Vortex scope question

[Smokepoles]

I didn't want to hijack anyone's thread so I'll ask here-
For those of you with razor HD rifle scopes, do they get cloudy at high mag in low light?
I use razor HD binos and spotter and have nothing but good things to say about them. I have a viper hs 4-16 on a hunting rig and if I get near max mag in low light I feel like I'm trying to look through a cloud. I like the looks of the new razor lh scopes but I hate that cloudy effect. I have a few conquests I hunt with that have much better glass than the vipers so I'll stick with those for timber hunting if the razors have the same issue. Thanks.

 

[Deerslayer11]

I have the 25x razor HD. And sorry to say but mine gets a little blurry past 6 in low light. I have a viper pst 24x on my 7mm RM and like it much more then the razor on my 300wm. Honestly I'd say go viper.

 

[ohiohunter]

I have the 25x razor HD. And sorry to say but mine gets a little blurry past 6 in low light. I have a viper pst 24x on my 7mm RM and like it much more then the razor on my 300wm. Honestly I'd say go viper.

Thats a first! Usually everyone says the viper gets fuzzy at high power, but you hear less about the razors as less people own them.

I'm really interested in how well this new LH performs and at what price point it comes in at.

 

[Rich Coyle]

The more I hear about Vortex the less I am interested in them. I have yet to find one, no matter how much the owner paid, that is as clear and sharp in detail as my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50. It is crystal clear from 4 1/2 clear to 30X. When I compared it, set on 13X, to my Minox 13X56 in low light the 6500 lasted two minutes longer!

 

[Deerslayer11]

Thats a first! Usually everyone says the viper gets fuzzy at high power, but you hear less about the razors as less people own them.

I'm really interested in how well this new LH performs and at what price point it comes in at.

Maybe mines just built better the others. Lol. But no my viper works phenomenally. I really do recommend it more then the razor. Now I also have a vortex crossfire 6-18x44 on my 17 wsm for varmints. It's perfectly clear at 18x.

 

[Smokepoles]

The problem with my viper is only during low light. At the range its a pretty good scope. Every time I've eyed a deer through it at first or last light is when the cloudiness happens.

 

[can1010]

same problem with my 4x16 hs-lr low light is like looking through milk jug. my pst is better but bought first nightforce shv last fall and now know what a real scope looks like. vortex will be used for target and plinking during the day.

 

[Deerslayer11]

The problem with my viper is only during low light. At the range its a pretty good scope. Every time I've eyed a deer through it at first or last light is when the cloudiness happens.

I don't man. I shot my buck this year at 6:48 am at 300 yards and dropped it. Make sure your parallax is correct too.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

The best way to cure the problem with your Viper scopes is to do what I have done. Replace them with "Nightforce." Rest assured, the problem will disappear immediately!

 

[Barrelnut]

And you can cure the Nightforce with a S&B.

 

[Smokepoles]

Thanks guys for the input. I shot a buck with my muzzle loader this year at the last possible second of legal light with a diamondback hp at low power. Seems just the high power/low light combo is the issue. I've been eyeballing a few scopes to replace them with and hear a lot of night force comments. I have a few zeiss scopes I hunt with and the glass is great for low light timber/swamp hunting. How's the nf glass in low light compare to the og conquest line in low light? if anyone's done a side by side comparison.
For what it's worth my razor binos and spotter compared very well when I put them side by side with my buddies leicas and the binos are much clearer than the conquest binos I have. I want to believe the rifle scope would be on par but just can't get passed the cloud effect and wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice.

 

[Timber338]

I'm also interested in the new Razor HD LH. Buddy of mine has one on order so hopefully the low light cloudiness is not an issue with that scope. Never looked through any of the Razors at low light.

I have a Leupold VX6 3-18x50 and I am very impressed with the low light performance of this scope. Low light performance is so good I had a cow in range last year at 630 yards, scope set at 18x and had no problem making her out even though it was a full 13 minutes before legal shooting time.

 

[Rich Coyle]

How's the nf glass in low light compare to the og conquest line in low light? if anyone's done a side by side comparison.
For what it's worth my razor binos and spotter compared very well when I put them side by side with my buddies leicas and the binos are much clearer than the conquest binos I have.

March 31, 2014

This morning about 8:00AM I had the pleasure of comparing a new Nighforce NXS 5.5-22X56 with my beloved Swarovski z5 5-25X52. The casual reader can see both have large objective lenses. Both have side focus. The Nightforce weighs 2 lb 12 oz with its heavy duty rings. The Swarovski weighs 1 lb 4.6 oz in its Talley Alloy light weight rings. That's about half and that's why I have it.

I'm not much on looks so took them right to the sandbags on the porch. Both are beautiful to me. This Nightforce verified the Nightforce 12-42X56 was no fluke when it needed only 12X to show me the same detail at 521 yards when the Swarovski needed 16 1/2X. But I digress.

I looked at the deer antlers 131 yards away in the woods with the Nightforce. There was no doubt about it. With it still on its lowest setting of 5 1/2X I could see the fork with no problem. Then I went to the "Can you read this?" at 127 yards. I could read the top line with 9 1/2X.

Looking at the same deer antlers from the same distance, the Swarovski z5 needed 8 1/4X. In order to read the same line with the Swarovski I needed it set on 12X.

Nothing like side by side comparisons to eliminate ignorant prejudice opinions for a basis to purchase a scope. My gunsmith is delighted with his purchase of the Nightforce for his heavyweight long range .338 RUM.

This evening as low light set in I put out the two scopes again. Before you continue reading guess which one did better. I guess I will define better as the one that shows the most detail and lasts the longest. But a side observation. I noticed the Nightforce was easier to get a full "picture". I guess it has a better or bigger eye box.

For those who have not seen a photo of my "Can you read this?" the letters on line #6 are about 14" high. The chart was 72 yards away. The weather was heavy clouds at 6:49 PM when I started.

I fiddled with both scopes to get the best clarity and recorded the time and magnification settings.

Time: Nightforce Swarovski
6:49 14 3/4X 20X

7:01: 15 3/4X 22 1/2X

7:20 18X 23X

7:34 20X 25X

At 7:37 I had to turn up the Nightforce to 21X. The Swarovski didn't allow me to read any of the last line. A minute later I could not read anything with the Nightforce even when I switched it to 22X. When I finished I looked at my notes and noticed the Nightforce lasted three minutes longer than the Swarovski.

 

[Smokepoles]

Is the nxs the same glass as the shv? I like capped turrets for whitetail hunting in tree stands and swamps.