$550 vortex or leupold

I've always been a Leupold only type of guy until this last hunting season. I hunted and guided all this last season with Vortex, and I'll tell ya, it's really hard for me to look at Leupold the same any more. I mean don't get me wrong, Leupold makes excellent glass, but Vortex was no less in quality in my experience, and it cost about half as much for a comparable product.

And I even had an opportunity to utilize their no questions asked warranty recently. It wasn't anything faulty with the product, the spotting scope tipped over and landed on the eye piece, which fractured. And a friend of mine decided to over tighten the rings on his scope and ended up crushing the tube. With both products it was about a 10 day turn around, and I we had brand new products in our hands. But I've also had similar service with Leupold, so ....

Oh, one more thing. $550 will go along way with Vortex, won't get you as much with Leupold in terms of features, or high magnification. I know, I just sold a VXIII 3.5x10 and spent the money on, I want to say 6x18x56mm, I think, sorry, I have several and don't remember which is, which off the top of my head.

GS

Like gamestalker I had a Leupold and sold it for a Vortex. For the money you can't beat what you get with Vortex.

to be fair you need to compare it to the news version of the vx2. It was updated again last year with better glass, coatings and mechanics. Heck a new vx1 has the same mechanicals and lense coatings a vari xIII had just a few years ago. The vx2 is a good sized step up from that! I dont have a vortex in that price range to compare it to but i do have a 3x9 and a 4x12 vx2 of the lastest production and they are the equal to or even better then my older vxIII leupolds and that aint saying nothing. 3-5 years ago vari xIIIs were the scopes most were judged from. Ive also got a couple of the new vx1 2x7s there fantastic little scopes and if you werent looking for a 14x plus top end id tell you to save some money and look at the vx1 but the 4x12 vx1 doesnt have an ajustable paralex and when you get up over 10x its about a nessisity. Opticaly though those newest vx1s are probably the best bang for the buck on the market.

Forget the 50mm objective requirement and get a lot more scope with a 40-42mm objective for the same money. Going any bigger hurts performance more than it helps and just adds cost along with more difficult mounting.

Same with a lot of magnification. You don't NEED a 4-12X scope. A 3-9X will do what you NEED. A 4-12X50mm will either cost a lot more than a 3-9X40, or be of much lower quality at the same price range. I've found better quality trumps more X's and bigger objectives every time.

Here are some better scopes well below your budget.

http://swfa.com/Leupold-35-10x40-VX-3-Riflescope-P12647.aspx
http://swfa.com/Leupold-3-9x40-VX-2-Riflescope-P51800.aspx
http://swfa.com/Leupold-4-12x40-VX-2-Rifle-scope-P51808.aspx
http://swfa.com/Zeiss-3-9x42-Terra-Rifle-Scope-P61667.aspx
http://swfa.com/Zeiss-4-12x42-Terra-Rifle-Scope-P61668.aspx

Agree with JMR40
But I would stick with Vortex. Likely you can get the same glass as Leupold but for less.
Take a good look at any sales at opticsplanet. They seem to have the best in in general when I was looking.
After testing (I was looking for hunting Binoculars) already have the scope I wanted. After comparing glass for same price range. Vortex blew away Leupold and held its own against Ziess.
Is there a particular reason you feel you need a 50mm? Most of the glass out there is pretty good kin low light already so do you really need the 50?

I have heard great things about Vortex but IME Leupold's Customer Service is second to none. I have not heard anybody having to use Vortex Customer Service, so that might be a good thing also .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Nikon has a $100 rebate on some of their Monarchs, including the 4-16X50.

500 dollars worth of better glass with do better in low light then 300 dollars worth of glass with one lense being 50mm. Your going to pay more for the 50mm scope and my money would be on a better quality 40mm scope.

I've heard nothing but good about Vortex, so my hats off to them for building a good biz. I'm a Leupy guy. Over the years I've tried a bunch of others, some good, some not so. IME Leupy's the std for reliability and performance. Their CS has been doing it right for decades and their scopes are made here. Never had one let me down and own a dozen or so. More and more I cannot bring myself to buy things made in China.

I dont like the newer Leupold VX2 adjustment knobs, but the VX3 and older leupolds are great. The more expensive Vortex scopes are indeed very nice. Another sleeper is a NOS Weaver Grand Slam at 95% light transmission and with steel on steel adjustments. I used to take my 4.5-14 Grand Slam and examine craters on the moon. Have you ever looked at Clearidge scopes?

