Athlon Optics Ares HLR 2.5-15x42 SFP IR APLR H2 MOA

On a mountain hunt every ounce rides on your back for days, and the shot can come close in timber or far across a basin. Athlon calls the Ares HLR "a lightweight hunting scope built for hunters who demand performance without extra weight," and the Athlon Ares HLR 2.5-15x42 puts an illuminated APLR-H2 MOA holdover reticle, a 2.5x to 15x zoom and a one-piece 30 mm tube into 18.9 oz. Outdoor Life listed it among its Best Lightweight Hunting Rifle Scopes of 2026 and called it "one of the lightest scopes in this year's test."

Key Features

• APLR-H2 holdover reticle. Marks every 2 MOA run out from a floating, illuminated center cross, numbered at 10 MOA above, 10 MOA to each side, and 10, 20 and 30 MOA below. The outer crosshair tapers to a point that leads the eye to the center.
• Holds read true at 15x. This is a second focal plane reticle: it stays the same size as you zoom, and Athlon calibrates it at 15x. Hold or range at 15x; at 7.5x every mark covers twice its value.
• Zero stop on the elevation turret. After zeroing, you remove the elevation knob and tighten the three side screws of the brass zero stop plate underneath, and from then on the knob turns down until it stops at zero. Clicks are 0.25 MOA, with 25 MOA per turn and 120 MOA of elevation and windage. The windage turret is capped.
• Push-button illumination. Press and hold to switch it on, press once to step through the brightness settings, and press and hold to switch it off. One CR2032 battery powers it.
• Fully multi-coated glass. Athlon says the coatings give "better light transmission with optimum brightness and true color across the entire light spectrum."
• Argon purged and sealed. In Athlon's words, argon "has a low thermal conductivity compared to nitrogen gas, resulting in better fog proof capabilities." The one-piece aircraft-grade aluminum tube is waterproof, fog proof and shockproof.
• Side focus from 10 yards to infinity, with a fast-focus eyepiece for the reticle.

Who It's For

• Mountain and backcountry hunters counting every ounce on a long carry.
• Hunters who would rather hold than dial, with numbered holds to 30 MOA below center at 15x and the zero stop to return to when you do dial.
• Choosing an Ares HLR. The AHMC1 Fiber Dot version is Athlon's "traditional hunting style reticle" with an illuminated fiber optic center dot and no holdover marks. The APRS-H2 MIL version has 0.1 MIL clicks, 35 MIL of travel and a reticle Athlon designed "with the long range shooter in mind." The 4-24x50 APLR-H2 carries this reticle on a 50 mm objective at 21 oz, calibrated at 16x.
• Cross-shopping at 2.5-15x. Athlon's Midas HMR Gen2 2.5-15x50 APLR-H2 also uses an APLR-H2 reticle and costs less, and its 50 mm objective gathers about 1.4 times the light of this 42 mm one. It weighs 20 oz, with capped turrets and 60 MOA of travel. The Ares HLR answers with 18.9 oz, an exposed elevation turret and 120 MOA of travel.

Accessories & Compatibility

• Mounting. It takes 30 mm rings. Athlon's drawing gives 2.1 in of tube ahead of the turret housing and 2.3 in behind it. Set eye relief at the highest magnification, as Athlon's manual directs: slide the scope forward in the rings, then back until the full field shows with sharp, clear edges.