Vortex Crossfire 3-9x40 BDC -> First impressions

[Slaymoar]

Just got this scope after comparing it endlessly to the Diamondback equivalent, and the Burris FullField E1. In the end I held both the E1 and Crossfire in my hands and asked myself if the extra dollars were really worth it with the E1. Yes, it was more compact and had an edge on sharper parallax - however I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra over something so picky.

Brought the crossfire home and installed it on my 10/22 and immediately was happy with the result. The eye relief on it is fantastic, the glass is very clear and it is very forgiving to how much you move side to side on the high setting.

I initially decided to buy something to upgrade from the banner dusk/dawn that was currently on there, and I wasn't sure if it were going to be an upgrade at all on my ride back home. Now that I have compared them both on the rifle, I must say that even though the banner is great bang/buck, I am very happy that the crossfire is on another level altogether in terms of almost everything. In comparison, the highest setting (x9) is much easier to lock onto, the reticle is sharper/thinner which is a positive for me as the banner would hide my target at 50+ yards.

If I were going to recommend a scope in the $150-175 range for a 10/22, I would say the crossfire fits the bill 100%.

Tomorrow night I am taking this to the range and will report back.

 

[Slaymoar]

Took it out to the range yesterday night, and it was awesome. Very easy to use and intuitive. Zeroed in very quickly and maintains zero without issues throughout the entire magnification range. The reticle is fine enough that it did not cover my target at 50 yards (gold ball size), and coupled with the CCI standards, my rifle was tack driving at 50 yards. I will have to re-visit this, but I'm pretty sure my 5 shots ended up being under .5 inches, but I threw out the paper - oh well I'm sure I can replicate everything, I'll get some bags and return to the range at some point.

Also, I found it easy to acquire metal plate targets at 50 yards using 3x magnification, very quick/efficient and I found that my cheek weld moved back and fourth many times without affecting my view - awesome eye relief for the price.