Athlon Ares ETR... WOW

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Pickzilla

Pickzilla

Member
Nov 6, 2019
267
8
Socialist Republic of MA, United States
Well gents, I been shooting most of my 46 year life. Grew up in Colorado, shooting 1000 yrds and longer on the plains with my Rem 700 BDL 7mm magnum. I was broke, in school, living paycheck to paycheck, but got lucky found that rifle at a show, and bought a dirt cheap Tasco scope which had BDC turrets. I had a blast shooting that rifle for 15 years, till some scumbag stole it during a move. 

Fast forward and finally all that hard work paid off (15 years of school and training) and I finally could afford a pretty high end scope. I was going to go the NF or IOR route, until I stumbled across this gem: The Athlon Ares ETR FFP 4.5-30x 56mm. 34mm tube. This is one hell of a scope!! Currently sits upon my Edgun R5M in .22, but goes back and forth between several guns, including a .50 cal Barrett I shoot at 1+ mile.

The reticle is PERFECT for holdovers, and illuminated. The glass is truly the best I have ever had the pleasure to look through, with no detectable difference to the tier 1 scopes running 3x the price. The FOV is fantastic. The turrets have the most amazing tactile feel and click. Tracking is, well, perfect. 25 yrd to infinity parallax, of which should I have to shoot at closer, the glass is so good I don't even get a hint of blur. TONS of light comes through this scope. 

I could go on, but really, it is the optic deal of the century at $1200. This is easily among the best scopes in the world. 

I shot the best 50 yrd group of my life today with the Ares, using FX .22 hybrid slugs, put 10 through 1 hole for a 6mm group. 

You owe it to yourself to check out this scope!!

1577058248_13062592005dffffc82823e3.11421676_6AC3FE7A-206F-4F72-8754-04696256DCC9.jpeg
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8sCRRrHXPc


 
I see some of the YT stars using these and have interest in this scope. 

How did you come about making the decision to purchase? What is the country of origin? Is this a FFP? What is your primary use?
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Decision? Not complicated...If this scope was up to the hype, it is $1K to $2K cheaper than the tier 1 scopes it is said to compete with (NF NXS, Vortex Razor HD, etc). I figured, lets give it a shot, returns are easy. (I Don't have ANY regrets). 

Origin? It's Chinese. (Pretty astonishing this level of glass came out of China). 

Yes, a FFP. 

Primary use? On airguns, long range lead slinging, as well as longer range hunting (80-200 yrd). On powder burners? Mainly long range (600++). BUT, this scope will do anything you want it to. 
 
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Hi Pick,

I have had this scope from before the usual you tube personalities decided to get on the bandwagon, and I did my own mini review about a year back. Didn’t get much response...

I need to echo your findings, as this has got to be the best kept scope secret on the market! Maybe the price tag scares people away but if you own a 1800-2200 dollar gun then this scope is hard to better.

I picked up some ADM 20moa one piece mounts and now have a rock solid optic and mount system, it makes swapping between my Impact and Uragan a breeze!

I might buy and sell my guns, but I think the scope is a lifetime purchase.


 
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Being a Athlon industry insider (many of the features you see in these scopes I helped with - you're welcome BTW), I have seen the constant quality control increase as every year goes by, and the measures Kevin from Athlon and the factories that make these higher end Chinese scopes, implement and move forward with. It's amazing really, how well they all did!!!

The goal was to meet or exceed any other scope in each perspective price point and I think they did that. 

Okay, I have some $3200 to $3850 high end scopes. Even the Cronus BTR falls short of these, and so does any other higher quality Athlon scope, BUT I'll say this, I have no plans on buying any more of those super expensive scopes! Don't plan on selling my favorite one's either because they are so nice, so I'll end with that.

I have a Ares BTR Gen 2 that's coming in the mail soon - hands rubbing together - oh boy. It'll be interesting to compare my G1 4.5-27 against the G2.

Enjoy your new ETR!!!
 
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Agree that the ETR is a very good scope. Very good quality for the price compared to some higher priced options. For the same price you can often find a used Cronus, which I like better. People don’t talk about it as often because new it costs between $1400-1700. But it can be had for $900-1100, and it is even better. I like the size better than the ETR as it is more compact, and it is better quality for nearly the same price, because ETR used prices don’t fall as much. 
 
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The Cronus is also made in Japan at the LOW factory like some other higher priced scopes. Different purpose for me vs the Midas Tac. The Cronus is one of my favorite scopes, period.

The other models are made in China, so the price is lower. That being said, the Athlon scopes may be the best Chinese scopes I’ve used. I have tried almost every line from them now. I liked the Ares ETR over the Ares BTR, but I sure like the price of the BTR more and the smaller size, especially for a scope in that price range. Many people suggested the Midas Tac, and I didn’t try one for a long while, because I didn’t see the need. Now that I am in air rifles, I see the need with the closer side focus. The Argos models were ok, but I like the other models I’ve tried much more, and found I didn’t mind paying a little more do the quality upgrades.
 
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Old thread but I'll chime in on this "Chinese made" thing I hear every time anyone talks about this scope. I've been working with Chinese manufacturers of many things over the past 20 years. I've been to China many times and spent a total of one year inside the country, all over the place. I can tell you they can make anything as good or bad as you want it. They have been primarily known for making things cheaply, but that is because people go there to get things manufactured cheaply. You get what you pay for. They are generally excellent at knocking things off and making a cheaper version of whatever it is, usually for the people of China who do not demand high quality like we do in the west because they are poor. If you were to go to them with a decent budget and get them to build you product X to compete with Japanese or German manufacturers (and definitely American), rest assured they'd deliver something just as good. They'd strive make sure it was better because they've got something to prove. They've got nearly 4 decades of practice building basically everything that gets built on earth, so I'd advise people to stop underestimating China and see them as worthy adversaries, because soon enough, we'll be overtaken by them and we'll be the fading empire. End of rant.
 
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@k.bastien, so the Chinese make good stuff...so what? It’s good, what isn’t is your “fading empire” drivel. In the USA you have freedom of choice. In China the government imposes its will with an iron fist and boot. We’ll only be overtaken by them if enough defeatist like yourself gain the upper hand in US politics. But to the OP I love my Athlon scopes.
 
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Excellent scope. 👍
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I would like to know people's opinion between the Athlon ARES BTR 4.5-27 x 50 for $798 and the ARGOS BTR Gen2 8-34 x 56 scopes at $429 priced at Amazon, or if there is another model you recommend?. I want a first focal plane that has good magnification as my eyes are getting worse over time so I wanted something more than 24/25x. I am willing to spend $400 to as much as $800 which is a wide range for the purpose of target, plinking, and a little hunting with an FX Impact MK2 in .357 and .25

https://www.amazon.com/Athlon-Optics-Riflescope-Illuminated-Reticle/dp/B07192T712/ref=sr_1_3?crid=25M7ZC726DDS3&dchild=1&keywords=athlon+ares+btr+4.5-27x50&qid=1590876534&sprefix=athlon+ares+btr%2Caps%2C247&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Athlon-Optics-Argos-8-34X56-Riflescope/dp/B08297F27D/ref=sr_1_2?crid=26OD185HVVLMM&dchild=1&keywords=athlon+argos+btr+gen2+8-34x56&qid=1590963577&sprefix=athlon+argos+btr+gen2%2Caps%2C243&sr=8-2
 
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