Swampfox VS Arken

[12Bravo20]

I thought I would start a thread comparing the Swampfox Optics Patriot 6-24 Sharpshooter Grid Reticle MIL against the Arken SH4 Gen 2 6-24 MIL VPR.

This initiative review is from looking through each scope at a target 100 yards away. I have not shot with the Arken scope yet. I will update this after I get some ammo.

Both scopes are 6-24x50. The SF has a 30mm tube while the Arken has a 34mm tube. Both have a very similar Christmas tree type reticle.

Reticle:

• Patriot graduated to 10 MIL below center
• Arken graduated to 12 MIL below center

The main differences are:

• Weight: Patriot - 25 ounces
• Arken - 36.6 ounces

Turret knobs;

• Turrets are a little stiff on both.

• The main difference is how HUGE the knobs are on the Arken. You can use them with GI issue arctic mittens on.
• Clicks are good on both scopes and well defined on both.

MILs per revolution of turret

• Patriot 15MOA/6 MILS per revolution
• Arken 8 MILS per revolution

Max elevation and max windage:

• Patriot 65 MOA, 65 MOA
• Arken 32 MIL, 10 MIL

All specs taken from manufacturer websites.

As I said, I was looking through each scope at a stop sign 100 yards away. I also looked at a street sign 300 yards away just to check the parallax adjustments of both scope.

Clarity and brightness: Both scopes are pretty equal from 6 to 14 power. It is when you get to 16 power to 24 power where the difference shows up. The Patriot is much clearer and brighter at 16X and above.

Parallax adjustment: Numbers on both scopes matched up pretty well to the known distances. The Patriot focuses down to 10 yards while the Arken focuses down to 20 yards.

Eye box is a little tight on both scopes but still usable for me.

Now for the price comparison.

Swampfox Patriot 6-24 $429
Swampfox mount $59
Total: $488

Arken SH4 6-24 299
Arken mount $65
Total: $364

Now those prices are retail and without any discounts.

For those that qualify for the Swampfox MIL/LEO discount total is: $342
Arken $170 off with goodies total $325

$17 difference with discounts.

So far I would say that other than the difference in the tube diameter and reticle graduations, the Swampfox Patriot is the better scope. It is definitely lighter and has better clarity/brightness at all power levels (especially 16X and above)

I will update this thread once I get to the range and see how each scope does. I will try my best to do a thorough job of testing each scope.

 

[Jonesy814]

I have 2 Swampfox LPVO's and like them. I have no idea about Arken, but Swampfox runs a couple huge sales each year on Black Friday and July 4th with typically 1/3 off most everything

 

[12Bravo20]

I have at least on every micro dot and tube type dot sight that Swampfox makes along with the Tomahawk and Arrowhead LPVO scopes, A 1X Blade prism sight and a Patriot 4-16 scope. All have been great for me. I thought I would give the Arken a try since they seem to get good reviews on different forums.

So far just looking through the Patriot and Arken SH4, the Patriot has better clarity and brightness at the high magnification levels.

I'll make my final decisions and review once I shot both side by side. I will also be checking each for how they track too.

As far as Swampfox sales go, I usually get a smaller sale discount than normal since they add that to the already outstanding MIL/LEO discount (30% off). As I stated above, both scopes with all discounts applied were within $17 of each other.

I figured that I would review both side by side to help others looking at either brand.

 

[12Bravo20]

I have couple of Swampfox Optics products and like them. I would say they are very comparable to or a little better than Primary Arms optics.

Yes I feel that the Swampfox scopes are on par if not just a bit better than the Primary Arms scopes. And I do own both. And if the Arken works out (once I finish testing) then there will another option in this price range/class of scopes.

 

[12Bravo20]

I finally got out to the range today and was able to shoot at 100 yards with both scopes. The clear winner is the Swampfox Patriot. As mentioned before the Patriot is clearer at 16X and above.

I was shooting with the sun at my back and no shade anywhere. The targets and crosshairs are definitely more visible and crisp at 100 yards with the Patriot. I made sure that the diopter was adjusted correctly on both scopes too.

The parallax settings were on the money with both scopes.

Tracking was equal on both scopes. I had no issues dialing in during the box test and both scopes returned to zero without issues.

As mentioned before the Arken has a tighter eye box then the Patriot. This was definitely noticeable when shooting at 100 yards at 16X and above.

My final take is that the Swampfox Patriot is better since it has a slightly more forgiving eye box, is clearer at 16X and above, and is also a lot lighter.

 

[mavracer]

Wonder how they'd compare to the US Optic TS25X I just got. It was $499+tax free shipping. I like it better than the Vortex HS-T 6-24 SFP I replaced.
A lot of the swampfox stuff looks good, I just have no personal experience, do they make anything without a Christmas tree reticle?

 

[12Bravo20]

Wonder how they'd compare to the US Optic TS25X I just got. It was $499+tax free shipping. I like it better than the Vortex HS-T 6-24 SFP I replaced.
A lot of the swampfox stuff looks good, I just have no personal experience, do they make anything without a Christmas tree reticle?

I can't say since I have no experience with US Optics products.

All of Swampfox's higher power scopes have a Christmas tree reticle. It really isn't obtrusive to me.

 

[Walkalong]

As mentioned before the Arken has a tighter eye box then the Arken.

?

