U.S. Optics got its start back in 1992 repairing and maintaining the US Marine Corp’s sniper rifles. Fast forward to 2023 and they’re in the rarified top tier of brands like Nightforce, Leupold, Schmidt & Bender, and Tract; producing +$3000 rifle scopes. Among this elite tier of scope makers, they are perhaps one of the least well known. But in terms of the Industrial Design of their turrets and tubes, they are one of the more progressive and stylish.
The Foundation 5-25×52 is available on Amazon through my Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3IFNCAt
This review took me 4 year to write. That’s how long I’ve owned my Athlon Argos 6-24×50 FFP BTR. Recently, I mounted it on my CZ 457 for a 100yrd match which I came in 4th in 22LR. I found that it offers the ability to sight in quickly, consistently, and confidently at 16x all day long. And conveniently zoom into 24x to easily spot my holes on paper.
At 6x-16x the color, clarity, and contrast are excellent. It holds its own against my Vortex and Bushnell at this magnification range. Its BTR First Focal Plane (FFP) reticle offers clean and readable subtension marks. The MIL version of this scope (which I own) offers a Christmas Tree pattern of windage compensation reference points for long range shooting.
At 18-24x you do lose some brightness and sharpness in the image and the reticle lines seem a bit thick compared to Vortex and some Leopold scopes. But for quick self-spotting of holes, these higher power settings are very convenient. The eye relief of 3.3″ remains constant throughout its 6-24x range with only a slight tightening of an already forgiving eyebox.
Vortex, Bushnell, Burris, and Leupold scopes in the Argos’ price bracket have less magnification and do not offer an illuminated reticle. The Gen2 version of the Argos offers a Zero-Stop turret and retails for $350. While retailers like Amazon try to sell out of their remaining stock of the original Gen 1’s, they make an even better value at around $275. There are cheaper scopes but not better in terms of optic quality and warranty.