Cronus BTR vs XTR Pro?

[Kiba]

Did some searching and found some decent info, but wanted to see if opinions may have changed since the XTR Pro has been out longer now.

I have a Cronus BTR 4.5-29 on one of my impact M3 PCP air rifles. It’s been on a few air rifles over several years now and hasn’t let me down. Glass is good, reticle is good, turrets track perfect athough they aren’t super “clicky” as mine is a Gen 1 BTR and not the Gen 2 BTR with the newest stainless turret detents.

I use this thing for occasional target practice in the backyard but mostly for taking out ground squirrels up to about 150Y. The 29x mag is very nice to be able to tell if that’s a dirt clod or a squirrel just starting to poke his eyes and ears up above the mound at 120Y+, and the glass in the Cronus is good enough to easily discern the eyes and ears from the dirt.

I recently picked up an XTR3i 3.3-18 for one of my 10/22s and really, really like it. I like the reticle, turrets are good feeling and track well, and glass is good, up there with the Cronus as far as I can tell, far better than I expected given my previous very poor experience with a pair of Steiner 3-15 T5XI’s. Using the XTR3i got me to thinking about maybe trying an XTR Pro 5.5-30 to replace the Cronus, even though I really don’t have any complaints about the Cronus other than the turrets could be a little more tactile.

How does the XTR Pro glass stack up against the Cronus BTR? Also, how’s the depth of field on the XTR Pro at 30x? One thing I like about the Cronus is on 29X I can use the parallax knob as a fairly accurate rangefinder at 150Y and in, which is very important on the air rifle given the trajectory of a pellet or slug. Sometimes in a very flat field I can’t get a good range with a laser rangefinder and instead use the parallax knob at 29x mag to range the squirrels, and the Cronus does pretty well in this regard and usually rewards me with first round hits. I know most people here are looking for just the opposite, a more forgiving depth of field so you don’t have to mess with the parallax as much when engaging targets at different ranges-- but I’m hoping at 30x at 150Y and in the depth of field is tight enough that the XTR Pro will let me get a good approximate range with the parallax knob.

Also, does the XTR Pro exhibit any noticeable image degradation when dialed near elevation extremes? I have a decent amount of cant in the mount for taking long shots, but since the Cronus does start to lose some image resolution when dialed within about 7 mils of the upper or lower elevation extremes I chose a mount to keep the Cronus above that area of degraded image resolution at my zero distance. However, since the XTR Pro has less elevation travel than the Cronus (26 mil vs 32 mil) with the current mount the XTR Pro is going to be dialed down to about 4 mils up from the very bottom of its elevation travel at my zero distance. Any issues with degraded image quality of the XTR Pro when the elevation turret is cranked down that low?

Thanks!

 

[Birddog6424]

The XTRIII is a fair comparison to the Cronus.

The Pro is a step up from both of them in glass quality and features.

 

[warnera1102]

Following along as I am in the same comparison boat.

 

[fdkay]

I have a BTR Gen 2, it is a decent scope with an incredibly tight eye box in the upper mag ranges.
The Pro is likely more friendly in that regard

 

[Jabberjaw]

I have the Ares BTR GEN2 4x27 apl3 on my 6.5PRC and it has been great. Weight is less than my Vortex PST gen2. As stated above yes the eye box is tight but IMO not a deal breaker. Great scope for the $$$ . If your a first responder, military or veteran PM me and I'll get you in the right direction. Got mine delivered for right at $700.

 

[FuhQ]

The XTRIII is a fair comparison to the Cronus.

The Pro is a step up from both of them in glass quality and features.

Don't know about the XTR Pro, as I've never looked through one, but my XTR-IIIi 5.5-30x56 has pretty amazing glass for the price.

 

[YotaEer]

XTR Pro definitely wins here as the XTR3 is comparable to the Cronus.

 

[Kiba]

Starting to lean towards trying an XTR Pro, but I'd still like to hear from some XTR Pro owners regarding some of the specific questions in my first post, namely if the image quality is negatively affected when the elevation is dialed down to within about 4-5 mils of the bottom of the elevation travel (if it is affected, how far up do you have to dial from the bottom of the elevation travel before the image sharpens up?) and also if at 30x the parallax adjustment and depth of field is sensitive enough to use the parallax knob as a makeshift optical rangefinder at say 150Y and in. Both are important to me given the application on a PCP air rifle.

Something else I just realized, right now with the deal Scott at Liberty Optics is running I can get a Vortex Razor Gen 3 for only about $450ish more than an XTR Pro... given this is going on one of my PCP air rifles I think the XTR Pro would be more than adequate, but it is something to think about.

 

[Rob01]

Starting to lean towards trying an XTR Pro, but I'd still like to hear from some XTR Pro owners regarding some of the specific questions in my first post, namely if the image quality is negatively affected when the elevation is dialed down to within about 4-5 mils of the bottom of the elevation travel (if it is affected, how far up do you have to dial from the bottom of the elevation travel before the image sharpens up?) and also if at 30x the parallax adjustment and depth of field is sensitive enough to use the parallax knob as a makeshift optical rangefinder at say 150Y and in. Both are important to me given the application on a PCP air rifle.

Something else I just realized, right now with the deal Scott at Liberty Optics is running I can get a Vortex Razor Gen 3 for only about $450ish more than an XTR Pro... given this is going on one of my PCP air rifles I think the XTR Pro would be more than adequate, but it is something to think about.

Can't tell you about the bottomed out elevation but with the 26 mils I have mine on a 20 MOA base and have about 19 mils of elevation up so about 7 mils down and image is great. At one point I threw it on a rifle with a 40 MOA base and when I looked through the scope there were no issues either.

As to parallax adjustment like a rangefinder, I know at 100 yards when I was zeroing the Pro the other day for my match yesterday I was on 100 on the dial but the numbers on any parallax dial are just reference points and should not be taken as true ranges. I had a couple Gen 3s and they didn't work that way either. Close to numbers on dial but not exact. I would not use this as a point to buy a scope.

All my shooting with the Pro has been longer range but I shot a match yesterday with a stage with targets from 400-1000 yards and I didn't touch the parallax knob and shot a 10 of the 12 shots. One miss at 600 due to wind needing an adjustment and the other was the first shot on the 10" target at 1000 and the second with wind adjustment hit.

If you have a leaning towards the Pro then I would say give it a try. It's a real nice optic.

 

[FredHammer]

Don't know about the XTR Pro, as I've never looked through one, but my XTR-IIIi 5.5-30x56 has pretty amazing glass for the price.

