It's your money if you want to guinea pig a new brand go right ahead. From a logical standpoint it serves no purpose and is without a doubt a risk. For the cost of the optic it isn't a risk most would be willing to take. Call me crazy but in your case when you have or have had the other "major players" why would you try an unknown brand? I don't think Vortex offers anything as far as features go that you couldn't get from the other brands. One last thing, I'm quite confident that Nightforce never offered low end junk, just quality optics, same story for S&B and the others. Vortex top end offerings may be great, but everything offered by the others is top end and that has merit.
No more Vortex for me
- Thread starter emerson
- Start date
It's your money if you want to guinea pig a new brand go right ahead. From a logical standpoint it serves no purpose and is without a doubt a risk. For the cost of the optic it isn't a risk most would be willing to take. Call me crazy but in your case when you have or have had the other "major players" why would you try an unknown brand? I don't think Vortex offers anything as far as features go that you couldn't get from the other brands. One last thing, I'm quite confident that Nightforce never offered low end junk, just quality optics, same story for S&B and the others. Vortex top end offerings may be great, but everything offered by the others is top end and that has merit.
I think, Kidd X, that we may agree on something and that is that NF never offered an 'entry level' scope whereas Vortex started at a low price point and gradually introduced increasingly expensive product lines. Indeed, it was a risk on my part to buy a Razor but it was my money and I simply had to see what the fuss was about and I determined that if I didn't like it my loss on resale would be not too much but, interestingly, after owning it for a while, I actually sold a NXS to offset some of the cost. Today I see a similarity between Vortex and the (albeit much larger) Bushnell whose blisterpack offerings in Walmart are decidedly low end but whose 4.5-30 XRS is a real contender and sports a nearly $3K tag.
Oh, everyone's entitled to a point of view - in fact, I was one of those 'Vortex are overrated' folks until I got to assess the Razor so (for the present) I will say that KiddX is just a bit close-minded rather than give him the sobriquet of being the new TDC
Oh, everyone's entitled to a point of view - in fact, I was one of those 'Vortex are overrated' folks until I got to assess the Razor so (for the present) I will say that KiddX is just a bit close-minded rather than give him the sobriquet of being the new TDC
I notice that the only line anyone ever talks about is the Razor line. How about the other lines Vortex offers?
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
See post #1.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
3.5-10. You may notice a little difference at low light, but that'll be negated as you crank up the zoom near 10x.
Bought a sparc red dot for my shot gun. Out of the box... Battery is not connecting somewhere... Turn the battery cap tight (as it should be.. It has a screw driver notch) loosen it off and it works...
The website says as comfortable on an AR as a shotgun or something like that..
Let's do this vortex.
Disclaimer - yes. It's the low end. Yes. I made that purchase for that very reason. My Bushnell $75 red dot has lasted for 4 years and counting.
Just thought I'd throw that into the razor talk...
If I spend even $50... I expect it to do what it says it will... Like turn on..
The website says as comfortable on an AR as a shotgun or something like that..
Let's do this vortex.
Disclaimer - yes. It's the low end. Yes. I made that purchase for that very reason. My Bushnell $75 red dot has lasted for 4 years and counting.
Just thought I'd throw that into the razor talk...
If I spend even $50... I expect it to do what it says it will... Like turn on..
I have ben a burris guy, i owned 2 e1 (2-7/ 3-9) and 1-4 tac30. I bought a couple of years back a diamondback 3-9x40 on praise of clarity and quality (for the price). And lets get one thing straight, my expectations, I expect a scope at that price range to keep zero , have ok turrets and good eye box and fair tracking 1/4 moa ( 1/8 to 1/2 is alright).
Got the vortex and mounted it on a mini 14 in a yes sparta stock. It didn't keep zero at that point I didn't know if it was the chassie or the scope and was fed up with other things on the mini 14 so I sold of the gun and My dad wanted tge scope. I think it served him well, the only other scope he had was the happy meal bushnell that came with is Rem 770, a $50 4x tasco he had on his mini 14 and a $80 short scope on a sks.
My impression of the diamondback was ok glass worst then my burris, worst turrets then my burris and a eye box I would describe as short and sensitive!
All that for more money then my Burris scope. But my cheap burris don't get judge by the same standars as lets say my Leopold vxr or NF NXS, those I expect to track 90%+ for the leopold and 98%+ for the NF.
And speaking of those so call features, the diamondback to me didn't have anything special and it was more then a trusty Burris Full feild 2( cheapest) and E1 second cheapest and at 300$ its more then a good number of competiters looking back.
Got the vortex and mounted it on a mini 14 in a yes sparta stock. It didn't keep zero at that point I didn't know if it was the chassie or the scope and was fed up with other things on the mini 14 so I sold of the gun and My dad wanted tge scope. I think it served him well, the only other scope he had was the happy meal bushnell that came with is Rem 770, a $50 4x tasco he had on his mini 14 and a $80 short scope on a sks.
My impression of the diamondback was ok glass worst then my burris, worst turrets then my burris and a eye box I would describe as short and sensitive!
