Athlon BTR vs Vortex Diamondback

HobieH3

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Both seem like really good scopes for the money. Thoughts?

Athlon has the illuminated reticle, which seems like an expensive option, making me wonder if the scope in general may not be as robust as the Vortex.
 
i just bought an athlon argos btr 4-14x for my 6.5 grendel last week. it is a decent scope for the money in my opinion. i havent had time to shoot it yet. all the reviews were good and it seems like it should track fine. glass seems clear. the only vortex scope i have is a gen 1 PST 2.5-10. i'd give the edge to the vortex but it was also double the price. i have 2 kids in daycare and wont be spending $500 on a scope for the next couple years.
 
Look at Riton..if you have LEO or military service they give you a nice discount.. there model 5 is not a bad scope...we ran it through the paces on a 6.5 Grendel gas gun and a 243 bolt rifle...it tracked out to 700 and back to 100..zero issues--good positive clicks and about $400 with a military discount.

https://www.ritonoptics.com/product/rt-s-mod-5-gen2-6-24x50ir-ffp/
 
The Athlon design is used by several companies. That particular design is pretty robust. They all seem to track pretty good.
 
The biggest negative for Vortex is most of their scopes have wire reticles. Even the bottom tier Athlon have etched glass.

I have not checked where the Vortex line starts using etched glass, but you need to remember that if your looking into buying one.
 
They don't compare. The Athlon is priced budget because they are built budget. They use lots of nylon internals, including the erector tube. They may be a fine range optic, but they will not be near as durable and with use, I would assume that adjustments would become less accurate down the road due to the budget construction. You get what you pay for in scopes.
Now, do I have actual experience? Nope, and that's due to the construction.
 
They don't compare. The Athlon is priced budget because they are built budget. They use lots of nylon internals, including the erector tube. They may be a fine range optic, but they will not be near as durable and with use, I would assume that adjustments would become less accurate down the road due to the budget construction. You get what you pay for in scopes.
Now, do I have actual experience? Nope, and that's due to the construction.
Have you had the DB tactical apart to confirm its internals are not made of inferior products? We are talking about a ffp optic for 350$.
 
They don't compare. The Athlon is priced budget because they are built budget. They use lots of nylon internals, including the erector tube. They may be a fine range optic, but they will not be near as durable and with use, I would assume that adjustments would become less accurate down the road due to the budget construction. You get what you pay for in scopes.
Now, do I have actual experience? Nope, and that's due to the construction.


100% agree. you get what you pay for. these scopes are made in china. i was under the impression they were made in japan when i bought it. but it's there on the bottom of the scope. same with the primarys arms bottom end 4-14 which is why i didnt buy it. i just need this thing to last me 2-3 years until i'm not blowing $2k a month on daycare and then i can afford to buy nice sh!t again.
 
Just checked the low end Vortex Diamondback have wire reticles and the upper end Vortex Diamondback are etched.

To.my knowledge all Athlon are etched.

I own some and will buy more Athlon. Just about everything is now made in an Asian country....so why sweat that issue.
 
Just checked the low end Vortex Diamondback have wire reticles and the upper end Vortex Diamondback are etched.

To.my knowledge all Athlon are etched.

I own some and will buy more Athlon. Just about everything is now made in an Asian country....so why sweat that issue.
Loopy and Redfield are US made, but Redfields are hunting scopes and the Leopoulds are outside my budget.

TRACT looks good, but I don't think they make FFP, so Athlon is in the lead. Gonna be on a 223 bolt gun, so it should hold up.
 
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