Checked out an Argos 1-8x24 in the gun shop a few weeks back and it was nice. Had the type of reticle I wanted, but more importantly at 1X, the size of the object in the view was like the actual object size, and the object position did not rise or fall or slide sideways representing the actual location of the object. This is necessary because if the object view is a different size or location compared to the actual object, you can get eye strain or double vision 2 eyes open, and then have to close one eye to use it, which now causes you to lose 45 degrees of peripheral vision. Looking at letters in a sign in the gun shop at 1x, moved the letters all around the view and no matter where I put them it was consistently clear edge to edge. It was like looking at a floating reticle hanging in the air like the scope wasn’t even there. Fantastically easy to use 2 eyes open. Just what I was looking for overall. But was not familiar with Athlon so wanted to check reviews. Came back to the gun shop later to buy it and it was sold.

I prefer to buy a scope I can check out physically before purchase because I had some very bad experiences with scopes made in China like two Vortex Strike Eagle Gen 2 1-8x24 scopes and two Vortex AR 1x scopes. They had horrid object position and fish eye/bowl refraction problems and major unusable 2 eyes open double vision at 1x. Both the first scope of each type and the warranty replacement scopes had problems. Also, the first Strike Eagle came with a broken turret mechanism from the factory. I also bought the older version of the Vortex 1x Prism scope afterward for a great price and it was wonderful, no problems. This is why I really liked that Argos in the gun shop as it had none of these types of problems. I also found out Vortex does not do formal quality control checks in the US facility on these Chinese made scopes and will drop ship direct from China to major retailers. No wonder the first 4 scopes were bad and the 5th one was excellent.

So I called Athlon and talked to a very helpful knowledgeable guy that mentioned Athlon does do some formal quality control checks in their US facilities and that if I buy a scope from another seller it will have the same function and quality. By the way, every person I have talked to at Athlon has been great. If the scope is good as the one in the gun shop, I was planning on putting out massive amounts of 5 star reviews all over the internet to let people know there is actually a scope maker that quality controls their Chinese made scopes and makes the best LPVO in the industry for the money. I have checked out massive amounts of LPVOs in retail stores and gun shows.

So bought an Argos 1-8x24 online. It was like a different scope. Clarity edge to edge in 1x was nowhere near as good as the Argos in the gun shop as the object would go in and out of focus all over the scope view and was not clear edge to edge. The object was noticeably slightly larger than the actual object and it dropped very slightly and moved very slightly to the right in the view. If I looked at a tree 10 yards away, the bark would have impeccable clarity to the far right of the scope view, then be just OK in the center of the view, then get fuzzy in the left side of the view. What happened?

My focus here is on the 1x capability of scopes because that is the primary reason I am buying an LPVO scope. Most name brand scopes don't seem to have these various problems in the 3x+ magnified settings even if they do in the 1x, or it’s just not noticeable. I also spend a lot of time verifying scopes if I have problems including running the scope though all the diopter / focus settings, at different distances, inside the house, outside the house, at night, etc.

I called Athlon to check about having them warranty the scope. I hate returning or warrantying things as it takes so much time, aggravation and inconvenience. Other scope companies have the lifetime warranty and pay for shipping both ways, but I found out Athlon wanted me to pay the shipping to them. So now I have to pay money out of my pocket on top of my time and aggravation, and if they decide it’s good enough and send it back, I just wasted my money and time. Come on Guys. So many other scope companies and retailers pay for shipping both ways when customers are having trouble with their product experience.

I also found out after talking to EuroOptics and Athlon was the Argos scope I bought from EuroOptics as a perfect demo scope was actually not a demo scope but a scope and box that was severely crushed in an accident, then validated by Athlon as in sellable new condition. Maybe the severe impact caused something to be slightly out of whack. I was freaked out when I saw the scope box was crushed, broken, sloppily glued back together, and basically unusable.

The Argos has a nice reticle and the clarity of the illumination in all different situations is probably the best I have seen in this price range, except the dots can be just a little touchy. In the 2x+ powered settings it seems to have good clarity. Like it's competitor's scopes, the illumination is good but does not work in bright light conditions against light colored backgrounds. Not a daylight bright illumination. It also does not have some of the functions of other competitor scopes like an extended magnification knob, back up battery storage, or a distance estimation etching. But it does have the lit up BDC drop points that some others don't have and I love.

Funny thing is that all things considered, my Athlon Argos 1-8 is still better than the numerous Vortex Strike Eagle Gen 1-8 LPVOs I had to return.

I wish Athlon would have just pulled scopes off their racks, verified / quality checked them to find me a good one, and ship it to me at no cost to me. I am not sure what I am going to do with the scope. Maybe Athlon will contact me and take care of me . Who knows.