Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
This needs to changeThe Ares ETR will be made in China with Chinese glass.
Got an email notification from Athlon this morning - the matte black ETR shipped today. I'm about 350mi west of KC, and typically get one day shipping out of them, so will be looking for it tomorrow. However, when I click on the tracking link, UPS says they can't find that shipment, so we'll see what happens. Actually, when I saw the email from Athlon, I was hoping it was the Cronus Tactical spotter. Ah well - there's a semi-local PRS-style match this Saturday within easy driving distance - might as well take the black ETR along in case anyone's interested in buying a nice new scope...
I’ve seen quality turrets and also not so quality! But if you send them in they’ll replace the scope for free! “Athlon”All the Ares scopes I've handled had turrets which lined up perfectly or so close it wasn't worth getting a magnifying glass out to examine closer. One example would be the 2.5-15 I had which had turrets with less lash/turret play and lining up better than my Bushnell LRHS 3-12, though turret action was on the light side.
A friends 4.5-27 has normal turret action and are very good turrets that line up well.
The ETR turrets on the pre production model at SHOT were superior to current Ares and about the same as the Cronus turrets but with a different feel.
The Midas TAC pre production models had very nice turrets as well and it'll be less expansive than the Ares line, though a more basic scope lacking illume and without a tree reticle.
Honda builds some real nice cars, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare them to a BMW.......
This needs to change
I’ve had the send a few Argos scopes back because of the turrets but after two or three you end up with one that has decent turretsI have a fair amount of experience with only the Cronus btr and the Argos btr, Cronus btr was like NF nxs but a first focal plane, Argos btr was so identical to a Gen 2 HD but at a cost of 350 it was really hard to believe. This is only a comparison of glass quality to my eyes. The Argos has terrible turrets. If the ETR has decent turrets I’m sure it will be a home run for athlon
I just love it when the 2K an 5K scope buyers start hating on Athlon! ??Well, I've owned a number of BMW's over the last 35 years and actually still have one so I can say from experience that their quality is definitely not the same as it used to be... On the other hand, my 'beater' Toyota Land Cruiser with over 275,000 miles on it is still running like a champ with very little regular maintenance; I absolutely love that truck...
Back on topic, I have been lurking on the board for a long time and finally 'pulled the trigger' on a PRS rifle (Bergara 6.5 B-14 BMP) and want to put a decent scope on it to continue becoming more proficient in longer range shooting. I've read many posts... literally everything I could scrape up on various scopes and the Athlon line seemed to come up continually as a very good option among others as a pretty good quality scope for the money. The only reason I asked the question was that Steiner has an excellent reputation and has become quite close to the ETR in price and wondered if it was worth the extra couple of hundred bucks (or maybe there's something else at play that's responsible for the price drop?). Obviously there are differences but just wanted to ping the group for opinions which from your comment, sounds like the Steiner is a different league altogether?
Thanks for the group input, always appreciate the expertise from pros on the Hide...
Cheers,
CP
I’m looking forward to getting mine!Last week got a chance to stop by Athlon in Olathe,Ks. and got a chance to look thru the Ares ETR as compared to a Cronus. Very impressed by the picture quality by the Ares which I liked better based on picture alone. Looked sharper all the way through the power range.
They are shipping out. Mine is on the way to my dealer. They will get it sometime FridayAthlon's silence is deafening.....
My backorders are coming tomorrow as well. Shipments are coming in and backorders are being filled.
Mine was sitting at the back door when I made it home from an appointment in Hays this afternoon. Only had two ordered - one brown, one black - and now have both. Don't know whether Athlon filled dealers' orders first or not, but I did place my order for these two either during SHOT or just after, so have been waiting as long as most of you non-dealers. Whatever - from what I've seen & experienced with the brown one that I've had mounted on two different rifles so far, they were worth waiting for. I believe they're going to sell very well after more individuals get theirs & the independent reviews start being posted online. Will be taking both mine along to a PRS-style match this weekend to let more shooters get a look at them.
Is there any dealers that have any in stock yet or are they just strictly taking care of the preorders at this point
looks like the center dot maybe should have been as big as whole number holdover dots below. still..impressive
Specs on the rifle?View attachment 6937223Test Fit on the ETR. I am tall so had to set it pretty far forward.
@Tyler KempDoes anyone know of any current throw levers fit the Ares ETR?
Specs on the rifle?
@Tyler Kemp
MK Machining Tyler Kemp, said it was the same as the Ares BTR.
Called Athlon. The latest: 2 more weeks. So.....we are going to be well out into September.....at least.
We use Butler Creek on the Cronus BTR, the eye piece cover they sell measure 1.775 and it stretches to fit the Cronus (Ares ETR and Cronus BTR measure the same if I am not mistaken. Heres two models on Butler Creek I would look into.
1.775: MO20200
2.575: 30510
Those are the same dim in the paper work with the scope. Cronus and ares ocular dim is 1.8. Not sure how much the .03 for ETR will change things.Here are the measurements, from Athlon CS in an email to me, in case that helps - "the eye piece measures 1.83" and the objective measures 2.5"".
I'm reading in the Facebook group that people are having a hard time finding caps for the ocular end. The measurements according to one dealer are 46.7mm (Ocular) and 63.6mm for the objective. The Cronus objectives will work. Some people say that the stretchiness of the Vortex Defenders helps overcome the difference for the ocular . . . but I'm waiting to order since my scope pre-order isn't here yet.
The vortex defenders worked well for me.The 2.575 front cap is too big trying the 2.5 one next
Yeah. Super clear glass, no distortion around the edges. The center dot in the perfect size at 10x and above. Can’t tell you about the illumination since they didn’t ship a battery. Turrets are super solid and precise. I have a coworker that owns a razor gen 2 and said , “hey this looks like mine!” When he looked through it speaking on the glass.Have any new owners had a chance to field test yet? Any additional report/observation(s) from the few that were made available in the initial shipment?
Ugh, can't make up my damn mind on ordering one of these or one of the Vudu 5-25's.