I'm looking to scope several rifles this spring... from a 5.56 DMR, to a 6.5CM, to a 300WM. I was considering the following two scopes.

https://cameralandny.com/shop/athlo...0e196?variation=2891674&query=athlon

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...90e196?variation=3114718&query=S-TAC

These two scopes seem to be aimed at a similar user, at a similar price point. For those of you that have handled or own both... Which did you like better and why?

Thanks in advance,

<Snort>

Helos=China

S-TAC=Not China

This /\

The 2-12x has a dozen more Mil's on the erector and locking turrets. Hint...................

At $500ish plus why not just get a SWFA SS 3-15x42? Its only $600 on sale and a better made scope than either you listed. I have no experience with the Athlon but the S-TAC is fairly nice. I would suggest the 4-20 though over the 3-16. Weight is very similar but optically speaking i like the 4-20 better. The eye box is also a little less fussy. Both are ok for the majority of the magnification range until you get near the max. Not a huge deal for paper punching but for hunting im not 100% thrilled with either. If i was going Athlon it would be a Midas TAC 4-16x44 but the cost is just too much imo.

https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-3-15x42-tactical-rifle-scope-3.html

Illumination,locking turrets and zero-stop. Hint...............

Can you walk us through the build process of the SWFA and the S-TAC and describe the differences that make the SWFA "better made?"

Paula,

You AMAZINGLY Stupid Brokedick Fhuqk,fortunately for you imagination and Pretend are FREE,so you can "afford" to "contribute"...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?



Start a Thread if/when you fire your first Live round of the year. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!.................

I went through the same thought process.

Here are some pictures that someone posted with the the Sightron.

Sightron Pictures

The Sightron looks like it is on the thin side from these pictures. ETA: (It is a .05 Mil reticle from the literature)

Stick has some great pictures of the reticle of the Helos in this thread:

Sticks pics

That plus his descriptions of his experiences with the Helos talked me into getting them.

I LOVED everything about it but the weight. The reticle is great and very easy to see against all backgrounds. It seemed to track well doing an at home box test. The clarity is great on them. Good eyebox. Nice parallax adjustment range. I really like them, it was just too heavy for how I prefer to use my rifles. I almost never shoot off a bipod or bags and the weight made my rifle feel very top heavy and I never felt like I "gelled" with it I felt like I was fighting with it rather than being comfortable behind it. I prefer a 20 oz or less scope. I am a "scope wimp" and not afraid to admit it.:)

While I don't have any experience with the SWFA, it has a good reputation and it does have a slightly thicker reticle (.06 Mil vs .05 Mil on the Sightron). The Helo reticle is quite a bit thicker at .08 Mil, but I didn't find it to be detrimental. The SWFA 3-15 is also on the heavy side (or I would have gotten it.)

Personally, if you don't mind a 25 oz scope, I would definitely get the Helos. If you don't like it, they sell pretty quickly.

I got mine from Doug at Cameraland and I highly recommend him.

and just like that Bigley Sally tosses insults at Paul..........I'll be next as I live in Salleys head, hint, lol, laughin', #gottasnortsawdustBStimberjackoff, hint

apologies for the Touretts outburst........now returning to the inquiry by ElkSnort in the OP

The locking turret thing is a real advantage. I've got an STAC 3-16 and optically it's great and it tracks perfectly and the illumination is great but the windage turret is pretty easy to bump if you're using it in the field. I haven't run out of erector but it's pretty rare for me to shoot past 1,200 yards and with 20moa bases, most 30mm scopes work fine for me.

I doubt he really rates you at all, let alone be living in his head 😂

I've never personally seen or shot a BTR Gen2 '12x on anything "smaller" than a Howie Carbon Queen 22 PPC AFI(19"). Hint..................

I own both scopes mentioned by the OP. The sightron does have a different reticle than the one mentioned if it matters.

