Has anyone had any problems with their Athlon Cronus Btr ir 4.5-29x56 aprs reticle? I recently received mine and the illumination is malfunctioning. Some of the hold over numbers, both horizontal and vertical, are partially lit others aren’t illuminated at all.
Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56 malfunction
- Thread starter jcmullis2
- Start date
Athlon has great costumer service, send it in and I’m sure they will make it right for you.
I’ve heard about their great customer service and it looks like I’m gonna find out first hand. I don’t use an illuminated reticle very often but I paid a bunch more for the feature so I expect it to function properly. I’m wondering if anyone else has had this problem too.
I’ve heard really good stuff about their customer service. It was one of the deciding factors in purchasing this scope. I also have a Midas TAC 5-25x. It’s awesome but no illuminated reticle.
Is there someone in particular that I should talk with about this? Thanks and I’ll keep you posted on the outcome
Both of mine bleed into the numbers a little. I don’t worry about it since it makes zero difference. And you didnt pay a bunch of money for that. You need to drop another couple grand more before I would start nit picking the number illumination you’ll never use.
In searching for others with the same problem I found only 1 mention of illumination bleeding here on the hide. There’s a few pics of reticles on that post from a couple of people. In one guys pic his numbers appear fully illuminated, but in the other guys pic his aren’t illuminated at all. Neither were partially illuminated with some numbers not illuminated at all. I’m not sure but I don’t believe either were the BTR model. The illuminated fragments are a real distraction when trying to use the reticle for hold-over instead of using the turrets.
I’m gonna have to send it in and give Athlon's warranty and customer service a chance to remedy the problem. Before sending it in I wanted to ascertain if this was a common problem and if so I wanted to hear what other people had experienced in resolving the problem. When I get it back I’m gonna do a thorough evaluation of my Cronus BTR and share the results of that evaluation and my experience with Athlon's customer service as it pertains to warranty service.
I appreciate your input
My illumination bleeds into the numbers on my two Athlon scopes only if I have it to bright.
My Cronus slightly bleeds into the numbers if I have it lit brightly and magnification kinda cranked.
You make a good point. I don’t use illumination and I certainly didn’t spend nearly as much as some. It’s probably just the ocd in me but the darn #2 left of center blinking messes with me bad. To be 100% honest I was planning on removing the battery to prevent any future problem that might be caused by a 20year old battery. Lmmfao
I’m really glad you guys replied. I was wondering if mine was a bad one and easily remedied. However it sounds like it’s a common phenomena that occurs when both magnification and illumination is on the higher settings. I really like my scope but I didn’t wanna be the one asshole with a blinking reticle. It’s good to learn I’m not alone. Thanks for everyone’s input on this 
It’s not blinking, it’s twinkling!I’m really glad you guys replied. I was wondering if mine was a bad one and easily remedied. However it sounds like it’s a common phenomena that occurs when both magnification and illumination is on the higher settings. I really like my scope but I didn’t wanna be the one asshole with a blinking reticle. It’s good to learn I’m not alone. Thanks for everyone’s input on this
Big difference.
What a nice way to look at things. Where I’m seeing a flashing red light you see twinkling lights. Hell you should of said my Christmas tree has twinkling lights. A special feature like that should cost extra, especially around the holidays.
Mine is slightly different. At high magnification and high illumination, dots and lines are fine, but numbers are literally unreadable red and black blurs. At medium magnification and high illumination, dots and lines are fine, but numbers are literally "not" illuminated at all and readable in normal light. Low magnification and low illumination, everything is hosed, but who cares since at that point, you're only looking at the center of the crosshairs anyway.
Bottom line, I never use illumination for anything other than putting crosshairs on very dark targets. Seeing the numbers illuminated was something I just never thought about until this thread caused me to look at it.
Now it's gonna drive me nuts. Thanks guys !!!
Bottom line, I never use illumination for anything other than putting crosshairs on very dark targets. Seeing the numbers illuminated was something I just never thought about until this thread caused me to look at it.
Now it's gonna drive me nuts. Thanks guys !!!
I probably shouldn’t have said anything. It bugged me because it should be right at that price. I never use IR’s and everything else is really good so I’m good. I bought a Ares and it’s ir is perfect but the glass isn’t as clear as the Cronus. The Athlon scopes are pretty good but they don’t need to let the quality slip. Too many scope companies have done that to make a quick dollar. A few bad scopes and they’ll be thought of like Tasco or Barska.
Your not buying a 3000$ scope.
It’s a value scope and one hell of a value at that.
I absolutely am not bothered with the illumination.
