Athlon vs the others. Looking for input

I’m looking for a ffp scope for a 300wm to try to learn bout the longer distance shots. So I’m looking at some ffp scopes under $1000 really around that $700 mark. I know vortex viper pst gen 1 is an option in that range and there’s been some guys trying to talk me into trying athlon ares but just can’t find too many for opinions online that I would trust. So a gen 1 pst or a used Leupold LRP ffp or the athlon. Where that stack up against eachother

What magnification range? An SWFA 3-15 would be a good option.

Burris Veracity ffp got my money for your criteria and price range and I don’t regret it.

Really going to be a hunting gun but I want to use it to learn to be a consistent shot at 500 yards I have access to a place to learn so I want to have the equipment good enough to help me get there and hold zero and track consistently.

Best $1000 spent on a long range/hunting scope is an SS 5-20HD

They work! And the glass is very good. I am on year 7 with mine. It has lots of scars, shot thousands of rounds using it, and it has been on all of my rifles, plus loaned out to customers. And has never been sent in.

For $700, I would get a Burris XTR II in Mils. Because MOA is stupid.

Burris better than the Leupold lrp ffp for $700 or the vortex viper pst gen 1 ffp $600

Athalon ETR, $900ish

Based on what you read on the internet, not field experience.

Yes, I would take the Burris over both.

I have an option of buying the athlon area btr 4.5-27x50 for $600

You get what you pay for. Especially with most optics.

I could have spend $600 on Vortex Fury range finding binoculars, instead I did some trade and some money for used Leica Geovids for $1000. And could not be happier.

About two times have I spent money on sub-par optics. Learned my lesson, and ince then I have waited and saved until I could buy the right optic for the job. No regrets since then.

Think my biggest hold back is I’m not sure how serious I’m going to get into this I don’t see myself doing competitions just fine tuning my shooting abilities and seeing how far I can consistently shoot at what distance. We have places where a 500 yard shot is common on pigs and yotes and is like to be able to shoot that far and not just guessing. I see it as like a 15 year old kid getting their first truck I want something that’s going to work repeatedly and not give me problems then may upgrade later if I stick with it but all I know are Leupold hunting scopes never messed with dialing in shots and ffp although I like the ffp for target shooting it’s very nice. Who is a good place to order the Burris from I’m leaning towards them cause they seem to be a little bit better in the reviews and I’m being told by another buddy that they are fed worth the money.

I jumped on then back off the FFP wagon. FFP does have its place but the truth is that’s for very few people and a significant increase in price. What you absolutely have to have is an accurate and repeatable dialing system to shoot at extended ranges. Leupold is not known for accurate dialing although their newest offerings are getting good reviews. MOA/MIL both work just fine but if you’re going to shoot with others be prepared to do the conversion because most people these days speak in mil.

“I’m not sure how serious I’m going to get”

I can tell you if you do not have accurate, repeatable dials you will not be serious at all because you will spend a lot of time frustrated.

I would recommend anything by SWFA. From the used 10x in the classifieds here for $210 up to the 5-20HD. I highly recommend the 5-20.

Some Burris and Bushnell scopes will definitely do the job in your price range as well. I’m sure there’s others.

I feel like the 5-20HD can take you from beginner to competition without need for more, breaking your wallet, or failing. Sure there’s better scopes but they sat ATACR on them for twice the price.

With the sale that is running this month on the Athlon Ares BTR 4.5-27x50 - APLR3 FFP IR MIL, reduced from $849.99 to only $599.99, I think that would be a great choice for you.
FEATURES
HD Glass: HD Glass gives you better light transmission, brighter, and sharper image.
Illuminated Reticle: The illuminated reticle provides greater visibility during dusk and dawn and other low ambient light environment.
First Focal Plane Reticle: First focal plane reticle stays valid at all power settings allowing you to fully utilize the specially designed reticle that shrinks or grows along with your target as you zoom in or out. The reticle offers quick target engagement at low power while offering precise holdover positions with finer details.
Etched Glass Reticle: Reticle etched on the glass that provides excellent backing support for complex reticle design and offers great durability and much higher shock resistance to recoil
Advanced Fully Multicoated: Fully Multicoated optics effectively reduces reflected light and increases the transmission of light giving you a brighter image than normal single coated lenses
XPL Coating: XPL Coating gives you an extra protection on the exterior lenses from dirt, oil and scratches or anything else mother nature can throw at you.
Precision Zero Stop System: The system allows you to lock down your zero position and dial back to it with a sharp and precise stop right at your zero mark even you are turning it in pitch-dark or blinded folded.
High Precision Erector System: The high precision erector system processed by high precision CNC machine with +/- 0.0001mm tolerance level to provide you the most accurate power settings and smoothest magnification change
6061 T6 Aluminum: The 6061T6 aircraft grade aluminum tube that has exceptional strength and superior mechanical integrity will protect these world class optics no matter what punishment you throw at it.
Exposed Tactical Direct Dial: Exposed Direct Dial Turrets for elevation and windage allow you to quickly make adjustment as you needed and engage your target within a blink of your eyes
One Piece Tube Construction: Heat treated one piece tube gives the scope extra strength over multi-piece tubes. A one piece tube also is better at keeping moisture out thus keeping your scope fog proof for the life of the product
Waterproof: Waterproof to protect the scope in the harshest weather conditions or if accidently submerged underwater
Fog proof: Fog proof to allow you to immediately engage your target when you take your rifle to cold ambient temperature from warm inside
Shockproof: Robust mechanical system with special designs on both control and erector system that give you the ultimate recoil resistance to withstand 1000G recoil for 1000 times.
Argon Purged: Argon Purging uses the inertia gas with bigger size molecules to purge any moisture out of the tube giving you better waterproofing and thermal stability.

