Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 Rifle Scope Review

I am proud to show you all the new scope and mount I recently got for Helga...my FX Impact .30 cal. air rifle. It is the Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56 FFP IR MOA with 34mm scope tube. Mine has the APLR Reticle in MOA but this scope comes in MIL or MOA as you prefer. I am using the Athlon 34mm 20 MOA Cantilever Scope Mount - which means I don't have to sacrifice a ton of clicks getting her zeroed in, and which also makes it easier to switch between it and my other Athlon scope.

This is a Tier One scope Made in Japan that is absolutely breathtaking in its quality! It is so crystal clear that I found myself whispering WOW over and over again...until after a few moments I had to just jump up and yell Hell Yes! 😂 Over the years I have had the privilege of looking through some of the world's best scopes at my local rifle range that cost thousands of dollars, and I have only seen this type of quality in the high end Valdata, Nightforce, and Zeiss scopes so far. Actually, this Cronus 4.5-29x56 puts me in mind of the Valdata Recon G2 4.8-30x56 because of its short compact design and Tier One glass...but it is priced at more than a thousand dollars less!

This scope represents a real bargain when compared to other high end scopes in its class. For many years the retail price for the Cronus was $1799.99...but MidwayUSA now has it priced at $1599.99! - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020879796 - in Matte Black or Brown as you prefer. So if you are one of those guys like me that have tried lots of scopes over the years, and have always been tempted to try one of the very best now is your chance to do so. There are airgun scopes out there selling in this price range now, but they just can't compete with this kind of quality. So if you are thinking of purchasing a high end scope for your air rifle, I highly recommend you try an Athlon Cronus! I definitely give it 5 Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Besides the crystal clear glass I personally loved the fact that the lines on the turrets actually line up with the registration line! And when I focused the reticle on my target at 50 yards the mark on the parallax focus knob was dead on 50 yards! And the clicks are like turning the dial on a million dollar bank vault door...crisp and audible with no slop or over travel. I also like the dial for the illuminated reticle that has 11 brightness settings with an off mark between each one. And the internal mechanics work perfectly...just doing the box test was like watching a miracle unfold! And when you turn on the reticle it is the only thing that is illuminated...not the whole inside of the scope tube! And I like the fact that it has 110 MOA Elevation available, and 64 MOA Windage. It has a Zero Stop that is super easy to set, and it is purged with Argon Gas which not only keeps it waterproof but also prevents it from fogging up when you take it from your warm truck out into the cold, and all of a sudden you see a trophy squirrel staring right at you from an oak tree just yards away! 

Here are some photos of my new Cronus Scope and Cantilever Mount perched upon my beloved Helga...this could be your Holy Grail of Rifle Scopes- it certainly is mine! I am so blessed to have it mounted on my FX Impact .30 cal...which I consider to be the Holy Grail of Air Rifles!

All the best from me to you, Chuck

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Great write up! Looks like they have a lower every day price of $1299.99 as I had predicted months ago (Athlon will probably be lowering their prices by a lot). I'm waiting till it dips at under $1000 but that's just me...

In case you want another for cheaper...

https://cameralandny.com/shop/athlon-optics-cronus-btr-4-5-29x56-black-aprs-ffp-ir-mil/7a57fa20-9afa-0135-d0da-00163e90e196?variation=1631358

https://cameralandny.com/brands/athlon-optics

Want even cheaper than this? Find dealers who offer discount percentage off as a first time buyer who price matches.

OH! HAWKE 10% OFF SALE ENDS TODAY (SOON! In One hour?) (If HAWKE floats anyone's boat but my boat already left the HAWKE shipyard couple months ago...)






 
If any of these Tier One scopes would get parallax to 10 yds instead of 25 that would likely tip me over the edge to investing in one. I shoot one rifle right now (Taipan Veteran Long .25) and am using an Athlon Midas BTR 4.5-27x50 which I really like because of its simple reticle and glass clarity. What I wish it had more than anything though is a 10 yard parallax. I have started looking at NightForce and US Optics as alternatives to get quality scopes with 10 yard parallax, but wish some of the larger Japanese made Tier One scopes would create something similar to my Athlon for less than $1500 I would bite.
 
Yea CurlyWoods I felt the same way for many years...but at a certain point in time I asked myself honestly how many times a year I ever shoot at anything at ten yards...then for an experiment I started putting cans and stuff to shoot at 10,15, & 20 yards...and even though they were slightly out of focus I hit them every single time! So how often do you actually shoot at things closer than 25 yards, and could you hit them if you did?
 
Thanks Michael and also thanks again Odoyle for your post about Camera Land! I just called Camera Land and spoke to the owner to verify the price and availability and am happy and excited to report that it is absolutely true! They have all the various models of the Athlon Cronus scopes on sale at $1299.99! WOW!!! FANTASTIC!!! 😃 For many years these Cronus Scopes sold for $1799.99! I guess maybe they had to drop the price because of the Covid-19 effect on the economy or something...but regardless of why they are selling so low now, this is the time to jump on one if you are interested. Here is a link to Camera Land to the model I got in MOA...and God Bless Odoyle for finding out about this Camera Land!

https://cameralandny.com/shop/athlon-optics-cronus-btr-4-5-29x56-aplr-ffp-ir-moa/203868e0-8461-0136-25c9-00163ecd2826?variation=1821842

P.s...here is Camera Land's info: 720 Old Bethpage Rd, Old Bethpage, NY 11804
Phone: 516-217-1000
Toll free: 1-866-9optics
 
Congrats Chuck!

