Vortex Scopes? Any Good?

[Snowfighter]

Hey all.
First time on this forum. I have seen many advertisements for Vortex. Checked out their website. They look ok, and appear to be designed the same way as say the Huskemaw or Greybull.

So what am I not seeing? Are they any good?

 

[C.O. Shooter]

Here you go, happy reading!

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1557250

A simple searched easily produced 10 pages worth of threads!

 

[ajridgedell]

Very good! I own 3 and will continue to buy more. Viper pst ffp, viper 6.5-20, and their red dot scope. The pst is awesome, go ahead and order yours!

 

[bruce_ventura]

All the Vipers are popular, mainly because they have desirable features and acceptable optical performance for their price point. The optical contrast is marginal, however, because of higher than average veiling glare. That is my personal assessment from having evaluated them several times at the last three SHOT Shows.

My recommendation depends on your application. For target shooting, and predator and PD hunting I think Vipers are great. For big game hunting, however, I recommend looking elsewhere for scopes that have better glare performance.

What is your application and budget? The more info you provide on caliber, range, reticle preferences, etc., the better the advice you'll get on this board.

 

[Snowfighter]

You are more than right Bruce, more information given would provide better results. I am looking for an optic to put on top of my .280 AI. It is a custom rifle and is very accurate to the 900 mark. I have placed shots at this range with a borrowed Night Force. I however do not have the funding for such glass. My budget is near $1400. I am strongly considering a Greybull precision hunting optic, but am still shopping. Dont want to pull the trigger too soon. I am not very familiar with all of my options. I am looking for an optic with range finding capabilities, and turrets that are customizeable.

So with the information given, I would like imput of other long range hunters.

Thanks.
Joe

 

[webs]

If your budget is $1400 then you should consider looking for a used Nightforce.

 

[Longbullet]

The 1 vortex viper pa 6.5-20 I own will probably not hunt again. Have just recieved it back from the repair shop and it's the same. In my opinion the the turrets are the weak point, but this is the rock bottom of their viper line. In the end, I feel you get what you pay for. If I had 1400 to spend I'd go with another custom leupold vx3, or maybe try a huskema, or stretch it out a bit and get a nightforce.

 

[thehulk]

I have the Viper Vortex PST FFP 6x24x50.

My goal was to get glass good enough to shoot and hunt at 1,000yards. The more I shoot, and the closer I get to 1,000yards (925 current PR) I realize I have more than enough scope for the shot. I am so pleased with the tracking and zero stop. It is very simple to adjust for shots and then rezero without even thinking twice. Im sure all the highend scopes have these features. The turrets are stiff and give a confident click when adjusting. The glass is exceptionally clear till about 22X, I prefer not to use max setting when shooting long distance as its easier to hold and spot for myself that way so I use 12X or a little bit more. I'd like to try the nightforce, but honestly I'll be just fine using Vortex for the rest of my life.

I mean, can you beat a non conditional and transferable warranty no questions asked? I dont think so. But thats my .02$

Oh, and its going on 250+ rounds 7RM and 200+ .300WSM without any problems.

 

[camdog]

I thought i would give some information of my own regarding scopes. Recently i just bought the redfield revolution accu-range. Believe me when i say the quality and 5 star rating is very accurate. The eye relief is what impressed me the most because under any magnification its picture perfect. I compare the new redfields in the same class as any leupold. For around 200 dallars you can take the rest of the money your planning on spending on a vortex which has the same clarity as the redfield but lacks in eye relief. If a scope has it all but has a poor eye relief you can have it. Just thought i would share and ive owned alot of high dallar products and this one really impressed me. Take care and thanks for letting me share.

 

[camdog]

I have another scope that you may look into and again not as much money but just as reliable as any Vortex. The burris euro diamond has it all and did not forget to include a proper eye relief either. I don't know why a company would put together a good product and forget the importance of eye relief. I was upset when i wanted a vortec and looked through it and found the problem that i did. Oh well, hope you find what your looking for and once again i hope i was of some help.

 

[thehulk]

Personally my 4 inches of eye relief is more than enough to get comfortable on my .300wsm

Go to a shop and look at all the different scopes, we cant choose for you my friend. The guy at the shop I went to showed me the vortex but the scope itself is what sold me, not the guy telling me about it.

 

[bruce_ventura]

As a big game cartridge 280 AI runs out of energy at 800-900 yds, depending on altitude.

A custom BDC turret will limit you to a relatively narrow range of pressure and temp conditions if you want to make accurate shots at over 500 yds. Are you going to hunt in generally the same area (i.e., altitude) all the time? If not, be prepared to buy multiple turrets.

Otherwise, I would recommend a standard turret and a milling reticle (for ranging and wind holdoffs). If you go this route you have plenty of options. Since you were already thinking Greybull, I would recommend a Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14X50 LR/T, which is in your price range.

 

[Snowfighter]

So let's say I were either going to purchase a Huskemaw or a Greybull. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

I don't know how comfortable I am with buying a used scope.

 

[camdog]

I looked further into the Vortex and yes I was mistaken when i was speaking of poor eye relief. The model I was looking at at the time which I was under the impression it was the top of the line of the vortex, diamondback I believe it was. I looked on line last night and saw the Viper and the specs on that was quite impressive, 3.7- 4.2 which like you said is all one needs. Well, good enough and thanks for mentioning the 4 as it was my understanding that Vortex never exceeded 3.4. Anyways, I am new to this forum and this subject is really not for me. I believe firmly in quality optics but never put as much time and energy into this subject as you guys. My father owned a .243's growing up and shot many barrels out. Before he passed away people said it was an old weaver that he made most of his 400 plus yard shots with. You guys are too skilled for this old boy. I'll move on to muzzleloading as I really enjoy that most these days. Take care.