In the market for a reticle spotter,idoes anyone have the 7-42 Cronus spotter,would love some input.seems like a great deal for $999 and a lifetime warranty.this would be used at paper @ 100/200 and steel out to 1200 +
Input on Athlon Cronus Tactical Spotter
- Thread starter Hogg0494
- Start date
We have used a couple of them, one mainly goes to the range match where we shoot steel out to a mile. If I can spot impacts in dirt or on steel you can call corrections. I like the athlon as it has a diaopter adjustment and I can get the reticle crisp to my eyes. My leupold gold ring with H32 reticle does not. The glass in the Leupold is better but the H32 reticle lines are bigger, the athlon is much thinner and I feel I can spot easier and call more precise corrections. The athlon has a much longer eye relief due to the fact its built more like a rifle scope. We have been very happy with the athlon spotters and would buy them again.
Casey
Casey
Have you had any issues with it focusing? I was talking with cameraland and they stopped selling it because too many people were having issues with the diopter focusing correctly.
Have you ever considered binos? The reason is that they make a set of Chronus 15x56 binos that are an incredible value and considerably cheaper than even the spotter you’re considering.
I bought a set after using Jim Gilliland’s Swaros at a Guardian match last year. I imagine Jim could have anything he pleased. It was way easier to see trace with the binos. The depth of field you get made calling corrections easier too. The Athlons aren’t Swaros, but they sure aren’t bad. Would buy again for certain.
I bought a set after using Jim Gilliland’s Swaros at a Guardian match last year. I imagine Jim could have anything he pleased. It was way easier to see trace with the binos. The depth of field you get made calling corrections easier too. The Athlons aren’t Swaros, but they sure aren’t bad. Would buy again for certain.
Was wondering how the Athlon would compare to the Bushnell and Koshkin addresses that towards the end of the video. Looks like the Athlon is definitely worth of consideration.
John
I have one and wrote a pretty in depth comparison of the Athlon to the Bushnell LMSS and the Minox MD60R. I ended up going with the Athlon but then my focus ring failed and it went in for warranty. I should have it back this week. Basically the only thing I didn't like about the scope was that it was made in China. Here's the thread where I compare them:
I have the 15x56 Cronus binos as well. One thing to keep in mind is that they are very large. They're great for spotting when you set them up on a tripod, but a little bulky if you want to carry them as your goto pack binos.
FYI, the issues with these scopes has been corrected and updated/corrected models are now in stock ready to ship
Would you recommend the Athlon over the Leupold MK4? I'm going back and forth between the two.
For me I like the athlon better, the diaopter adjustment I can see the reticle very crisp in the athlon. My Leupold with my eyes the reticle isnt crisp. The athlon reticle is thinner then the H32 in my leupold and I can see more to call hits. The glass in the leupold is better but the athlon is cheaper.
Casey
Casey
Just started using one that was ordered directly from Athlon in July 2020 so I would assume things are fixed. I notice really odd behavior on the focus ring. Sometimes I'll turn it and it gets sharp quick, and then I'll back it off maybe 1/4 turn, and then it takes like 3/4 turn to get back to the same focus I was at. My leupold is always spot on when I'm turning and focusing it, but this Athlon behaves really odd.
Doesn't seem to be as sharp as my Leupold Ventana spotting scope, or the MK4 12-40 reticle spotter. Maybe it's due to the focus ring issues, but it never quite gets dialed out.
42x is pretty meh, but at like 30x it's okay.
Anyone else have more hands on comparisons? Maybe mine's a dud.
Doesn't seem to be as sharp as my Leupold Ventana spotting scope, or the MK4 12-40 reticle spotter. Maybe it's due to the focus ring issues, but it never quite gets dialed out.
42x is pretty meh, but at like 30x it's okay.
Anyone else have more hands on comparisons? Maybe mine's a dud.
I would consider the Mark 4 an upgrade from the Cronus. Honestly, I would have gone with a Mark 4 just by reputation. At the time, I was just getting into precision long range. So, I was a buying a lot of things at once (rifle, scope, binos, kestrel, etc). So, I had to control the cost of the spotting scope to make the other pieces fit. I think the Cronus is a great spotter for the money. Especially if you're looking for a reticle.
I do like the reticle a lot on the Cronus vs the TMR reticle on the MK4. Upgrading the MK4 to the H32 is $$. The other thing I'd look at is the Minox MD 60 which I really like the reticle there too, but that's also $2000. And it's very heavy at nearly 4lbs.
Did you have focus ring issues on your Cronus? I am guessing that sometimes I turn 1/4 turn and then it takes like 3/4 turn to go back to where I was is probably a defect.
I sent my spotter back to Athlon and they said that everything checks out and it behaves like the guy's personal spotter. He said that the spotter has a variable focus, and he's not sure the mechanics behind it but for example he'll be at 500y, and then go to 800y and maybe turn the dial a little bit to get the focus to 800y. When transitioning back to 500y, the amount of turning to get back to focus on 500y is different than what it took to get to 800y.
He said that's how it just works.
Is yours consistent? half turn forward, half turn back, always back to the exact same focus?
Mine functions as you would expect. I just tried again, in my back yard, just to be sure. I focused on something far and then turned the ring to focus on something closer. I then turned back and forth to the same spots to make sure far and closer came back into focus repeatably.
Bit of a necrothread, but littlepod did you ever get your scope sorted out? I recently noticed mine started doing this as well, basically I can focus in one direction, but then trying to go back to fine tune the focus nothing happens until you turn the focus ring quite a bit. It's like the focus ring is slipping when you change directions. For example I focused on something at 100 yds, marked the focus ring, focused on something at 50 yards, went back to the mark but it was no where near in focus at 100 yards.
This "variable" focus Athlon reports seems quite odd, I've never used a spotting scope where you could not focus past something just a bit and then focus back a bit to ensure the focus is just right. With this scope if you focus past where you want just a bit, you basically have to start over, you can only go one direction focusing into the object, if you go too far you can't go back without taking a huge focus "swing" again.
This "variable" focus Athlon reports seems quite odd, I've never used a spotting scope where you could not focus past something just a bit and then focus back a bit to ensure the focus is just right. With this scope if you focus past where you want just a bit, you basically have to start over, you can only go one direction focusing into the object, if you go too far you can't go back without taking a huge focus "swing" again.
I sent it to Athlon and they said that it was by design... so I sold it. Switched to a Bushnell LMSS2 (though I haven't used that in a long time so I'm going to sell it). I tend to just use my binos these days, too lazy to run both.
Interesting, I'll contact them and see what they say, if they say it's a "feature" then I'll probably do the same. It's a good little unit, but it's quite annoying to try to get focused. I find myself just living with the focus being "good enough" rather than fighting with it. I've seen some posts allude to some units had focus issues they corrected, I wonder if this is that issue.
Yeah if this "variable focus" was such a great feature you'd think they'd be marketing it as such, none of their documentation or the manual talks about any special "variable focus" 
So far they haven't responded to my email to support. There's the option to just fill out the warranty paperwork and send it in, I suppose that's next.
So far they haven't responded to my email to support. There's the option to just fill out the warranty paperwork and send it in, I suppose that's next.As an update I did end up sending it in, originally by email I was told they didn't have anymore and they would allow MAP pricing against a replacement item. Sent it in thinking I'd get a Ares ETR 4.5-30x56, but turns out they were able to dig up a replacement. At least for now this one seems to focus correctly. The whole experience was fairly painless, considering it's over the holidays.
Damn. I’m going to have to hit them back up. They told me the same thing a while ago but I’ve been holding off until they had something I wanted. I just want one of those that works.
