My comments after receiving my scope. I own quite a few scopes and camera lens and consider myself an optics snob. I appreciate and I'm willing to pay for quality optics if I have to. That said............I love a bargin.
· Image quality, feature set, tracking and construction is Exceptional for this price point. This Arken is an exceptional value. Image quality equals scopes costing up to $ 1,000.00. A very crisp and detailed image can be obtained using the side focus knob. Image contrast and color definition is Very Good. Image brightness is Very Good in low light conditions. Color rendition, contrast definition and crisp focus is slightly better than the Vortex Viper PST Gen. II 5-25x50 when compared at the same magnifications. I feel this scopes performance and features are a bargain for the price, despite some flaws of the illuminated reticle which are not detrimental in actual usage under low light conditions if you have enough time to fiddle with the controls to obtain a usable, visually clear illuminated reticle. This scope is built like a tank.
· Closest crisp focus distance on 4x is about 24 feet. Closest crisp focus distance on 16x is about 42 feet.
· Very little ‘Fish Eye’ distortion is apparent at 4x but does get a little worse as power increases. Not really an issue.
· Very little ‘Tunneling’ occurs across the entire magnification range. This scope has less than the Tract Optics Toric Ultra HD, 4-20x50.
· Apparent ‘Field of View’ (FOV) is slightly wider (approx. 10%) than the Vortex Viper PST Gen. II and even more so (approx. 15% more) than the Tract Toric at the same power levels. It visually appears wider than the OEM technical specs depict for FOV between all these scopes. The Arken definitely has a more comfortable FOV. It is easier to keep a subject in the FOV using the Arken.
· Image and reticule appearance quality is not altered as magnification is varied up or down.
· White Wall Test: Image brightness is Very Good at or below 12x but begins to slightly darken at 13x and expectedly gets worse as power increases. At 16x it is only somewhat noticeable at dusk but is not a real problem in partial or full sun light. This is mainly due to physics of Exit Pupil getting very small (3.1mm) as power magnification increases to full power.
· Fast focus Ocular adjustment works well. Medium stiff ring movement reduces mis-adjustment due to casual impacts.
· Power magnification ring dial movement is quite stiff but smooth. It needs the optional large ring lever. Dial ring diameter is 1.850”.
· Large 1.655” (42mm) diameter Elevation and Windage turrets are very precise with very tactile and audible clicks. They DO NOT lock. Could be knocked off zero if woods hunting...bumping into trees.
· Some amount of ‘Vignetting’ can be seen at every magnification power but is not a real issue. Above 9x shadowing subsides a great deal.
· Image is crisply focused mostly all the way out to the edge of the image on every power if the head is held on or near scope center line. The outer 3-5% of the image will distort slightly but only if head is not on center line and only at power levels above 10x. Not really an issue.
· The MOA First Focal Plane reticle is very precise, accurate and crisp…………. when NOT illuminated.
· Reticle Illumination: The illuminated reticle feature is not very good. Only the center dot and short segmented center cross hairs receive illumination and brightness level is extremely dim and gets blurry (blooms out) when increased above #3. Illumination is very weak and is only practical to use on very dimly light ambient conditions or in almost complete darkness. Not usable in daylight conditions. Knob has very stiff detents. User must fiddle too much with intensity and magnification controls to obtain a usable reticle. At the very last moments of sun light at dusk, settings #2 and #3 work best against dark subjects without blooming the reticle too much.
· Exit pupil eye box is fairly generous and usable but precise centerline head placement behind scope is required to avoid all “scope shadow” which occurs slightly in the lower magnification ranges below 12x. Above 12x requires even more effort to maintain a good sight picture. That said…………This scope is fairly easy to get behind and follow a moving subject even on 10x.
· I have not performed a tracking test yet but it is known to track perfectly from internet reviews.
· The optional flip-up scope caps are heavy duty, well made excellent covers and fold completely flat when opened.
· Both the Arken MSR type one piece scope mount and their individual scope rings are very well made.
· The only thing this scope is lacking IMHO are Locking Turret Caps. No big deal. This scope is a steal for the price!
