Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Vortex razor HD LH 1.5-8x32

I have seen quite a few recommendations on here for the above mentioned scope as a set and forget option and I’m just wondering how tough these scopes are? I had a 3-15 razor LH lose zero twice on an important hunt which turned out to be an erector issue. I have seen a few other mentions of issues with the 3-15 and the 2-10 but never heard of a problem with the 1.5-8. Just wondering if these might be tougher for some reason?(kinda like Leupold 1.5-5 are known for). I have a left hand Forbes 7mm-08 that I need to scope and would like these to be an option but this gun will be taken on rough backpacking hunts so zero retention is very important!
Thanks

I like mine a lot. They only came out a couple years ago,so there's no real knowledge on how they will hold up. They are made by LOW in Japan. They have the capability to make as good a scope as anyone,and many high end scopes are made by LOW.

I posted this on another thread, but relevant here I suppose:

I’ve run a couple hundred rounds through rifles with a Vortex 1.5x-8x32 HD LH. Love the glass and the G4 BDC reticle. My favorite reticle so far. Many last light comparisons with a Nightforce 3-10 SHV and I can shoot just a bit later with the Vortex. Primarily against darker backgrounds or in the woods. Against a light colored field background it would be awash. Basically a superior reticle makes up for equal or slightly less light gathering by the glass. Eye box is a little picky, but not terrible. I can not recommend it for dialing. I had a time or two early on where I dialed and the input didn’t take effect until after the next shot. Although, now that I’ve used it a bit and done some dialing it’s been accurate and repeatable. On one occasion I shot a couple groups dialing 11 MOA between shots and it was excellent. I have some ammo loaded up to do a box test on the 6.5 it’s now mounted on. Just for my own piece of mind as I have no intent, or need, of dialing once it’s set for hunting. I’ve had no issue with it holding zero on a light 338 FED and a 6.5 Creedmoor. At only a little over 13oz it’s reasonably light too. Long term reliability of the Vortex? I don’t know. My trail and error in finding a lighter scope with decent glass was started by a Leupold that failed and followed by two Meoptas that my 338 FED killed. The SHV and an SWFA 6x and 3-9 have done well so far, but they are certainly not light.

Thanks prm. Good review and sparking an interest. What is a decent price on these? I see them all over the place on the web pricewise...

I picked one up for $450 right here in the classifieds. It's still early, but I think it will be a good scope. As long as it doesn't stick again when dialing (one shot) and holds zero I'll be happy. I will check zero each time I go shoot and I intend to do another box test of dialing between targets, even though I have no intention of dialing when hunting.

I like it...but not $500 worth. Maybe I can catch a sale before Christmas. I'm a little worried about the eye relief but I haven't tried one yet. powdr

This thing has nearly 4" of eye relief. Nothing to worry about. It is HD glass too. There's a lot to like. Caveat, time will tell on function and reliability.

Thanks for the info prm. The g4 reticle is awesome and one of the main reasons I am considering this scope. The only other scopes I’m currently considering are the maven rs2, Swarovski z3 3-10 and a Leupold 6x36. I really like everything about the little razor, just a little nervous after my first experience. But I do realize all companies have failures so I might have to give them a try again. Thanks again and hopefully some others can chime in

Have experience with around ten (10) LH’s. All have had to go back for warranty work.

What is the failure mode?

MM

I’m cautiously optimistic. I shot it on my 338 Fed 84M for awhile and it survived, unlike three of the previous four scopes. Now it’s on the Barrett and the NF SHV is on the 84M. I really prefer the reticle and weight of the Vortex vs. the SHV for my purposes, but won’t hesitate to switch if the Vortex hiccups. It will get bumped around somewhat, dialed a reasonable amount, and shot a fair amount to include ammo dedicated to verifying zero.

