I’m debating on getting an Athlon for a long range hunting rig. I can’t find anyone that has done serious testing with them to see how reliable they are. I’ve been using vortex for the past 3 years and they have done great. Just curious to see.
Rifle Scopes Athlon quality?
- Thread starter tcole75
- Start date
So far ive had/seen three Athlon Ares BTR's, 2 Athlon Cronus gen 1s, and 1 Athlon Cronus gen 2 BTR FDE. I would use them all again in a heartbeat. The quality is amazing, and so far the reliability for me has been perfect. I still currently run my gen 1 cronus as I have limited myself down to one very expensive rifle. I will be looking forward to trying the Ares ETR.
I haven't babied my Cronus' but I also haven't abused them either. They don't skip a beat, and they are my go to scope right now. I try and buy all the gen 1 cronus' I can find. I don't think you would be disappointed with a Cronus or an Ares ETR.
I haven't babied my Cronus' but I also haven't abused them either. They don't skip a beat, and they are my go to scope right now. I try and buy all the gen 1 cronus' I can find. I don't think you would be disappointed with a Cronus or an Ares ETR.
I've owned a Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56 since they first came out. It has been mounted on a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle for over 2000 shots and has had zero issues. Scope has not been run particularly hard but turrets have been well exercised and tracked accurately ... just another point of reference.
Thanks for the input I think I will give them a try. It will be for my 280 ai build used for long range hunting
I don't know how reliable this info is but I had a friend attend shot show this year and he spoke with the gentleman who was involved in starting Athlon. I forget his name now but apparently he said something to the effect of "I wanted to make vortex scopes and sell them cheaper. I use many of the same specs and looked for ways to make them more affordable."
Again, this is through the words of another individual so I don't know this to be true... But I do trust the person I heard it from.
Again, this is through the words of another individual so I don't know this to be true... But I do trust the person I heard it from.
I’ve heard the same. I heard it was ex vortex employees that started a new company but have no clue how valid that is
If you look at the offerings it does appear that Athlon does have some very similar offerings to Vortex. They also have many different offerings, different reticles as well.
Athlon also has fantastic quality control with QC people over at the plants as well as here in the USA.
If what your friend heard, "I wanted to make vortex scopes and sell them cheaper. I use many of the same specs and looked for ways to make them more affordable." is true then excellent news. It seems that someone wants to make similar featured popular products for less cost to you and increased quality control.
Sounds like a win/win all around.
I bought a Mida Tac just to mess around with. I kept reading about Athlon so I thought I would give one a go. I really like the looks of the new Ares ETR that's coming out, but couldn't wait for it so I picked up a Midas Tac. I have to say I'm pretty darn impressed. For the money you get a lot of scope. So far it's just been run on a bench. We'll see if my opinion changes when I start "pushing it". See how durable it is. It's mounted on my "truck gun" so we'll see how it likes getting tossed around.
Ares BTR, 4.5-27 and 2.5-15 here. Tracking and return to zero good. Never did a tall test yet for true value of clicks. I liked the mil turrets enough. Reticle was nice, but not as crisp as SHV. Turrets and parralax turned good after break in. Good clicks, not as crisp as others but very good.
The x27 scope glass was not acceptable to me over 20x. It lost clarity, got darker, etc. It was still usable, but I sold it. I have kept the x15 on my .22lr trainer. I have quite a few trips to the range where I abused the turrets. I cranked them hard both ways, lots of times to try to make them fail, bjt never abusively. Still running well.
The x27 scope glass was not acceptable to me over 20x. It lost clarity, got darker, etc. It was still usable, but I sold it. I have kept the x15 on my .22lr trainer. I have quite a few trips to the range where I abused the turrets. I cranked them hard both ways, lots of times to try to make them fail, bjt never abusively. Still running well.
The Cronus BTR is fantastic for me, and the consensus is that's it's a great value that competes with high end scopes.
I've recently bought a Midas Tac and I love that thing. I've been running the turrets up and down a lot with my .22 trainer and 6.5 match gun. Tracks and returns to zero everytime. Glass is good. The size, weight, and reticle are perfect for me as well.
I've recently bought a Midas Tac and I love that thing. I've been running the turrets up and down a lot with my .22 trainer and 6.5 match gun. Tracks and returns to zero everytime. Glass is good. The size, weight, and reticle are perfect for me as well.
Hey check out the Athlon Optics Enthusiasts page on Facebook. You should see reviews, pics thru the glass, and the guys targets from the range.
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