Reviews / Optics & Sights

Athlon Midas Tac Gen 2 HD 4-16x44 Review

The Verdict

First focal plane, zero stop, crystal-clear glass — all in a package right around $700.

The Midas Tac Gen 2 HD is a lot of serious scope for the money: first focal plane, precision zero stop, parallax adjustment from 10 yards to infinity, and glass that's super crystal clear, all right around $700 and sometimes on sale below that. I had it zeroed on my 6mm ARC Ruger American in a handful of shots and the clicks were clean the whole way. I'd absolutely recommend this setup for hunting, target shooting, whatever it may be.

/The Rundown

We're out on the ranch today with the Athlon Midas Tac Gen 2 HD — a 4-16 with a 44mm objective and a 30mm tube. In full transparency, Athlon sent this optic out for me to take a look at, and I am so glad they did. We mounted it up on my Ruger American Ranch Gen 2 in 6mm ARC — big fans of 6 ARC around here — and shot at right about 100 yards according to the rangefinder, threading it through some trees.

The shooting rig deserves a mention: we ran everything off the Kopfjäger M700 tripod with the Reaper grip, which is our favorite tripod to use. Loosen it up a little and you can really go wherever you want with it, then lock it down and you're solid. Kopfjäger sent that over as well — but the rifle is mine, nobody's but mine.

Zeroing went about as smooth as it gets. First shot landed a little low, so we came up a few clicks. Second shot was really close, third was nearly there, and after one final adjustment — a couple clicks up, a couple left — I put the last round just on the bottom of the X and emptied the mag to prove we were spot on. Call it six shots total to get dialed in and on target. The only sting is that 6mm ARC ammo ain't cheap: that zero cost me about twelve bucks. I'll take it.

The turrets are where this scope earns its keep. Windage and elevation click super, super easy, and once you're dialed in you can pull the turret out and reset your yardage — mine sits on 100, and I can run it to 200 and adjust the reticle from there. Combine that with the precision zero stop and the parallax adjustment on the back side that runs from 10 yards to infinity — which is insane to have at this price — and you've got a legitimately serious piece of glass.

And the glass itself is super crystal clear. This is a first focal plane scope, so the reticle scales with your magnification, which is exactly what you want for holdovers when you start stretching it out. The package is complete, too: it comes with the scope, precision rings, and front and back caps all included, which is pretty darn cool at this price point.

My gripe? The name. Athlon Midas Tac Gen 2 HD 4-16x44 — man, all this stuff is such a mouthful. Why such long damn names, people? Other than that, this is a really, really good setup, and at right around $700 — sometimes less on sale — it's a high-quality optic in a very budget-friendly package.

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