Everything about the athlon feels like a step up I'm quality. The feel of the adjustments, the power ring and parallax adjust all feel a lot better. I believe the glass is a step up as well. The illumination doesn't suck either.

If you can stomach owning a Chinese made optic, it's an easy choice

Can't say I'm a huge fan of Chinese goods. That said, they make everything! I am really being swayed toward the Athlon, especially for the DMR AR.

I'm ALSO now considering the SWFA SS 3-15× for my Magnum Research Mountain Eagle 300 Win. Is there anything to be concerned about regarding the SS 3-15? With the exception of the hd glass, is it built like the SS 3-9×?

Not to derail, but what's the word on the Arkens? Thinking about one on an upcoming .22 build.

I'm not a 3-9x fan,as it NEEDS parallax adjustment. I prefer the 3-15x MQ FFP to same,but the 6x MQ over both...if only because I've multiples of each. Hint.




Vudoo Hummer. Hint.



Vudoo 22LR. Hint.



Just sayin'.

Hint............

Stick, what are the black stocks on the stainless rifles please? I think I like the ergos, especially the shape/ contour of the pistol grip for a straight-up hunting rifle. Reminds me of a Bansner.

OEM Barrett Fieldcrafts,with LOP reductions from issued 14.25" to 13.5"...ala THE stock Doc(Joe Ducos). Hint.

Subtle,but HUGE Utilitarian increase in ergo's. Radiused toe(s) too. Hint.





Unless you mean Carbon Howie Mini's. The Kali Kid has NO equal. Hint.







Do it(all).

Hint.................(grin)

I have 2 stacs. They track and repeat...but thin reticles with no illumination to help, and no zero stop...

Thanks, appreciate it. I should have recognized them!

Athlon Optics Helos BTR GEN2 2-12x42 Rifle Scope
Visit the Athlon Optics Store
4.2 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

Best Seller
Price: $476.99 shipped

Hows the Athlon 2-12 compare to the SWFA 3-15 for size?

They're not miles apart but Athlon is a bit shorter and a bit lighter. I much prefer the 2-12 Athlon due its features and image quality.

I bought 2 Athlon 2-12, 1 for a AR 15 6.5 Grendel 1 for a LH Tikka 223 no range time yet need to get off the couch!

Thanks for all your input on the scopes fellas! I will be putting in an order for the Helos here very soon.

Dictator Xi winning!

As physical properties go,the Gen2 is shorter in length,but 2-ounces heavier and them is GOOD "trades". Hint...................

I’ve got 3 of the 2-12’s, one of the 4-20’s.

The reticle in the 2-12 is exactly as stated, a killing reticle. It’s very nice. I like the finer reticle in the 4-20 as well too.

I’ve got a few 1-6 SS’s, 6x SS’s, 10x SS’s and a few 3x9 SS HD’s. I don’t believe I’d ever buy another 3x9 SS unless it is a weight thing as the 2-12 has a lot more good stuff without extra money.

I think you'll be VERY pleased if you look at our current Flash Sale Page

Sweet. Hint...............

Might could help. Hint.............

How do you like the Helos as compared to the old Bushy LRHS ?

I've got a Helos on order now, and want to compare for myself. But curious what your eyes tell you. Helos glass/eye box at 12x vs LRHS glass/eye box at 12x.....

Winner???

While glass is very much subjective,I've yet to encounter anyone who regarded a LRHS,LRHSi,LRTS,LRTSi or DMR 2 as having "better" glass,if only because I own them all and extrapolations are a breeze. Hint.

My favorite Bushie is easily their discontinued 3-12x LRTSi and I prefer the Gen2 2-12x by a goodly margin,for Killing. Hint.



Just saying...............

Appreciate the input.

One has to see to believe.

So I'll be putting the Helos up against:

LRHS 2-12
LRTS 2-12
XTRIII 3-18

Will see what comes out on top in the "Yeah I can throw this scope up and go kill things" department

Just ordered an Athlon and a set of Warnes to hold it. Thanks Doug and Camera land. Stick made my mind up.

