Looking at Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56....

[nksmfamjp]

I have a Burris XTR II 5-25....and basically I'm happy with it. Sometimes I think I would like a Leupold Mark 5 5-25, but maybe this should be a step in my growth.

if you have this scope, what do you think about it?

 

[Txhillbilly]

I have a 1st gen Cronus and it is a very nice scope. I really like the reticle's that Athlon offers. The Cronus BTR is a good upgrade over the Cronus,the turret's are better and they changed the reticle size a little.
You get a lot of scope for the money with the Cronus BTR,it'll compare well to scopes costing a lot more. It also falls a little short in some areas when comparing it to scopes like the Nightforce ATACR, S&B PM II,and other scopes in the $3k+ market,but then the Cronus cost 1/2 as much.

My Cronus tracks very good,the turret's are crisp and tactile ( I removed the rubber O-rings on them),the glass and lens coatings are nice to my eyes. It's a pretty nice and well built scope.
I have several high end scopes that I compared mine to,and it doesn't lag far behind them in performance. I also have an Athlon Midas BTR and Ares BTR scope,they have performed great as well.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Are the turrets easy to turn or can I count on them not to move while stalking?

 

[highdrum]

I have a gen2 cronus btr. Turrets are fairly stiff. Personally I'd save up for the mk5hd, or get a Burris xtr3. The xtr3 glass is slightly better than the mk5hd, but the leupold has better turrets and a throw lever. I have both. However I'm comparing a mk5hd 3.6-18x44 to a xtr3 3.3-18x50. I also have a few mk5hd 5-25x56. They're a good scope. The Burris is equally or slightly better, and it's cheaper.

 

[Txhillbilly]

I wouldn't trust them not to get moved if you were carrying the rifle slinged to your back or if the scope brushed against something enough to move them.
For a hunting aspect,I'd go with a scope that has locking turrets. The Delta Stryker HD 4.5-30 x 56 has locking turrets,and optically is the same scope as the Cronus BTR. Both are made by LOW in Japan. Prices are close to the same.
I'm thinking of buying one of the Delta's to replace the Revic PMR 428 that I sold.

 

[highdrum]

The tract toric 4.5-30x56 is also on the same low design with locking turrets. As is the new maven s4.

 

[Wmhayden123]

If you decide on the Cronus I have a brand new one with your name on it!