes including Midas-Tac, Helos and Heras. All have excellent optics. The reticles do vary from model to model, so you will have to make your own decision here. I prefer SFP scopes myself, so lately I've been using my Heras models more. I have a 6-24 and a 4-20.
Upvote 0
Helos G2 DMR 2-12x42 - I bought one - unfortunately the parallax knob was bound and box appears to have been previously opened up so I sent it back for a replacement …… waiting… but it was a pretty cool scope otherwise.
Upvote 0
