Jack C Patterson
Well-Known Member
Look at the Maven B-1s. American made, outstanding clarity edge to edge. Only draw be is they're a bit on the heavy side.
Am I downgrading in binos?
- Thread starter WanderingGoatie
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snox801
Well-Known Member
I'd also look at Lieca. That's about all I buy now.
I feel the same way about vortex. Love the company for all they do and warranty but a warranty for me no good in the field. Now I haven't had any issues with the raze lineup. I still have those for the kids and my spotters are vortex because I'm super rough on those and they have a fantastic warranty.
I don't think you will be downgrading at all.
I feel the same way about vortex. Love the company for all they do and warranty but a warranty for me no good in the field. Now I haven't had any issues with the raze lineup. I still have those for the kids and my spotters are vortex because I'm super rough on those and they have a fantastic warranty.
I don't think you will be downgrading at all.
WanderingGoatie
Well-Known Member
The vortex razors are about a grand and so are the swaro cl companions.
Litehiker
Well-Known Member
IF I WUZ WEALTHY-> Leica rangefinder binoculars. They have an excellent built-in ballistic engine. Great HD glass.
ajkellerusmc
Well-Known Member
I have had a pair of Swarovski 10x42's since 1999 and I have never wanted anything else. go with it and you will never look back. I have glassed up animals that friends with me did not spot. They are the best.
I used to run Vortex Razor binos, 12x50. I went with a buddy who had 8 x40 sworos. I will be honest the sworos were better at long distance then the vortex. After that experience I dont own vortex binos any more, and I have no intention of going back. For the money it's hard not to buy Vortex they are a great middle of the road bino. So for the money you get a good bang for your buck. If you want to buy something that's going to last and you don't have to send it in every year to get fixed, buy leica, sworo, zeiss. You will have to use the vortex warranty! Especially if you use your optics all year long. My opinion, buy the best that you can afford, but if you want to do it once buy the top end.
azarcher10x
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
- Messages
- 241
You're not trading down in quality, but the size choice isn't great. I would go 10x42's at the least.
I have had great luck with Vortex and their warranty. Have you called or talked to them about this? What other failures have you had? I just the other day had an issue with a Diamondback Tactical 6 x 24 x 50. after several years of sub moa shooting suddenly started scattering shots. OK Folks, don't go from 0.6 MOA to completely off the target without some issue. I took the rifle and scope into them, (I live close by) They verified that the parallax adjustment had failed leaving the parallax adjusting unit flopping around inside the tube. They immediately offered me the latest and upgraded version free of charge and even mounted it and bore scoped it. The only thing that I can say is this is the first time I have had an issue with a Vortex product and they stood tall and took care of it immediately.
While I was wandering around when they were taking care of my scope problem, Like a kid in a candy store I started looking at spotting scopes. Been thinking of getting something better than my current Barska. Ended up buying a Diamondback HD 20 x 60 x 85 angled spotting scope. Item lists for essentially $600, but as a veteran buying from a Veteran Owned business I get a substantial discount on anything that I buy from them direct. All veterans can get a substantial discount on top of the line and the most current product. All you have to do either in person or on line direct from them is submit a form of identification that shows your Veteran Status and you automatically get a substantial discount not available through any retail store.
Its worth it and getting a quality product for a substantial discount sweetens the pie a lot. Try it, you will like it.
I've had several Vortex products and I've had very good luck with them. I bought a used Vortex scope that had the objective lens popped out. I sent it in and Vortex sent me a new scope without any question.
I bought a Viper scope and wasn't overly impressed with the glass and the eye box was finicky, but it performed as it should have.
As previously suggested, check out the Tract Toric. Their glass is very close to the big name Euro binos for 1/3-1/4 of the cost.
I bought a Viper scope and wasn't overly impressed with the glass and the eye box was finicky, but it performed as it should have.
As previously suggested, check out the Tract Toric. Their glass is very close to the big name Euro binos for 1/3-1/4 of the cost.
snox801
Well-Known Member
I will say I have had some amazing luck with vortex. My 2-10 scope take more abuse than any other scopes I own and they have never had any issue.