I'm meticulous with my glass assessments and you are spot on. I compared side-to-side for about 1/2 hour sessions a few times a day to get different lighting conditions. The ATACR 7-35 did beat the 5.5-30 XTR III I would say, by a hair. Is that hair worth the extra expense of an ATACR. To some I an see it would, most others...I should think not.

 

[srt-4_uk]

I was shooting prairie dogs a couple weeks back and bottomed out my elevation turret. In the center of the scope the image quality was good but once you started to get away from center you could see it fall off. I was holding four mils right at that distance.
That was the XTR Pro.

 

[Kiba]

I was shooting prairie dogs a couple weeks back and bottomed out my elevation turret. In the center of the scope the image quality was good but once you started to get away from center you could see it fall off. I was holding four mils right at that distance.
That was the XTR Pro.

How far away did you have to dial away from the elevation limit before the image cleared up? Trying to determine if I'll need a new mount and take some cant out. My current setup would put the XTR Pro about 4-4.5 mils up from the bottom of the elevation travel at my zero distance. I wish the XTR Pro had about 32 mils of elevation travel like my current Cronus BTR, but 26 will work.

As to parallax adjustment like a rangefinder, I know at 100 yards when I was zeroing the Pro the other day for my match yesterday I was on 100 on the dial but the numbers on any parallax dial are just reference points and should not be taken as true ranges. I had a couple Gen 3s and they didn't work that way either. Close to numbers on dial but not exact. I would not use this as a point to buy a scope.

I'm not really looking for the absolute accuracy of the ranges printed on the factory parallax knob as I know they're just reference, but what I'm wondering is this: is the depth of field at 30x shallow enough at 150y and closer that the parallax setting for best image quality is "touchy"? If it is that means I can use the knob as a pretty accurate rangefinder even though the marks on the knob might not be 100% correct; I can always make a larger diameter clamp on parallax knob that I can write my own corrected ranges on like the air rifle field target guys.

 

[FuhQ]

How far away did you have to dial away from the elevation limit before the image cleared up? Trying to determine if I'll need a new mount and take some cant out. My current setup would put the XTR Pro about 4-4.5 mils up from the bottom of the elevation travel at my zero distance. I wish the XTR Pro had about 32 mils of elevation travel like my current Cronus BTR, but 26 will work.



I'm not really looking for the absolute accuracy of the ranges printed on the factory parallax knob as I know they're just reference, but what I'm wondering is this: is the depth of field at 30x shallow enough at 150y and closer that the parallax setting for best image quality is "touchy"? If it is that means I can use the knob as a pretty accurate rangefinder even though the marks on the knob might be 100% correct; I can always make a larger diameter clamp on parallax knob that I can write my own corrected ranges on like the air rifle field target guys.

I have found my Burris parallax adjustments to be closer to true (to the number markings) than any of my Vortex or Arken scopes. The Burris markings are as spot-on close as my Kahles K-series scopes.

 

[FredHammer]

I have found my Burris parallax adjustments to be closer to true (to the number markings) than any of my Vortex or Arken scopes. The Burris markings are as spot-on close as my Kahles K-series scopes.

Bushnell Elite Tactical and Leup VX5HD have this true parallax dial too. Forgiving adjustment as well. Some I have to fight and change the dial by a nano/micro meter or it falls out of perfect parallax adjustment.

 

[srt-4_uk]

How far away did you have to dial away from the elevation limit before the image cleared up? Trying to determine if I'll need a new mount and take some cant out. My current setup would put the XTR Pro about 4-4.5 mils up from the bottom of the elevation travel at my zero distance. I wish the XTR Pro had about 32 mils of elevation travel like my current Cronus BTR, but 26 will work.

I don't know. I just dialed the targets as they presented themselves. If I did not have to hold four mils of windage, I probably wouldn't have noticed the image degradation.

My scope is zeroed at 50 yards on my 22LR and I'm able to dial just over 26 mils before it taps out with a 50 MOA total cant. So I'm either right at the extreme elevation for my zero or the scope has more than 26 internal

 

[srt-4_uk]

I will say that this scope worked beautifully over that week. It wasn't a pirate titty twister test but those turrets got worked to their max and back down to zero multiple times with a lot of stops in the middle. I do wish there was a better second rev indicator like vortex razor or Steiner.

 

[Rob01]

When scope companies give you the max elevation there might be more but that is where you get the best image quality in that 26 mils from center so 13 up and 13 down. If you are going over 26 mils then you are into a place where you might not get the best image.

The second rev indicator is nothing I worry about with the 12 mil per turn. Mine are on my centerfire match rifles so they rarely go above 12 mils.

 

[FuhQ]

I will say that this scope worked beautifully over that week. It wasn't a pirate titty twister test but those turrets got worked to their max and back down to zero multiple times with a lot of stops in the middle. I do wish there was a better second rev indicator like vortex razor or Steiner.

Kahles K-series have a little anodized red button that pops up when you hit the 2nd rev letting you know where you're at. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[srt-4_uk]

When scope companies give you the max elevation there might be more but that is where you get the best image quality in that 26 mils from center so 13 up and 13 down. If you are going over 26 mils then you are into a place where you might not get the best image.

It's a complete guess why manufacturers do what they do. Steiner M5 has more elevation internally but their max is how much the turret cap can support.
Meopta optika6 max is what the true internals stop at. When you get to your maximums, you lose part of the image because you are looking inside of the tube.

 

[Rob01]

It's a complete guess why manufacturers do what they do. Steiner M5 has more elevation internally but their max is how much the turret cap can support.
Meopta optika6 max is what the true internals stop at. When you get to your maximums, you lose part of the image because you are looking inside of the tube.

That is why their max is 26 mils. Go over and you will lose image. That's what I said also. You said you dialed just over 26 mils.

 

[srt-4_uk]

There's only 29 total internal. So next time I'll try to dial 1.5 less than max and see if that makes the off center image as good as the center.

 

[ECK]

I have the XTR Pro mounted on a rimfire rifle. Zero’d at 50 yds w/ 50MOA of cant and I’m about 2.5 mils from bottoming out. As far as I can tell, there’s no image degradation when shooting inside of 100 yds. I mainly shoot NRL22 and PRS22 with this setup where the majority of the targets are 100 yds and less, with 1/4” KYL targets typically at 35-50 yds and the glass is clear enough for those purposes.

I have the same scope on my centerfire rifle which is zero’d closer to the middle of the elevational range of the scope. As far as I can tell there’s no discernable difference in the image quality compared to the rimfire rifle towards the bottom of the range.

