Rifle Scopes Athlon Ares ETR 4.5–30 x 56

[justin12]

hi guys im looking at the Athlon Ares ETR 4.5–30 x 56 and i would like some reviews on it i know its not a schmidt&bender but i would like to know how clear is the glass and hows the tracking on them is it spot on and what is your final thoughts

i currently have a burris xtr and dont like the glass

thanks for all the help

 

[Rpaape342]

I’ve had mine for a few months now and love it. Big step up from my Athlon ares btr and noticeably brighter than my friends XTR. You’ll be happy with the ETR for sure

 

[justin12]

I’ve had mine for a few months now and love it. Big step up from my Athlon ares btr and noticeably brighter than my friends XTR. You’ll be happy with the ETR for sure

how is the mirage after shooting 3-4 rounds ,my burris is very bad on mirage

 

[Precision Underground]

how is the mirage after shooting 3-4 rounds ,my burris is very bad on mirage

Mirage is mirage. Scopes won’t make mirage better or worse. You may have an easier time resolving images with mirage with better glass but the scope is not going to change mirage.

 

[Rpaape342]

It cuts through it pretty well, not something I would complain about

 

[justin12]

Mirage is mirage. Scopes won’t make mirage better or worse. You may have an easier time resolving images with mirage with better glass but the scope is not going to change mirage.

i know but i take off my burris and i put my buddys vortex razor on and i dont get mirage

 

[Precision Underground]

i know but i take off my burris and i put my buddys vortex razor on and i dont get mirage

I can’t imagine a different scope making mirage go away. Mirage is there. It’s not in the scope it’s in the environment. A scope is not going to change that. Like I said better glass may make it easier to distinguish what you are seeing through the mirage but I’m thinking you are looking through a different magnification if you are not seeing mirage at all when you change scopes.

 

[A-Rob]

I had an ETR and traded up for a Cronus. The Cronus is an upgrade but the ETR is no slouch. To my eyes, the glass was close and the turrets and other controls felt better and smoother than the Cronus. The Cronus feels more like a tank but that's just my subjective impression. I will most likely buy another ETR soon for another rifle.

 

[darth_ritis]

I've had mine almost a year. I find the glass to be excellent, not far behind top shelf scopes costing 3-4x as much. No complaints on glass, and I could probably admit to being a glass snob at this point. I've been using mine on 22s, stretching out to 300-500 yards and using all the elevation. I've got 40 or 50 MOA of cant in the rail and mount, and end up using like 27 MIL for 500 yards. I think the tracking starts to drift a little bit once you dial more than 20 MILs or so. I haven't tried to measure the drift yet because it isn't much and it's not easy to measure. But I suspect that if I put in the effort, I could measure and account for the drift in those extreme circumstances

I think it's a solid buy. I'm thinking about getting another one.

 

[midwestoffroad]

You'll like it ... I have/had 3 Razors and Cronus and ETR

I bought originally for my 6.5 and loved it and it was a close comparison to the cronus glass wise. Last year I put it on my NRL22 rifle and as much as I want to.put it back on my 6.5 I think I'll have to buy another .

 

[FormerFarmer]

I have an Ares BTR, an Ares ETR, and a Cronus BTR. The ETR is far superior to the Ares BTR and the ETR is not far behind the Cronus BTR in image quality. CA is a little more noticeable on the ETR than the Cronus BTR. I like the locking windage turret on the ETR and the "feel" of the turrets as well. They are very crisp while the Cronus BTR seems to be softer and a little play in the clicks. Can not comment on tracking yet, only on personal preferences.

 

[justin12]

You'll like it ... I have/had 3 Razors and Cronus and ETR

I bought originally for my 6.5 and loved it and it was a close comparison to the cronus glass wise. Last year I put it on my NRL22 rifle and as much as I want to.put it back on my 6.5 I think I'll have to buy another .

how does it compare to the razor

 

[Eoddave27]

I have an Ares ETR and it is a solid optic. The glass is great and the turrets are really nice. The eye box isn’t going to be as forgiving as a razor but still good. My only real complaint about it is just a personal thing. It is a really long optic. If it was the same length as the Cronus I don’t think I could really find a flaw with it given its price. I actually have a friend who was so happy with his he planned to sell his AMG and replace it with an ETR and use the extra money for another build I believe.

