I just ordered a Cronus for an Anschutz 1416 AV T6M I also just ordered. Should be a fun combination. I will let you guys know what I think of it when I get some time behind it.
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Rifle Scopes Athlon Scopes
- Thread starter dhamby
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My Cronus BTR is on the Brown truck out for delivery today. Looking forward to finally running this scope!
glad to see their customer service seems to be good. Hopefully it stays that way, after they increase their sales volume levels.
I should have mine tonight. I should also have the rifle its going on tomorrow. Can't wait.
Can any if you tell me anything about the talos 3-12x40, say compared to vortex crossfire ii
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Any word on the Ares shipping out? I'm am looking forward to some indepth comparisons to the pst Gen 2.
Two questions:
What does the "BTR" designation on each model indicate?
Which dealers here are the trusted source for Athlon optics?
What does the "BTR" designation on each model indicate?
Which dealers here are the trusted source for Athlon optics?
Bright Tactical Reticle = BTR. Basically means the scope has illumination.
You could pick any one of the Athlon dealers here and be GTG.
The 2.5-15 Ares should be shipping in the next few weeks. That was the last schedule update.
You could pick any one of the Athlon dealers here and be GTG.
The 2.5-15 Ares should be shipping in the next few weeks. That was the last schedule update.
I have no idea who the dealers here are, but to be fair, I haven't been following the Athlon stuff very closely.
The new Ares looks interesting but I will sit that out to see how the release fairs.
The Chronos BTR has my attention due to the feature set and reviews and I have a rifle that needs glass of that power range at the moment.
Anybody notice how similar the Athlon website is to the Vortex website? Coincidence?
The new Ares looks interesting but I will sit that out to see how the release fairs.
The Chronos BTR has my attention due to the feature set and reviews and I have a rifle that needs glass of that power range at the moment.
Anybody notice how similar the Athlon website is to the Vortex website? Coincidence?
I'm new to the Hide and interested in the Cronus BTR. Has anyone written up a detailed review on it yet?
Got my Argos BTR back from Athlon. They sent a new one with the updated turrets and Parallax fix some were talking about. Clicks are loud and not mushy at all elevation or wind-age. Parallax works just fine and the reticle and illumination are perfect. I ordered the scope from Midway and the next day talked with Jason from Athlon. I had an email with a UPS shipping label sent and mailed the scope off on Wednesday and hand the new one on Monday! Shot it finally this last Friday and the scope tracks dead nuts on and glass is super clear. Very happy. It was so nice not to have to mess with Midway on getting the scope replaced. I'm going to keep with Athlon for a while. Really would like to try the Talos next for my .223 AR.
Both Chronos 4.5-29 scopes have illumination, yet one gets the BTR designation which doesn't jive with your explanation.
I went to the range the other day with my new JP LRP-07 in 6.5 Creedmoor and I decided to mount an Athlon Cronus 4.5-29 on it using a JP mount. To say I am happy with the performance of the rifle and scope is a complete understatement. I am not as good a shooter as some of you seem to be but I shot the best groups of my life. And I've been shooting a long time. I am 62 years young. Ammo was primarily Hornady 140gr. ELD Match ammo. I saved up for a long time to get this rifle and the Athlon Cronus 4.5-29 really brought out the best of the rifle.....and the shooter. Very happy Athlon customer..Someday I will learn how to post pictures here on the Hide.
With the Cronus on my .22LR it's fun watching the bullets punch through the target at 100 yards.
If anyone has any questions about the Cronus let me know. I'm taking it to the range Saturday and I can make note of anything specific you want. I can also compare it to a Vortex PST 6-24 FFP.
If anyone has any questions about the Cronus let me know. I'm taking it to the range Saturday and I can make note of anything specific you want. I can also compare it to a Vortex PST 6-24 FFP.
Well, that's true, hadn't occurred to me. Them either I guess. In this case the designation must mean BrighTer-er Reticle, lol???
I am trying to keep up with the plethora of Athlon threads I am finding now, so forgive me if this information has been posted elsewhere. Why the new thread vs the old 43-page one? Just curious.
I have an Argos BTR 6-24 that I really do enjoy, and am looking to get a Helos BTR 6-24 and an Ares BTR 4.5-27.
Wondering if anyone has any experience with either? I think I read that the Ares is not yet shipping, but that there are some on the hands of testers.
Comments welcome, thanks.
I have an Argos BTR 6-24 that I really do enjoy, and am looking to get a Helos BTR 6-24 and an Ares BTR 4.5-27.