 

[KevinWood44]

I also have the Cronus BTR (Gen2) on my Impact M3 and I absolutley love it. I think the reticle is clean, simple and extremely easy to use. Turrets are crisp and audible, glass is very nice (as good as any B tier scope) the ONLY slight downside is the very tight parallax knob but it loosens up over time.

I have no time behind the Burris but I have looked thru it, admittedly not side by side with the Cronus and I might have ownership bias but I thought the Cronus had better glass. Who knows though.

I have NOTHING but great things to say about the Cronus and Athlon as a whole. Cronus, Tract Toric, Maven, Razor, Burris, Delta....I think it all comes down to you reticle preference. Not much seperates any of them

 

[Birddog6424]

I have the XTR Pro mounted on a rimfire rifle. Zero’d at 50 yds w/ 50MOA of cant and I’m about 2.5 mils from bottoming out. As far as I can tell, there’s no image degradation when shooting inside of 100 yds. I mainly shoot NRL22 and PRS22 with this setup where the majority of the targets are 100 yds and less, with 1/4” KYL targets typically at 35-50 yds and the glass is clear enough for those purposes.

I have the same scope on my centerfire rifle which is zero’d closer to the middle of the elevational range of the scope. As far as I can tell there’s no discernable difference in the image quality compared to the rimfire rifle towards the bottom of the range.

^^^ This

I also have a Pro on a Rimfire and use the Burris Signature rings with the inserts to get the maximum amount of cant out of the optic. I do this on both the Pro and XTRIII.

There's no degradation in optical quality in either of them.

 

[Kiba]

Thanks for the additional info. Good to know that the image quality/resolution seems unaffected with the elevation dialed to within 4 mils of the elevation travel limits, that means I wouldn't have to buy another mount with less cant for the XTR Pro.

I was out all afternoon yesterday in a fairly weedy and cluttered orchard blasting more ground squirrels with the Cronus BTR yet again, and after an entire afternoon behind the scope searching for critters in the weeds I have to admit I have no real complaints about the Cronus BTR. Not even sure if it's worth spending the money to try an XTR Pro other than my recent positive experience with the XTR3i 3-18 makes me feel like I should try one.

The current Cronus BTR works perfect, does everything I need it to, and I like the reticle and glass. Even though others have mentioned the Cronus eyebox getting tight at 25-29x, I don't find the eyebox on the Cronus BTR to be difficult even at 29x-- but I have a good cheekweld on the Impact M3 and my head falls into the right spot every time and I don't have to move my head around to find the image even at 25-29x.

If the glass in the XTR Pro is on the same level or better than the Cronus and does better with mirage, the eyebox is more forgiving, and the turrets are more positive feeling, then those factors would be worth the upgrade. Guess I'll think about it a couple more days and then probably place an order.

 

[Poorboyr]

The XTR Pro is a better scope. I have both. Burris did a great job making this scope. For the price, you can’t beat it.

 

[Scopeye]

I have the Ares BTR GEN2 4x27 apl3 on my 6.5PRC and it has been great. Weight is less than my Vortex PST gen2. As stated above yes the eye box is tight but IMO not a deal breaker. Great scope for the $$$ . If your a first responder, military or veteran PM me and I'll get you in the right direction. Got mine delivered for right at $700.

They're currently on sale for $565 and some change delivered for free through Walmart online. For everyone. Plus free shipping and free returns too.

 

[Scopeye]

I have the Ares BTR GEN2 4x27 apl3 on my 6.5PRC and it has been great. Weight is less than my Vortex PST gen2. As stated above yes the eye box is tight but IMO not a deal breaker. Great scope for the $$$ . If your a first responder, military or veteran PM me and I'll get you in the right direction. Got mine delivered for right at $700.

They're currently on sale for $565 and some change delivered for free through Walmart online. For everyone

Thanks for the additional info. Good to know that the image quality/resolution seems unaffected with the elevation dialed to within 4 mils of the elevation travel limits, that means I wouldn't have to buy another mount with less cant for the XTR Pro.

I was out all afternoon yesterday in a fairly weedy and cluttered orchard blasting more ground squirrels with the Cronus BTR yet again, and after an entire afternoon behind the scope searching for critters in the weeds I have to admit I have no real complaints about the Cronus BTR. Not even sure if it's worth spending the money to try an XTR Pro other than my recent positive experience with the XTR3i 3-18 makes me feel like I should try one.

The current Cronus BTR works perfect, does everything I need it to, and I like the reticle and glass. Even though others have mentioned the Cronus eyebox getting tight at 25-29x, I don't find the eyebox on the Cronus BTR to be difficult even at 29x-- but I have a good cheekweld on the Impact M3 and my head falls into the right spot every time and I don't have to move my head around to find the image even at 25-29x.

If the glass in the XTR Pro is on the same level or better than the Cronus and does better with mirage, the eyebox is more forgiving, and the turrets are more positive feeling, then those factors would be worth the upgrade. Guess I'll think about it a couple more days and then probably place an order.

Buy the Burris Signature XTR rings then no worries since you'll have the MOA adjustability to go from +/- 5 to 40 and your scope will always look pristine brand spanking new condition with never a single witness mark or blemish using these rings. If you don't qualify to buy it for $1400 with law enforcement or military discount then Optics Planet has the 1/4 SCR2 MIL on sale for currently under $1800 (add to cart to see discount price) with a 10% discount code you can easily get by request through their chat prior to ordering plus free shipping and free returns within 30 days if you aren't 100% satisfied with it (Only use Burris Signature XTR rings so they won't even know you mounted it in case you want to return it).

 

[Scopeye]

Did some searching and found some decent info, but wanted to see if opinions may have changed since the XTR Pro has been out longer now.

I have a Cronus BTR 4.5-29 on one of my impact M3 PCP air rifles. It’s been on a few air rifles over several years now and hasn’t let me down. Glass is good, reticle is good, turrets track perfect athough they aren’t super “clicky” as mine is a Gen 1 BTR and not the Gen 2 BTR with the newest stainless turret detents.

I use this thing for occasional target practice in the backyard but mostly for taking out ground squirrels up to about 150Y. The 29x mag is very nice to be able to tell if that’s a dirt clod or a squirrel just starting to poke his eyes and ears up above the mound at 120Y+, and the glass in the Cronus is good enough to easily discern the eyes and ears from the dirt.

