The Ares has UHD glass, The Heras does not.

 

Just an FYI, I have one Athlon scope, the Argos BTR Gen 2 10-40-56, and although I really like the scope, I have had to send it to Athlon twice. Did not track properly. I have to say, their customer service is excellent, they replaced it it both times, but..... Just my experience and my opinion.

 

I’m curious how much of a step these are from the BTR. There is more magnification of course but I will be at 50 yds for bench rest. Weight is a bit of a concern with sporter class also

 

That is why I prefer my Sightron III ED 45x45 for 50 yard benchrest and I especially like the 1/10 MOA turret adjustments.

 

I have the ares 15-60. The glass is quite good. The reticle is very nice for BR too. I have not field tested it yet .

I bought mine after looking through one of them at the range . He had it set at 40x, and I felt that it was very clear and bright . I did pick up a lot of mirage at the higher power but I think that’s common in higher power scopes .

The fellow that let me look through his also has a Vortex Golden Eagle . He claims if this scope was available at the time , he would not have bought a golden eagle .

My opinion is this scope punches above its price point. It is one heavy scope .. I think 38 oz.

Doug at camerland gave me best price

 

I have the ares 15-60. The glass is quite good. The reticle is very nice for BR too. I have not field tested it yet .

I bought mine after looking through one of them at the range . He had it set at 40x, and I felt that it was very clear and bright . I did pick up a lot of mirage at the higher power but I think that’s common in higher power scopes .

The fellow that let me look through his also has a Vortex Golden Eagle . He claims if this scope was available at the time , he would not have bought a golden eagle .

My opinion is this scope punches above its price point. It is one heavy scope .. I think 38 oz.

Doug at camerland gave me best price

Sure not very many reviews out on the Ares 15-60x56. How long has this scope been out? I searched you tube and only found a few videos. I’m somewhat intrigued by it being it checks the boxes of what I’ve been looking for.

I shoot informal by myself against myself so not breaking the bank is a plus in my situation. I like quality equipment but can’t bring myself to drop 2 grand on a scope.

 

Also look at the Sightron 8-32-56 if you want distance adjust-ability. I also have this on my Anschutz Benchrest Silhouette gun that we shoot 60,75,90 and 100 yards at 1/10th size silhouettes. It has outstanding glass and a choice of fine target dot or fine target cross hair reticles. I've gone pretty much exclusively Sightron and their customer service is second to none. JMHO

 

I'm a big Athlon fan, using a Cronus 4-29x 56 on my 22LR CZ457 that I shoot from the bench. After calling Athlon about wanting a high magnification scope with 1/8 moa turrets and a simple reticle, they told me they were coming out with a new scope. I waited a few months for the Ares 15-60X scope to arrive. Unfortunately I was not as simple as I wanted and came with a 30mm tube, so went with a Sightron SIII 10-50x60 LRTD, with a thin crosshair center 1/8 moa dot reticle on my 17hmr caliber CZ457. Been very pleased with the Sightron which comes standard with all the nice trim pieces (sun screen and popup lens covers) that are extra with Athlon. Doug @ Cameraland, mentioned by others, recommended the Sightron saying it would have clarity close to the Cronus. The key word is close, but no cigar. My next scope will probably will probably be the SV ED 10-50x60 version of the Sigtron which comes with upgraded lenses and a 34mm tube with greater elevation adjusmtent for longer range 22LR shooting. One word of warning, the high magnification scopes, have the turrets very close to the eyepiece, making mounting the scope rearward difficult. Recommend close review of the dimensional diagrams most optics company publish. If you like, I could make a picture of it mounted on the CZ457 and send when my wife is available to move the pic from the phone to the computer.

 

The Athlon comes with flip up lens caps, a magnification throw lever, a lens shade , and a parallax wheel . At 50 to 100yds , I had to keep going back and forth between the 15-60 and my Cronus to determine which was clearer . It clarity at those distances is comparable . Beyond 150 yds , I’m sure the Cronus would rule.

As one might expect at the higher magnification of the Ares , the depth of field was very small

I think this scope came out last summer. Panther Hollow does a nice review on YouTube, so does F Class John .

 

My Heras 15-60 arrived this weekend. Still interested in feedback?

 

Yes!

 

I got a Heras about 4 months ago. The Heras is far better than I expected. Optical clarity is much better than any other $6-800 scope I have looked through. Passed the box test with flying colors. The reticle knobs have good positive clicks and are smooth. The reticle is not my favorite, mainly because it is a bit too light for my eyes. It is a HUGE scope so be prepared for that. Really only suitable for benchrest use.

 

I was able to put around 100 rounds through my rifle with the Heras 15-60, and plan to shoot more this weekend. Anecdotally, I had zeroed with my Wheeler laser, and at about 40 yards, was able to clear my KYL rack down to the 1/4" target without further adjustment. So I very much felt like it was a special event. Also, this particular rifle got a shiny new 20" Varmint barrel the same morning. I had installed the scope too far back, and was having issues settling in properly. I mention this because it's got the most position-critical eye box I have used to date. At one point, I had the crosshairs centered on a 3" target, and missed repeatedly. Moved my head and got back into position, and could hit that 1/4" target over and over. That may be common for some shooters, but this was my first experience with being off that much. Which may be totally on me, but I wanted to mention it. The glass itself is great, although I didn't bother to get a critical look at the edges yet, or compare 40x to 60x. When it's nearly 100 degrees out, shooting prone off a mat is not my idea of fun. We were also asked not to shoot steel out in the brush, which kept our distances short. I've promised Athlon I would complete my review in a few weeks, so I'll gather some more info this weekend. But so far, I really like this scope. For reference, I also have the Vortex Venom, Arken EP-5, and a Blackhound Evolve. So this is my first scope with more than 5-25x magnification.

 

Time to get a rangefinder. What I thought was 40 yards last week was 50, as I set my KYL rack up at what I estimated was another ten yards farther this morning. My friend showed up with his rangefinder, and verified it was at 62 yards. So I brought it back in. With the scope and stock positioned correctly, and a 50 yard zero, it was pretty much the same as last week. Clearing the rack was super easy. It was also cooler out (less mirage) and I had the shade on with the sun behind me and to the left. So I was able to spend a little more time on the image quality, which is great. I know there is better glass out there, but not at this price. It's still a bit fussy about position, but once I was lined up properly, it's gold. The reticle is razor thin, and may be hard to see under some conditions. Being SFP, there's a learning curve for me when it comes to stretching out past 100 yards. The removable focus wheel is huge, but easy to use. The 1/8 MOA adjustments are appreciated as well. Overall, I am really liking this scope. I've got a new bipod on the way, and this will complete my CZ rimfire collection as the dedicated bench/target rifle.

 

Here's my finished review. Feedback and questions are always welcome.