 

[justin12]

I have an Ares ETR and it is a solid optic. The glass is great and the turrets are really nice. The eye box isn’t going to be as forgiving as a razor but still good. My only real complaint about it is just a personal thing. It is a really long optic. If it was the same length as the Cronus I don’t think I could really find a flaw with it given its price. I actually have a friend who was so happy with his he planned to sell his AMG and replace it with an ETR and use the extra money for another build I believe.

nice that says a lot .. and is it usable over X25 power how is it is it darker or not even

 

[midwestoffroad]

For my eyes the Razors gen 1 and 2 Still still have better glass but I agree I like the short length of the Cronus and the turrets better but don't dislike the ETRs

If it comes down to the ETR or Cronus is hard to justify the extra 400$s for jap glass

 

[10ring1]

how does it compare to the razor

I have the ETR and as said above, head and shoulders above the BTR. I don't own a Razor but have looked through a few Razor Gen IIs and to my eye, the ETR is crisper and image quality is better. Again, to my eye. So far tracking seems to be dead nutz. Tall target test was spot on. Have no complaints with the exception of when you get over 25x and up the image gets darker so I avoid going any higher unless I absolutely need to. Its not terrible but noticeable. From what i gather, many scopes in this price range behave similarly at higher powers.

 

[justin12]

I have the ETR and as said above, head and shoulders above the BTR. I don't own a Razor but have looked through a few Razor Gen IIs and to my eye, the ETR is crisper and image quality is better. Again, to my eye. So far tracking seems to be dead nutz. Tall target test was spot on. Have no complaints with the exception of when you get over 25x and up the image gets darker so I avoid going any higher unless I absolutely need to. Its not terrible but noticeable. From what i gather, many scopes in this price range behave similarly at higher powers.

wow so i cant go wrong with the ETR haha theres no bad reviews lol
my burris xtr2 5x25x50 was bad over 15x power it was not clear anymore and the lens are not crisp its always grayish ive compared my burris to a razor hd and the burris is not there lol its night and day

 

[B_w.]

I have 3 gen 2 razors the Cronus BTR and Ares ETR. Ares ETR is a step down from the others but not much. Not sure on the weight but it feels much lighter too.

 

[littlepod]

I started with a BTR. Bought an ETR, and loved it so much I bought another one. Only areas I want to improve are .2mil hashes instead of only .5mil hashes after the 1mil mark. I like having .2's for holdover.

Clarity and floating dot I love and will never go back to another reticle type. Glass is much better than the XTR II and the Ares BTR. I haven't played with the Cronus... I would wait until the Cronus gets the updated Turrets and such from the ETR before buying a Cronus. That should happen hopefully in 6mo or so.

 

[Spowell0217]

I have two Ares ETR. We have the luxury of having a 1 mile range here in Ohio,, and the ETR has enough elevation to get me there with room to spare ( on 25 and 6.5 creedmoor). There is no discernible quality in the glass compared to vortex Razor. I know people will argue that,, but if there is,, you are not going to be able to blame misses on it. I can see clay pigeons at 1 mile clearly. I have shot clay pigeons at 1 mile with this scope. It just fucking works, and works great. My turrets are repeatable out at 1 mile.. and it always returns to zero at 100 yds. It’s a solid piece of glass that you will never be able to say is not up to your shooting ability.

 

[A-Rob]

I'm so close to getting another one. I'm waiting to see what comes out at SHOT first but I doubt there will be any real competitors.

 

[Chickentoast]

Ares ETR in SFP with sub-tensions correct @ 15X would be the mammaries.

