Athlon scopes?

[bluealtered]

A while back I saw some members buying Athlon scopes when they first came out and the scopes got good reviews, now I rarely see them mentioned, were they not as good as then thought?
Or is it perhaps the scope market moving at the speed it is now, just passed them by with better products at lower prices. Any thoughts on this?

 

[jpx2rk]

I use Athlon scopes on my varmint rigs due to the lower cost but high enough quality glass to avoid eye strain, etc. I have the Talos level scopes (6-24x is around $200) as I have to haul the guns 1500+ miles one way to shoot varmints, and with several 3-5000 mile trips in the bed of the truck across the states, no change in zero, etc., and if one gets busted up, I'm not out much money. I have the 6-18x Talos on the 17HMR which is just as good IMO. This past April I shot several sage rats at around 400 yds using the 6-24 scopes on the 223's with the scope set at around 18x or so. I use the Midas level bino's mentioned below for glassing the patches for the next victim.

I also have a pair of the Midas level bino's with the ED glass, and they are very clear/bright. I'm probably going to get another pair of the bino's as the wife prefers these to view the deer wandering thru the field behind our house and now has makeup all over them.

I do believe they have a lifetime warranty but never had to find out how good it is.

 

[BlueWater]

I don't know how much better such products are, but in an apples-to-apples comparison of the quality-glass category of scopes, there certainly are some that can be had at better prices.

I've got an Athlon Cronus BTR (Gen2) 5-29x56 FFP I.R. scope. It's nobody's top-end March or NightForce or IOR Valdada, etc, but it's pretty good. Sharp, clear optics, accurate tracking, fairly durable (so far), reliable. The reticle's a tad busy for me, but then it allows easy hold-over and adjusting for varying distances.

When I began looking, a couple years back, I seriously considered a pre-owned NightForce NSX, Comp or Benchrest scope.

More and more, I've seen people opt for the similar-power and -capability Sightron scopes.

 

[AWS]

I have a couple Argos 2-12's on coyote hunting rifles. They hit all my buttons without breaking the bank. FOV is large on the bottom end, better than my 2.5-10s for close in work, nearly as good as my favorite 1.5-6s. Has more X's on the top end for those rare long shots. Glass is clear, adjustments while sighting in i don't dial as I find it is too slow and too much movement on a coyote stand. Light weight for the power range. It would be hard pressed to to find an equivalent scope at twice the price..

 

[rebs]

I don't know how much better such products are, but in an apples-to-apples comparison of the quality-glass category of scopes, there certainly are some that can be had at better prices.

I've got an Athlon Cronus BTR (Gen2) 5-29x56 FFP I.R. scope. It's nobody's top-end March or NightForce or IOR Valdada, etc, but it's pretty good. Sharp, clear optics, accurate tracking, fairly durable (so far), reliable. The reticle's a tad busy for me, but then it allows easy hold-over and adjusting for varying distances.

When I began looking, a couple years back, I seriously considered a pre-owned NightForce NSX, Comp or Benchrest scope.

More and more, I've seen people opt for the similar-power and -capability Sightron scopes.

I have 3 sightron scopes and love them. 2 in 8-32 and 1 in 10-60

 

[WileyG]

I have 2 Athlon Argos BTR Gen 2 10x40x56 and one Sightron SIII 8x32x56 and all are on CZ 455/457 22LR for punching paper. For the money the Athlon Argos is a great scope. The Sightron is definitely a superior scope but also runs 2 to 3 times the cost of the Athlon.

 

[Randall D]

I currently am using a half dozen Athlon scopes on anywhere from PCP air rifles to my 300 PRC. The only one that has been sent back for warranty work was an Argos 6x24 Gen 1. They sent me a brand new Gen 2 at no charge. Excellent customer service. My favorite Athlon is the Midas Tac 6x24. I have 3 of them!
I just ordered an Athlon Ares ETR 3x18 yesterday. All of them are sub $1000. I also use a Swarovski X5 . You really can't beat Swaro glass, but that comes with a significant price increase.

 

[MSS]

I have one of the cronus btr 1’s. I bought it on sale in 2017. The glass is clear right to the edges. Tracks well. It’s a big scope IMO (although 34mm scopes are more common now a days). I replaced it with the lighter and smaller vortex razor amg at the time. I still have the Athlon and plan to use it on a build at some point. Overall though, I would say save some money and get a Vortex Viper pst gen ii.

 

[Ned Ludd]

I recently purchased an Argos BTR Gen 2 1-8x24 for a Sig 556 rifle. In and of itself, the glass quality is nothing to write home about. However, it's a very nice scope overall, highly functional, and just about perfect (IMO) for an AR-type rifle. I really like it. I had previously purchased an Athlon Cronus 12-36x50 [small] spotting scope, which had quite good glass. Unfortunately, I inadvertently donated the Cronus and a Vortex Razor spotting scope to a less fortunate person in Florida about a month ago. In any event, my impression is that the glass quality with Athlon largely depends on the specific model of scope. I have been very satisfied with the two Athlon purchases I have made.