Lifetime warranties are only as good as the longevity of the companies behind them. Leupold has been around for decades, and their CS is second to none. They assemble their scopes here, Made in the USA.

Vortex makes nothing here, they are only an importer and distributor. What good is a lifetime warranty if they aren't still around 10, 15, 20 years from now? Is their lifetime warranty for the original purchaser only, or is it transferable to successive owners like Leuoold's on their Gold Ring optics? Or Zeiss for that matter. Btw, does Vortex come with a Lifetime Warranty?

As I stated in my previous answer, I've been a loyal Leupold consumer for many years. They had the best CS and warranty in the business, also for many years. But, all things considered, Vortex has an honest to goodness no questions asked warranty, whether it was your fault or not, and regardless of whether or not your the original owner. They're policy is we will repair or replace the product, with about the only exception being is if it's been stolen, as advertised.

Like I said, a spotting scope that had fallen over and landed on the eye piece, which resulted in the lens breaking. The other was a rifle scope that the guy had way over tightened the rings and crushed the tube. I had both optics back in my hands, brand new BTW, within 10 days.

Now to be fair, I've had nothing short of this type of CS with Leupold over the years. I've bought second hand Leupold glass that was beat to heck and have sent it in to be refurbished, and Leupold has never charged me a dime for repairs or shipping. I once ran over a pair of 10x40's I had purchased way back in the 80's for about $400, Leupold completely refurbished them for nothing, and I was honest with them as to how it happened. In each and every repair, they always include lens caps, straps, and carrying cases too.

Will Vortex still be doing business 10 or 15 yrs. from now, don't know. But while they are, they are doing business is such a manner that they are definitely putting some pressure on all other optic manufacturer's, that's for sure. And they offer a very high quality piece of glass, every bit the quality that most any Leupold user has come to expect. This doesn't mean I've written Leupold off, not on your life. There is just way too much positive history between Leupold and I to just stop buying their product.

GS

Vortex has come on strong and my guess is there going to be hear for the long haul. Worrying about them going under wouldnt be a factor in me choosing. For all we know leupold could go under too.

When it comes to buying rifle accessories the items are either more useful or less useful. A 40 mm objective is more useful than a 50 mm objective. They work as well, look better and don't create the mounting problems. The Leupold VX II 4 X 12 40MM will work great on a 25-06.

vortex diamond back hp 3-12x42 would have a solid look from me.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/product...p-3-12x42-riflescope-with-v-plex-moa-reticle#

found it on a well know list for 389. best of luck!

I sent an older Vortex Crossfire back to have a turret tightened up... From the time I sent it to the time it was back at my door was 7 days... And best of all it was free other than my shipping it to them... With that said, I say VORTEX all the way.. I really want one of the PST's with a FFP recticle to put on a new rifle I plan on getting...

Vortex makes nothing here, they are only an importer and distributor. What good is a lifetime warranty if they aren't still around 10, 15, 20 years from now? Is their lifetime warranty for the original purchaser only, or is it transferable to successive owners like Leuoold's on their Gold Ring optics? Or Zeiss for that matter. Btw, does Vortex come with a Lifetime Warranty?

Click to expand...

That sure seems like a lot of criticism from someone who can't be bothered to even look up the warranty: http://www.vortexoptics.com/content/vip_warranty

Lifetime warranty from a relatively new business is worthless. They've been around since 2002. Leupold has been around since 1910. Vortex hasn't stood the test of time yet.

So, no one should buy from Vortex until 2106?

How many years does one have to be in business to no longer be, "relatively new"?

Certainly one should consider the whether one can rely on a company to be there if warranty service is needed, but solely basing one's decision on that seems rather short sighted. Especially when the company in question has been around over a decade and has developed quite a reputation in that time.

I have a diamondback hp 4-16x42, it's one nice piece of glass, especially for $429 with free shipping. I bought mine from cameralandny.com. Check their website they usually have "open box" and "demo models" on sale for cheap!

I have no affiliation with cameralandny, just a happy customer.

Redfield was an old, reliable company, too. Then they went out of business in the early part of this century. They've since been resurrected by Leupold, but it's not the same, original Redfield company.

I'm a fan of both Vortex and Leupold.

I have Leupold scopes too, but I just bought a Vortex Diamondback 4x12-40mm. My rifle is at a gun shop in Oregon being re-bored and re-chambered so I haven't even mounted it yet. But, I'm very impressed with the quality. It's very light weight and the optics are really clear and sharp. I really like Vortex's Dead-Hold BDC reticle also. I feel like I made the right decision with Vortex, and I thought I'd never use anything except Leupold.