 

[MakeSawdust]

One thing that needs to be brought up is sample variation. Apparently the Ares etr is quite good. I had the opportunity to look through one at the range and it seemed like the color was really muted and dark. It was a sample of one. I compared it to a Bushnell DMRii and I had been shooting a gun with an AMG on it for most of the day. The Ares had okay resolution, but I was not impressed with the contrast or brightness and I was only shooting it on 15x.

Another example of sample variation in the other direction: I have an old xtr ii that I have compared to several razor g2. It is a 4-20 with the 8 mil turrets. I must have the best damn one they made because the resolution in it is better than some gen 2 razors. Better examples of the gen 2 razors have better iq, but of the 5 I've had it beside, it was really close to, or better than 3. I'm not saying xtr ii has better iq than the gen 2 razors. I'm saying there is variation from one sample of the same model to another. I have compared several xtr ii 4-20 from that time period and none are close to the one that I have. Some of the newer ones are closer.

 

[UPSTATERAM]

You'll like it ... I have/had 3 Razors and Cronus and ETR

I bought originally for my 6.5 and loved it and it was a close comparison to the cronus glass wise. Last year I put it on my NRL22 rifle and as much as I want to.put it back on my 6.5 I think I'll have to buy another .

Is it the Cronus or Cronus Btr and how does it compare to the razor 2?

 

[UPSTATERAM]

I have 3 gen 2 razors the Cronus BTR and Ares ETR. Ares ETR is a step down from the others but not much. Not sure on the weight but it feels much lighter too.

How would you compare and rate the Cronus btr to the razor 2? Thanks

 

[midwestoffroad]

How would you compare and rate the Cronus btr to the razor 2? Thanks

It was the Cronus BTR . and there so close to the razor but I personally felt the razors glass was better and if the Cronus BTR would've had the The New APRS1 reticle with the floating Dot. probably would held onto it instead I sold it and bought a second razor. As I had a 50% off certificate.

 

[B_w.]

How would you compare and rate the Cronus btr to the razor 2? Thanks

Very comparable. I picked up my Razors before the Cronus BTR was out so I would probably get whatever one you get the best price on. In Canada the Razor is about $500 more than the Athlon.

 

[A-Rob]

I just read Bigjimfish's review on the TAC 5-25. Anyone had a chance to compare one with their ETR? I'm curious to know how the ED glass on the ETR compares. The 6-24 TAC didn't seem to have a forgiving eyebox to me.

 

[midwestoffroad]

The tac is nice glass

 

[UPSTATERAM]

It was the Cronus BTR . and there so close to the razor but I personally felt the razors glass was better and if the Cronus BTR would've had the The New APRS1 reticle with the floating Dot. probably would held onto it instead I sold it and bought a second razor. As I had a 50% off certificate.

That’s good good to hear. I have the + reticle so I’m in a similar boat. Get a aprs1 but considering the razor 2 and atacr but trying to decide if the extra money of the atacr is worth it over the Cronus btr.

 

[UPSTATERAM]

Very comparable. I picked up my Razors before the Cronus BTR was out so I would probably get whatever one you get the best price on. In Canada the Razor is about $500 more than the Athlon.

Thanks for the feedback. Price difference for me is $180 more for the razor 2 over the Cronus btr but no scope caps with the Cronus so not a huge difference. Then about a $1000 more for the atacr 5-25 so debating all 3.

 

[A-Rob]

I love my Cronus but I'd buy a used g2 Razor over a new Cronus. I've dealt with Vortex warranty service and there's zero risk with a used one.

 

[littlepod]

I love my Cronus but I'd buy a used g2 Razor over a new Cronus. I've dealt with Vortex warranty service and there's zero risk with a used one.

I haven't had any issues with Athlon warranty either. So you can get either one used for a good price.

 

[Bourbon_and_Bullets]

Got my ETR mounted on a Tikka CTR in 6.5 this week. 25 moa built into the burris rings gives me 20.7 total mils elevation up from 0 plus the hold over in the reticle. Really crisp glass and love the floating dot.