Athlon

Has anyone tried the Athon scopes yet? They have several lines and I have been eyeballing the Argos... would like to get the Cronus but don't know much about them.

I really really like my talos btr 1-4. I’ve owned a lot of $200 scopes and it has the best glass.

Looked through a cronus but wasn't impressed. It was a cloudy/rainy day and it didn't seem to handle it as well as my razor. Granted it was a sample of one but based off that I wouldn't purchase.

How does the price compare to a razor?

Mine was a gen 1 razor which are in the 1100-1300 area it seems. Can't say how much a cronus is.

depending on the model on Cronus I think it’s about the same. Good info

Back when I was looking for a $5-1000 scope I looked through a bunch. For me they are behind the pst2 and he XTR 2 in clarity.

The cheap models have nice reticles for "cheap" scopes and a lot are ffp

The Cronus is their best scope unless something new came our recently. It didn't wow me but a lot of people like them. I think it's the magnification and price point driving the wagon.

Go play with some , maybe your eyes will like them

Except for their highest end model, Athlon is Chinese made stuff. That's all I need to know.

Good stuff, thanks for all the input. I have vortex and nikon... my just stick with the vortex going forward.

I will see if I can track some down and look through them. I knew that the price was too low to be as good as the high dollar stuff but they have a good warranty....

The only scope I have compared my Cronus to is a Kahles as I was checking it on my 6.5 SAUM that day to make sure it was on before a hunting trip.
My Cronus was bought when Cabelas had them on sale at XMas and with coupons I got it for around 950.00
The Kahles cost near 3000.00 and is a fine piece of gear and very well made IMO. So it was kind of embarrassing really when flipping between scopes to notice a slight edge in resolution and clarity with the Cronus while looking at steel targets at 650 yards. Maybe I got a really good one but I definitely wish I had bought two that day.
Next time I take it out I will try and take the US Optics and a Nightforce if I can remember.
Been too busy coyote hunting to get any range time in recently

Great info, thanks!

Are you looking for FFP?

My dad bought the cheapest Athlon FFP 6-24 they sell, thinknit was $369. Figures for that money if it was a failure it would go on a backup rifle and be just fine set at 100yards. Haven’t had a chance to test it other than sighting it in before deer season. Dad is 65, I am 33, both of us thought it was very clear for the money spent, but the turrets seemed a little mushy to me which I didn’t care for. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I can run it out to 600-800 and do a tracking test

Yes Sir, I spent the money on a vortex-viper-hs-lr-6-24x50mm and love it. I was just wondering if Athlon might be an "Up and comming" company... with good prices until they catch on in the market then they will jack the price up. I have both ffp and sfp... I would like more ffp scopes.

I think that would have been the Argos BTR. I’m nearly positive it is the same scope as the Primary Arms FFP and the Falcon Menace just rebranded for Athlon. I don’t know that for sure, but they all look identical, including the box the turrets are mounted to. If that’s the case, it should do ok out to 600-800 yards. A lot of guys online use the Primary Arms scope as their baseline for cheap long range optics

It's fine for a cheap long range optic, but it doesn't come without compromises. I have looked through nearly everything under the Cronus line at the range and none of them held a candle to the PST2 optical clarity and reports are that the tracking accuracy isn't really spot on either. I've even heard that the reticles on some of the FFP models don't subtend correctly. Does this mean it won't work at all? No - it's a fine option if your budget dictates a low-end scope for long range shooting. But I don't believe you're getting higher-end performance for a lower price.

All that being said, the Cronus has an excellent reputation on snipers hide. I haven't ever looked through one, but if I was spending that type of money on a scope, I just don't see why you'd buy an Athlon. It's kind of like buying a $60k Hyundai Genesis. It really is a nice car, but I don't personally understand the idea of spending $60k on any Hyundai. I'd rather have an SWFA HD, Razor, or even a PST2 honestly.

Now if I remember right, caribou has a 1-4 talos that he uses on an AR, and I think they'd be great for the price for something like that. They have good reticles and decent optical clarity that would fit the type of precision and glass quality needed for an AR application. But for long range precision shooting, they're a decent beginner option but you're going to want to step up down the road if you get serious about it.

Yep. I have a 1-4 talos btr on a .357 mag lever action that really is great. I love it.

I have no experience with athlon optics, but if you're looking for the best value in FFP look at the weaver tactical line. Natchez has them on sale often. They offer a traditional mildot and they have what they call the "emdr" reticle enhanced mildot reticle. I have 2 of the latter and think they are the best value under 1k. I got my 3-15x50 30mm illuminated for $579 this Christmas. They are made in Japan by LOW (light optical works) same place where all the higher end scopes made in Japan are made. The new primary arms platinum is made there, higher end bushnells and old vortex razor as well. I'm also pretty certain the night force shv line gets the glass from there and possibly more components from LOW. I've shot with the 3-15x50 out to a 1k many times. It's not a S&B or the like but at the price point you can't expect it. Call skylar at swfa for his opinion on the weavers. I like the mildot, and although it's not the most precision reticle it's still useful and teaches the finer points of using the FFP scope to its fullest extent. I believ right now the std mildot 3-15x50 is on sale at Natchez for $499 and free shipping.

The nxs line is low too. Also the gen 2 razor is built there then shipped stateside and once it's here they rebuild with proprietary internal parts.

The bushy elites have always been a great bang for buck imo.

I have two Athlon scopes. A Cronus and a Midas BTR. The grease that Athlon uses on their turrets is too thick,and causes the turrets to feel mushy & not very audible. I cleaned the grease off both scopes turrets and replaced it with a better grease. They are very tactile and audible now.

The Cronus is an excellent FFP scope for the price,the lens coatings give off a brighter/whiter contrast than my IOR Recon,and other top end scopes that I've compared it to. It will hang with the big boy scopes without giving up much,and cost half as much.
I've shot out to a mile with both my 6.5 CM's,and the Cronus scope didn't give up much at all shooting beside my $3k IOR Recon.

The Midas BTR is a SFP scope,and it compares really close to the Sightron SIII and Vortex Viper PST scopes. It tracks good,the optic quality lacks a little from my Sightron's. The reticle choices in the Midas are really good compared to Sightron.
For a Chinese built scope,they are built really good.

Bright days doesn't tale the tell very often. Heavy mirage will seperate on a brighr day though.

Had one (cronus) squaded with us last weekend and the guy had issues in the heavy overcast foggy conditions. Granted some others had troubles too but not near as bad or noticed.