AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
Eugene L. 05.29.24
A good scope can make or break the accuracy of a rifle, High-quality glass, and budget generally aren’t two terms that are usually used in the same sentence when it comes to picking out a scope for your rifles. I’ve heard many times before that your scope should cost at least one and a half times what you paid for your rifle, but honestly, that is not feasible for a lot of people including me. Well, Athlon Optics wants to make sure scopes that are rugged and have high-quality glass are affordable for shooters of all experience levels. This time I am reviewing the ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL, a more middle-of-the-road priced scope. It says it comes loaded with premium features for a substantially lower price tag than many other offerings out there. So let’s see how it’s done for the past 8 months with me.
Athlon Optics Coverage on AllOutdoor
- AllOutdoor Review – Athlon ARGOS G2 UHD 8x42mm Binoculars
- AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Optics Helos BTR GEN2 2-12×42 FFP IR
- AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Optics Helos BTR Gen2 1-10×28 LPVO
- AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Argos BTR 1-4×24mm AHSR14 FFP IR MIL
- AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Optics Argos BTR Gen2 1-8x24mm SFP IR
- AllOutdoor Review: Athlon Optics Talos BTR 1-4x24mm LPVO
First Look – Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
The packaging of the ARES ETR UHD is pretty simple but still solid. A hard compressed fiber box with plenty of foam to keep the optic safe in the center. Accessories wise this time it is a bit more sparse this time, coming with the manual, spare screws & allen key, and a cleaning cloth. Just messing with the turrets out of the box the detents felt nice and distinct with each click being easily felt. The parallax adjustment was nice and smooth, while the illumination adjustment next to it had a solid detent to not shift. The front of the scope is also threaded for a sunshade, which while not provided with the scope, is easily bought from Athlon for not too much.
My host for the ARES ETR UHD 3-18x was a .308 Aero Precision Solus in a KRG Bravo Chassis. I used a set of provided 34mm medium-height Athlon Armor Rings to mount it on. As the name implies the rings are very solid with plenty of meat on them to help protect your expensive optics. I would say though now after you could also use the low-height Armor Rings as well and not have to worry about clearance issues with the ARES ETR UHD 3-18x on this particular model of Solus action.
Specifications – Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
The ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL from Athlon Optics is offered as a scope that caters to the needs of both hunters and PRS shooters. This scope comes equipped with Athlon’s UHD glass, which has been given the advanced fully-multicoated treatment. This makes for incredible clarity edge to edge, as well as increased light transmission rate for low light conditions such as early morning or late evening hunts and shoots. Like all other non-thermal scopes the Athlon Ares ETR UHD comes with a Athlon Gold Medal Lifetime Warranty. This means peace of mind with a no charge, no receipt, and no registration needed process. If something goes wrong with the Ares Athlon has you covered.
- Magnification – 3-18X
- Objective Lens – 50mm
- Reticle – APRS6 FFP IR MIL, Etched Glass Reticle
- Tube Diameter – 34mm
- Turrets – Exposed / Locking
- Eye Relief – 3.74″
- FOV at 100 yds – 39.2-6.65 ft
- Parallax Adjustment – Side Focus 10yds-∞
- UHD Glass– Extra-low dispersion glass
- Lens Coating – Advanced Fully Multi-Coated with XPL Protective Coating
- Tube Material – Aircraft Grade Aluminum
- Windage/Elevation Adjustment – 0.1 Mil Clock Value
- Purging Material – Argon
- Overall Length – 14.2in
- Overall Weight – 31.4 oz
- Full Spec Sheet
- MSRP – $1124.99
Back at the CMP – Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
Being in Georgia and not that far from the CMP’s Talladega Marksmanship Park it’s the go-to spot for me to test out optics for me. A massive complex in central Alabama built by the CMP to encourage and grow the shooting sports. The marksmanship park is a massive complex with several rifle ranges. Relevant to me today were the 100-yard range and the unknown distance steel target range. The first stop was to check the zero and tracking of the ARES ETR UHD at the 100-yard range. The CMP utilizes electronic targets so it makes things a breeze. So with some input from my fellow writer Paul B, a much better shot, we had everything squared away. After that, I performed a quick box test to check the tracking of the scope, which as expected held true. So now the zeroing was done, I quickly locked in the elevation using the Zero-Stop Locking plate.
