Nice. I've been wanting to try one of these scopes for a while now. I keep making excuses..lol.
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Quality Compact Scopes
- Thread starter jps2486
- Start date
@steve123 I have both of these scopes and you piqued my curiosity to compare atributes so I aligned them side by side just now. The small package of the Discovery HD is diminutive next to the Athlon Helos. The turrets of the Discovery are easier with somewhat less feeling in the clicks than Athlon. The focusing and power adjustment dials of the Athlon were a lot easier to rotate. The eye box was a little tighter with the Discovery but not by much, probably due to the smaller objective lense. As to color and vibrance at longer ranges, that would go to the Athlon and their noticable lense coatings. The Athlon has about 1/2 power more magnification level at full dial rotation. The Discovery had noticably more clarity and sharper focus on brush and branches though, at both long and shorter ranges.
What was cool about the Discovery HD is when simply setting the parallax at 50 yards everything is pretty much in focus and parallax free from 20 to 100+ yards; with the center dot not moving. The focus could be fine tuned at the different longer yardages but doesn't take much rotation the further out you are. A little more on that Discovery HD lense clarity, focus, and parallax setting-- the tree bark and brush, moss, granules on shingled rooftops, and the 5/16" holes in street signs were clear at 20, 35, 60, 75, and 100+ yards away, and all the way out to the very edges of the scope. The Athlon was clear too, do't get me wrong, just not as crisp. With the Athlon slight head bobbing caused a noticeable parallax distortion/movement at each of the different rooftops at the different ranges, so if this is what is considered "depth of field" then it was more pronounced than with the Discovery. The Athlon would make for a better, more precise yardage ranging type of scope because of this.
One more test, in a few minutes...
The sun has set now and the dusk winner is obviously the Athlon with the bigger objective. Tree tops at a 1/2 mile skyline have more color and depth, but even though there's less light coming through the Discovery it still has a bit crisper focus on branches.
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As mentioned above I'd say the Athlon definitely has the nod. Athlon is clearly a much higher quality scope when it comes to turrets and controls. Also warranty so if ever an issue I don't have to worry. The Discovery though for the $160 I paid for them is great for the price. The guns they are on are only about 60yd max pesting guns. The weight savings is really nice on the light compact guns they are on. If I wanted a good quality scope on a gun that mattered more for precise shots? No question it wouldn't be the Discovery. Athlon or Arken for me when it comes to those guns. But for close range pesting the Discovery is really nice for the price. But if something ever happens I don't expect much warranty wise which is the gamble I took on them.
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The scopes you are comparing, the Discovery is $189 and the model of Athlon you are comparing is about $500?
I just did a quick search to find the Athlon you were speaking of and just curious if that is the one you are comparing. They seem like they are in 2 different leagues as far as optics go.
The Discovery at $189 is 8.5” long, weights in at 16 oz.
The Athlon is $500+, 12” long, weighs in at 25 oz.
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These sit on two of my HFT pistols my EFT pistol is rocking the Sightron 4-20x50 s-tac
goal = figure out which reticle works better for me
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Has anyone here had the opportunity to check out the Maven CR.2 4-16X44? 11.6” in length, less than 17 ounces. $500. 25 yd min focus.
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It isn’t about the price. They both have the same specs for magnification level, they both have coated glass, they both have a parallax adjustment, they both have tactical exposed turrets, one has a bigger objective lense, but they are both made in China. One comes directly from the [Discovery Optics] manufacturing facility, and one has contracted to a scope manufacturing factory that will make their scope to their specs. What if tthey priced the Athlon at $238.00 instead of based on the popular Athlon name and Helos line?
The Athlon glass is not as clear and crisp as the Discovery HD.
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One is more than double the price, but of course that’s not the only difference. It’s also way larger in every aspect. They just don’t even fit the same category of optics and I don’t understand how these 2 can be accurately compared. Wildly different in every way. Not just being 2.5x the price. Longer, heavier, and bell objective lense.
Seems like the only thing they have in common is their magnification level.
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I like the Athlon Heras series because I'm partial to SFP scopes. The Sightron S-Tac is a great SFP scope as well with a nice reticle. If I were to choose a scope for PFT, I think the Heras 4-20 is the one I would pick.
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Really the only thing bigger is the objective lense and weight. The important aspects are nearly the same, including the 30mm tubes. I don't get hung up on prices because a lot of pricing costs are not based on manufacturing costs, especially here. To actually see where the differences actually are in two scopes of varying price but similar feature is good perspective.