 

[12Bravo20]

?

Sorry about that. I'll correct my previous post. Thanks for catching that

 

[Walkalong]

And I missed it in the next sentence where it was clarified.

 

[12Bravo20]

The more I use the Arken scope, the more it is growing on me. It still isn't as good as the Swampfox Patriot, but the Arken is usable for most of my uses. The one plus for the Arken is that the turret clicks are more positive compared to the Patriot turrets.

 

[mavracer]

I can't say since I have no experience with US Optics products.

Well I ordered an Arken so I guess we'll see. Your review and that $170 off the extras sold it.

 

[12Bravo20]

@mavracer let us know how th Arken compares to the US Optics scope. It is always good to have more viable options at lower price points.

 

[mavracer]

Will do. So far I'm really liking the USO TS series which are their budget line of scopes.
The Arken will probably end up on either my 224 Valk or Ruger Precision Rimfire.

 

[12Bravo20]

I just now looked at the US Optics TS-25X and it is definitely in a different price range than either the Swampfox Patriot or Arken SH4. The TS-25X is $995 on the US Optics web sight. It will be interesting to see how the Arken compares to the US Optics TS-25X.

 

[mavracer]

I just now looked at the US Optics TS-25X and it is definitely in a different price range than either the Swampfox Patriot or Arken SH4. The TS-25X is $995 on the US Optics web sight. It will be interesting to see how the Arken compares to the US Optics TS-25X.

Thing is Eurooptics.com sells the TS-25X for $499, I know there's a couple other venders that sell it between 500 n 600.
Most of the reviews said that at MSRP it's so so but at Euro Optics price it's pretty good. After using it a bit I agree.
Still at 500 it's a step up in price.

 

[12Bravo20]

I figured MSRP was high. I look forward to your comparison of the two.

 

[mavracer]

The US Optic has better glass, but this Arken is a heck of a lot of scope for the money.
I'm thinking this is gonna be a pain the SH4 looks soooo good on my Precision Rimfire I think I wanna get the EP5 for the 6 Creed Precision rifle so they match. But that means the Crimson Trace 3 series will get passed to the 6 Creed AR and the USO will go on the Valkyrie.
Only plus side is these scopes all track perfect and the guns are crazy accurate so I can basically do 1 shot zeros.

 

[12Bravo20]

I figured the US Optics would have better glass. And I have to agree that the Arken is a pretty good deal, especially if you go with their combo deal and use the coupon code to donate to the Navy Seal foundation. My total for everything included (20 MOA mount, caps, throw lever, and level) was $325 so I can't complain there. I would say the Arken SH4 is a viable option for anyone on a tight budget.

I am getting use to the Arken the more I use it and it is definitely growing on me. I might get another Arken to put on my heavy barrel 16" AR22 so it matches my 18" 6mm ARC rifle. The Arken does track well, no complaints there. And even though the glass isn't crystal clear at 16X and above, it was kind of expected for the price.

 

[mavracer]

And even though teh glass isn't crystal clear at 16X and above, it was kind of expected for the price.

Considering the features and the price difference the glass is a lot closer than the Arken has a right to be.
I'm really looking hard at the EP5 it's supposed to have Japanese glass like the USO and CT series scopes. I was hoping to get my Vortex sold and get another Crimsom Trace CTL 3525 from Midway that they had on clearance, but somebody snapped up the last 6.
The CT and the USO are very close but the CT is giant almost 1.5" longer than the others.
I know these mil-mil scopes that track sure make life easy zeroing.
Got the SH4 on the Precision Rimfire for now.

 

[sparkyv]

I have that same Swampfox 6-24x50 Patriot, 12Bravo20, and I like it. I chose it over the Arken because I shied away from having to purchase fairly boutique 34mm rings. I appreciate your comments and review.

Because the Arken has a bigger tube, I was surprised at this:

So far just looking through the Patriot and Arken SH4, the Patriot has better clarity and brightness at the high magnification levels.

 

[12Bravo20]

The quality of the lenses has as much to do with clarity/distortion as the tube size does. With the Arken, you do loose some brightness at 16X and above due to distortion around the edges of the lenses


And as far as 34mm rings go, they are not uncommon for 1 piece mounts. Even rings are easy to find online. A quick search on Midway USA brought up 59 items for 34mm rings. Primary Arms show 27 different 34mm rings available.

 

[mavracer]

Went to shoot it today and the Arken mount has the scope a smidge too far forward on the precision rimfire.
It's a good thing I love guns and shooting or I'd be complaining about all this moving scopes and mounts around I'm having to do because how good this Arken SH4 is.

 

[giggitygiggity]

I don’t have any experience with Arken, but I’ve been very impressed by Swampfox optics. I have and use Swampfox red dot/green dot sights on pistols and they work perfectly.

 

[mavracer]

Well the EP5 showed up last night, can't say enough about Arken's customer service, I ordered the high rings at first, a quick email and they assured me the medium rings would work for my precision rimfire and they switched my order. Between the two scope orders I accumulated enough points to get a mount and anti cant level for the Crimson Trace on my AR.
As I suspected the EP5 glass is every bit as good as the CT and USO scopes. All the mechanics of the scope are just as great as the SH4.
Here's the SH4 on the 22 in medium rings.

Just waiting on the second mount to put the EP5 on big brother.