Rifle Scopes Cronus BTR GEN2 4.5-29×56 or Tract Toric 4.5-30x56 ?
- Thread starter Roman13
- Start date
Athlon - SS internals, lower caps un-lock, longer paralax, nicer reticle.
Those scopes both come from LOW. They are so similar (borderline identical) I would look at the reticle you like best and buy that one.
LOW scopes in Japan is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for these scopes. They own the design for these scopes and under a contractual agreement they produce them to the outlined standards of the buyer.
The pricing is set by the buyer. The OEM has no control over it. So if there is a $300 price difference for what is essentially the same scope, in your shoes, I would probably take the opportunity to save myself 300 bucks
Anyone have both? Any word on durability of these scopes? I know quite a few scopes that track awesome, but if they take a good jolt all bets are off.
If I'm not mistaken, the Toric uses Schott glass on the lenses that are exposed to the air. That may partially account for price difference, as well as locking turrets
Not true. I’ve had my Athlon windage turret spin on me. I fixed it by putting a garden hose gasket inside to increase the friction.
Not having caps/locking windage turret is my only complaint about the Athlon
Interesting. Mine is very stiff and requires considerable effort to turn
Why I can't find a single review worth a dam on the gen 2 cronus on youtube is beyond me, but the website says it's turrets lock; which is the only reason I'm even interested in a scope is locking turrets.
Ok, the Athlon website made a mistake; they put locking turrets on it when there is none lol. Just called them. Welp that about wraps it up for me lol. Tract toric it is lol.
I have both, although my Cronus is a G1. Controls are smoother on the Tract and the turrets lock. Both look the same to me up to 25x and then the Tract is just a tiny smidge better. I have not thrown them across the room so I can't speak to their durability. Cronus is likely the better deal when on sale and I would not hesitate to get another one.
Ive been shooting both for a long time..Athlon Gen1 & Gen 2 now.Ive hadthe Tract Toric since it 1st came out.
I’ve had several Athlon’s 6-24x50 and a Tract Toric 4-20x50 for a year and a half. Not quite apples to apples but the Tract is better in all ways to me with one exception that isn’t a huge issue for me. The eyebox is slightly more forgiving in the Athlins I’ve had. The Tracts turrets both sound and feel better. They lock and the zero stop is bomb proof. The glass is much clearer and the image sharper on my Tract. In the not too distant future I want the 4.5-30x56. One of my Athlons had a serious tracking issue (a 550 yard shot called for 10.5 MOA dial up but it moved about 14.0) it was replaced under warranty. My Tract is dead nuts on all the way to 31.5 MOA for 1000 yards.
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I have a Cronus and several Helos models and I would highly suggest you take up Doug on his open box offer. That's a killer deal
I have 2 Athlon Cronus BTR..Aven 1 and gen 2.I also have a Athlon Ares ETR on a custom 7SAUM that I shot at 2000 yards.They all track true but I check them out on a 12 foot Tall Target Test prior to going to a match.I check all my scopes with it.Ive been impressed with Tract Toric by watching West Desert Shooter 5 years ago.I waited on them to come out with a 34mm tube and bought it.I love the pull push turrets. JON & JOHN AT TRACT ARE GOOD TO DEAL WITH ALSO.
I might have to take you up on that deal Doug.
Ibought an open Box Zeiss last night.Been wanting one. Its hard tobeat a Cronus BTR.Jaclyn shot 4227 yards with hers & a Charlie last month.They Track True. $1299 is a DEAL.
Kinda torn between the Cronus, Tract Toric, and Maven RS.4.
I have 2 Cronus BTR's.....and 1 BTR Gen2 = 3 total. The Gen 2 was a steal on Expert Voice for $999. Best bang for the buck in optics IMHO.
No difference in Tract Toric or Cronus BTR really.Tract hash push/pull locking turrets.Athlons are crisp enough they won't get bumped off.For the $$$ atc1299.00 I'd take the Cronus BTR and savev400 bucks. . TRACT customer service is great.
