Opinion on athlon scopes.

[Adam 6mm build]

Looking for opinions pro's and cons thanks fellow shooter s

 

[afret]

The Athlon Cronus seems like a good scope for the price.

https://forum.snipershide.com/threa...cronus-4-5-29x56mm-comparison-review.6804739/

 

[Txhillbilly]

I've got a Cronus 4.5-29x56 and a Midas BTR 4.5-27x50. Both scopes track well,and the optical quality is very good. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another scope from Athlon in the Cronus - Ares - or Midas series. I personally wouldn't buy any of the cheaper priced series of their scopes,they might be great scopes,but I prefer higher quality optics.

 

[300_whisper]

I've got a Cronus 4.5-29x56 and a Midas BTR 4.5-27x50. Both scopes track well,and the optical quality is very good. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another scope from Athlon in the Cronus - Ares - or Midas series. I personally wouldn't buy any of the cheaper priced series of their scopes,they might be great scopes,but I prefer higher quality optics.

^

This

I owned a Cronus and two Ares traded them though since I switched from MOA to MIL. But they were really nice scopes. Clear / bright glass, good turrets, lots of features. My brother has the Argos and it’s a decent scope, it’ll definitely get the job done, but the Ares and Cronus are in a class of their own.

 

[Ironworker]

I have the Cronus 4.5x29x56mm and its glass is spectacular 5 out of 5 stars . Had a Midus for an hour,sent it right back ,its glass was 2 out of 5 stars to me.

 

[andrewsben]

I am on the fence, torn between an xtr ii and ares btr. Anyone used both?

In reference to this post specifically... I own a bunch of argos btr. Not great, but great for the price.

 

[300_whisper]

I am on the fence, torn between an xtr ii and ares btr. Anyone used both?

In reference to this post specifically... I own a bunch of argos btr. Not great, but great for the price.

I actually just traded my Ares for the XTR. They are probably the same for everything, except the Burris has 34mm tube. The internal adjustments have the same value which I though was weird since the Ares is a 30mm tube. Ares glass is really nice, probably edges out the XTR. The xtr though is built like a freaking tank. You definitely get a warm and fuzzy holding it. The Ares has similar feel and construction as a vortex PST. Only reason I traded was I went from MOA to MIL. If you bought either scope I think you would be happy.

 

[steve123]

Looking for opinions pro's and cons thanks fellow shooter s

Steve here, I helped Athlon by giving them my ideas as to what I like in tactical style scopes so I'm both biased and honest, yes they can exist together.

Plainly put Athlon represents the best bang for the buck if one wants these combined features;

Close parallax focus - 10Y on some models and 25Y others.

Upgraded glass per price point.

Well thought out modern tree style reticles with the mil or moa line numbers off to the side so as to not obscure a wind hold using the reticle when holding over.

.2 mil hashes as an option in the reticle as well as 1 moa hashes in the moa scopes

Scopes leaning towards lighter weight and compactness.

The inexpensive Argos BTR and less expensive Talos BTR work surprisingly well for the price. One example is hitting the coldbore shots on steel often out to 1122Y. Another is I won State overall in Field Target air rifle in 2016 and my division last year. The quality in these scopes could be better but for the price...!!!

The Helos line is a step up and worth the extra $200. Turrets are quite nice and they lock.

Probably the highest value for the money is the Ares BTR. The 4.5-27x50 puts a lot of scope on your rifle for the $800ish pricing.

The Ares ETR 4.5-30x56 will be one great scope. It'll be at the class leading level and delivery will be around July.

Hard to beat the Cronus BTR. I own S&B's, the Cronus is 98% of...

Any specific questions feel free to contact me.

 

[Archis]

I have several of their lower range scopes (Argos BTR's) and I've become a convert. From 100yds to 1200yds they have been dead on with tracking and click value.

I use a 8-34x56 Argos BTR for F-Class on my 6.5x47 and I like the clarity and high magnification. If I had to fault any part of it, the range of adjustment is a bit limited (15.5MIL E/W). This doesn't bother me terribly as I currently only shoot out to 600yds with this rifle. I run out of adjustment around 1100yds.

I use a 6-24x50 Argos BTR for my 300WM and I've scored first round hits at 1400yds. On my particular example I have more adjustment range than advertised (20MIL E/W). Go figure.

I've seen them used out to as far as 2200yds successfully and they keep pace with the likes of S&B, Vortex, Nightforce, etc. They are hands down the best value in scope / feature and have a rock solid warranty.

 

[Flouncer]

Slightly off topic but how do their top end binoculars stack up against mid to high range optics from Vortex, Steiner, Swarovski and Zeiss for example ? - thanks

 

[steve123]

Slightly off topic but how do their top end binoculars stack up against mid to high range optics from Vortex, Steiner, Swarovski and Zeiss for example ? - thanks

In one sense the uber glass of the much more expensive Co's products are superior in most ways, in the practical sense most can hardly tell the difference, especially when atmospheric conditions don't bring out the best of the glass of the higher priced bino's.

I have a pair of Zeiss HT's, easily up there at the top of the food chain of high end bino's. If you look through them first "it's a WOW experience, then go to the Athlon Cronus immedialtely, it's like wow, these dang things are almost as good but $1700 cheaper. Although the fit, finish and feel of the Ht's are apparent so there's that.