All that for more money then my Burris scope. But my cheap burris don't get judge by the same standars as lets say my Leopold vxr or NF NXS, those I expect to track 90%+ for the leopold and 98%+ for the NF.
And speaking of those so call features, the diamondback to me didn't have anything special and it was more then a trusty Burris Full feild 2( cheapest) and E1 second cheapest and at 300$ its more then a good number of competiters looking back.
Orphan Slayer
New member
- Location
- East Kootenays
I've had three vortex scopes. Never had any quality issues with them. Sold my viper pst because the illumination knob is a pain for a lefty with an over sized bolt knob. My viper hs-t has been through thousands of rounds and still tracks flawlessly. I also have a diamondback hp which has been through hundreds of 270wsm rounds and now sits on a 6.5 swede. All in all I've had good luck with them over the last 6 years.
The way I see it is, the established "brands" are already extremely competitive with each other, and are constantly improving designs through efficiency and not necessarily by cutting corners or sourcing everything in China.
If anyone can make the best scope for the lowest dollar at each given price point it's these guys. R&D is done, process is mastered, good luck trying to do better with less resources.
On top of that Vortex wants to make a big chunk of the $$ on each scope, and has guarantees that their dealers will make more money pushing/selling Vortex over established companies.
You can't do that without A) cutting corners in the manufacturing process which they farm out to China/Japan/Philippines, or B) selling the item for a much higher price then the competition. Vortex does both, and fanboys lap it up.
BCshooterFMJ
Regular
- Location
- British Columbia
I sent in a discontinued viper 50 mm. They sent me back a 40mm viper cuz they didn't make any vipers in 50 mm that were 500 msrp (the 40 mm was 490). They downgraded me 10 bucks and I had to get new rings and my sun shade was worthless. Gun wise it was definitely the worst 600 and something bucks I ever spent. I will never spend more then 300 on a vortex again. By the way.. scope didn't work out of the box. They said crushed tube. Wasn't me
Bottom line. They should have eat the cost of the scope. They gave me the option of spending the 100 dollars plus difference. I told them "I will send you my sunshade. That's 50 bucks." (As I would have no use for it with a 40 mm scope) and nope. So I called the American department and turns out the Canadian department is their own little company kind of yet they get all their scopes from the american department and the muricans said no way they would do that, they would have upgraded me but can't say anything about how our department works... and low and behold they had my same model scope (canadians didnt even call them yo see) I told them not to tell the Canadians I had called so it didn't seem like I was doing their job. I called Canadians back and left a message and told them to try the USA department maybe? While waiting I got the call to go dog hunting. Got new rings and put the new scope on my rifle (40 mm) and never answered vortex again when they said the states had my scope. Can't wait to see what happens next time I send in.
Bottom line. They should have eat the cost of the scope. They gave me the option of spending the 100 dollars plus difference. I told them "I will send you my sunshade. That's 50 bucks." (As I would have no use for it with a 40 mm scope) and nope. So I called the American department and turns out the Canadian department is their own little company kind of yet they get all their scopes from the american department and the muricans said no way they would do that, they would have upgraded me but can't say anything about how our department works... and low and behold they had my same model scope (canadians didnt even call them yo see) I told them not to tell the Canadians I had called so it didn't seem like I was doing their job. I called Canadians back and left a message and told them to try the USA department maybe? While waiting I got the call to go dog hunting. Got new rings and put the new scope on my rifle (40 mm) and never answered vortex again when they said the states had my scope. Can't wait to see what happens next time I send in.
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OP update from Vortex
Vortex shipped a new scope to me today. Said overtightened rings crushed scope. They were barely more than finger tight when I dismounted the scope, but I didn't use a tq wrench. Spec is 15-18 inch #s. I'll remount the new one with a tq wrench and load up some hammer 375 Rugers and see what happens. The warrantee experience was quick and easy. We'll see if it stays together. I realize there will probably be a dogpile on me here. I wouldn't expect Vortex to say much different, and I have had no other optic fail that I have mounted.
Vortex shipped a new scope to me today. Said overtightened rings crushed scope. They were barely more than finger tight when I dismounted the scope, but I didn't use a tq wrench. Spec is 15-18 inch #s. I'll remount the new one with a tq wrench and load up some hammer 375 Rugers and see what happens. The warrantee experience was quick and easy. We'll see if it stays together. I realize there will probably be a dogpile on me here. I wouldn't expect Vortex to say much different, and I have had no other optic fail that I have mounted.
Maybe it WAS somewhat loose and the recoil boogered it or it was just a poor scope. Anyway I'm glad it worked out and looking forward to seeing your impression after field testing.
So far I have no complaints with a 4-16 Vortex PST.
Could you see or feel any dents in the tube before you sent it in? I think a crushed tube would be fairly obvious.
I pinched/crushed a 3-9 Trophy with Talley rings once, but it still worked fine, and I still use it....been on a 308, 8mm, 30'06, and presently sits on a 7-08 and still holds zero.
I pinched/crushed a 3-9 Trophy with Talley rings once, but it still worked fine, and I still use it....been on a 308, 8mm, 30'06, and presently sits on a 7-08 and still holds zero.