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I have the Midas Tac HD and love it. Great scope. Really like Athlon.
What qualifies as a “compact” scope?
The weight of the Argos is 25.4 oz
The Discovery is 16.6 oz
The Argos is 53% heavier than the Disc.
The Argos is 11.8” long
The Discovery is 8.5” long
The Argos is 39% longer than the Disc.
I guess when talking about “compact” scopes my focus is on size. I wouldn’t really put them in the same class for those reasons. The Argos probably is the superior scope (if you had to choose one winner) but if compact really is the goal, the Discovery fits the bill.
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I got mine for about $160 and around $450 I think yes. Yes as mentioned they are in 2 different leagues. But what the discovery does that so few scopes do is have a parallax adjustment in a LPVO scope. If Athlon had a scope with these specs I'd be on it real fast
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Thanks for taking the time to compare!
The D-2-12 looks like a good fit for my Royale pellet gun because I want to keep it as light as possible and because I'll rarely use it past 80Y.
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You must mean Helos G2, right???
Aside from that I just wanted peoples general feelings of the HG2 vs the D. The D certainly seems like a great value for what it is. Seems like by building it with a 6x mag ratio and deeper DOF they pulled off decent IQ. It's also a recent design and D concentrated/spent the money/ on the IQ aspect which was a good move.
2-12 must be a Goldilocks of a sweet spot!
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I'm thinking so. I've asked Nightforce a few times over the years now to get us a small NX8 lpvo to that 2-12X range, with parallax. Wait and see...
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Mostly, scopes are a personal preference thing with everyone having their own likes and dislikes. From that perspective, it's hard to make or take recommendations because it's so... personal.
I will make a couple of comments/cautions based on my recent experiences, to people in the market for a new scope though.
I bought a mid quality ($900) First Focal Plane (FFP) scope for bench shooting. I found that the reticle was way too fine below 10 power and was best beyond 20 power. It's my first and will be my only FFP scope. The only reason I haven't traded it away is that I only use it for bench/target work at maximum magnification.
I also have one light weight compact scope. It's nice enough, smooth with good glass and reticle but what a pain in the butt to mount. No problem on a long dovetail (like on a springer) but it's awkward on the split dovetail receiver of a PCP and exponentially more difficult mounting on a picatinny rail. The coarse pitch of the picatinny base forces the location of the rings giving little or no ability to make adjustments because of the small ring mounting sections of scope tube. On one rifle mounting the compact scope was physically impossible. On another it required an off-set mount and eye relief was well forward of comfortable. I finally gave up and swapped the compact scope to a springer.
So, just a heads up for a couple of things to consider before making a purchase...
- I suggest that you look through the scope to check the reticle before buying. (Keep in mind that a super fine "target reticle" is all but impossible to see when hunting in the bush.)
- If at all possible, assemble scope, rings and rifle (with magazine in place) in the store to confirm that all the bits and pieces work together and can be adjusted to your needs. Limited to on-line orders, I really got burned on this one. I ended up buying 4 sets of rings before I arrived at a usable solution.
Hope this helps someone.
Cheers!
I will make a couple of comments/cautions based on my recent experiences, to people in the market for a new scope though.
I bought a mid quality ($900) First Focal Plane (FFP) scope for bench shooting. I found that the reticle was way too fine below 10 power and was best beyond 20 power. It's my first and will be my only FFP scope. The only reason I haven't traded it away is that I only use it for bench/target work at maximum magnification.
I also have one light weight compact scope. It's nice enough, smooth with good glass and reticle but what a pain in the butt to mount. No problem on a long dovetail (like on a springer) but it's awkward on the split dovetail receiver of a PCP and exponentially more difficult mounting on a picatinny rail. The coarse pitch of the picatinny base forces the location of the rings giving little or no ability to make adjustments because of the small ring mounting sections of scope tube. On one rifle mounting the compact scope was physically impossible. On another it required an off-set mount and eye relief was well forward of comfortable. I finally gave up and swapped the compact scope to a springer.
So, just a heads up for a couple of things to consider before making a purchase...
- I suggest that you look through the scope to check the reticle before buying. (Keep in mind that a super fine "target reticle" is all but impossible to see when hunting in the bush.)
- If at all possible, assemble scope, rings and rifle (with magazine in place) in the store to confirm that all the bits and pieces work together and can be adjusted to your needs. Limited to on-line orders, I really got burned on this one. I ended up buying 4 sets of rings before I arrived at a usable solution.
Hope this helps someone.
Cheers!
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