Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Any Vortex scope worth owning as a hunting scope?

I see and use a bunch of scopes every year. Leupold, Vortex, Nightforce, S&B, Hensoldt, Bushnell, SWFA, Steiner, Khalas, etc, etc. Lots of rounds fired.


The consensus in this post seems to be spilt between "they're awesome and have great costumer service" and "you'll need it". With those that love them claiming that people don't have experience with them. Ok. I've used 7 Vortex scopes this calendar year. Mostly Viper PST's to Razor Gen II's. Every single one has had problems. I have seen at least twice that many used seriously in that same timeframe. There have been a couple higher power Razor Gen II's that seemed to be working properly.


Ignoring the tracking errors, ignoring failure to hold zero with anything close to real use...... Their tube walls are ridiculously thin, or I should say the tube and erector system tolerance is ridiculously easy to bind with anything more than around 13-14in lbs causing issues.... Besides that- they don't hold a zero with just average use. Any knock and users learn to sprint straight to the zero range and check zero. I'm on the third Razor Gen II that has failed. The first went 3,500 +/- rounds, the second around 2,700 rounds, and the third less than 15, when they lost zero.




Every single person that i have met got into Vortex like an addict to crack because-

1) Price
2) Features
3) Warranty/customer service

And were driven there by flashy marketing.



None because of-

1) Mechanical function
2) Durability
3) Reliabilty

With a reputation for not not needing that customer service.

Serious question Formid....during the course of a week, weekend, or whatever venue you are part of.......how many times do you or a student/whatever you call it, twist and turn the turrets?

NAILED IT!

I haven't had to send any of my Vipers in yet, although apparently they will all fail soon. Just a matter of time I guess.

Had a Leupold Vari-X III that would fog when you turned up the magnification. Sent it in to use the amazing Leupold warranty. Got it back, turned it up to 10X and looked like a cup of milk. Sent it back again and they replaced it with a newer model.

Not a complaint on Leupold at all. They've been great for any of my problems and there have been a few. Fact of the matter is, they fail too. To praise one company and criticize another for the exact same customer service offering is hypocritical at best.

It all depends. Most military guys just use the reticle for everything as they don't trust dialing.


A 5 day range may be 500-700 rounds of 308 per shooter if that's all we're using, and of that maybe half of those shots are dialed. So around 250-300 "dialed" not including zeroing and tracking tests for those that do dial.

The OP wanted to know about using Vortex's normal hunting scopes for what appears to be "normal" hunting. . I try to address the concerns of the people asking and not interject things that may not matter to them. I have zero tolarance for scopes that don't hold zero. And by that I mean that I don't care if the rifle and
scope are blown up in an IED, when I get to it that scope should still be zeroed.... unless the rifle is destroyed beyond function as well. Reliability, durability and correct mechanical function are my first requirements. Everything else is secondary. However, I know that not everyone has the horse/cart pairing properly arranged and other things mean more to them, and therefore I do try to tailer my responses.

For the OP's use I would not choose nor trust a Vortex.

Thanks for the reply Formid. Good info.

i try to not be hypocritical..Leupold sucks just as bad as vortex.

I am confused. You say you dislike Vortex, but you still use them. Why? Are you forced to use them, even though your experience is they are going to fail, and the owners using them are going to have failures.....

Why would you continue to use an inferior product? From my reading, a person with the knowledge that you report, I am surprised to don't tell these folks the same things you post here.

Allen

I would be OK with a hunting rifle that may not hold zero after being blown up with an IED.

I don't really think I run that risk either - IED's are hard to come by - here in BC.

Scope snobs make me laugh, I have stood in one of the biggest retail outlets here in BC and watched the snobs almost twist themselves inside out trying to convince anyone in earshot that the Leupold VXIII is better than the the Viper PST / HST - I mean just look through it .... Wha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

The same snob isn't impressed when he finds out that the Leupold VXIII glass was sourced from exactly the same glass factory as the Vortex, Bushnell, Burris, Tasco etc. in Asia.

If you want to truly buy made in America - then Buy US Optics, if you want to pretend to be a scope snob, buy Schmidt and Bender - otherwise stop flinging manure!