I recently picked up an XTR3i 3.3-18 for one of my 10/22s and really, really like it. I like the reticle, turrets are good feeling and track well, and glass is good, up there with the Cronus as far as I can tell, far better than I expected given my previous very poor experience with a pair of Steiner 3-15 T5XI’s. Using the XTR3i got me to thinking about maybe trying an XTR Pro 5.5-30 to replace the Cronus, even though I really don’t have any complaints about the Cronus other than the turrets could be a little more tactile.

How does the XTR Pro glass stack up against the Cronus BTR? Also, how’s the depth of field on the XTR Pro at 30x? One thing I like about the Cronus is on 29X I can use the parallax knob as a fairly accurate rangefinder at 150Y and in, which is very important on the air rifle given the trajectory of a pellet or slug. Sometimes in a very flat field I can’t get a good range with a laser rangefinder and instead use the parallax knob at 29x mag to range the squirrels, and the Cronus does pretty well in this regard and usually rewards me with first round hits. I know most people here are looking for just the opposite, a more forgiving depth of field so you don’t have to mess with the parallax as much when engaging targets at different ranges-- but I’m hoping at 30x at 150Y and in the depth of field is tight enough that the XTR Pro will let me get a good approximate range with the parallax knob.

Also, does the XTR Pro exhibit any noticeable image degradation when dialed near elevation extremes? I have a decent amount of cant in the mount for taking long shots, but since the Cronus does start to lose some image resolution when dialed within about 7 mils of the upper or lower elevation extremes I chose a mount to keep the Cronus above that area of degraded image resolution at my zero distance. However, since the XTR Pro has less elevation travel than the Cronus (26 mil vs 32 mil) with the current mount the XTR Pro is going to be dialed down to about 4 mils up from the very bottom of its elevation travel at my zero distance. Any issues with degraded image quality of the XTR Pro when the elevation turret is cranked down that low?

Thanks!

Dude you got such an expensive $2000.00+ FX pellet gun toy? Why not buy the Element Theos for $2007.00 currently on sale at DVOR? Same brand plus it focuses down to 10 yards/meters. I would never ever normally recommend buying Element Optics brand but it's their new top of the line Japan made flagship and not their crappy Chinese ones and it's roughly $800.00 cheaper than everyplace else. I think the sale is good for another 4 days.

 

[KevinWood44]

Thanks for the additional info. Good to know that the image quality/resolution seems unaffected with the elevation dialed to within 4 mils of the elevation travel limits, that means I wouldn't have to buy another mount with less cant for the XTR Pro.

I was out all afternoon yesterday in a fairly weedy and cluttered orchard blasting more ground squirrels with the Cronus BTR yet again, and after an entire afternoon behind the scope searching for critters in the weeds I have to admit I have no real complaints about the Cronus BTR. Not even sure if it's worth spending the money to try an XTR Pro other than my recent positive experience with the XTR3i 3-18 makes me feel like I should try one.

The current Cronus BTR works perfect, does everything I need it to, and I like the reticle and glass. Even though others have mentioned the Cronus eyebox getting tight at 25-29x, I don't find the eyebox on the Cronus BTR to be difficult even at 29x-- but I have a good cheekweld on the Impact M3 and my head falls into the right spot every time and I don't have to move my head around to find the image even at 25-29x.

If the glass in the XTR Pro is on the same level or better than the Cronus and does better with mirage, the eyebox is more forgiving, and the turrets are more positive feeling, then those factors would be worth the upgrade. Guess I'll think about it a couple more days and then probably place an order.

My ONLY complaint w the Cronus is the tight eye box at high mag - however, like you mentioned if you have it mounted and you have a solid cheek weld it is OK. If you are holding it just to look thru its damn near impossible. Otherwise it superb

 

[Mongoose67]

I have the Ares BTR GEN2 4x27 apl3 on my 6.5PRC and it has been great. Weight is less than my Vortex PST gen2. As stated above yes the eye box is tight but IMO not a deal breaker. Great scope for the $$$ . If your a first responder, military or veteran PM me and I'll get you in the right direction. Got mine delivered for right at $700.

How does the Ares compare to the PST Gen 2?

 

[Kiba]

As an update, my XTR Pro arrived yesterday, so now I can offer first hand experience and comparisons.

Mounted the XTR Pro up about 10pm last night, zeroed it this morning, then went out to smack a few ground squirrels before things got too hot (it was already 100F by 11am, supposed to be 108-109F today.)

First impressions...

Mag ring and parallax knobs are a bit stiffer and rougher feeling than expected. Hopefully they'll smooth out after some use. Since both of these are used constantly having a good smooth feel to them right out of the box would really help first impressions and perceived quality. They did get smoother with about 4 hours of use today, but still aren't what I would call great. Hopefully they continue to smooth out with more use.

Turrets feel good, nice and positive-- clicks are more pronounced than my Cronus BTR Gen 1; I have not used a BTR Gen 2 which has the stainless turret internals so I can't offer any comparison. The XTR Pro elevation turret is larger and easier to read. Turret and parallax knob knurling on the XTR Pro is far less aggressive and more fingertip friendly than my XTR3i, which has knurling that can sometimes feel outright hostile... lol

There was an opening in the foam that looked like it might have been for an exposed windage knob (one came with my XTR 3i) but there was no exposed windage knob provided. Mine did come with a mag ring throw lever, I heard some XTR Pros had been shipping without the throw lever as Burris was having supply issues.

Total elevation turret travel on my scope is about 29.5 mils, so more than the advertised 26 mils. The scope has 22.5 mils of elevation up from zero, so it's about 7 mils up from the bottom of the travel at zero, and I didn't notice any degradation in the image quality at my zero setting compared to dialed 8 mils up to be in the center of the elevation travel range.

Depth of field at lower mags is much more forgiving than I expected, which is nice-- no having to constantly fuss with the parallax knob while scanning for targets at around 12-14x. I can find a target then fine tune parallax.

The other good news (for my use) is at 30x the depth of field is sufficiently tight at 135Y and in and the markings on the parallax knob are accurate enough that I can use the parallax knob as an rudimentary optical rangefinger which allowed me to get some first round hits on squirrels at 110-120Y that were partially behind some weeds where my laser rangefinder wasn't giving good readings. Put the scope on 30x, the image focused up about at 115ish according to the parallax knob, so I dialed up 3.3 mils and connected on the first shot; ended up getting 3 off that mound.