...Hint 😂

HA! After all the debate... a Bushnell LRSTi 3-12× came up for sale locally at a reasonable price that I ended up bringing home with me. I couldn't resist! But I'm still going to get a Helos for another rifle. <no more hints needed>. 😉

If the Bushie doesn't work out for you, I could give it a loving home.

I felt real stupid for getting rid of its non-illuminated twin. This one is staying!

<Snort>

Hey guys, got my Helos 2x12 today. Took it out looked it over and mounted it on a Tikka 7-08. Hears the deal, the windage turret snaps up (make adjustment) then it solidly snaps back down into place. However the elevation turret pulls up kinda hard (make adjustment) it just kinda mushes back down, no snap in place, no solid landing. Am i nitpicking or is this not right?

Good chinese child labor is hard to find...

Well then they need to beat the little pricks hader.

I'd loosen the zero-stop,tighten the turret and Post pics,so cumcatcher can see what she's trying to "talk" about. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!.....................

Fortunately,Imagination and Pretend are free,so even Whining Clueless Brokedicks can "afford" to "contribute"...the "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Pardon wares that exist. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!...............

Poor dumb fat Larry...what happened to your claims of a 6x Super Poseur scope being "IT" for long range? I've been here long enough to remember all your lies over the years...HINT

Well at least she can "afford" to steal cartoons...the "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Bless your poor poor(literally) heart for Crying though.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............

.

Tag
Hank

Well, I (along with my bro) broke down and bought a Helos during the Cameraland sale. I can't wait to give it a beatdown!

It is a nice scope packed with features but damn it hurts seeing the MADE IN CHINA! Love everything else so far though.

I started looking at the Helos 2-12x42 a little while back. For now, it is sitting on an accurate 10/22 getting turrets spun to see if anything loosens up. It will go onto my280Rem after that.
In terms of packaging, image quality and reticle design, Athlon did a lot of things right with this scope. I have a couple of other broadly comparable designs to compare it to, which I will do a little later, but it an easy scope to use and so far the turrets have been very consistent.

As far as how important it being made in China goes, that's for you to decide. Athlon does not hide where their products are made, so you get to choose whether it bothers you or not.

ILya

I really want to like the s tac, but the turrets need help.They turn way too easily. I'm not confident I could get through a hunt without inadvertently getting one turned. I'm thinking about removing the windage turret and capping it with something, and using the jam but zero stop to help with the elevation turret.

The Helos is a better choice. The turrets are much more positive even unlocked.

Doug,

I've emailed you guys a couple times without a response, as I've ordered two scopes. Do you have any idea when the Helos 2-12× scopes will come off backorder?

Thanks.

Elk, I’ve always called them with any questions I’ve had and they were always helpful. I’ve bought a lot from Cameraland and I’ll be buying more in the future. Neil, Doug and Joel are great guys. 👍….call’em.

From what I'm told they are in route to us.

Odd, I reply to every e-mail I receive. Sometimes it takes a half day depending on how many e-mails I have. Are you e-mailing [email protected] ?

Doug, apparently I had replied to a "do not reply" email address. My bad. Thank you for responding on here.

No worries,

I can’t believe everyone missed this easy jab.

I remember back when Stick was touting Leupy’s…at least we’re past that BS

So what are you touting, in fact what is your point?

I have changed my mind on different things over the past 10+ years too. Bust sticks balls all you wish I don’t care but pick something other than the Leupold stuff. 10-15 years ago I didn’t like Brussel sprouts now I love the way my wife fixes them. Some things change. Sometimes we change I guess.

Update after using both for a few months...the Athlon is a better hunting scope but the Sightron is much easier to use at the range and for busting rocks and for what I use scopes like this for, I'll probably end up putting these STAC FFP/MIL scopes on a bunch of rifles.

The Athlon reticle (as Stick has said many times) is an awesome practical reticle. The heavy part of the crosshair is about like an old Leupy *heavy* duplex...very thick and very visible in low light even without the illumination turned on.

