I am a former (16 years total) Moderator, commentator, and reviewer from the now discontinued SWFA Optics Talk. I've had the Arken Optics EPL-4 for about a year now and have some comments on it.
Glass quality is better than anything I've used in the price range OR much more...compares with scopes I've spent 5x or more for. Reticle, I like it...works for hunting or tactical use (if you are just hunting game, there are some features you really don't need, but could use if you want). I would like to comment, Arken states the Eye Relief is 3.6 inches... for me, it is 4.6 inches measured over and over on different rifles... not a bad thing, just a difference. Mechanicals... 1) focus is good and simple, smooth, 2) magnification... very close to actual magnification when adjusted on point, smooth to turn, no complaints here, 3) parallax... once again, easy and smooth, at infinity adjustment, "I can see for miles and miles", 4) AZ and EL adjustments... WOW, very audible, very tactile...measured against the SnipersHIde Target TSSZ/V.01 target... 5) zero stop... easy to set up and always returned to zero, simple and straightforward. I evaluated the scope on 9 different rifles (at least 20 rounds with each rifle/movement) with 10 movements (one back to the original rifle) 1) Ruger American .308, 2) AR in 5.56, 3) CZ 500 in .375 H&H, 4) AR in 300 BLK, 5) FN FNAR .308, 6) Winchester Model 70 Laredo in 7mm STW, 7) AR w/14.5 in barrel in 6.5 Grendel, 8) AR 2/20in barrel in 6.5 Grendel, 9) Anzio Iron Works .50 BMG, 10) Ruger American .308 (where I intend for it to remain. An aside, with the setup on the Ruger American and the ammo I'm using, I need a little over 10 Mils for 1000 yards (10.2, actually)... I have 18.2 Mils of adjustment available with the Zero Stop set) for purposes of durability and precision teesting (why would I do that one might ask... each caliber/rifle type produces a different "moment of recoil" which COULD impact a scope... since I was testing, I decided to be somewhat extensive in the test conduct... some people buy a new rifle and scope, zero and then never shoot more than 10 rounds a year even if they rezero yearly...not much of a stress test). I admit, my test is not like shooting 10000 round of .375 H&H or .378 Weatherby Mag, but it certainly changes the test dynamic introduced to the scope with each iteration. Before zeroing on each rifle and after running the shooting series, I tested against the SnipersHide target. I've run those turrets MANY times and never saw a deviation in precision.
Final words... best inexpensive riflescope I've ever had my hands on (BTW, I've now had 3 Arken scopes and they all have been exceptional in performance). It is a true value for anyone looking for something that exceeds "just good enough" at a price that is hard to beat.