I was a bit disappointed to find that the zero stop is fixed at zero and is non-adjustable, I was hoping it might be set at -0.5 mils like many other manufacturers do. At the furthest range I can safely place a target in my backyard for practice the rifle hits +0.3 mils high, so I like to be able to dial down 0.3 mils so it's hitting on center for dot targets. I could easily do that with the Cronus as the Cronus has an adjustable zero stop which I set at -1 mil, but I can't do that with the XTR Pro as the zero stop is hard set at zero and non-adjustable. For a temporary workaround I noticed that if you lift the inner cam lock elevation turret up about 1mm before locking the cam lever you can then dial down about 4 mils below zero before the turret bottoms out, so that's a workaround for now to let me dial below zero but not go a full rotation below zero. I may end up taking the cam lock inner elevation turret to the milling machine and making my own zero stop pin location at -0.5 or -1.0 mils below zero.

Out of the box the screw to adjust tension on the cam lever for the inner elevation turret was a bit loose and if you moved the turret quickly you could get it to slip on the erector. That would have sucked at a match as you would have lost zero, and it reminds me of not getting the flip levers on a Premier turret tight enough and having it slip and lose zero. Snugging the tension adjustment screw on the cam lever took care of that, and if you want your elevation turret to be really solid it looks like Burris put 2x set screws in the inner elevation turret that you can use in addition to the cam lock to really lock down the turret.

Eyebox and eye relief is more forgiving than the Cronus, especially at 25x and up. The XTR Pro glass seems better than the Cronus too which impressed me, as I was always extremely satisfied with the Cronus glass quality. The FOV on the XTR Pro is great too. The image also remains sufficiently clear and focused inside of 20Y with the mag at 5.5x and the parallax set to 20Y to make close up shots.

Reticle thickness is good and I like it at both 5.5x and 30x. I really like the small cross in the center as opposed to just a dot. Still getting used to the different style and spacing of the hash marks in the tree of the SCR2 compared to the Athlon. I have years of use behind the Athlon reticle so I don't even think about it anymore, but the SCR2 is new and isn't second nature to me yet.

So far, extremely happy with the XTR Pro, although I wish the mag ring and parallax knobs were lower effort and smoother, and the zero stop was fixed at -0.5 mils instead of zero. Even with those concerns Burris did a great job on the XTR Pro-- it's an absolute steal at the LE/Mil/First Responder discount price IMO.

Pic of the XTR Pro out doing its thing this morning. Got 34 squirrels in a little under 3 hours before I decided sitting in the pool sounded better than sitting in a 102F orchard.

I think I'm also going to order a razor gen 3 to test since the July 4th deal at Liberty is just too good to pass up. I use one on a friend's rifle occasionally and like it, but would really like to spend some extended time behind one.

 

[TEUFEL820]

I was a bit disappointed to find that the zero stop is fixed at zero and is non-adjustable, I was hoping it might be set at -0.5 mils like many other manufacturers do.

Look under the turret cap. There is a very small tab with the number 0 on it. You can remove this brass looking tab and flip it to get the zero stop to go negative. I believe there is a video on YouTube that shows it.

 

[Kiba]

Look under the turret cap. There is a very small tab with the number 0 on it. You can remove this brass looking tab and flip it to get the zero stop to go negative. I believe there is a video on YouTube that shows it.

I was just messing with the elevation turret and found exactly that before seeing your post. I flipped the zero stop pin holder and took pics to post it here and then saw your post about it while resizing the pics. Thanks!

The brass piece with the zero stop pin can be flipped which offsets the pin giving you zero or -0.4 mil for the zero stop. It's marked "0" and "4".

All you have to do is remove the screw, tap the turret so the zero stop piece falls out, flip the tab to the "4" side, and reinsert it and reinstall the screw. Now dial your elevation turret down to -0.4 below your zero, reinstall the turret and while pushing downwards rotate it until it contacts the zero stop pin at -0.4, and relock the cam lever. Dial up to zero and you're ready to go. Now the zero stop is at -0.4 mils... perfect!

I'm very happy the scope has the choice of zero stop at 0 or -0.4 so I can dial down -0.3 for target use in the backyard. It's obvious Burris put some thought into this thing and it's appreciated that they did.

Anyways, pics.

Inside of turret showing brass zero stop pin holder. It had the "0" side facing up as shipped:

Brass zero stop pin holder, one side shows 0 and one side shows 4:

After reinstalling with "4" facing up, zero stop is now at -0.4 mils:

 

[rothgyr]

I was just messing with the elevation turret and found exactly that before seeing your post. I flipped the zero stop pin holder and took pics to post it here and then saw your post about it while resizing the pics. Thanks!

The brass piece with the zero stop pin can be flipped which offsets the pin giving you zero or -0.4 mil for the zero stop. It's marked "0" and "4".

All you have to do is remove the screw, tap the turret so the zero stop piece falls out, flip the tab to the "4" side, and reinsert it and reinstall the screw. Now dial your elevation turret down to -0.4 below your zero, reinstall the turret and while pushing downwards rotate it until it contacts the zero stop pin at -0.4, and relock the cam lever. Dial up to zero and you're ready to go. Now the zero stop is at -0.4 mils... perfect!

I'm very happy the scope has the choice of zero stop at 0 or -0.4 so I can dial down -0.3 for target use in the backyard. It's obvious Burris put some thought into this thing and it's appreciated that they did.

Anyways, pics.

Inside of turret showing brass zero stop pin holder. It had the "0" side facing up as shipped:

Gosh it's nice to see a scope made in tandem with real feedback and solving shooters problems, rather than an OEM somewhere in Japan just doing their best to accommodate a vendor's request based on what the OEM is already setup to do. I know a lot of guys running the XTR Pro now on their PRS guns, and they swear by them. I've got IDTS Ballistic Tape on my ATACR and USO turrets, so it can be argued that the race dial isn't that special by some, but the fact that you can take the whole dang dial off and write on it at your tripod and configure your zero stop to your own preferences is just stellar. I'm a big fan of Burris.

 

[Birddog6424]

I was going to point out the zero stop adjustability after reading the original post. But you all beat me to it

It's definitely a great feature.

The mag ring will smooth out with use. All of mine have.

Glad you're liking the optic. It's a very feature rich scope for the money.

 

[cuz]

I’m starting to think it depends on which reticle you like better. As I’m starting to look at scopes again, I’m finding that the reticle carrys more weight than some of the other specs I thought were more important. I’m not saying it’s the only thing, but now, before I add a scope to my list of choices to consider I make sure it has a reticle I like. Previously, I’d narrow down my scope choices to 1 or 2, then choose a reticle from the ones available on those models. I think my previous method was kind of dumb.

I like the Burris XTR PRO and XTR III scopes, but I like the Athlon APRS6 reticle a whole lot more than the SCR2 on the Burris models.

