Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 Rifle Scope Review

On a super bright sunny day my Cronus reticle is as Daylight Bright on illumination setting #11 as a prism scope!

I held off responding to the query about the illumination because I had not used it in daylight yet, so today I went shooting to try it out and see for myself. So it was a beautiful bright sunny day here in South Florida...I put my target at 50 yards with one the 12"x12" Dirtybird Targets that have a black background. Honestly I wasn't expecting too much but when I lit up the reticle on #11 it was as bright as any prism scope would be! I could see it on setting #9, better on #10, and fantastic on #11.

This made it so much easier to see the reticle against the target's black background that I spent my whole time shooting today with the reticle on my new Cronus lit up on setting #11! This works absolutely great and is how I will use my new scope from now on...now I just have to remember to turn it off at the end of the day when I am done! 😂

Best regards, Chuck
 
Sale good till Nov. 8... Same place...

Wonder if BLUELINE OPTICS open? Was it them who had the 13% off first time buyer discount? I would inquire... That would make them $1000.49 each...

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Are the reticles spacing holdover points actually different on the MIL-MIL compared to the MOA-MOA? Assuming the MIL is 1/10 MIL click and the MOA is 1/8 MOA click.

I'd have to buy one of each to compare if nobody knows...

I'm thinking you might be kidding, but just in case:

No reason to buy both to find out. With FFP scopes, stadia spacing is always different when comparing mil to moa.
 
Are the reticles spacing holdover points actually different on the MIL-MIL compared to the MOA-MOA? Assuming the MIL is 1/10 MIL click and the MOA is 1/8 MOA click.

I'd have to buy one of each to compare if nobody knows...

YOdoyle, you silly guy! 

In the Cronus the MOA version comes in 1/4 moa click turrets so no 1/8 moa available in this line.

In the reticle you'd have to estimate the best you can because it's moa spacing, so trying to holdover 1/8th difference isn't easy. 

I've won enough matches with AG's in FT events, 22rf's in precision events, and with centerfires, to know that dialing in mils with .1 mil clicks is a fine enough increment for 99% of the applications a guy could use a scope for. 

Actually 1/8th moa can be a PITA because most guns and shooters simply cannot realize any advantage 1/8 moa might offer.
 
On a super bright sunny day my Cronus reticle is as Daylight Bright on illumination setting #11 as a prism scope!

I held off responding to the query about the illumination because I had not used it in daylight yet, so today I went shooting to try it out and see for myself. So it was a beautiful bright sunny day here in South Florida...I put my target at 50 yards with one the 12"x12" Dirtybird Targets that have a black background. Honestly I wasn't expecting too much but when I lit up the reticle on #11 it was as bright as any prism scope would be! I could see it on setting #9, better on #10, and fantastic on #11.

This made it so much easier to see the reticle against the target's black background that I spent my whole time shooting today with the reticle on my new Cronus lit up on setting #11! This works absolutely great and is how I will use my new scope from now on...now I just have to remember to turn it off at the end of the day when I am done! 😂

Best regards, Chuck

Thanks Chuck. That's good to hear. I'm curious how it looks at the max illumination setting on 4.5X magnification for fast close-in shots in bright daylight. 
 
Peskadot on 4.5 magnification set to #11 it is super bright but real tiny...I actually shot at my 50 yard target and spinner with it on 4.5 while it was lit up just to check it out and it was just as bright but way smaller. It was really kind of neat using it like that cause with it black I can't hardly see it but lit up on #11 it was clear as day to me. And by the way, let me emphasize the fact that when you illuminate the reticle that only the reticle is illuminated! Unlike some scopes that light up the whole inside of the tube...all I can say is that I think you will be well pleased and I would definitely recommend you try one.

At the current price of $1150.00 at Camera Land I don't see how you could possibly go wrong...remember that for the last several years guys were paying $1799.99 for these scopes and I never heard any complaints about them from anyone. You know this scope was designed for Ultra Long Distance shooting...the parallax wheel is marked all the way out to 1600 yards...guys use these on their .338 Lapua's to shoot 6-10 inch groups at 1000-1200 yards all day long. This Cronus scope ain't no joke!

All the best, Chuck
 
Peskadot on 4.5 magnification set to #11 it is super bright but real tiny...I actually shot at my 50 yard target and spinner with it on 4.5 while it was lit up just to check it out and it was just as bright but way smaller. It was really kind of neat using it like that cause with it black I can't hardly see it but lit up on #11 it was clear as day to me. And by the way, let me emphasize the fact that when you illuminate the reticle that only the reticle is illuminated! Unlike some scopes that light up the whole inside of the tube...all I can say is that I think you will be well pleased and I would definitely recommend you try one.

At the current price of $1150.00 at Camera Land I don't see how you could possibly go wrong...remember that for the last several years guys were paying $1799.99 for these scopes and I never heard any complaints about them from anyone. You know this scope was designed for Ultra Long Distance shooting...the parallax wheel is marked all the way out to 1600 yards...guys use these on their .338 Lapua's to shoot 6-10 inch groups at 1000-1200 yards all day long. This Cronus scope ain't no joke!

All the best, Chuck

Thanks for the reply. That's one of the drawbacks with FFP scopes is they're barely visible on the lower end of the magnification range. Thanks for confirming that the illumination is daytime bright at the lowest magnification. I like using it this way similarly to a red dot.
 
Yea $1150.00 was only until November 8th...but maybe that price will come back for Black Friday sales? Inquiring minds want to know...😆😂

Call Doug at Cameraland, make reference to snipershide.com and you'll get it at $1150 ;)

Would have bought the 210111 / aprs1 model, but that specific one was already sold out. Have an Ares btr and Midas tac; I like the floating center dot better than the center cross.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/210111-athlon-cronus-btr-4-5-29x56-black-aprs1-ffp-ir-mil-riflescope.7010396/

Think they still have a few MOA versions left though..
 
I just bought the MIL version for $1143.99, with the APRS reticle (the small floating '+'). I have the Ares ETR on my .22 lr and have been very impressed with the glass, reticle, etc. However, the floating dot version of the Cronus was already sold out. Does anyone know if the rest of the reticle (line thickness) of the floating '+' is the same thickness as the floating dot? I'm good with the '+' on my RAW, especially since it will see a good deal of varmint hunting vs. target (where the dot seems to disappear anyway), but do like that the reticle is thinner, overall, than other FFP scope reticles (like my Hawke, for example).



Now to sell a few things before telling my wife about the purchase, doh...



Sean