Well i have had nothing but good experiences with them. I have plenty of experience looking through glass. Their qc may not be good or may be great, i can't attest to that as i only own 3 magnified optics and one non from them. But i can say that i can ID .30 caliber holes at 500 yds with my pst. That's pretty good clarity for $900. Sounds like people have had a lot of problems with them though. But at the end of the day you get what you pay for.
All the hype over Vortex scopes
- Thread starter CptnAwesome
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gamestalker
member
Yepper, I can't handle one more example of how great those garbage optics are. 
GS
GS
henschman
Member
Glass quality is the number one consideration for a hunting optic, as shots are commonly taken in low light, like early morning pre-dawn, or right at sunset.
Vortex has a wide range of products with a wide range of glass quality, from excellent Japanese glass in their very top end stuff like the Razor HD, good Phillipine glass in their mid range Viper and Diamondback line, and not-so-great Chinese glass in their cheaper stuff like the Strike Eagle and Crossfire line.
Vortex has a wide range of products with a wide range of glass quality, from excellent Japanese glass in their very top end stuff like the Razor HD, good Phillipine glass in their mid range Viper and Diamondback line, and not-so-great Chinese glass in their cheaper stuff like the Strike Eagle and Crossfire line.
MilsurpShooter
Member
I can't give a 100% unbiased review, seeing as all I've owned have been older hand me down optics or cheap .22 plinker scopes. I have shot through high end Zeiss, Schmidt&Bender, and Nightforce optics while at the range and the only Vortex I own is a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50. It's on a Savage 110ba in .338 Lapua Magnum.
Major reason I bought it? Features it has at it's price point. There's just some tiny things that this scope has at the $700 mark (when I bought it, dunno price now) that I wasn't finding until the much higher priced scopes. Raised magnification ring is one, it's not flat, quick pull back of your head and you can see what magnification you're on quick. Shim stop. Set of brass/copper shims you pop under your turret once you have it zeroed. Forget how many turns you've gone up? Turn it back down until the shims stop you, then just go back to the zero setting on your scope and you're back to where you started. Crude sounding but effective.
It's a very clear piece of glass too, at least in my opinion. Gathers light very well and has returned to zero each time I've used it at longer ranges.
Finally, last major pro of Vortex? Customer Service. When I was trying to find mine they were sold out everywhere so I wrote them direct to see if I could buy it direct from them (My only complaint about them honestly, had to go through a vendor) while I had them I asked a few questions with regards to the scopes, rings etc.
They answered everything and sent me manuals, reading materials and a few guide books on how to use it once I did get my hands on it.
Between the customer service and the clarity when I'm shooting with it, I'd, personally, look their way whenever I need a scope for something other then one of my knock around plinkers.
Major reason I bought it? Features it has at it's price point. There's just some tiny things that this scope has at the $700 mark (when I bought it, dunno price now) that I wasn't finding until the much higher priced scopes. Raised magnification ring is one, it's not flat, quick pull back of your head and you can see what magnification you're on quick. Shim stop. Set of brass/copper shims you pop under your turret once you have it zeroed. Forget how many turns you've gone up? Turn it back down until the shims stop you, then just go back to the zero setting on your scope and you're back to where you started. Crude sounding but effective.
It's a very clear piece of glass too, at least in my opinion. Gathers light very well and has returned to zero each time I've used it at longer ranges.
Finally, last major pro of Vortex? Customer Service. When I was trying to find mine they were sold out everywhere so I wrote them direct to see if I could buy it direct from them (My only complaint about them honestly, had to go through a vendor) while I had them I asked a few questions with regards to the scopes, rings etc.
They answered everything and sent me manuals, reading materials and a few guide books on how to use it once I did get my hands on it.
Between the customer service and the clarity when I'm shooting with it, I'd, personally, look their way whenever I need a scope for something other then one of my knock around plinkers.
Well, my Vortex Viper PTS 2.5-10x mil/mil has served very well on my Mk 12 clone. I think it's a great medium range optic at an attractive price point.
A range acquaintance dropped some coin on a Razor HD which he says has been perfect for his needs. The PTS & Razor also have higher price points than the Diamondback series.
As with other man-made precision tools, you get what you pay for. My rule with optics is to buy the best I can afford and then add some more $$$ to that.
The exception might be if you're just getting the optic for a low round-count range toy or "plinking"-type .22 rimfire.
A range acquaintance dropped some coin on a Razor HD which he says has been perfect for his needs. The PTS & Razor also have higher price points than the Diamondback series.
As with other man-made precision tools, you get what you pay for. My rule with optics is to buy the best I can afford and then add some more $$$ to that.
The exception might be if you're just getting the optic for a low round-count range toy or "plinking"-type .22 rimfire.
arizona_cards_11
Member
Considering that you can buy a Vortex from between $100 and $2500, I'm not sure how anyone can conclude that it's just 'young people who think NC Star and Tasco are also great scopes.'