But of course, all of the above was said with no time looking through any of them and only looking at pics of the reticles on the Mfg websites…

 

[rothgyr]

I’m starting to think it depends on which reticle you like better. As I’m starting to look at scopes again, I’m finding that the reticle carrys more weight than some of the other specs I thought were more important. I’m not saying it’s the only thing, but now, before I add a scope to my list of choices to consider I make sure it has a reticle I like. Previously, I’d narrow down my scope choices to 1 or 2, then choose a reticle from the ones available on those models. I think my previous method was kind of dumb.

I like the Burris XTR PRO and XTR III scopes, but I like the Athlon APRS6 reticle a whole lot more than the SCR2 on the Burris models.

But of course, all of the above was said with no time looking through any of them and only looking at pics of the reticles on the Mfg websites…

Once you're over $1200 and into the mid level Japanese made market, the sight picture seems clean enough that stuff like reticle design has more and more sway. They're all going to have reasonably comparable and usually acceptable specs and quality. Reticle preferences end up being intensely personal preference, and can have a lot more effect on hitting targets/making corrections than whether or not a scope has 2% more CA than another one.

 

[YotaEer]

Once you're over $1200 and into the mid level Japanese made market, the sight picture seems clean enough that stuff like reticle design has more and more sway. They're all going to have reasonably comparable and usually acceptable specs and quality. Reticle preferences end up being intensely personal preference, and can have a lot more effect on hitting targets/making corrections than whether or not a scope has 2% more CA than another one.

Only problem is id say the XTR’s have 50% more CA than the comparable Japanese scopes. That’s fine for the XTR3i at $1000 but not for the pro that’re $1600+. My opinion anyways. Otherwise they’re great scopes.

 

[rothgyr]

Only problem is id say the XTR’s have 50% more CA than the comparable Japanese scopes. That’s fine for the XTR3i at $1000 but not for the pro that’re $1600+. My opinion anyways. Otherwise they’re great scopes.

I mostly notice the CA on the PRO if I'm not centered up behind the scope, but you have a good point. My USA made XTR III has a lot more than 3% difference in CA vs the Japanese scopes.

 

[Kiba]

Reticle choice absolutely matters, and I wouldn't buy a scope if I hated the reticle even if the rest of the scope was great.

After more time behind the XTR Pro I have to say I like, but don't love, the SCR2 reticle. It's functional but I prefer the simple dots in the tree of the Athlon APRS reticle on my previous cronus to the "up and down T's" in the tree of the SCR2.

Also, while the 0.025 mil line thickness of the SCR2 makes it easier to precisely aim at a small target and I like the thinness at higher magnification, the thinner reticle is also easier to lose in the clutter of the orchards that I hunt in at lower magnification than the thicker 0.030 mil reticle of the APRS reticle in my previous cronus, and unlike the eye searingly bright illumination of the cronus that works even on the brightest days the illumination on the XTR Pro is nowhere near as bright so it's not as effective to make the reticle more visible in clutter/shadows at lower mag on a bright day.

I still really like the glass and mechanicals of the XTR Pro preferring them over the cronus, and can live with the SCR2 reticle.

Also, I'm not seeing the "50% more CA" than other comparable Japanese scopes that was mentioned above, my XTR Pro is on par with my previous cronus BTR when it comes to CA... so pretty good and acceptable given the price point of both scopes at the EV discount price. The worst CA I've ever seen in any scope by far was the 2x Steiner 3-15 tx5i's I had many years ago from the first batch shipped-- white steel targets at 600y looked like they had a 6" purple forcefield surrounding them. Add in some shimmering mirage and it was very, very hard to tell where the center of the target actually was, and the purple halos made it very hard to see splash on smaller targets. The terrible CA made me sell those scopes, otherwise I liked them.

I will say the XTR3i 3-18 I have on another rifle is very sensitive to image distortion if you aren't centered in the eyebox; the XTR Pro seems much less sensitive to that, but it's still present. The XTR3i 3-18 that I have does have more CA than the XTR Pro, but it's not that bad and I can live with it (if the CA was as bad as my Steiner 3-15s I would have returned it immediately, lol)

I have a couple G3 razors on the way as well; I may end up swapping the XTR Pro for a G3 razor after some testing. While I really don't want the extra weight of the razor on the air rifle, the vortex dot tree reticle is more to my liking than the SCR2 and I'm sure the glass will be nicer. We'll see when they get here, which probably won't be for another 2 months. Might order a Zeiss S3 4-25 and 6-36 to play with too, but the Zeiss MRI reticle, while usable, isn't my favorite either.

 

[Mongoose67]

Reticle choice absolutely matters, and I wouldn't buy a scope if I hated the reticle even if the rest of the scope was great.

After more time behind the XTR Pro I have to say I like, but don't love, the SCR2 reticle. It's functional but I prefer the simple dots in the tree of the Athlon APRS reticle on my previous cronus to the "up and down T's" in the tree of the SCR2.

Also, while the 0.025 mil line thickness of the SCR2 makes it easier to precisely aim at a small target and I like the thinness at higher magnification, the thinner reticle is also easier to lose in the clutter of the orchards that I hunt in at lower magnification than the thicker 0.030 mil reticle of the APRS reticle in my previous cronus, and unlike the eye searingly bright illumination of the cronus that works even on the brightest days the illumination on the XTR Pro is nowhere near as bright so it's not as effective to make the reticle more visible in clutter/shadows at lower mag on a bright day.

I still really like the glass and mechanicals of the XTR Pro preferring them over the cronus, and can live with the SCR2 reticle.

Also, I'm not seeing the "50% more CA" than other comparable Japanese scopes that was mentioned above, my XTR Pro is on par with my previous cronus BTR when it comes to CA... so pretty good and acceptable given the price point of both scopes at the EV discount price. The worst CA I've ever seen in any scope by far was the 2x Steiner 3-15 tx5i's I had many years ago from the first batch shipped-- white steel targets at 600y looked like they had a 6" purple forcefield surrounding them. Add in some shimmering mirage and it was very, very hard to tell where the center of the target actually was, and the purple halos made it very hard to see splash on smaller targets. The terrible CA made me sell those scopes, otherwise I liked them.

