Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Am I the only one that hasn't warmed up to Vortex optics? Convince me

Well I have to retract my statement about that Vortex Tactical in that I may buy one to try it out. I finally got to talk to a guy who bought one.

This guy has two other Vortex scopes that he loves and he said that this $500 tactical vortex is a huge POS compared to his other two and he did not recommend buying it. He said anywhere from the glass quality to the turrets were just not up to snuff with his other two.

Just wanted to pass that along.

and wdenike I don't think your comment wast directed towards me. But if it was I don't sheepishly do anything and I don't ever get into anyone's business about what they buy or for how much and I prefer that people don't get into mine. Everyone has personal preferences, likes and budgets when it comes to everything they purchase and I completely respect that. I don't rub what I buy into anyones face but I have strong preferences on how I set up my rifles as once I set them up I rarely change anything if it works. Hell this scope is just going on a cheap Salvage rifle anyway that are as budget minded as they get, and everyone knows Salvages don't shoot right? I started this thread to get feedback on a specific product line and based on the feedback it seems that there are many who like and many who do not.

Interesting. I've owned and used a few Vipers, including a couple of regular Vipers and a couple of PST's. The PST's are superior in terms of optics, mechanics, and pretty much everything else.

and wdenike I don't think your comment wast directed towards me. But if it was I don't sheepishly do anything and I don't ever get into anyone's business about what they buy or for how much and I prefer that people don't get into mine. Everyone has personal preferences, likes and budgets when it comes to everything they purchase and I completely respect that. I don't rub what I buy into anyones face but I have strong preferences on how I set up my rifles as once I set them up I rarely change anything if it works. Hell this scope is just going on a cheap Salvage rifle anyway that are as budget minded as they get, and everyone knows Salvages don't shoot right? I started this thread to get feedback on a specific product line and based on the feedback it seems that there are many who like and many who do not.


No Sir wasn't directed at you. As if it was there would have been little doubt, and it would have been clear as mud. As I don't sugar coat anything. Just was speaking in general. As most optic snobs don't generally have the same attitude that you have expressed.


Take care, Willie

Who cares?

It's just Asian cheapo anyway. Whats the pride or gain in that?

Buy Leupold or Zeiss and save your self time.

when the big talk of vortex viper came around i drank the cool aid.I bought a new vortex viper,and a sightron s2 big sky.both were same power.i put them both on rifles and tested them.well it was like comparing a tasco to a leupold.in every aspect the s2 won. the viper had terrible eye relief.the glass sucked at max power and was fuzzy around the edges. i sold the viper rapidly and have never touched another one of their scopes.i had a friend with me and he had a nikon buckmaster on a 220 swift that i thought was a better scope than the vortex.

You must have gotten a defective one.

Agreed.

That or Vortex has vastly improved their quality recently.

My new Viper HS LR is, as JB stated, every bit as good as any VX-3 or Elite I've used.

Happy B'day Jordan!

Also, on the Big Sky, the glass is very nice on them but the adjustments felt mushy and indistinct. The Vortex Viper HS LR adjustments on the other hand are some of the most positive and distinct that I've ever felt.
Bar none.

Thanks, Ken

Also, your experience with the optical quality of the Viper mirrors my own.

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Also, your experience with the optical quality of the Viper mirrors my own. [/quote]

Which differs from the experience of quite a few other owners and users on this thread.

Optical quality is not consistent in the vortex product line. I have seen it in other brands as well at similar price points but not nearly as prolific as I see in the Vortex PST and HS line.

You have to remember that the far majority of posters in this thread that are not happy with their scopes are talking about regular Vipers. Most of the PST and HS LR users say that they're comparable to, or better than, the VX3, Conquest, etc.

I've owned and used 4-5 Vipers and PST's, and so I'm not talking about one good scope that's an anomaly.

But I agree that the product line has more variability in it than I would like, as far as optical quality goes.

that may be possible it was prolly 2 or 3 yrs ago.the big sky was really nice.i recently mounted a vortex diamondback on my brothers 223 and it was alot nicer than the viper i had.

From reading this thread it would seem that Vortex has dramatically improved their quality with the newest scopes being pretty darn good.

I've owned at least half a dozen vipers and there not a bad scope for the $$$$$ but the glass kinda sucked on the higher powered scopes.The lower powered ones meet my needs but a bushnell 3200 does the same job and can be found cheaper.

I bought a pair of 10x42 Vortex Diamondback binoculars new in October. I have used them less than 10 days and was pretty happy with them until yesterday. I was wolf hunting and noticed something inside the binoculars was rattling. I called Vortex's warranty department this morning. The said they would repair them but getting a new pair was not an option even though these have barely been used. That's fine, no more Vortex junk for me.

I have not warmed up to Vortex Optics. I learned many years ago that cheap optics are exactly that cheep and not a value at any price.

I haven't and likely won't drink the Vortex kool-aid either.
I did purchase a new $50 crossfire 32mm from Doug for my 10/22 rimfire last Summer, and for the ridiculous price it seems to be a solid little piece with a lifetime warranty.
Spending any real dough on one over Zeiss and Leupy however ain't gonna happen for me.

Resale is also a huge factor for me.

Funny you should mention that. The Vortex CS rep told me that I could send the binoculars in to get repaired and then sell them on Craig's List because they hold their value so well. How's that for customer service?

That right there is messed up....

So Vortex said send them in, and they would repair them, and you're not happy with that? Why on earth would they give you a new pair before seeing if they could repair the ones you have?

Interesting that other companies, that would do the exact same thing, are great, but Vortex sucks for it.

I'm not a Vortex fanboy by any stretch, but people have to be reasonable.