Just got my new deer rifle in a few days ago (Tikka T3 lite SS .270 Win) and now I am looking at buying a scope. Didn't really want to go above $200 but I saw a new Vortex Viper 3-9x40 BDC for $300. Should I step up for that or just spend $200 or so on a redfield revoution and call it good? The viper's eye relief seems kind of short doesn't it? I like the BDC better on this scope than the Redfield's accurange or the Nikon's BDC. Any other suggestions? How is Vortex's customer service? Where would I have to send for repairs? I have my wife's blessing to spend "As much as I need" but I know what that means.. Also with the rifle I bought a EGW HD 20 MOA mount, should I use this with some good rings or something else? I don't like the looks as much as say a DNZ gamereaper but I guess I have more flexibility with this. Sorry for the plethora of questions.
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
+1 on the Nitrex TR One. I was comparing my unmounted scopes this morning just to see whether I still like my purchases for further (yet undetermined)projects. Surprisingly the TR one appeared as clear as the Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40.Liked the view better than my Nikon Monarch, also 3-9x40.If it was offered with a #4 reticle I would buy a bunch of them.I still pound my head not to get more than one of the TR Two for $250.
I've had one on a Ruger boatpaddle 338 win mag. Dont worry about durability.I wouldnt call them cheap scopes. When Nitrex first brought them out they were close to $300
TRs are not "cheap" scopes. They are made in Japan under Weaver's umbrella. They are fall outs of corporate restructuring between Mead and ATK (I believe). TR Two is identical to the Weaver Super Slam scopes, costing between 4-600 dollars. TR Ones are equivalent of the Grand Slam line-$350-450. All Nitrex scopes covered under weaver's lifetime warranty.
Hif it was me I would look at the clasifieds here and other places and find a good used 4x or 6x Leupold and be done with it. You should be able to pick one up for $200.00 or less. Craig
Another good 3-9x to consider is the Burris Fullfield II with Ballistic Plex reticle. They're around $200 real-world retail, and I've had a bunch of them on various rifles, with no problems ever on rifles up to .300 Weatherby, and good optics.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Both the Nitrex and the Redfield Revolution are VERY nice scopes for the $$...the Weaver Classic K(either K-4 or K-6, take your pick) would get the job done for under $200, good Japanese glass and tough as nails.
Mauser Rescue Society Founder, President, and Chairman
I don't always shoot Mausers, but when I do...I prefer VZ-24s.
FWIW, I've owned and used 6-7 Tikka T3s, and never had a bad problem with their OEM scope rings. BTW, one of those T3s was a 30'06 where my main hunting load was a 165 gr NPT at over 2,900 fps, and that rifle didn't weigh over 7.25 pounds with a Leupold 6x! However, the hex head 'sockets' in the scope ring screws do show a slight tendency to 'round out', so don't go trying to get them 'farmer tight'.
Pursuit may be, it seems to me, perfect without possession. Robert Kelley Weeks (1840-1876)
How is Vortex's customer service? Where would I have to send for repairs?
Customer service is excellent, but I am done with anything less than a Viper scope from them. I bought a Vortex Diamondback and it never would hold zero. I finally sent it off in March, and exactly one week after I got notified from the USPS that Vortex had accepted the shipment, I had a new one in the mail. The letter claimed I over torqued the scope, and broke it. While they did give me a new scope, I highly doubt I over torqued, but it's possible I could have. I have mounted scopes for 18 years now and never broke one, or even bent one. I have talked to a couple other guys that had the Diamondbacks on hard recoiling rifles (mine was on a .300WM), and they had the same problem I did.
As far as where to send it, to Middleton, WI, is where it goes. When it comes back there is nothing that resembles Vortex Optics, the return postage read Eagle Optics.
I would recommend the Burris FFII, or even a Leupold VX-2. Those are my two favorite scopes, but I have added a Nikon Buckmaster BDC I got on clearance from Cabela's recently to my mix of scopes.