I do not use Vortex for serious things, but there are several reasons that I use them. One is an issued scope, part of my job involves testing and validating equipment, I see a lot of rounds fired with a lot of different gear, and probably the biggest reason is that people are generally ignorant. Some are mostly stupid. I have watched a dude have three complete failures of PST's and still buy a fourth just gushing about the "customer service". There is no end to the people that ignore thread after thread and person after person of those who have experienced their fantastic customer service.










The point isn't that you should require a scope to stay zeroed through an IED blast, that's my requirement, the point is that scopes are aiming devices and only serve a useful purpose so long as the crosshairs point where the barrel's looking. There are scopes that range in price from $300 to $4,500 that are built with that in mind and to choose to use scopes that are garbage shows a lack of understanding. The fact that you believe "glass" has anything to so with it only solidifies that. "Glass" is a nebulous concept and is quite possibly the least important trait of an aiming aid once past the ability to see the target.

There is more to "glass" than just the material origin and/or composition. The optical system design and quality of execution thereof matter as well.

I have compared my VX-3 6.5-20x40LR Leupold against various Vortex scopes, and the Vortex scopes didn't exhibit any optical advantage.

I'm not a Vortex hater, just reporting what I've seen.

Formid,

The 3 Vortex Razor Gen II scopes that you have had fail- were they all 1-6x models that have been in production for quite some time, or were any of them one of the higher-mag models that were just released recently?

The newer high-mag models are heavy as sin, and most likely have much thicker tube walls than the older scopes. Just speculation here, but it'd be hard to hit those weights with thin walls...

The fact that "glass" may all come from the same factory means absolutely nothing.

What they did to that glass while at the factory makes all the difference.

Jordan,

Correct. They ranged from right when they came out to the latest model. It is supposed to be their most bombproof scope. I have also seen tracking errors and zero shift with the higher magnification models as well, though I have also seen some work correctly. Design wise they should be awesome. Unfortunately, that hasn't panned out from what I've seen.

Thank you for the answer, I hadn't considered someone else purchased the scopes. I surely don't send lead downrange in a quantity to do testing, glad someone else spends the $ and keeps track. I just hope my Vipers keep working for me, my next step to replace a scope is probably a VX-3 6.5-20x40 side focus scopes. I have a SWFA and a FFP pst but haven't taken them to the rat fields yet.

Allen

Of the compact scopes I have seen fro Vortex recently, I really like the Diamondback HP 2-8x32. I have been playing with on effort a while and it has survived a lot of rounds on a couple of different rifles without any issues. It seems quite good optically as well, considering the cost.

ILya

Vortex has its market niche, but it's not for me I have not looked through a single vortex riflescope that I liked. I do have a 6X vortex binoc I bought for a couple hundred on a close out that is OK for bowhunting. I bought a $300 SWFA 1-4 and that thing is a smarter buy than any Vortex.

First let me say that my own experience with Vortex is very limited. That said, I talked to a few guys I know who burn A LOT of powder LR shooting who were initially enamored with vortex, but have now gone back to NFs and USOs.

Personally when it comes to less expensive scopes, I would tend to purchase Jap weavers such as the excellent V16. The glass may not be at Schott glasswerks or US OPTICS or Nightforce quality but it is perfectly sufficient for the majority of shooting.

Also, and more importantly to me as a long range shooter and turret twister, they track exceptionally well.

I have an older Weaver V16 that has been on multiple rifles, from a CZ .22 to an R700 .300 Win over the years. Each time I have put it on a rifle I run a box drill to check tracking. The fact of the matter is that the Jap weaver V16s and T series track as well as many substantially more expensive optics.

There is a very good reason why so many benchrest shooters over the years have used T series weavers as alternatives to the higher end glass.

Has anyone done repeated tracking/box exercises with the various levels of vortex scopes?

I'm interested to see some results.

Stating that Swarovski and vortex glass are equals might be more than a bit of a stretch.

From what I have been informed Vortex glass comes from various sources in Japan, the Philippines and china, depending on the line.



The LOW factory(light optical works) in japan produces very good glass and is more than suitable for most applications. The Chinese and Phillipine glass, well, I might put it on a cheap .22, but that's about it.

That said, even LOW glass from Japan takes a distant backseat to Schott glass used in Swarovskis.

Saying Vortex glass is equal to Swarovski is like saying a Norinco 1911 is equal to a Les Baer 1911, in my opinion.

Mackay,


Have tested and used a bunch of Vortex scopes since 2010 or so. I have never personally seen one that worked correctly and consistently for any length of time.