A $100 scope is a $100 scope, regardless of the manufacturer. However, I would assume that the lifetime warranty and generally good customer service is what gives Vortex a leg-up in that market.
Start comparing the Razor HD series to a Kahles, S&B, USO, Premier, etc and you might be able to get an accurate representation of Vortex optical quality.
A $100 scope is a $100 scope, regardless of the manufacturer. However, I would assume that the lifetime warranty and generally good customer service is what gives Vortex a leg-up in that market.
Start comparing the Razor HD series to a Kahles, S&B, USO, Premier, etc and you might be able to get an accurate representation of Vortex optical quality.
farmerboy78
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I have two vipers, 1 hst and 1 pst... excellent optics and 0 problems with them... I would never own the crossfire and am hesitant with the diamondback... get one of the viper forms or the razor
wally
Member
Unfortunately this is a side-effect of "modern" manufacturing methods -- the customer does the final QA/QC because generally its cheaper and more effective to get "good word of mouth" from good "warranty" service and later sell the refurbs than do actual QA/QC before shipping. Generally about 3-5% return rate is the break even point vs. doing actual QA/QC before it ships. Pretty much applies to all mass-market items these days.
Things priced high enough to not be "mass-market" in their category usually have actual QA/QC before being shipped where the higher margins and smaller volumes mean you really don't want customers saying that they got a bad one.
WelshShooter
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I have two Vortex Viper PST's (6-24x50). I live in South Wales, UK and the weather conditions here are mostly miserable at best. I've used the scopes at freezing temperatures and have also spent a whole day (9am-4pm) with the scopes in heavy rainfall. Neither of the scopes have misted up.
The scopes hold zero well, and in the case of the FFP reticle the holdovers are repeatable. I've not done any box tests for the elevation/windage caps so cannot comment on this. My scopes have been shot and mounted on a .223 remington, .308 winchester and a 6,5x47 Lapua and recoil was not a problem for any of these.
The glass quality is great for the money. I've shot at man sized targets out to 1,000 yards with no problem at all. Most of the time the magnification is dialled down to x12 which is more than enough to see my target and any splash if I hit the dirt. I have noticed some slight chromatic aberrations towards x24 magnification but it's only noticeable if you're looking for it.
The scopes hold zero well, and in the case of the FFP reticle the holdovers are repeatable. I've not done any box tests for the elevation/windage caps so cannot comment on this. My scopes have been shot and mounted on a .223 remington, .308 winchester and a 6,5x47 Lapua and recoil was not a problem for any of these.
The glass quality is great for the money. I've shot at man sized targets out to 1,000 yards with no problem at all. Most of the time the magnification is dialled down to x12 which is more than enough to see my target and any splash if I hit the dirt. I have noticed some slight chromatic aberrations towards x24 magnification but it's only noticeable if you're looking for it.
Lloyd Smale
Member
there were problems with the first generation crossfires. I haven't heard of any real problems with the new ones or any other of there models. I have a diamond back and its on par with my newer vx1 leupolds and the 3200 bushnells. I think it falls short of the newer vx2 leupolds , Nikon monarchs, and 4200 bushnells. I think like others say. Theres no magic in them. there about equal to others in there price range. bottom line is there good scopes
RainDodger
Member
I have a lot of Leupold scopes, one Zeiss and one Vortex Viper. I've found the Vortex to be a good scope for the money - it performed the "box test" admirably and returned to zero very well after moving right, down, left and then up to the zero point.
I have one criticism. The eye relief is not as forgiving as any of my other scopes. The Vortex seems to me to have a smaller "window" where you get a full field of view through the scope. You have to mount it precisely where you want it and you won't be able to vary your head position much at all. I've found that my Leupolds and the Zeiss have a more forgiving amount of eye relief vs. full field of view.
Edit: I'm using the Vortex on a bench-only .17HMR so it's not seeing any recoil. I can't speak to the durability of a Vortex at all. I DO know their customer service is excellent, as a friend has dealt with them on a pair of binoculars he dropped and broke. Vortex replaced them, no questions asked.
I have one criticism. The eye relief is not as forgiving as any of my other scopes. The Vortex seems to me to have a smaller "window" where you get a full field of view through the scope. You have to mount it precisely where you want it and you won't be able to vary your head position much at all. I've found that my Leupolds and the Zeiss have a more forgiving amount of eye relief vs. full field of view.
Edit: I'm using the Vortex on a bench-only .17HMR so it's not seeing any recoil. I can't speak to the durability of a Vortex at all. I DO know their customer service is excellent, as a friend has dealt with them on a pair of binoculars he dropped and broke. Vortex replaced them, no questions asked.
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