I sold a ton of Athlon before I retired my shop a few years ago, the Athlon Ares first gen spotter was an article I highly recommended and for all the reasons you covered, several times guys with Kowa and Swaro's looked through them side by side on the range and were blown away that a sub $600 ( at the time) could go head to head out to 700 yds with high end glass, glad to see you giving them props!
Excellent information! I have been thinking about upgrading my spotting scope. I have been using a vortex and have been satisfied for thirty cal out to 500 yards.
NF looks more like a traditional rifle scope would definitely want the additional aperture at that price point. As an avid Astrophotographer as well it’s very important to get that extra aperture.
Great video Gary,I also have looked thru the Athlon and like you said its a good spotting scope but,when you come to the Nightforce its just me the way I am when it comes to my optics its better to have it and when you need it and not have it. I'll give Athlon the reticle though! it is well thought out.I
@@robertosborne1753 the old Gold Rings were good for the time. I’m quite certain the Athlon would outperform those by a lot. Leupold, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t made an updated spotter in years.
@@paramounttactical Really? the Athlons (which I love that company; they punch wayy above their weight) have better glass than our leupold mk4's????? I had no idea lol. I always thought they were pretty clear. I like the higher mag that other mk4 provided (before we got our swaros) 20-60x. 45's too low for my jacked up eyes these days. On that thought, Merry Cristmas man!!!!
@ I’d have to compare side by side but everything I’ve tested that was considered top tier from the early 2000’s isn’t as good as we remember it to be. 😂 Merry Christmas!
Great information. I didn’t even know they made spotters with reticles. I’m a little bummed because I have some. Really good spotters and would prefer not to have to spend that kind of $$ again. Can they be adapted?
Sir, what is the perfect scope for my 18" 223 for shooting Varmints in KY, 500 yard shot would be the longest and 250 yards would be the normal. from 500.00 to 2500.00 we can spend.
@@jonboyhst6448 if that was my budget, I’d go with the Zeiss S3. You can get the 4-25 for right at $2k or the 6-36 for around $2500. Both are unbelievable values. They both have features and perform better than scope 1K more. There’s Athlon scopes I’d recommend if you wanted to spend less but the Zeiss S3 performance for $$$ is hard to beat. Give us a call or shoot us an email and we can save you even more money in a private discussion.
@@andrewwilliams8558 No, the engineering between a rifle optic and a spotter is very different. From eye relief and many other factors, what makes a good spotter doesn’t make a good scope and vice versa.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I sold a ton of Athlon before I retired my shop a few years ago, the Athlon Ares first gen spotter was an article I highly recommended and for all the reasons you covered, several times guys with Kowa and Swaro's looked through them side by side on the range and were blown away that a sub $600 ( at the time) could go head to head out to 700 yds with high end glass, glad to see you giving them props!
Another great thing about the XP Academy is that you get to look through all of these options.
Excellent information! I have been thinking about upgrading my spotting scope. I have been using a vortex and have been satisfied for thirty cal out to 500 yards.
NF looks more like a traditional rifle scope would definitely want the additional aperture at that price point. As an avid Astrophotographer as well it’s very important to get that extra aperture.
As always a great video. Great content thank you
I was very impressed with the NF during the XP Long range course... it is def on the list after my wife's ZCO...
Great video Gary,I also have looked thru the Athlon and like you said its a good spotting scope but,when you come to the Nightforce its just me the way I am when it comes to my optics its better to have it and when you need it and not have it. I'll give Athlon the reticle though! it is well thought out.I
I’m with you. I never regret spending the money on Gucci optics.🤷♂️ there should be a name for optical FOMO. 😂
I am curious as to why one would choose straight vs angled?
Love everything you do, but where's the classic leupold spotters we used in the military?
@@robertosborne1753 the old Gold Rings were good for the time. I’m quite certain the Athlon would outperform those by a lot. Leupold, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t made an updated spotter in years.
@@paramounttactical Really? the Athlons (which I love that company; they punch wayy above their weight) have better glass than our leupold mk4's????? I had no idea lol. I always thought they were pretty clear. I like the higher mag that other mk4 provided (before we got our swaros) 20-60x. 45's too low for my jacked up eyes these days. On that thought, Merry Cristmas man!!!!
@ I’d have to compare side by side but everything I’ve tested that was considered top tier from the early 2000’s isn’t as good as we remember it to be. 😂
Merry Christmas!
Great information. I didn’t even know they made spotters with reticles. I’m a little bummed because I have some. Really good spotters and would prefer not to have to spend that kind of $$ again. Can they be adapted?
Which athlon model ive been looking at them more recently
16:57 What kind of tan jacket is that? It’s hard to find a decent jacket these days.
@@TrailCameraTV OTTE gear
What were you using for the optic stand in the field testing?
FatBoy Tripods. The only tripods we carry!
ruclips.net/video/_yoHEGI27DY/видео.htmlsi=dzZXPWWNksgRzdzu
Those are killer optic stands. They look like they can take a hit. You carry quality items.
Pretty sure they're Fatboy Tripods
Sir, what is the perfect scope for my 18" 223 for shooting Varmints in KY, 500 yard shot would be the longest and 250 yards would be the normal. from 500.00 to 2500.00 we can spend.
@@jonboyhst6448 if that was my budget, I’d go with the Zeiss S3. You can get the 4-25 for right at $2k or the 6-36 for around $2500.
Both are unbelievable values. They both have features and perform better than scope 1K more. There’s Athlon scopes I’d recommend if you wanted to spend less but the Zeiss S3 performance for $$$ is hard to beat. Give us a call or shoot us an email and we can save you even more money in a private discussion.
I think the Cronus vs the NF would be a more realistic comparison being they are both variable power reticle spotters.
Coming soon
Do you use binoculars? You probably just use your rangefinder binos
Binos can be used basically to confirm hits and misses, but the reticles in them suck for providing a shooter precise corrections.
So the NF looks like just a high powered rifle scope...why couldn't you just use a scope for this purpose?
@@andrewwilliams8558 No, the engineering between a rifle optic and a spotter is very different. From eye relief and many other factors, what makes a good spotter doesn’t make a good scope and vice versa.