JDCSigP226
CGN Regular
- Location
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
I think we are all in a battle to find a scope that we can count on to work reliably on a rifle that we just spend an arm and a leg setting up.
Although most of us would love a Tangent Theta or higher end S&B, its just not in all our wheel houses.
Fortunately with the progression of Precision shooting and PRS there have been a few new players that have been offering FFP scopes at a more affordable price.
Athlon being one that caught my eye. However I found very few reviews on the product, but yet when you look at PRS match videos and matches, there always seemed to be a few being used.
I personally was in the market for a 34mm FFP with a wide magnification range. However like most I was on a budget. I have looked through the FFP ATACR's and S&B and a Tangent Theta / Premiere reticle, however they were all too expensive for my blood.
I ended up going with a Athlon Optics 4.5-29x Cronus. Although its still not a cheap scope, in my opinion it performs and keeps up with scopes that are greatly more expensive.
The Cronus is mounted in a SPHUR 0 MIl/MOA, on a Custom Rem700 in 6.5 CM. The base on the Cadex is 6mil/20 Moa (Sorry for the dirty rig, just finished a shoot with it)
It has a total elevation adjustment of 33+ mils (115 MOA), and 18+ mils (64 MOA) of windage adjustment. Windage and elevation adjustments are 0.1-mil per click ( It is also avalible in MOA)
And as it is important to many, with the scope mounted as it sits, I have a total of 23.6 Mils of USABLE elevation adjustment.
Its 35.8 ounces in weight and has an overall length of 14.4 inches. Making it not excessively heavy or long.
The glass on the scope is where it shines. No its not as clear is a Tangent/Premier, however it is just as good as any ATACR that I have looked through. I would say its closer to S&B quality in terms of glass then say a Leopold mark 6. There are rumors that the scope is made in the same factory is the NF ATACR, and I could see this has the clarity is very similar.
Tracking is another great aspect of the scope. I have had no issues with tracking and making adjustments, returning to zero with the zero stop and then re-adjusting. It seems to hold an excellent zero keeping both elevation and windage in mind; and as an added bonus ATHLON has a lifetime guarantee that includes any tracking issue and any other issues of course.
In terms of the Scopes ergonomics, you can tell its build with the end user in mind.
There were complaints of the turrets feeling "Mushy" however after doing some research it seemed that Athlon used a heavy grease under the turrets, once removed the adjustment clicks were very tactile and percise.
This scope has zero stop on the elevation turret, and the windage turret is non-locking.
The reticle is a nice xmas tree with that has numeric numbering for quick holdovers. It works well and is accurate.
I found the eye box on the scope to be extremely forgiving even at 29x. It does have a fast focus eye piece and parallax adjustment.
The magnification ring is on par with other high end optics, and is smooth and easy to turn. It does have a small switch-view protrusion built into the ring. Its not a full switch view, however its better then nothing and does help.
The one thing to note would be the parallax and illumination knobs are stacked, with the parallax on the inner ring, and illumination on the outer ring. The illumination has an off setting between every illumination setting and is day time visible.
The parallax adjustment is firm, but not stiff. It works as it should.
I should also mention that the zero stop is extremely easy to set, and appears to be robust and reliable.
Overall I am extremely happy with the scope with no regrets having it mounted to my 6.5CM
I would like to that Tom, at GOBIGTACTICAL (http://www.gobigtactical.ca) for setting me up with this product. He stands behind everything he sells and will go-to-bat for you should you have any issues.
I suggest speaking with Tom should you have any questions about Athlon lineup. From what I know, there is also 2 lower price point FFP scopes that Athlon offers that can help new shooters get into the game for much lower price point, and still maintain a quality scope.
- James
Although most of us would love a Tangent Theta or higher end S&B, its just not in all our wheel houses.
Fortunately with the progression of Precision shooting and PRS there have been a few new players that have been offering FFP scopes at a more affordable price.
Athlon being one that caught my eye. However I found very few reviews on the product, but yet when you look at PRS match videos and matches, there always seemed to be a few being used.
I personally was in the market for a 34mm FFP with a wide magnification range. However like most I was on a budget. I have looked through the FFP ATACR's and S&B and a Tangent Theta / Premiere reticle, however they were all too expensive for my blood.
I ended up going with a Athlon Optics 4.5-29x Cronus. Although its still not a cheap scope, in my opinion it performs and keeps up with scopes that are greatly more expensive.
The Cronus is mounted in a SPHUR 0 MIl/MOA, on a Custom Rem700 in 6.5 CM. The base on the Cadex is 6mil/20 Moa (Sorry for the dirty rig, just finished a shoot with it)
It has a total elevation adjustment of 33+ mils (115 MOA), and 18+ mils (64 MOA) of windage adjustment. Windage and elevation adjustments are 0.1-mil per click ( It is also avalible in MOA)
And as it is important to many, with the scope mounted as it sits, I have a total of 23.6 Mils of USABLE elevation adjustment.
Its 35.8 ounces in weight and has an overall length of 14.4 inches. Making it not excessively heavy or long.
The glass on the scope is where it shines. No its not as clear is a Tangent/Premier, however it is just as good as any ATACR that I have looked through. I would say its closer to S&B quality in terms of glass then say a Leopold mark 6. There are rumors that the scope is made in the same factory is the NF ATACR, and I could see this has the clarity is very similar.
Tracking is another great aspect of the scope. I have had no issues with tracking and making adjustments, returning to zero with the zero stop and then re-adjusting. It seems to hold an excellent zero keeping both elevation and windage in mind; and as an added bonus ATHLON has a lifetime guarantee that includes any tracking issue and any other issues of course.
In terms of the Scopes ergonomics, you can tell its build with the end user in mind.
There were complaints of the turrets feeling "Mushy" however after doing some research it seemed that Athlon used a heavy grease under the turrets, once removed the adjustment clicks were very tactile and percise.
This scope has zero stop on the elevation turret, and the windage turret is non-locking.
The reticle is a nice xmas tree with that has numeric numbering for quick holdovers. It works well and is accurate.
I found the eye box on the scope to be extremely forgiving even at 29x. It does have a fast focus eye piece and parallax adjustment.
The magnification ring is on par with other high end optics, and is smooth and easy to turn. It does have a small switch-view protrusion built into the ring. Its not a full switch view, however its better then nothing and does help.
The one thing to note would be the parallax and illumination knobs are stacked, with the parallax on the inner ring, and illumination on the outer ring. The illumination has an off setting between every illumination setting and is day time visible.
The parallax adjustment is firm, but not stiff. It works as it should.
I should also mention that the zero stop is extremely easy to set, and appears to be robust and reliable.
Overall I am extremely happy with the scope with no regrets having it mounted to my 6.5CM
I would like to that Tom, at GOBIGTACTICAL (http://www.gobigtactical.ca) for setting me up with this product. He stands behind everything he sells and will go-to-bat for you should you have any issues.
I suggest speaking with Tom should you have any questions about Athlon lineup. From what I know, there is also 2 lower price point FFP scopes that Athlon offers that can help new shooters get into the game for much lower price point, and still maintain a quality scope.
- James
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