I will say the XTR3i 3-18 I have on another rifle is very sensitive to image distortion if you aren't centered in the eyebox; the XTR Pro seems much less sensitive to that, but it's still present. The XTR3i 3-18 that I have does have more CA than the XTR Pro, but it's not that bad and I can live with it (if the CA was as bad as my Steiner 3-15s I would have returned it immediately, lol)

I have a couple G3 razors on the way as well; I may end up swapping the XTR Pro for a G3 razor after some testing. While I really don't want the extra weight of the razor on the air rifle, the vortex dot tree reticle is more to my liking than the SCR2 and I'm sure the glass will be nicer. We'll see when they get here, which probably won't be for another 2 months. Might order a Zeiss S3 4-25 and 6-36 to play with too, but the Zeiss MRI reticle, while usable, isn't my favorite either.

Will look forward to your comparison between the G3 and XTR III/Pro.

 

[YotaEer]

Will look forward to your comparison between the G3 and XTR III/Pro.

I’ve had the Gen 3, zeiss s3 and Xtr Pro all next to each other. I’d rank them in that order as a total package.

The zeiss glass was on par with the Gen 3, but everything else about the Gen 3 was a little bit better. Both were superior to the XTR Pro.

If you can get the Gen 3/s3 for around $2000 from hide vendors, or in the PX, they are clearly worth the extra 10% over an XTR pro. Getting more than 10% in glass quality alone.

Edit: to others point, the one downside of the Gen 3 razor is the weight. I’ve accepted that heft and have it on my “heavy hunter” 6.5 creed I use for varmints, steel and crop field deer. 14 pounds total. When vortex comes out with a new AMG, I’ll swap it out for that.

 

[Kiba]

I’ve had the Gen 3, zeiss s3 and Xtr Pro all next to each other. I’d rank them in that order as a total package.

The zeiss glass was on par with the Gen 3, but everything else about the Gen 3 was a little bit better. Both were superior to the XTR Pro.

If you can get the Gen 3/s3 for around $2000 from hide vendors, or in the PX, they are clearly worth the extra 10% over an XTR pro. Getting more than 10% in glass quality alone.

The price difference between an XTR Pro at the every day expert voice price and the g3 razor at the best special couple of times a year sale deal from a hide vendor is more like 30-35% more money to jump from the XTR Pro to a Razor G3, making the XTR Pro very hard to argue with for performance per dollar spent IMO, especially if you're on a budget... provided you can get that special pricing.

At "normal" non-EV pricing for the XTR Pro (which really narrows the street price gap between the two) I think I'd lean towards spending a little more for a razor gen 3. I've spent a bit of time behind a friend's razor G3 and liked it, but I haven't spent hours behind one yet to have a real solid opinion on one regarding its strengths and weaknesses. I won't get that opportunity until November probably when the 2x razor g3's I ordered from Liberty optics during their July 4th sale arrive. However, I have spent hours behind the XTR Pro now, and for the price I paid I'm very impressed with it other than wishing the illumination was as bright as the cronus to help reticle visibility at lower magnification in shadowed clutter, and the SCR2 reticle "up and down T" hash marks not being my favorite. It's still a damn good scope, especially at the EV price, and I don't regret selling my cronus BTR for the XTR Pro. You really notice the friendlier eyebox at higher magnification and much larger FOV of the XTR Pro coming from the cronus BTR.

 

[Birddog6424]

The Pro isn't that far off from the GIII Razor. I've done side x side comparisons on about 5 of them now with two different Pros. Two of them were a nod to the GIII in clarity. The Pro was a little brighter, the Razor was a little softer in color. Just like the GII, the blues are a little bluer.

The other three were damn close. As in the folks who were there were split on which looked better. The nicest GIII I've seen was the very first one that we compared. I havent seen another one with glass that good. That one belongs to a good friend, so we've compared it to others as well. That came out of the shop on a good day. This isn't just my "Burris guy" opinion. There were other people there as well hopping between these scopes and others.

After comparing to the first one I was pretty much of the mindset that the Vortex looked a little cleaner than the Pro. But the more Razors I see the less I'm convinced that they are better in every example across the board. It's awfully close. And the Pro brings some awfully nice features to the table.

 

[Scopeye]

Did some searching and found some decent info, but wanted to see if opinions may have changed since the XTR Pro has been out longer now.

I have a Cronus BTR 4.5-29 on one of my impact M3 PCP air rifles. It’s been on a few air rifles over several years now and hasn’t let me down. Glass is good, reticle is good, turrets track perfect athough they aren’t super “clicky” as mine is a Gen 1 BTR and not the Gen 2 BTR with the newest stainless turret detents.

I use this thing for occasional target practice in the backyard but mostly for taking out ground squirrels up to about 150Y. The 29x mag is very nice to be able to tell if that’s a dirt clod or a squirrel just starting to poke his eyes and ears up above the mound at 120Y+, and the glass in the Cronus is good enough to easily discern the eyes and ears from the dirt.

I recently picked up an XTR3i 3.3-18 for one of my 10/22s and really, really like it. I like the reticle, turrets are good feeling and track well, and glass is good, up there with the Cronus as far as I can tell, far better than I expected given my previous very poor experience with a pair of Steiner 3-15 T5XI’s. Using the XTR3i got me to thinking about maybe trying an XTR Pro 5.5-30 to replace the Cronus, even though I really don’t have any complaints about the Cronus other than the turrets could be a little more tactile.

How does the XTR Pro glass stack up against the Cronus BTR? Also, how’s the depth of field on the XTR Pro at 30x? One thing I like about the Cronus is on 29X I can use the parallax knob as a fairly accurate rangefinder at 150Y and in, which is very important on the air rifle given the trajectory of a pellet or slug. Sometimes in a very flat field I can’t get a good range with a laser rangefinder and instead use the parallax knob at 29x mag to range the squirrels, and the Cronus does pretty well in this regard and usually rewards me with first round hits. I know most people here are looking for just the opposite, a more forgiving depth of field so you don’t have to mess with the parallax as much when engaging targets at different ranges-- but I’m hoping at 30x at 150Y and in the depth of field is tight enough that the XTR Pro will let me get a good approximate range with the parallax knob.

Also, does the XTR Pro exhibit any noticeable image degradation when dialed near elevation extremes? I have a decent amount of cant in the mount for taking long shots, but since the Cronus does start to lose some image resolution when dialed within about 7 mils of the upper or lower elevation extremes I chose a mount to keep the Cronus above that area of degraded image resolution at my zero distance. However, since the XTR Pro has less elevation travel than the Cronus (26 mil vs 32 mil) with the current mount the XTR Pro is going to be dialed down to about 4 mils up from the very bottom of its elevation travel at my zero distance. Any issues with degraded image quality of the XTR Pro when the elevation turret is cranked down that low?

Thanks!