Both the times I’ve used it it works perfectly
So what if it bleeds into the numbers a bit, absolutely no factor in its functionality.
If you don’t want something to not pick buy a ZCO.
I can absolutely nit pick something on every sub $3000 I’ve had experience with but again can't say functionality was an issue.
Of course you’re not bothered by the illumination since yours works perfectly. I figure you’re just busting my balls a bit and that’s cool. I enjoy messing with people also. I bet if my vertical crosshair was at 2:00 instead of 12:00 after leveling it you’d tell me to use a plum bob and quit knit picking because your crosshairs are perfect. Lmmfao Thats cold... 
For the record I love my Cronus in-spite of the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree reticle.
For the record I love my Cronus in-spite of the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree reticle.
Can't remember the last time I used the illumination on my cronus. But can you get them without illumination since you said you paid extra for it?
I couldn’t find where I said it but, no they’re the same. I should have said that every feature brings the cost up. So you’re paying for something you don’t get the benefit of.
The less of the reticle that actually illuminates the better. I would really like if only the main stadia lines lit up on my Razors. The whole tree lighting up is nothing but a distraction and actually makes low light shooting more difficult. Nightforce and Steiner do it best. SWFA isn’t bad either. Just a small dot lights up.
I’ve never liked IR’s and don’t use the darn things. I just expect everything to work when I buy something. I thought if I had one of a few that didn’t work right I’d send it back and let others know. It’s such a great scope I wouldn’t chance bouncing it through the mail to fix something I don’t use. I’ve thought about getting a razor but can’t justify the extra cost just for a Horus tremor reticle. The Cronus and the Razor are both nice scopes. I can only imagine how my eyes would like a Horus reticle lit up
It doesn’t sound like many people really use IR’s. I actually took the battery out of my Ares & Cronus so I never have to worry about a old battery leaking acid and causing real problems. My Midas tac 5-25x56 is probably my next favorite scope even though the Ares cost more money and has a bit more magnification. I’m glad to see there’s only a few people that has had problems with their Athlon's. There’s not many Athlon's listed in the px and when one is, it’s snatched up in a short time. Yep others seem to give zero ducks about the IR too.
I have several illuminated Leupold Mark 5 HD's ... the illumination on those is flawless. As is the glass, they generous eyebox, the turrets, and everything else about them. My Athlon Cronus 4.5-29 was an early purchase. I've "graduated", but keep it around (for now) since I have more rifles than scopes.
Do you ever use your ir? I don’t and others have said that they don’t. I’m curious if it is something that everyone needs or just those who shoot in low light situations.
The upper level leupolds are really nice. It seems to me that the cheaper ones aren’t as clear as the older leupolds from similar price range. I don’t like to spend more on a scope than the rifle it sits on. I’ve been upgrading my older stuff and I have lots of rifles so it’s getting expensive. I thought about just getting a couple of really nice scopes like your leupold and a couple Spuhr qd Mounts and just put Picatinny rails on everything. Hell I’ll probably come out cheaper if I do.
The only time I ever use illumination, is when I'm shooting at one of my black splatter targets and the face of the target is in the shade, with my rifle in the sun. At that point, day-bright illumination is a nice-to-have, but still not a must-have. I have both Mark 5's ... illuminated and non-illuminated ... and I frequently ask myself "Why?" I paid the extra amount. As a matter of fact, for my ELD rifles (300 WinMag and 338 Laua) that I shoot from 1,000-to-1Mile ... the over-size illuminated reticle lines and dots cam actually be a hindrance, and cover too much of the target at long distances. My recommendation is ... save the money, and buy a better scope for the same amount.
So your mark 5 HD’s are clearer and brighter and better all around than your Cronus? With my discount the mk5 are only about 33% more than what I paid for a Cronus. If I sell my 2 Cronus’s and 1 Ares I can buy 2 leupold mark 5’s. I never even priced them before now and just assumed they were too much. Definitely something to consider. Next time I get a chance to do a side by side comparison I’ll take a serious look at this. Thanks for the heads up
That sums it up. And if you're a veteran or law enforcement and can join Leupold's VIP club ... it'll save you several hundred dollars off the lowest online prices. The Mark 5 HD 5-25 I just bought was $400 less than the lowest price on the cheapest site (BDU).
Scope received today via Leupold VIP Program (Veteran).
Ordered Aug-18
Arrived Aug 31
13-days total and "hundreds" cheaper ... will definitely use this program again. Basically got a "new" scope for a "used" price.
Ordered Aug-18
Arrived Aug 31
13-days total and "hundreds" cheaper ... will definitely use this program again. Basically got a "new" scope for a "used" price.