 

[Clucknmoan]

Slightly off topic but how do their top end binoculars stack up against mid to high range optics from Vortex, Steiner, Swarovski and Zeiss for example ? - thanks

I have used 12x50 Vortex Razors for the last 2 years. I picked up a pair of 10x42 Cronus last fall as a second pair for the wife, had both in my pickup all fall and winter. After looking through both side by side for about 5 months in about every condition, I prefer the Cronus. Crystal clear and quite a bit lighter.

 

[Flouncer]

Uh . . . .. . I was setting aside $1,300 for Kowa or Vortex now I am second guessing that. The horror !!! Thanks for the input.

 

[deebaines]

Have the same question ..

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Bought a 5-30x56 Argos for a moderate recoiling 6.5mm hunting rifle. It has excellent glass for the money, nice and clear all the way to 30X. But junk construction. Won't hold up to recoil and turrets bind up with significantly more resistance towards the top and bottom. There is dry silicon falling down onto the internal lenses and the scope is losing zero. Don't know about the more expensive models. I've handled and looked through the more expensive Athlon scopes and they definitely appear to be better built than the Argos. All good crisp glass to the top mag ranges. Only reason I bought the Argos was because for some reason it appeared to have "brighter" glass with an edge on resolution when tested against the more expensive models. Maybe just a fluke, I don't know.

Good thing their customer service and warranty is like Vortex. Will be calling them to deal with the Argos issues next week.

 

[CharlieNC]

I've used the Argos on my 223 trainer for around 1.5 years with frequent dialing 300 to 1000yrs with zero issues; optical quality is moderate but what do you expect for $350 equipped with ffp iluminated reticle. For a low cost optic I would saw it is impressive.

Because it performed so well I acquired a Crocus, also based on recommendation of experience from user friends. Don't know why you would spend $1000 more for the same quality.

Customer service is very responsive and responsive to suggestions. Nice to have another good scope option.

 

[DRNewcomb]

I recently purchased an Athlon AHMR1 MOA 6-30x50 that Camera Land had on sale for $270. I just got it out on the range at 100 yds and it seemed to do OK. Maybe not as crisp as I'd like. I used Burris Z rings to add about 20 MOA of elevation, and ended up at about 6 MOA off the scope's bottom at 100 yds. I haven't done the math yet to see where this would put me elevation-wise at 600 or 1000 yds. Clicks on the drums are not as crisp as I'd like. 15 MOA per rotation is maybe a little easier to compute than 17.5 or some other odd number but not as easy as, say, 10 MOA. The eye relief seems to be very specific, there's just one spot where you can see through the scope. Camera Land did not seem to have a sunshade to fit this scope. I'll try to post more after the first match I shoot with it.

 

[steve123]

I recently purchased an Athlon AHMR1 MOA 6-30x50 that Camera Land had on sale for $270. I just got it out on the range at 100 yds and it seemed to do OK. Maybe not as crisp as I'd like. I used Burris Z rings to add about 20 MOA of elevation, and ended up at about 6 MOA off the scope's bottom at 100 yds. I haven't done the math yet to see where this would put me elevation-wise at 600 or 1000 yds. Clicks on the drums are not as crisp as I'd like. 15 MOA per rotation is maybe a little easier to compute than 17.5 or some other odd number but not as easy as, say, 10 MOA. The eye relief seems to be very specific, there's just one spot where you can see through the scope. Camera Land did not seem to have a sunshade to fit this scope. I'll try to post more after the first match I shoot with it.

These Argos non BTR models are on the lower quality side. The BTR's are a step up if compared. Some people don't like FFP scopes but I always suggest to my friends to spend the extra money on the Argos BTR instead, it's superior in most ways.

But at least you have a great reticle in a very inexpensive scope.

 

[nmkid]

What are the feelings on the Helos model?

 

[flatlander]

I've got four of the Cronus 4.5-29x56 (originals, not the newer BTR model) scopes on my precision 22RF bolt repeaters (40X & XB, V-22) and another on a Bighorn TL2-SA in 6 Dasher. The 40Xs were converted to repeaters by Jonathan Elrod, and use the same 10rd mags as the V-22. All three have custom bbls (Benchmark, Lilja, Krieger) fitted & chambered by me. I've done tall target & box tracking tests on all three of these scopes, and they all passed with flying colors. They get a lot more use than any of my CF rifles, and since I usually dial come-ups & wind, these scopes on 22RF rifles see a lot of dialing. The one on the Dasher has also been excellent, though I haven't shot it much. Also have three of the Ares 4.5-27x50 BTR mil scopes on CF rifles, also with custom bbls. There's certainly a fair amount of optical superiority in the Cronus scopes, but the Ares are no slouches. Optically, they're superior to the Vortex PST 6-24x50 scopes I've had in the past, though I preferred the Vortex knobs & click/detents. The Ares have real zero stops as opposed to the older Vortex shims, but the newer Gen II Vortex PSTs are a fair comparison, and I understand they have true zero stops like the Ares. I haven't used any of the other Athlon scopes enough to have an opinion on any of them, but do have a couple of the new 34mm Ares ETR scopes pre-ordered, and am looking forward to comparing them to the Cronus scopes.