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Tract h as way way better customer service by a mile.I hD to argue with the SOB at Athlon b4 I got justice
I've owned several Cronus scopes, from the early models up to and including the Gen 2. The Gen 2 has new SS guts, with very distinct click detents - there's really no comparison in the click detents on the older BTR & the new Gen 2. I can't imagine accidentally turning the windage knob on the Gen 2 scopes.
If they were that stiff you wouldn't be able to turn them. LOL Even crisp will move.
Then consider yourself lucky but doesn't mean they wouldn't if bumped during movement.
Just to see I put my rough Carhart almost new coat thats pretty rough on my son and raked the turrets against his arm with both turrets 3 times forward and backwards. Neither turned. Mine almost hurt my hand turning them when shooting in my ELR matches. The Gen 2vis quite a but harder that gen 1 ut both did not move.The Ares ETR may but my 2 Cronus BTR did not.
MMy Primary Arms PLX 6-30×56 might move.My 3 Delta Strykers have push/Pull turrets similar to my Tract Toric.My Tract has 37 Mil of elevation is why it's my favorite.My Cronus and Strykers both have just 32 Mils.My n ew Zeiss has 46 mils I just bought.
Well consider yourself lucky for having the hardest turning turrets in the industry. Lol Some would look at that as a bad thing though also. Still if a chance of turning during movement then locking is a better and safer bet. If no issue with movement then not an issue. PRS doesn’t have the movement it used to so locking isn’t as big of a deal today in the sport but hunters might want it if sling up or climbing and not wanting to bump the knobs. Windage at this point is my only must have being locked or covered.
I shoot in Prone in King of 2 Mile Competitions. My hunting rifle ,or one I use mostly has cap p ed turrets and is SFP 6.5-20×44 Leupold on Browning White Gold Medallion 7mm Remington Magnum. It's odd, alot of cheaper scopes have locking turrets...like my Primary Arms 3-18 ×50 Apollo 6.5 CM/224 Valk.$499.00
But my $1,500. 00 Primary Arms PLX 6-30×56 does not have them.
@TreyMeTrey would you mind providing a good comparison/contrast between the Cronus Gen 2 and the Ares ETR? I need to decide on one or the other asap and would appreciate the insight. Thanks
The Cronus Gen 2 is much brighter /clear to my eyes and my friend Todd Hervey. We tested side by side a Nightforce ATACR, Athlon Cronus BTR Gen1, Athlon Cronus BTR Gen2/Zeiss LRP S3 4-25x50/ a Zeiss S5 5-25x56 , Tract Toric 4-25x50, Athlon Ares ETR, Tract Toric 4.5-30x56.
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Out of all these and 4 people looking through each one out past 3500 yards. The Athlon Cronus was the brightest and clearest.
Now to answer your question the Cronus BTR is the clearest. If it has nmore Elevation Id never buy anything else. I bought the Zeiss S3 strictly for the useable Elevation.I bought the Zeiss S5 to get the best Glass.. However I was disappointed Cronus BTR is clear..By just a Tad..And it cost double.The Zeiss S3 is the best deal/bang for you buck if you need a lot of elevation like me shooting 3K yards.I hope that helps.I had rated my Tract Toric real high until I had to send it back for moisture/ or dust inside. The Ares is a nice scope for the money but not as nice as the Cronus BTR
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Out of all these and 4 people looking through each one out past 3500 yards. The Athlon Cronus was the brightest and clearest.
Now to answer your question the Cronus BTR is the clearest. If it has nmore Elevation Id never buy anything else. I bought the Zeiss S3 strictly for the useable Elevation.I bought the Zeiss S5 to get the best Glass.. However I was disappointed Cronus BTR is clear..By just a Tad..And it cost double.The Zeiss S3 is the best deal/bang for you buck if you need a lot of elevation like me shooting 3K yards.I hope that helps.I had rated my Tract Toric real high until I had to send it back for moisture/ or dust inside. The Ares is a nice scope for the money but not as nice as the Cronus BTR
Thank you for your response. It was very helpful.
I gather if you were only needing to shoot out to 1k-1500, you would be good with the Cronus BTR Gen2 on a 20 MOA rail?