Not mounted at this time.
Get ready to roll, dodge, and strategize your way through the ever-escalating challenges of "Slope"!
Nice setup!
I fitted the SH-4 Gen II 4-16x50 to a Remington 700 using the Arken Halo # AHSR-34Low, CNC machined 7075-T6 aluminum, 34mm, split type scope rings. They feature a single 0.195” wide recoil lug integral to the lower ring base that fit the Pic rail slots perfectly having only 0.005" clearance in the rail slot. These Low height rings elevate the scope centerline to 0.920” above the Picatinny rail. Using these Low height rings produced the most compact bolt action rifle setup I've ever put together. I love how low the scope centerline is. My eye naturally drops into the scopes pupil eye box after shouldering the rifle.
These are very low rings! It was a tight fit making sure everything missed each other but it all worked out in the end. Care must be taken when mounting to a bolt action rifle to ensure there is proper clearance at all points. A slight clearance relief was required (minor filing) on one Picatinny rail ‘dog ear’ corner to avoid contacting the scopes erector spring plug located in the lower turret body. The bottom of the turret body cleared the top of the Picatinny rail by only 0.015".
I initially mount the rings on the Pic rail and check the alignment with a piece of perfectly straight machined bar stock that I have just for this purpose. I did not feel the need to lap the rings as the scope was a great fit into the saddles after using my scope bar. No slop at all when the scope is placed into the lower ring halves. The close fitting recoil lugs on the lower ring bases help to avoid miss-aligning the rings on the Pic rail.
While I prefer a single 1/2" nut clamping fastener design, at the ring clamp to Pic rail interface, this two screw design works fine if your very careful not to misalign the clamping plate due to uneven gaps as the two screws are made up. Go slow and make sure the plate meets the rail flat and aligns straight to the underside of the rail. The clamping plate is aluminum and could twist and deform if the plate doesn't meet the rail evenly. If that happens the rings may not be in alignment and could damage the scope tube. That's why I pre-fit the rings using my scope bar. A single one nut design greatly reduces ring miss-alignment potential and is much quicker to install. That said............these rings will work fine if you pay attention.
These rings have only a very small gap between the ring halves after being installed. I'm not sure why Arken feels the need to cut this clearance so close. This is not a show piece rig where every parting line is scrutinized for looks. You can't see a gap at first glance.....but it is there. Only a 0.004” gap was remaining on both sides after the specified 18 in./lbs. of torque was applied. On hard use field rifles.......I generally like to see more clearance than that between the rings to ensure the halves don't touch and for ease of installation......... but as long as they don't touch they will work. Four thousandths doesn't leave much room for error though. Understand that 18 in./lbs. isn't a lot of clamping force for such a heavy scope. If you have a heavy recoiling, light rifle with a heavy scope like this one and if they don't clamp the tube well........... the scope could slip. This heavy Remington Sendero in .25-06 doesn't kick at all............so this rig should not see any scope movement. If I was mounting this scope and rings on a lighter and larger caliber rifle.......... I would have cut the ring gaps larger just as insurance for my piece of mind. Due to the small ring gap.....go slow when making up the ring half screws to ensure they pull down evenly. I used feeler gauges to check ring gap clearance as I drew them down to final torque spec..
I used a TPS Products #20200-001-01 XP extended length, one piece steel, matte black, Picatinny 'Dog Ear' style scope mounting rail. The front end of the extended length rail just missed the taper of the objective bell by about 0.060" and the rear end missed the magnification ring by about the same amount. It was close but it worked.
I'm not real happy with the powdery black coating Arken is using on the scope and the rings. It's not very durable. The slightest contact with any thing metallic will mark or scratch it. I need to put some matte black paint in the Torx ring screw sockets as they now look terrible even though I used a very tight fitting Torx bit to make them up.
Even with my above comments............I really like this scope. Looking forward to see what comes next from Arken.
Nice review one of the best I have read and agree completely with everything but the illumination review I guess mine doesn't starburst that much or my eyes are not as good as yours but you wrote up a fine excellent review! 👍👊👏
Well damn…
Very nice and objective write up!