ATHLON HELOS BTR 8-34X56 Review

So you are looking for ATHLON HELOS BTR 8-34X56? The Athlon Optics Argos is a terrific scope for its price. It provides most of the high end features that I've found only in expensive scopes. After reading a load of positive reviews about the product, I decided that this was the way to go with regards to expense and quality. Since I cannot afford to put thousands of dollars on premium quality glass for more expensive scopes, this one seemed like it the perfect fit for the job.
Although I was slightly worried about possible internal damage on being roughly handled during the journey, the package arrived in seemingly good order. I'm confident that the product is a great value for its money based on the reviews provided online for it.
Features

The Argos BTR family of scopes is ideal for anyone looking to purchase a less expensive long range scope with most of the high end features included.
Coating
The exclusive XPL coating protects the lenses from harsh weather conditions, as well as dirt and grease.
Tube
Crafted with 6061T6 aircraft grade aluminium, the 30mm tube protects the crystal clear optics from any sort of damage.
One Piece Design
The tube is supposed to be heat treated to provide extra body strength. This one piece design is said to keep the scope mechanically strong and maintained under any extreme conditions that it might have to face, when compared with multi-piece tubes.
Argon Purging
During the manufacture process, Athlon Argon is used to remove any trace of moisture content in tube, which is useful if the ever gets wets in the rain. In such cases, it would be easy to waterproof it. This purging also prevents any fog build up when the scope is moved from a cold to a warm environment, and the ability for the scope to withstand different temperatures.
Side Parallax Adjustment
A wide range of adjustments can be made easily using Side Parallax Adjustments provided to the scopes. This, along with the myriad of first plane reticles, provide easy elevation and windage adjustments.
Glass Reticle
The glass etched with the reticle provides excellent support for a complex reticle design which offers a high shock resistance to recoil and great durability.
Specifications
The basic specifications of the Argos Riflescope :
- Magnification Rate : 8 - 34x
- Lens Coating : Wide band, fully multicoated with XPL protective coating.
- Length : 15.5 inches
- Weight : 31.5 ounces
- Objective Lens Diameter : 55mm
- Tube diameter : 30mm
- Eye Relief : 3.3 inches.
- Click Adjustment : 0.1 MIL(Milliradian)
My Experience with the Athlon Helos Riflescope

It is also better to stick to high quality brands like Vortex or Leupold when purchasing scopes for long range shooting. However, the Athlon Helos is one product in a completely different price range that completes in the high leagues.
One small problem that I noted with the turrets was that the engraved hashes did not quite line up with the reference lines on the scope when I aligned my eye perfectly down the tube. One review provided an easy fix for this problem. Make sure the rifle is zeroed at the range and then after loosening the screws atop both the turrets, pop the caps off and realign the '0' on the engraved reference line before reinstalling the screws. This worked like a charm and the lines were perfectly lined up once this was done.
Overall, the RifleScope is a fantastic scope for a hunting rifle or a precision rifle build. However, owning to its weight, a suitable heavy weight hunting rifle should be used for mounting the scope and not a lightweight rifle or range toy like the AR10. The scope is the ideal candidate if someone wants to becomes familiar with the milliradian system and not the standard MOA used in most scopes. Since Athlon products have a lifetime warranty for any defects found, they guarantee to replace the optic with a new one if found to be damaged.
Pros
- The magnification ring has a raised nub for leverage, which is not too big to snag, and turns smoothly with not much resistance.
- The rotation of the illumination dial is smooth and tight, as with the magnification ring.
- The adjustable turrets can be re-zeroed.
- The illuminated reticle seems to work well even in low light conditions.
- The glass used is of high quality with etched reticle and FFP(First Focal Plane), meaning, the MOA or the MRAD hash marks can be used at any magnification level.
- The product has a lifetime guarantee against any possible defects or workmanship. No receipt or registration is necessary to get the optics replaced if needed.
Cons
Although the Athlon Helos has plenty of terrific qualities for an ideal, budget friendly scope, it has some negative points that I need to point out.
- First off, the scope is much heavier than expected.
- Also, the clicks in the adjustments are not as clearly defined as in Leupold, Vortex or Night force March optics.
- The turrets have very soft clicks and quite difficult to feel. The lines on the scope and turret did not match up and rested somewhere in between.
- After the 24x magnification, the image starts to get quite fuzzy and distorted, although it remains visible.
- Another major problem with this is that, with the 30mm tube, anything beyond 800 yards causes the recoil of the gun to throw the scope off target. And owning to the small field of view due to the tube, it is difficult to refocus and find the hit. For long range, 40mm or 50mm tubes are ideally suited for scoping. But those are almost 10x times as expensive.
ATHLON HELOS BTR 8-34X56 Video Review
Conclusion
After reviewing the Athlon Helos Riflescope, I'm immensely pleased with the overall product and consider it a great haul for its price. Despite the slight clicks in the adjustment and the weight of the scope, this is one product that I'd definitely recommend for anyone looking to purchase a scope for a long range shooter.
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