And as Terri stated I love the way they support vets. I myself are not one but I respect those who have. Every year I assemble a rifle and donated to the local SCi. All proceeds are used to send Purple Heart recipients to a hunt with other vets to legends ranch in bitely Michigan.
Vortex is always the company to step up first. Almost same day in most cases donating a scope for it. This year I went above the normal price range and they gave me a significant discount on the scope I chose. For that I try and do business with them when I can.
That being said I understand what the OP is saying and can't fault him.
OP look up some of the deals on camera land and speak with Doug. I've owned almost everything and I prefer Lieca over everything else even swaro.
baggy270
Well-Known Member
Gee just about all my scopes are Vortex and never had an issue. I must be doing something wrong….
I couldn't sell my 15x56 Vortex binos fast enough to get a pair of Swaro's after last fall's Coues deer hunt! They do have good customer service though, but they all do pretty much in the high end.
Well, I find all of the comments above enlightening but have yet to have issues with any Vortex products like others have. I have had a number if different scopes by different manufacturers to include some of your beloved Leupold scopes that did in fact fail me, thankfully not during a hunt, but when sighting in or during local competition when allowed to use scopes. I have owned Tasco (big mistake) Bushnell (Didn't last long without issues and don't use on anything with a heavy recoil) Redfields (Great and were wonderful until they went out of business and bought out.) I wouldn't even buy a Redfield for my .22 these days. I had a Redfield 3 x 9 x 40 Accurange Accutrac that was on top of one of my Winchester .308's for probably 20 years until one day while hunting suddenly everything went White as it lost its Nitrogen charge and suckled in air and moisture. Missed a good shot at a nice 8 pointer due to that, but in reality the scope didn't owe me a thing. It served me well until it didn't. Sent it in to Redfield who was still in business at the time, they repaired it and sent it back with apologies for it's failure. I think that I might still have it laying around here somewhere buried in the piles of stuff I have had and while not discarding simply set aside...somewhere.
So getting back to Vortex quality issues. I have Vortex scopes on all of my rifles these days and last week bought a Vortex Diamonback Spotting Scope which I found simply amazing with the quality and clarity while I was at Vortex waiting on the diagnosis of the Diamondback Tactical 6 x 24 x 50 that I have had for several years and several thousand rounds fired through a couple of .308's and a 30-06. One day last fall when checking out some hand loads I had conjured up for the upcoming Deer season, I was shooting Sub MOA groups then suddenly had a flier that was not only several inches off, but several feet off. The next round was again several feet off in another direction. I immediately knew that the scope had let go internally. At that point I switched to my .270 for last year's deer season which was successful. I might add that the .270 also had a Vortex 6 x 24 x 50 on it, newer since I only purchased the .270 in 2019 but the rifle sighted in held true and the deer dropped in his tracks.
Now let's get back to the 30-06, called and was told to have the scope taken off and remounted since most scope problems were due to improper mounting. Since I Have a rifle shooting student I had her remove the scope, rings and rail the go through the complete scope mounting process under my guidance. 20 MOA rail installed, torqued and rifle leveled to the rail. Then the lower rings installed and level rechecked and the scope mounted to the rings loosely, eye relief set, scope leveled to the rifle using bubble levels and then vertical alignment checked against the old but reliable grid bore sighter. Once that was all set torqued everything down to Vortex specs using a Vortex torque wrench. Then bore sighted using a laser bore sighter. Headed to the range where I froze my cute butt off as well as my students and went to sight in the rifle. First shot was low and right. made an adjustment to bring closer to zero. Second shot was several feet above the first. Third shot was several feet below and off in a different direction. Three shots were enough to convince me that had already spent too much time in slightly above zero weather to continue with this foolishness.
Since Vortex is only 48 miles from my doorstep hauled it out there for their people to take a look at. The first person I talked to said that most people used cheap rings that often caused problems before he even looked at the rifle. My comeback was, they are Vortex rings. That shut him up about that which at that point they took the rifle and scope in back to to be checked out by the warranty department. Probably 20 minutes later they came back with the diagnosis. The parallax adjustment had let loose and the reticle was wandering around within the housing. They offered to have my scope repaired and sent to me or provide the newest updated version to replace mine, free of charge under warranty to include mounting and bore sighting. That was a no brainer...let's do the newest and greatest. Still have to go out and sight it in once the weather warms up, but that is how Vortex handles issues.