 

[Jprice1313]

I bought a few when they first came out and they were awesome, all 6-24’s. The last one I got just didn’t seem as good but that could be me and shooting them all on different calibers.

 

[SKWERLZ]

Still happy with my older Cronus.
Good glass
Tracks reliably
Good reticle
Not made in China.

 

[CharlieNC]

I had a Cronus; the reticle was too busy and just didn't like the operability so I dumped it. An Argos was used on a practice rifle and I thought it was ok for the price until I tried an Arken, which made it look like junk. Subsequently all my field rifles wear Arkens, which are much better for less cost. Fanboys for all brands abound.

 

[BlueWater]

... until I tried an Arken, which made it look like junk. Subsequently all my field rifles wear Arkens, which are much better for less cost.

Never heard of Arken Optics. Seems they do up to a 25x scope.

What seems to be the best features of them, from your experience?

 

[CharlieNC]

Never heard of Arken Optics. Seems they do up to a 25x scope.

What seems to be the best features of them, from your experience?

For a comprehensive report you can search them in this section of the forum. In short the turrets are precise, simple zero stop, uncluttered functional reticle. The standard glass is decent and the ED version is noticeably better, and the resulting optical quality does the job sufficiently at a great price. After shooting 1200yd steel target comps with acceptable optical and adjustment performance, I bought two more. I'm not a scope snob and want to feel like I get suitable value for the cost which this one does; no it's not a high end optic but does what it should.

 

[WileyG]

I had an Arken 5-25X56 FFP VPR and it was my first FFP scope. My intended use was 22lr paper punching and the FFP didn't work for me as the center dot obscured the target dot when zooming up. The scope itself is a huge value for the money and every aspect of the scope shines way above what it cost. I quickly realized that I, personally, needed 2nd focal plane optics for what I was doing.

 

[BlueWater]

For a comprehensive report you can search them in this section of the forum. In short the turrets are precise, simple zero stop, uncluttered functional reticle. The standard glass is decent and the ED version is noticeably better, and the resulting optical quality does the job sufficiently at a great price. After shooting 1200yd steel target comps with acceptable optical and adjustment performance, I bought two more. I'm not a scope snob and want to feel like I get suitable value for the cost which this one does; no it's not a high end optic but does what it should.

Thanks.

The "lifetime warranty" is a nice aspect as well. Though, who knows how that'll pan out over time. (As with any company.)

Have you experience with their customer service? Or, no need so far?

 

[Halffull]

I bought an Argos 6x24 for my first long range scope. I had nothing to compare it to so it was great. Soon after I bought a Cronus BTR and realized the difference. I have an Ares BTR also. As expected, they rank Cronus, Ares then a bigger jump down to Argos as far as glass quality.

I don't compete but am geared toward bench style shooting at up to 1000 yds for now. I soon realized that a SFP scope would likely suit my needs better. The Cronus is acceptable, but the reticle gets really big at 29x. Since I liked all my Athlon products up to this point, I purchased an Argos 10-40x56 to fill my SFP void. I never expected it to compete with my Cronus's glass quality, but it is the only high magnification SFP scope offered. Well, I never even mounted it on a rifle. It would not focus at 500 yards and beyond, Maybe not even that far. I contacted Athlon and was informed: "That scope is designed for extreme short range shooting at high precision." Needless to say, I was a little disenchanted with Athlon CS. Their webpage plainly states that that scope is for "long range target". They were addiment that it was a "50-200 yd" scope and that was it. I returned the scope and bought a NF 15x55 from this forum.

As for my two best scopes, the Cronus's image looks every bit as good as the NF to me. I wish Athlon would make a 50x SFP in the Cronus line. I think they could really compete.

 

[pascalp66]

Recently (2 weeks) bought an Argos BTR gen2 10-40x56 for my Bergara B14R to replace my old Weaver T24.
So far, I've only take 100shots on paper target at 50m, but it's perfect for my use (1/8moa quite mandatory).
At 24x, clarity is really good, clics are OK, overall impression is good.
A March in 1/8moa or 0.05mrad will be more satisfying, but I'm not sure that I'll shot better (If I could, I'll bought one).

 

[wedgy]

James at Barbour Creek runs the Cronus on their school guns has tested these extensively by dialing the scope top to bottom for a month while watching TV, etc. and it still tracked perfectly, at 0.9932
He compares the Cronus, NX8, and the Tenmile extensively.

Athlon scopes?

A while back I saw some members buying Athlon scopes when they first came out and the scopes got good reviews, now I rarely see them mentioned, were they not as good as then thought? Or is it perhaps the scope market moving at the speed it is now, just passed them by with better products at...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Sandstorm]

Athlon makes a good scope in its price range for sure...Ive had several.