The Sightron FFP MIL reticle is about like a Leupold regular duplex. Pretty solid out to the end of legal shooting light but getting closer to dark you will lose the reticle, basically like most hunting scopes. Note this still a much more visible reticle in low light than say a Bushy DMR 3-21.

In short...if you want a locking windage turret and a heavy duplex reticle with a heavy center dot...basically a big game hunting reticle...the Athlon is the clear winner. I have one living on one of my Whelens and I'm about to move a second one to a 338WM. The Athlon is also just a nice scope to get behind at 2x. Big FOV and not picky on head position. It's almost hilariously better in that regard than my NXS 2.5-10...if I had to take a shot in a hurry I'd pick the Athlon every time over my NXS 2.5-10, not to mention the reticle is much heavier and easier to use in low light.

Where the Athlon was less perfect was at the range. For shooting targets much smaller than 2moa, it sometimes got tough as the reticle feels like it subtends about 1.5 inches at 100 yards (Athlon says it's .3 mils).

Also, the ilium knob on both my Athlons are so stiff it mostly takes two hands to get them turned on without running the parallax to either infinity or to 10 yards. The reticle is heavy enough you don't always need the illumination but worth mentioning.

The Sightron illumination is pretty easy to turn on. You might bump the parallax knob but you won't run it completely out of focus. The Sightron has less erector travel but with 20 moa bases it'll get you past 1200 yards with most cartridges.

Sightron glass may be (to my eyes) marginally brighter at dusk, but that is mostly splitting hairs. At the same power at both dusk and full dark both scopes wer pretty similar to a several different VX-3's.

I'll keep the two Athlons but I will probably end up owning more of the S-TAC FFP/MIL scopes. They're quite a bit easier to use shooting steel and I only need 15 mil of travel for most of the shooting I do. The zero stop works well and if I need to take it hunting I'll pull the windage knob and tape a cap over it.

Regardless it's surreal to use a $500 scope (in either case) that has parallax adjustment, tracks perfectly, and has a very good reticle for its intended purpose.

Give the 4-20 Helos a try. I’ve both and prefer the 4-20 for the same reasons you mentioned, it’s reticle is a hair thinner I believe than the 2-12. For hunting, either or will do, but the 4-20 covers both pretty well for me.

Great review though. Thanks TX

You are using the dot in the Athlon the wrong way
Don’t dab it on the target, rather visualize the bullet hitting at 12 o’clock on the dot and use the top center of the dot as your aiming mark

I'll give the 4-20 a shot.

That occurred to me, thanks, the first time I sent a round downrange. It's the only way to shoot for group with this or any other scope with a thick center aiming point or thick reticle (or with irons). But every other scope I own works just fine putting the crosshairs where I expect the bullet to impact.

The Athlon is a great scope and I'll keep using them on the two rifles I've got them bolted on. At 2x in low light they are truly awesome which is not the case with any other FFP scope I can think of off the top of my head.

But there seemed to be a general consensus that the Athlon was better in all ways for all purposes vs their equivalently priced competition, which was not the conclusion I came to. For dinging steel and busting rocks I prefer the Sightron. If someone needs the extra elevation and doesn't mind the thicker reticle, more power to them.

good advice . I unconsciously starting doing this on shots over 300 yards and dawned on me why my shooting improved with a dot

Just a heads up we have launched our Labor Day Sale

I bought two of the Athlon and one Sightron in question early this summer.
I like the Athlon better, although one of mine eats batteries. That aside, I like the reticle and the locking turrets. The Sightron windage knob is way too easy to turn. I took the windage knob off and am grinding down a rubber leg cap to cover the mechanism. Still too much rubber as it interferes with ejection unless I tip the rifle to the right as I run the bolt.
I like both reticles. I think the Athlon will be better for hunting in timber and I probably prefer the Sightron for plains hunting. I like the illumination of both. The glass is as good as I need for hunting.