I am lucky, I live close by. Others who might be having issues call them before blindly sending your scope in due to a problem and talk about the issue you are having. They will recommend some troubleshooting steps and if they don't work will recommend sending it to them for evaluation and repairs. They will take care of you like no other scope manufacturer will. Their promise of a Lifetime Unconditional warranty is true. I saw some scope tubes and tripod legs with bullet holes through them replaced under warranty. Makes you wonder how that happened.
In conclusion, I've been around for a lot of years, owned lot of rifles (Some which I wish I still had) and had a lot of scopes to shoot with over the years. So far Vortex, whatever you may think is the best that I have had the most success with and when there is an issue those who were right there to take care of it, no matter what it was to include immediate replacement of any product not meeting their current standards.
So getting back to Vortex quality issues. I have Vortex scopes on all of my rifles these days and last week bought a Vortex Diamonback Spotting Scope which I found simply amazing with the quality and clarity while I was at Vortex waiting on the diagnosis of the Diamondback Tactical 6 x 24 x 50 that I have had for several years and several thousand rounds fired through a couple of .308's and a 30-06. One day last fall when checking out some hand loads I had conjured up for the upcoming Deer season, I was shooting Sub MOA groups then suddenly had a flier that was not only several inches off, but several feet off. The next round was again several feet off in another direction. I immediately knew that the scope had let go internally. At that point I switched to my .270 for last year's deer season which was successful. I might add that the .270 also had a Vortex 6 x 24 x 50 on it, newer since I only purchased the .270 in 2019 but the rifle sighted in held true and the deer dropped in his tracks.
Now let's get back to the 30-06, called and was told to have the scope taken off and remounted since most scope problems were due to improper mounting. Since I Have a rifle shooting student I had her remove the scope, rings and rail the go through the complete scope mounting process under my guidance. 20 MOA rail installed, torqued and rifle leveled to the rail. Then the lower rings installed and level rechecked and the scope mounted to the rings loosely, eye relief set, scope leveled to the rifle using bubble levels and then vertical alignment checked against the old but reliable grid bore sighter. Once that was all set torqued everything down to Vortex specs using a Vortex torque wrench. Then bore sighted using a laser bore sighter. Headed to the range where I froze my cute butt off as well as my students and went to sight in the rifle. First shot was low and right. made an adjustment to bring closer to zero. Second shot was several feet above the first. Third shot was several feet below and off in a different direction. Three shots were enough to convince me that had already spent too much time in slightly above zero weather to continue with this foolishness.
Since Vortex is only 48 miles from my doorstep hauled it out there for their people to take a look at. The first person I talked to said that most people used cheap rings that often caused problems before he even looked at the rifle. My comeback was, they are Vortex rings. That shut him up about that which at that point they took the rifle and scope in back to to be checked out by the warranty department. Probably 20 minutes later they came back with the diagnosis. The parallax adjustment had let loose and the reticle was wandering around within the housing. They offered to have my scope repaired and sent to me or provide the newest updated version to replace mine, free of charge under warranty to include mounting and bore sighting. That was a no brainer...let's do the newest and greatest. Still have to go out and sight it in once the weather warms up, but that is how Vortex handles issues.
I am lucky, I live close by. Others who might be having issues call them before blindly sending your scope in due to a problem and talk about the issue you are having. They will recommend some troubleshooting steps and if they don't work will recommend sending it to them for evaluation and repairs. They will take care of you like no other scope manufacturer will. Their promise of a Lifetime Unconditional warranty is true. I saw some scope tubes and tripod legs with bullet holes through them replaced under warranty. Makes you wonder how that happened.
In conclusion, I've been around for a lot of years, owned lot of rifles (Some which I wish I still had) and had a lot of scopes to shoot with over the years. So far Vortex, whatever you may think is the best that I have had the most success with and when there is an issue those who were right there to take care of it, no matter what it was to include immediate replacement of any product not meeting their current standards.
Sounds like a good experience wasn't mine personally or military trials. I'll pass. Razor and PST 1 and 2. Razor is decent I'll give them that. About it.