Now with the boring stuff taken care of it was time to go have some fun at the unknown distance steel target range. The Unknown Distance range has steel targets set up all over from 75 yards out to 640 yards. A nice mix of gongs, plates, and game animal silhouettes. They even have kinetic Jumpin Jack targets in the middle of the range, which we might have gotten our rifles a bit too hot with while walking the target around. We were using a range finder to get a distance on the longer-range targets. Using the APRS6 FFP IR MIL reticle for the holdovers was great. The reticle had the perfect amount of information on it. Even with the farthest plate out in the far right corner. Using the range finder and then telling Paul how many MILs to hold got him a first-round hit on the plate along with several follow-up hits.
Evaluation – Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
Having the ARES ETR UHD 3-18X for almost a year now I found myself very impressed with the build quality of the scope. Let’s start with the clarity of the glass, the UHD Glass really does its job. Giving me a nice crisp image when looking through it with no chromatic fringing around what I’m looking at. The coating treatment for the lens Athlon uses is high quality as well. Even in low-light situations, I’ve had plenty of light transmission come through the optic. The color of what I’m looking at stays true to life as well. Beyond the glass, the build quality of the ARES ETR UHD 3-18X is solid, with a heat-treated mono-piece tube made of aircraft-grade aluminum. It’s taken my rough handling well, I try not to be rough on my stuff but I still manage to knock things over. Or just put it in the backseat of my truck to have it land scope down when I have to slam my brakes due to a country driver.
The turrets one the ARES ETR UHD 3-18X definitely have a tactile detent on them with you feeling every click when you adjust them, but I feel it needs to be toned down just a bit. While they felt good to adjust when I first got the scope, when in use at the range they felt a little too aggressive to the point of feeling a little sticky when trying to make smaller adjustments. The APRS6 FFP IR MIL reticle is great on this scope, it is not too busy like others can be. The 0.05 mil center dot is nice and fine, so it doesn’t occlude what you are aiming at. All the markings are nice and fine so when you are zoomed in at 18x they don’t distract you too much. The reticle and this being a first focal plane scope works great, often times I use this at 12x magnification and the holdovers are dead on still. The illumination function is also a nice bonus for low-light shooting conditions such as early mornings right at shooting light.
Final Thoughts – Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18×50 APRS6 FFP IR MIL
After using the Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18X for most of a year now on my Aero Precision Solus. I have to say it is a top choice for when it comes to somebody not trying to break the bank looking for a rifle scope that can happily sit on a hunting rifle as well as a more PRS-orientated rifle. The biggest thing is the clarity of the glass has been on par with a lot of scopes I’ve looked through that have cost a significant bit more than the Athlon Optics ARES ETR UHD 3-18X. The UHD glass along with the theAPRS6 FFP IR MIL reticle have been great together in making sure I can easily see my target. It’s never been too cluttered and distracting to shoot through. But while I really do like the scope, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any flaws.
The eye box is pretty tight on this scope, especially past 10x magnification. This isn’t a deal breaker but it is annoying. Another thing is the turret clicks are a tiny bit too aggressive when you are trying to go one or two clicks you can easily overshoot as you try to push past the detent initially. Besides that though I think the ARES ETR UHD 3-18X is a tough choice to beat for a 3-18x scope. With an MSRP of $1124.99, it sits well within the mid-range price point for a quality scope. While if you shop around online you can often find them on sale for a decent beat below MSRP. For the street price I can’t think of many other variable magnification optics that have the glass quality of the ARES ETR UHD 3-18X.
