More than any other company in the last couple of years, Arken has changed the sporting optics industry. With their SH4 and EP5 they providing shooters with premium quality features at half or even a third of the cost of what competition ELR (Extreme Long Range) shooters were accustomed to. Arken scopes were such a good value, they caused many big brands to lower their prices to compete.

The SH4 and EP5 had one common criticism; they were known to be heavy scopes. Weight can actually be a benefit in long distance target shooting as it helps steady a rifle. But for a hunter who may be walking all day or hiking up country to a blind, pounds equals pain. The EPL4 is Arken’s attempt lighten their scope and to create a “crossover scope” that could appeal to hunters.

First, let me quash any myth making by Arken fanboys. The EPL4 is not as good as Leupold, Zeiss, or ‘insert the name of thousand plus dollar, Schott glass scope here’; optically at least. But it is amazingly good value for a fraction of the cost. In fact the Leupold with the same magnification range and features as the EPL4; is the Mark 5HD, which retails for around $2500. The EPL4 has an MSRP under $439 and a street price around $50-$100 lower.

In terms of performance and price, Vortex and Athlon come close their “crossover” scopes are heavier. In fact, the EPL4 is lighter than many hunting scopes. To get the weight down, Arken made the glass and tube smaller than the EP5. The trade off is less range of adjustments and less low light performance than the EP5. For a hunter only the latter is important but in practice, the Japanese ELD glass at 50mm is brighter than other brands scopes at 56mm.

The overall glass quality is excellent in its price class. Comparing tests I performed on the EP5 , the EPL4 was nearly matched it; able to resolve one element coarser Element 5 rather than Element 6 on the USAF-51 resolution chart at 100yrds. Moreover, I was clearly able to make out .22 cal holes on paper at that distance. With the EPL4 what you get is essentially a paired down EP5, which for some is enough to simply say, “Shut up and take my money”.

Arken are a direct to consumer company which is one of the ways the keep their price down. They have good customer service in my experience with returns (I had a misaligned reticle in my first SH4). They are also available from Amazon which as we know has an easy return policy. This Affiliate links supports my channel https://amzn.to/46daLUZ

RESOLUTION

GROUP: -1
ELEMENT: 5

MANUFACTURER SPECS

Magnification:6-24x
Objective Diameter:50 mm
Eye Relief:3.5 inches
Field of View:18.55-4.65 ft. @100 Yards
Tube Size:30 mm
Turret Adjustment:1/10MIL or 1/4MOA
Reticle Position:First Focal Plane
Reticle Details:VHR MIL/MOA
Zero Stop:AZS Zero Stop System
Zero Reset:Yes
Elevation Adj. Range:20 MIL – 68 MOA
Windage Adj. Range:12 MIL – 41 MOA
Elevation Adjustment Per Revolution:8 MIL – 20 MOA
Windage Adjustment Per Revolution:6 MIL – 15 MOA
Parallax:Side Parallax Adjustments, 10Yds-Infinity
Illuminated Reticle:Red
Turret Rotation:Counter Clockwise (CCW)
Length:13.8 inches
Weight:24.71 oz
Sunshade:Yes
Battery Included:CR2032