How are the turrets compared to the other scopes you’ve tried including the Ares ETR?
It’s about a $300 difference for me to get the Cronus G2 over the Ares ETR, but the Cronus is double the cost of the Bushnell Match Pro ED “MPED” I just received that others suggested to buy and try (ignoring its $700 value price point).
The MPED looks pretty good to me except for some chromatic aberration in the higher magnification range.
I took mine into a dealer that had the entire Vortex and Leupold lineups and I have to say the MPED handled better, had a better more forgiving eye box, and almost as good optical quality as a Leupold 5HD. The only thing that beat it out of the handful of $1200+ scopes was the Razor G3.
But I can’t find a Athlon dealer near me with the ETR and/or Cronus to compare.
I gather if you were only needing to shoot out to 1k-1500, you would be good with the Cronus BTR Gen2 on a 20 MOA rail?
How are the turrets compared to the other scopes you’ve tried including the Ares ETR?
It’s about a $300 difference for me to get the Cronus G2 over the Ares ETR, but the Cronus is double the cost of the Bushnell Match Pro ED “MPED” I just received that others suggested to buy and try (ignoring its $700 value price point).
The MPED looks pretty good to me except for some chromatic aberration in the higher magnification range.
I took mine into a dealer that had the entire Vortex and Leupold lineups and I have to say the MPED handled better, had a better more forgiving eye box, and almost as good optical quality as a Leupold 5HD. The only thing that beat it out of the handful of $1200+ scopes was the Razor G3.
But I can’t find a Athlon dealer near me with the ETR and/or Cronus to compare.
The Cronus BTR Gen2 has nard /more tactile turrets. At first I didnt like them. They were almost too hard, compared to the Gen1 and Ares ETR.Then I got use to them and really like them.
There is not a lot of difference in the Athlon Cronus Gen 1 Turrets and Ares ETR.. Maybe a little more tactile to the Cronus BTR Gen 1 feel. The Ares ETR is louder . The Cronus is easier for me to grab and turn without slipping because of the Sharper Notches on the Turrets.I do not like the Smooth dents in the Turrets on the Arres ETR.
Have you looked at the Delta Stryker 4.5-30x56 FFP MIL. I have it and I have two Delta Stryker 5-50x56 SFP . One in MIL and one in MOA. I shot the MOA in Benchrest.
RE; Elevation in Scopes/ Last year I used my Nightforce Prism with my Athlon Cronus BTR at 2907 yards. This year I put an ERATAC adjustable scope mount on that rifle. And an IVEY adjustable Scope Mount in MILS .I can now,if I want use my Athlon Cronus on these rifles and may do that instead of using my prism.
If you live anywhere near me I'd let you take my Ares ETR and compare it/ shoot with it.
There is not a lot of difference in the Athlon Cronus Gen 1 Turrets and Ares ETR.. Maybe a little more tactile to the Cronus BTR Gen 1 feel. The Ares ETR is louder . The Cronus is easier for me to grab and turn without slipping because of the Sharper Notches on the Turrets.I do not like the Smooth dents in the Turrets on the Arres ETR.
Have you looked at the Delta Stryker 4.5-30x56 FFP MIL. I have it and I have two Delta Stryker 5-50x56 SFP . One in MIL and one in MOA. I shot the MOA in Benchrest.
RE; Elevation in Scopes/ Last year I used my Nightforce Prism with my Athlon Cronus BTR at 2907 yards. This year I put an ERATAC adjustable scope mount on that rifle. And an IVEY adjustable Scope Mount in MILS .I can now,if I want use my Athlon Cronus on these rifles and may do that instead of using my prism.
If you live anywhere near me I'd let you take my Ares ETR and compare it/ shoot with it.
I cant speak to the Revic, I havent paid much attention to them. But the Razor is a different design. Vortex owns the design and its manufactured by an OEM (LOW).
In the case of the Cronus and Toric, LOW designed the scope, they own the design. They agree to manufacture it for Athlon and Tract.
In a nutshell, it's a LOW scope, and Athlon and Tract are just the middle man..
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