Wondering if anyone has any experience with either? I think I read that the Ares is not yet shipping, but that there are some on the hands of testers.
Comments welcome, thanks.
As someone has already pointed out, the non-BTR Cronus has illumination, and I wanted to comment on that.
The Cronus 4.5-29x56 scope I recently sold to a friend has the best illumination of any scope I've owned, and I've owned quite a few midrange and alpha scopes.
To my eye, the illumination has 3 "ranges"; at the bottom are several levels suitable for nighttime, then there's a step up to the dusk/dawn levels, then another step up to several levels that are daylight bright. It does all this without any bleed, even at the shockingly bright highest illumination. I have a few gripes about the scope, but the illumination is not one of them.
Joe,
What were your gripes with the Cronus? Were they resolved with the Cronus BTR?
Thanks.
I had a 4.5-29x56 mil Cronus from I believe the 2nd shipment so it's possible some or all of my concerns have been addressed in current production units.
On the reticle, the full mil hashes aren't sufficiently different from the .2 mil hashes for quick sight acquisition, at least to my eyes.
Also, the stadia line weight is a bit on the wide side for target shooting, but it is a tactical reticle and works well for that.
I understand the challenge of designing a reticle for a high mag ratio (6x erector) FFP scope in that if the stadia are too thin, the reticle is almost invisible at low mag, and that's not the case with the APLR mil reticle. One way to offset any disadvantage of heavy stadia lines in an FFP scope at full mag is floating center dot. Overall it is a good reticle, especially for the first try.
I need reading glasses these days, and so the size of the numbers on the elevation knob is too small for me to read with a cheek weld. It's one thing if there's not enough real estate to fit larger numbers, such as on an MOA knob or one with 15 mil/rev, but my guess is the text size on the mil model carried over from the MOA model. There's room on the knob to easily double the size of the numbers.
Of course I think the detents on the turrets could be a bit firmer. With slippery grease on the o-ring the clicks become more audible and a bit less mushy, but at the expense of the knobs resistance to accidentally turning. The resistance the o-ring provides with the as-delivered tacky grease increased the knobs resistance to accidentally turning, but at the expense of the tactile feel of the clicks. The fix is stronger detent springs and a smaller cross section o-ring. Again, usable but not of the same level of quality as the rest of the scope.
I passed my feedback on to Trent at Athlon, from whom I bought the scope in the first place at a pretty nice discount.
I could have lived with the perceived "shortcomings" but I decided to standardize on the Minox ZP5 Tac scope on all of my bolt guns. Thankfully I only have 2 right now (an AIAX and a .223AI built on a TL2 action) so it didn't break the bank. I have nothing but praise for the optical performance and the tracking, the weight and size of the Cronus, and Athlon's interest in satisfying customers.
On the 4.5-29x56 Cronus BTR many of those listed shortcomings mentioned by scudzuki have been directly addressed starting with the first batch released. The turret numbers font size has been increased and the turrets have been improved with regards to tactile feel. Additionally, the number of markings on the parallax knob marking distances have been increased for those that care where it winds up. On mine, the distance markings matched up very closely to where parallax was dialed out.
Reticle has been modified from original Cronus model in an attempt to deal with prior mentioned concerns. I personally like the Cronus BTR reticle better. Illuminated reticle is excellent on both models.
Scope performed well on tall target test, requiring less than 2% click correction over a 10 mil range with repeatable return to original zero after significant dialing and windage corrections. I only tested windage to +/- 3 mils.
Reticle has been modified from original Cronus model in an attempt to deal with prior mentioned concerns. I personally like the Cronus BTR reticle better. Illuminated reticle is excellent on both models.
Scope performed well on tall target test, requiring less than 2% click correction over a 10 mil range with repeatable return to original zero after significant dialing and windage corrections. I only tested windage to +/- 3 mils.
I found out yesterday that it is delayed till mid May now.
My Cronus BTR should be here next week.
I just received a Argos BTR 6-24. I really like the scope. I would say the glass is comparable to a Sightron S-Tac 4-20 that I have, Which is really good. One thing I don't like is how easy the turrets turn. Has anyone found a way to make them stiffer?
+1, just sold my Burris XTRII and I'm looking to replace it with something a bit nicer.
I have the Talos BTR and Argos BTR. For some reason the Talos looks to be clearer at closer ranges. Athlon are known for good value scopes. I have the Talos BTR on my Savage Mark II 22lr for tight groups and I can stretch the legs to 300 yrds. Great mid-range scope for an AR with the parallax asjustment. I would not recommend it for CQB like you would get from a 1x6 FFP scope.