If you get good equipment (rifle, scope, ammo), learn to use it, and practice you'll be hooked. I've had a whole lot of people out to learn how, and they got hooked in one day. Don't buy a make shift scope, you'll lose money. It won't work as well, for various reasons, you won't enjoy attempting to hit targets at distance, and you'll probably sell it, and quit, or buy what you should have bought in the first place (there's the lose money part) I've got that t-shirt.

FFP is all I use, for everything. I'm not bound by maximum magnification to have a correct reticle sub tension. Turn it up until it looks good, shoot. It has helped me tremendously on steel and on animals. Very thick mirage, you may need to back the magnification down to regain clarity. The better the glass is, the easier it will cut through the mirage, but no scope is imune to it, and it does not have to be long range to be a problem. I was load testing at 200 yards on Saturday, and the mirage was so stout I had to back magnification off, and that was with a NF ATACR. Reach out to your 500 yard mark, and the same thing will happen. When you learn how to hold wind with the reticle, you'll be glad you can use any magnification setting.

SWFA is a good place to buy retail, talk to Skylar.

Burris has better reviews than Athalon? I think, key word there THINK, Athalon is Chinese, Burris is Japanese.

I can say this for the SS 5-20 HD, if I were shipped off to Afghanistan, it would be one of the scopes I would take with me. I always take it along on a hunt far from home, and a rifle match far from home. It was my primary scope for many years, and it is old reliable.

I mounted the above mentioned Athlon BTR Ares on a friend’s 284Win that he uses a lot on his farm. He called me a while back and asked me about looking at it after he missed a pig as he said that gun never misses.

So when I stop by and look at it the rifle and scope look like they have been drug behind his Polaris instead of carried in it. Well based on his story he had been dialing up and down all year shooting stuff out to 700-800 yards and all was good then it went to heck. I checked and two of the set screws had rattled completely out and were gone from the elevation and one was missing on the windage dial.
One phone call to Athlon and set screws that were coated with dry powder lock tite type product were delivered two days later. All has been good since that point. For the money not a bad way to go IMO. My Athlon Cronus has been a solid scope too so I wouldn’t be afraid to go that route although the Ares is the cheaper Chinese glass so don’t expect wow glass.

Do not buy the PST Gen 1 or a Leupold.

SWFA HD 5-20 is by far the best option for a crossover scope like you're wanting. You can find them used around $900-$1k, and they show up on sample list for that sometimes. It's Japanese-made, built tough, with an FFP reticle that's thick enough to use at low mag, has good turrets, and good glass. Even at full price, they're well worth it.

I've heard the Ares ETR is good. Never used one, but I do know it's made in China. Even if it's well made in China, it's going to be a notch below the SWFA in reliability.

The XTR II is another fine option, or the PST Gen 2 3-15. Both you're probably going to have to buy used to get in the $700 price range.

Found a good deal on a xtr Ii I’m going to give it a try. If y’all see it in the trading post you’ll know I didn’t get along with it haha. Thanks for all the input and advice once again it was very helpful in making this decision

XTR II is a nice scope. What version did you get - 3-15, 4-20, 5-25?

4-20

Cool, you'll like it. A few on here own one and I haven't heard of any issues. It's really popular over on snipers hide due to the really nice reticle, good turrets, and solid tracking reliability. Personally, the 4-20 is my favorite version of the scope. The 5-25 is nice also, but I'm not a big fan of the 3-15. I haven't looked through the 2.5-10, but I've heard its good as well.

Regardless, congrats on picking up a nice scope!

I'm a little late to this conversation but FYI...
Most of the Athlon scopes are made in China, the rumor i read was the same place the some of the new Bushnells are coming from. However, the highest priced ones are made in the same place that people like Primary Arms platinums are. So the Cronus for sure is, but I felt like the ETR is as well, hence the jump in price difference.

Edit: they proudly list on their website that the Cronus is made in Japan. So by omission, I'm going to assume that all the other ones are made in China.

I have limited experience with Athlon scopes but i can say i got a good deal on one and i am pretty impressed for the money i spent and the features
a little background other scopes i have owned have really make me picky
Vortex Razor Hd Gen 2
March Fx
NF ATACR
NF NXS
KAHLES
BUSHNELL XRS
Vortex PST gen 1 and 2
swfa 3x15 and 5x20 hd
i will say that for the money i am very happy with what i got
the model i got is the Midas Tac 4x16x44 mil
the clicks are amazing on par or better than anything listed above very audible and tactile
the zero stop is dead solid and simple
returning the turret to zero can be done with a coin or just about anything capped windage is nice as well
the reticle is quite useful and i really like floating dot reticles
the glass is pretty dang nice for the price point i would say right there with my gen 2 pst or similar

like i said i have limited experience with them but i have had no issues with this one so far on my 338 lapua