The SHV has a lot to like about it. But it’s very heavy, and on a rifle I’m already stretching my preferred weight limit for it’s really more than I’d prefer. The reticle isn’t terrible, but I’d prefer a little windage reference and a little bolder lines for the dark timber at last light. On numerous occasions I’ve compared it on deer at last light in, or backdropped by eastern woods and I can aim the G4 BDC just a little easier and longer after sunset. Maybe just my 51 year old eyes... For additional windage reference, simply double the thickness from .75 MOA to 1.5 MOA at 5 MOA from the center of the existing Forceplex. Same thickness as outer portion of IHR reticle. Then I’d have a 2.5 and 5 MOA reference and bold lines. Two birds with one stone. Oh, and one nit to pick with the SHV is the parallax needs to be dialed to 250-300 when shooting at 100yds on 10x.

Edit: Because the NF dials so well, I could care less about any elevation references, I’ll dial for elevation. But for plinking at range some windage reference would still be valuable. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll find myself hunting speed goats on the prairie. Contrast that with the Vortex where I’d prefer to just set it and go due to less faith in the dials. For that scenario the G4 BDC is really ideal to me. A note on weight; while the SHV makes for an overall package that is heavier than I want when on my walnut stocked Fieldcraft, the SHV on the 84M is a really nice package at ~6lb 7oz. The Fieldcraft with the Vortex is 7lb 4oz.

I've been using the 3-10 SHV for a while now and have the same wish for a bolder reticle and a windage mark....though the narrow inner duplex (5 MOA total. 2.5 per side) is fairly useful. If the subtensions on the outer reticle were heavier, around 1.5 like you mentioned, I'd probably have several more of the scopes....even better if stepped for an additional windage hold.....I like your idea. I've been dialing quite a bit with the SHV and it's been good to go. I picked up a "zero stop" that can be sanded down to fit over the elevation dial but I haven't fitted it yet.

I've noticed both the 2.5-10x42 NXS and the 3-10x42 SHV are both very finicky with parallax settings, power, and focus. It may be par for the course on some scopes. Not that big a deal on targets, maybe even a good thing requiring it to be exact, but I'd remove the parallax adjustments on both of them in exchange for being less touchy on the settings for hunting.

Although both the NXS and SHV are heavy, they are compact scopes. Aside from the fine reticles and finicky parallax I really like them and they've been 100% on adjustments.

Hey my friend. I've heard you talk about this before. Tell me how you perceive the parallax adjustment to be finicky? I mean what does that mean exactly? is it hard to get target and reticle both perfectly in focus,or is it hard to adjust to where you can move your head around and see that the parallax has been eliminated?

Mainly the focus. I focus the reticle with parallax set to infinity on the highest magnification then I don't touch the reticle focus. When adjusting parallax I work to have it set so that there is no apparent movement of the reticle on the target. At some powers (mainly higher powers) either the image and/or reticle will be out of focus....out of focus enough that limbs/twigs can appear fuzzy. It seems the degree of this can change with power and distance. With the SHV I've started just moving the parallax to the yardage marked on it and forget about fine tuning it. The NXS has no yardage marker on the parallax knob.....I need to tape up/mark up some yardage settings on it.

I've not noticed this on any other parallax adjustable scopes I use. It's not the end of the world and it can be worked around but between it and the fine reticles these 2 scopes aren't high on my list of hunting scopes.

Sporadic zero shifts, increased group sizes, inconsistent and incorrect adjustments, failure to return to zero when dialed, etc. They do not take impacts, even mild ones, well at all.

Normal Vortex issues. The only one that held zero well- had really bad adjustments and turned a known 1.1-1.2 MOA for ten round gun into a 2moa gun. I’m not saying that someone does t have one that works or that they like, I am saying they are normal Vortex’s.

Have been messing with one for a bit, to check out the G4 for in-state stuff. I do like that reticle. Paid 450 on a "sale". It does have a good amount of eye relief but yet it is still critical and had to mounted accordingly for me. The glass wasn't as impressive as expected, probably about what you would expect for 450. Maybe my expectations were too high. Maybe I got a bad example. Can't say about toughness...but that has been addressed above.

I also wanted to check if the new scope with its 32mm objective might out-perform a couple older 36mm scopes with similar reticles in low light. (A Swaro and 6x36 Leupold). It did not.

For a set and forget on a light rifle hunting high country, I'd rather take my chances with a 6x36 Leupold...

fwiw