JO from United States, WI Public Profile

THIS item appeared to be a direct ship item from a disty. No supplemental packaging, just the item's factory box with a shipping label stuck on it. Item was late in arrival and looked beat up. SO now I have a piece of precision equipment with dangerous consequences if in error that came from a box that looks like it took some serious drops and bangs.

I had purchased this Helos BTR Gen2 2-12x42mm AHMR2 and also a Athlon Optics Ares BTR Gen II HD 2.5-15x50mm APRS5. I was new to the Athlon product. I was willing to experiment with other options. The initial unboxing for both left me less then impressed. I was more dissatisfied with the Ares BTR Gen II HD 2.5-15x50mm, especially for the >$700 price point. Poor execution on the illumination and other factors more critical for the price point. That optic was promptly returned and I won't go any deeper into it for this review.

Initially I had no joy for the Helos BTR Gen2 2-12x42mm. I had purchased both for a more intermediate role on say a ARC/Grendel where the rifles themselves were more deserving of a optic that would work with the tier-1 barrels and were also intended to be slung. So the common observation/issue on the reticle subtention at max magnification can be an issue. It covers allot of image/target at magnification. Yes, an optic that cost less then the barrel...I get it. This review isn't framed to be hyper critical. Hopefully, to better understand what you are getting.

After playing with the optic, I warmed up to it for a different intermediate role on a 20" 556, specifically for steel. The image at 2x is decent, and while the PoA is not (even close) as dominate as a typical LPVO CQB optic, it works when the illumination is on max. It's a far cleaner 2x image then the Vortex SE 1-6x and 1-8x at 2x. The FoV is decent although at the maximum magnification the