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Athlon scopes are about value or best bang for your buck. The Ares should not be compared to a S&B. The Cronos BTR is their top tier scope in the range of the Vortex Razor. The Ares should be compared to the Vortex PST Gen II line for about $300 less.
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Your making a bit of a stretch there with both the Athlon's being as good as the Vortex's. There a reason there is a price difference. The Cronus could compete with a Gen 1 Razor, toe to toe? Not the gen2. The gen 2 PST will be almost as good as gen1 razor minus the glass and will be on the heels of the cronus. I'm all for value and best bang for the buck!! Vortex has the edge with the reticle as well, the ERB-2C is better than Athlon's christmas tree reticle in MOA, IMHO. How do I know, because I've owned them, except for the PST gen 2 which i will shortly.
The only thing IMHO the Gen 2 has on the Cronus is turrets. I'll take the glass, reticle, and illumination of the Cronus. I've since sold my Cronus and upgraded to the PMII when the prices dropped so low, but if I was in that 1500-2000 price range, the Cronus is flat out amazing. Have no time with the BTR, but I imagine they improved some on the turret feel from my original Cronus. Don't get me wrong, I like the Gen 2. But if they are both on a prize table and I'm going to keep what I take, I'll take the Cronus.
Ron, just quoting my quote, in case you missed it.
Still haven't had to send a Athlon scope back among the local shooters I personally know. approaching 20 units, lost count. Closest friends and I use them nearly every week. Love the glass for the money.
And there's an active thread right now "again" concerning the scope brand I didn't mention, with a guy being likewise disappointed.
S&B ran well this weekend, like usual. Unfortunately my Cronus BTR didn't arrive in time to use it at the Battle Royale. Will do a write up at some point this summer.
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I have an Argos btr and like it very much except the turret and the inability to adjust were "zero" is. Which Athlon models offer a turret cap that has set screws on the side of the turret cap that allow the cap to slide up and down to a desired mark close to zero or the first elevation marker? I have another coming in the next few months and would like to purchase another Athlon.
So sorry to hear that! But you got a new one back, correct? Better than sending the same scope back over and over like some Co's do telling you your scope is within factory specs, right.
The pre production Cronus I used for 3 months worked fantastic, then was sent to another Hide member and used for the 2016 PRS season.
Nothing man made is perfect, we see every brand go down regardless how much money one spends. Maybe someday I'll need to use the Gold warranty, that's what it's there for.
The new Ares will and the SFP Midas does.
Helos model turrets line up better than the Talos and Argos lines. It has locking 6 mil per rev turrets and is a higher grade of scope.
And that Cronus is still going strong! I have a Cronus BTR now too, with the reticle I helped design and other recommended improvements. It will make it's inaugural run at two PRS matches this month.
The reticle in person is outstanding. Thinner, cleaner and more useful than the previous. I used Vortex in the past and had ebr2c which while good, would have benefitted from a slight tweak, imho. I really like 0.2-mil hash marks for wind Holds and leads on movers.
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Just talked to the guys at Athlon today over my Argos issues. Told them that I would have bought the Helos BTR had it been available when I bought the Argos. They told me the internals and glass are exactly the same as the Argos. Only difference are the turrets, ocular knurl, and where the illumination is. I like the Argos just fine and was a good purchase for my current broke ass..but the Helos is just a little cooler....
. My issues are not new to them and they are taking great care of me. I'll buy more!I realize that the Ares BTR isn't out yet, officially, but many have received test models. Plus, on this page alone I am seeing some chatter re: Ares BTR 4.5-27 FFP and a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 5-25...... One of these will be my next scope.
Has anyone had a chance to handle both? With my pricing the two scopes are within about $100 of each other.
Thanks.
Has anyone had a chance to handle both? With my pricing the two scopes are within about $100 of each other.
Thanks.
I'm in your same boat. I will get the first one I get my hands on it. I own a PST GII in 3-15x44 and I consider it a big improvement over the first gen PST but I haven't have the opportunity to see one Ares BTR in front of me so I can't compare. Today I saw at MidwayUSA that the shipment for the Ares BTR was moved back to June.
Anyone have an inkling as to why the date keeps moving back? Boat is late...? Stuck in customs...? In-Country but problems...?
Maybe Trump is making them late. All the Mexicans around here got deported and I can't even go eat a taco and drink a margarita on Cinco de mayo damnint.
