Rifle Scopes Burris XTR 3 Vs Athlon Cronus

jkmccoy11

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Minuteman
Jul 3, 2011
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I am considering one of these 2 for my B14r. I don't shoot any matches yet but would like to get into it. Of these two what do y'all recommend and why. And is there anything else in the same new-used price range as these that I should be looking at. Definaltly want mil. And the higher power range. 25-30x top end
 
My 3-18 XTR3 kinda sucks in glass department, Delta Stryker (very similar to Cronus) is much better.
However I like the turrets and FOV better on the XTR3.

I think I'd go for the XTR3i 5.5-30, glass is meant to be better than the 3-18, even if the Cronus glass is a bit better better the wider FOV, better illumination (main cross only), capped windage and lower profile elevation turret make the Burris a better option IMO.
 
These are helpful comments for sure. Field of view is important to me. That's one reason I hate the nightforce scopes I have had. How much of a glass quality difference are we talking. Can anyone compare the xtr to another brand of scope.
 
XTR3 is slightly below the glass quality of the Cronus if center-axis clarity is all you're looking at - XTR3 Pro is ahead of both by a fair margin in center clarity and definitely above the Cronus in FOV, eyebox, off-center CA, etc.

Yes I have owned all 3 and have a significant amount of time behind them. At today's prices, I'd 100% look for a Delta Stryker before a Cronus and I'd rather have the XTR3 Pro than any of them if I could afford it.
 
These are helpful comments for sure. Field of view is important to me. That's one reason I hate the nightforce scopes I have had. How much of a glass quality difference are we talking. Can anyone compare the xtr to another brand of scope.
You probably won't like the Cronus then, FOV isn't horrible and you don't see a huge amount of scope body but it is narrow.

My XTR3 3-18 has very good glass from 3-12, probably similar to the Styker. However from 12-18 the resolution drops off noticeably, probably still on par with scopes like the PST Gen2, so not horrible.
It's more a case of how noticeable it is, if it was a more subtle drop off it would probably be fine.

Sounds like the latter 3i scopes have better glass and the 5.5-30 doesn't have this issue. I intend to pick up a 5.5-30 XTR3i at some stage so my 3-18 experience hasn't put me off buying future XTR scopes.