Ordered this Neos scope this morning while over Wisconsin heading back to Seattle from Washington DC, spent the flight there Monday and some time in the evenings after work reading and reading and reading about Athlon and what people have been saying. A lot of positive things out there and some 'interesting' reviews. I say that because some seem to be a bit off....not uneducated horrible grammar and misspelling, just off like they are not written by actual hunters, shooters or sportsmen.

So anyways, I ordered this in hopes to replace a Burris Fullfield II 4.5-14x44mm with a ballistic reticle on my Winchester 70 in 270 Win. I have used this scope for well over 12 years and it has been fantastic. Made in the Philippines, not the older US made. But I have wanted a bit more magnification and the side parallax. 30mm would be nice but for this rifle 1" was fine if I was able to get the power and side focus.

Ordered it in the morning and Amazon delivered it the evening, nice, here are my quick workbench thoughts as I mounted it up.

Optics, before I put it on the rifle I did the same/same settings and compare both of them against the houses in the neighborhood. Equal to the Burris, I am happy

Finish: it is new and my Burris has been used well, so ya it looks better for sure

Objective: same 44mm lens but the size is less without the OA, this looks much nicer to me

Turrets: the caps look modern, larger and square at the ends. My Fullfield had the old style knobs under the caps that had difficult markings and small knurled edges on the short posts so these larger knobs under the caps of the Neos are great. I can clearly see numbers, directions and revolution marks. Resetting zero is easy enough but obviously no zero-stop. Clicks feel good and noticeable and far better than those on my Burris, however there is a tolerance issue with the turret. Small movement so the machining isn't quite there, but at this price point I am very happy. Would this be acceptable on a scope 2x or more in price....absolutely not.

Side focus: this knob was a little tight, but no slop. Will have to get it to the range to see how it focuses and reads

Reticle: I got the standard X as the BDC was only available with illumination and I wasn't interested in that. Wish a standard BDC reticle was offered.

Magnification ring: this moves freely from low to high, quick and issue free. No slop.

Fast focus: this moves a bit too easy. I was able to adjust it nicely for my view, but afraid it will bump out of focus by rubbing again my clothes and/or pack. With is was right like the side focus or had a lock feature.

Eye relief: so far while mounting the scope it seems good, no red flags. Yes it tightens up at max power but that is what happens. No even close to some of the other budget scopes I have (Weaver Kaspa tactical 3-12x44, Simmons 6-24x44)

All in all, I am so far happy with the purchase. This weekend I will have it on the range and will see how it works out. No regrets so far. Will provide an update later

Have you ever felt like you wanted to try something out for your firearm, but never actually made the purchase for it because of hesitation and or other options? You just want to make sure you make the best decision, right?That’s how I was for about 5 or 6 months...half a year before a made a scope purchase for my rifle! Half a year!

I purchased a Neos for my Savage Bmag 17 WSM. I was looking at other more popular scope brands. I went out on a limb and got this. I have no regrets. Are there better options? Of course.

You get what you pay for, and with the price of this scope in 6-18x44 you’re getting a good deal. It also looks good. Yeah, I’m one of those people who needs something to look good on top of quality. As you see, this scope has covered turrets. I prefer exposed turrets, but it is not made in that configuration in the specs that I want. Would I prefer a 30mm maintube? Yes. But things like that bring up the prices. Sometimes you’ll just have to spend more money to get what you want.

Anyway, It has held zero. I mean, 17 WSM, though powerful for its size, is just a rimfire. I don’t know how the Neos will hang with centerfire rifles, but so far no problems. The warranty is also a BIG plus. Well, I’m done.