What a great scope the Cronus is, especially for what they are on sale for right now. 

I think what's happening is, is that a G3 version is coming out so Athlon has approved the low prices to reduce inventory, BUT I have not talked to Kevin the owner of the Co about it yet.

Tier 1 wouldn't be the best description of the Cronus, 2nd tier certainly would though. Tier one belongs to Tangent Theta, Zero Compromise Optics, Hensoldt, NR ATACR, S&B PM2, Kahles, maybe a few others but for various reasons those fall short in their eyes, these are all above the $3000 mark. That's just my opinion but it does align with some of the more critical opines of DLO, WJM, and some of the other independent rifle scope "authorities". Do most of us need Tier 1??, nope, the diminishing returns for the price paid can be very small compared to Tier2 but they are apparent nevertheless. Tier2 is 95% of Tier1 IMHO, so you aren't missing much!

Yeah Curly, I too wish the Ares BTR had 10Y focus in the 4.5 - 27x, and at least one step up in the glass department! The mil reticle is one of the best .2 mil reticles out there.


 
I agree with you Steve because at a certain point the question becomes can our eyes even discern the difference between a Valdata Recon G2 at $2795.00 versus this Athlon Cronus with top Japanese glass? I have seen both and wouldn't want to have to live on the difference that's for sure! Especially when we consider this Cronus is currently selling for $1495.00 less than the Valdata Recon! 😁
 
Yea CurlyWoods I felt the same way for many years...but at a certain point in time I asked myself honestly how many times a year I ever shoot at anything at ten yards...then for an experiment I started putting cans and stuff to shoot at 10,15, & 20 yards...and even though they were slightly out of focus I hit them every single time! So how often do you actually shoot at things closer than 25 yards, and could you hit them if you did?

Agree with you 100% and as Michael said if you need to make close shoot turn down magnification and you good to go. 

All my high power rifles have scopes that don’t focus down below 25y and low power rifles have scopes that do go to 10y. 
Looking for another scope right now so maybe I will give Cronus a try. 


B
 
Yea CurlyWoods I felt the same way for many years...but at a certain point in time I asked myself honestly how many times a year I ever shoot at anything at ten yards...then for an experiment I started putting cans and stuff to shoot at 10,15, & 20 yards...and even though they were slightly out of focus I hit them every single time! So how often do you actually shoot at things closer than 25 yards, and could you hit them if you did?

If any of these Tier One scopes would get parallax to 10 yds instead of 25 that would likely tip me over the edge to investing in one. I shoot one rifle right now (Taipan Veteran Long .25) and am using an Athlon Midas BTR 4.5-27x50 which I really like because of its simple reticle and glass clarity. What I wish it had more than anything though is a 10 yard parallax. I have started looking at NightForce and US Optics as alternatives to get quality scopes with 10 yard parallax, but wish some of the larger Japanese made Tier One scopes would create something similar to my Athlon for less than $1500 I would bite.

I am using the Element Nexus, great glass, made in Japan, parallax starts at 10yds or meters, love it
 
I have said it in another threads, so I will say it again here. The Cronus is one of my favorite scopes, because of the quality for the price. Besides it being found for $1300 in some places and below $1100 recently, they are often found for $1000-1100 used. I have used NF, S&B, Kahles, and many other lower priced optics. I’m not going to say that it was as good as those high end scopes, but for the price I have been very happy with it. I believe it is much a better scope than the price it sells for. 
 
How's the illumination? Is it daytime bright? I have a NF NX8 2.5-20×50 which is daytime bright and I like having the magnification set at 2.5X using the illumination for close up fast shots. It focuses down to 11 yards but I don't even adjust it when it's set at 2.5X because it's pretty clear. One less thing to do when you need to take a quick shot. I hear the illumination on the Kahles K318i and the Element Nexus is also daytime bright but I don't have any experience with them yet. The only thing I would change on the NX8 is the illumination controls. I wish it had on/off steps in between instead of the push button but that's just me.
 
How's the illumination? Is it daytime bright? I have a NF NX8 2.5-20×50 which is daytime bright and I like having the magnification set at 2.5X using the illumination for close up fast shots. It focuses down to 11 yards but I don't even adjust it when it's set at 2.5X because it's pretty clear. One less thing to do when you need to take a quick shot. I hear the illumination on the Kahles K318i and the Element Nexus is also daytime bright but I don't have any experience with them yet. The only thing I would change on the NX8 is the illumination controls. I wish it had on/off steps in between instead of the push button but that's just me.

The Cronus probably has the brightest illume on the market for a high power riflescope, mine had the reticle easily seen on very sunny days. Sure helps out in dark places and when shooting on black painted steel in the daytime.

My original Cronus prototype had the ALL .2 mil reticle that I helped design (it went to others for review and eval) and wish now that I had bought some back then but I had my S&B which I wasn't willing to let go of yet. 
 
How's the illumination? Is it daytime bright? I have a NF NX8 2.5-20×50 which is daytime bright and I like having the magnification set at 2.5X using the illumination for close up fast shots. It focuses down to 11 yards but I don't even adjust it when it's set at 2.5X because it's pretty clear. One less thing to do when you need to take a quick shot. I hear the illumination on the Kahles K318i and the Element Nexus is also daytime bright but I don't have any experience with them yet. The only thing I would change on the NX8 is the illumination controls. I wish it had on/off steps in between instead of the push button but that's just me.

The illumination is plenty bright in daytime. I agree on the NF push button switch... Not a fan. Definitely like the turn style better.