The biggest noticeable differences between the XTR PRO and Cronus BTR G2 is the HUGE EYEBOX AND EXTREME WIDE ANGLE SIGHT PICTURE in the Burris. I ordered one but had shipping issues at that time but managed to actually get a looksee at a few. It's like looking through a March wide angle such as the 4.5-28x52 the FOV was quite simply outstanding. The Cronus G2 has very smooth functions in every aspect compared to the very crude feel of all of the Burris knobs. Can't complain about anything in regards to the Cronus G2 especially if you bought it on sale for $1000 through EV. Well maybe only the minor nit picks about no sunshade included which is an extra purchase nor any lens covers included where cheap Butler Creeks would do just fine. I think $1200 is a reasonable price for it during a sale for "everyone" such as Black Friday or on other holiday specials or promotions. I'd really like to try the Maven S.4 but don't think it's worth paying $1800 so I'm just waiting for their next sale and maybe pull the trigger if it dips below $1400. It's supposed to be the best sub $2000 glass available at present.

 

[steve123]

Early this year I almost bought a G3 Razor on sale. I'm kinda glad I waited since Birddog mentioned he and his friends only thought the first ones had the best glass. The IQ was my main reason to buy it.
Later I bought a FFP Razor LHT 4.5-22x50 for another rifle I needed to be as light as possible for that magnification range and I'm very disappointed in it for the most part.
Not sure I want to chance it anymore with Vortex.

Too many scopes I'd like to try like The XTR3 Pro, the Maven, and the Zeiss but I doubt I'll ever get to try any of them unfortunately.
I suppose all brands have their strong points and weak points.

I like the APRS6 reticle, daylight bright illume, length of, simple ZS system, and the awesome turrets on the Cronus G2. This will have to do for now.
That EV sale of $1000 was less than I can buy one for! What a deal.
I only have a few rifles to put these types of scopes on so I'll be waiting for the 2024 G3 version of the Cronus at which time I'll sell at least one or both of my Cronus G2 4.5-29's.

OT a bit but the glass in my new SFP Athlon ETR 15-60x56 (I suppose it could be considered G3?) is absolutely astounding for the price! Almost every time I look through it I'm shaking my head with a smile. It's as nice as my S&B PM2 with both scopes at 25x and darn near as nice as my March Genesis 4-40x52 at the same magnification.
I bring this up hoping that the G3 Cronus will be up there with this ETR, that would really be something?!

 

[Scopeye]

Early this year I almost bought a G3 Razor on sale. I'm kinda glad I waited since Birddog mentioned he and his friends only thought the first ones had the best glass. The IQ was my main reason to buy it.
Later I bought a FFP Razor LHT 4.5-22x50 for another rifle I needed to be as light as possible for that magnification range and I'm very disappointed in it for the most part.
Not sure I want to chance it anymore with Vortex.

Too many scopes I'd like to try like The XTR3 Pro, the Maven, and the Zeiss but I doubt I'll ever get to try any of them unfortunately.
I suppose all brands have their strong points and weak points.

I like the APRS6 reticle, daylight bright illume, length of, simple ZS system, and the awesome turrets on the Cronus G2. This will have to do for now.
That EV sale of $1000 was less than I can buy one for! What a deal.
I only have a few rifles to put these types of scopes on so I'll be waiting for the 2024 G3 version of the Cronus at which time I'll sell at least one or both of my Cronus G2 4.5-29's.

OT a bit but the glass in my new SFP Athlon ETR 15-60x56 (I suppose it could be considered G3?) is absolutely astounding for the price! Almost every time I look through it I'm shaking my head with a smile. It's as nice as my S&B PM2 with both scopes at 25x and darn near as nice as my March Genesis 4-40x52 at the same magnification.
I bring this up hoping that the G3 Cronus will be up there with this ETR, that would really be something?!

There's a huge night and day difference in optical quality between the G3 Razor vs the LHT.

Personally disappointed in the overall performance of the Vortex Razor LHT 4.5-22x it's like they use old school outdated Japanese glass in it like Bushnell Elite which isn't that good by today's standards.

The Razor LHT has sub par just plain old average glass at best IMHO.

The G3 Razor 6-36x56 is at least 3-4 levels higher in comparison to the LHT.

There's also currently several Chinese glass at least equal to if not better quality than the Razor LHT such as from Athlon fir example, the Athlon Midas Tac and Ares BTR G2.

IMHO, Athlon makes the best quality Chinese scopes to date bar none as long as it's starting from their Midas HD line and up. Their Argos... I'm personally not a fan of though.

 

[Scopeye]

Early this year I almost bought a G3 Razor on sale. I'm kinda glad I waited since Birddog mentioned he and his friends only thought the first ones had the best glass. The IQ was my main reason to buy it.
Later I bought a FFP Razor LHT 4.5-22x50 for another rifle I needed to be as light as possible for that magnification range and I'm very disappointed in it for the most part.
Not sure I want to chance it anymore with Vortex.

Too many scopes I'd like to try like The XTR3 Pro, the Maven, and the Zeiss but I doubt I'll ever get to try any of them unfortunately.
I suppose all brands have their strong points and weak points.

I like the APRS6 reticle, daylight bright illume, length of, simple ZS system, and the awesome turrets on the Cronus G2. This will have to do for now.
That EV sale of $1000 was less than I can buy one for! What a deal.
I only have a few rifles to put these types of scopes on so I'll be waiting for the 2024 G3 version of the Cronus at which time I'll sell at least one or both of my Cronus G2 4.5-29's.

OT a bit but the glass in my new SFP Athlon ETR 15-60x56 (I suppose it could be considered G3?) is absolutely astounding for the price! Almost every time I look through it I'm shaking my head with a smile. It's as nice as my S&B PM2 with both scopes at 25x and darn near as nice as my March Genesis 4-40x52 at the same magnification.
I bring this up hoping that the G3 Cronus will be up there with this ETR, that would really be something?!

You should try the Maven S.4 5-30x56 and I'd like to hear your take on it. They have a "borrow to try out" program as well. It's supposed to be the clearest sub $2000 scope currently available today. I'm actually waiting for their next sale for this specific one hopefully for under $1400.

I personally have this aversion to paying more than $600 for Chinese made scopes after the last Chinese scope which was the $699.99 Bushnell Match Pro ED was a sore disappointment to me. My Athlons literally blew it away.

 

[db2000]

I’ve been very happy with two Helos G2’s so far. 420 and 624. Not really relevant to Cronus and GIII but thought I’d throw it out there. As much as I hate Chinesium sometimes it is what it is.