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

I bought one. Won't buy another. Bad "tunnel vision" when looking through the scope. Leupoold still makes the best hunting scopes in my book.

Seen several, enough of them to know I don't want one. I've never had a hunter show up in camp with a Vortex anything either, for good reason. The only reason people buy Vortex riflescopes is that they are cheap, and they have a great warranty. Otherwise, they offer nothing earthshaking. I take your advice on Vortex about like your advice on Accubonds......laughble. Now go steal something else and give us a report.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/vortex.pl?page=vortex_diamondback_hp_2-8x32

I would buy one of these side focus 2-8's in a heartbeat for a nice .22LR

I have a couple and so far so good. I have a Viper Hs 2.5 x 10 x 44 30mm tube on a custom 25-06 I had built. Not a hard kicker but decent glass. Had it for 3 hunting seasons no issues so far. I also have some Viper HD binoculars I like a great deal. Many companies source and market product, not sure I get that argument but oh well. Some here are fond of the leupold line...I like it as well. I honestly have had very few problems with any optics I own. I have about 25 different scopes without any failures . Knock on wood.....happy shooting, goodshot.

I've never owned a Rifleman, but have a VX-I 4-12 I bought about 2005. I have no complaints with it, friction knobs and all. I realize that some have more stringent requirements than I do, but as a SIGHT, the VX-I has performed well, as have the 2-7 shotgun/ML scopes. Reliability is my main requirement, much more than a couple of percent of light transmission or a little loss of detail on the edges ( you didn't specify why the low-end Loopys are "some of the worst", so I'm just guessing ).

I've never owned a Nikon, and the only Burris I had went back to the dealer when I discovered that the scope in the factory-sealed box was actually a lower grade than the box was marked (and I paid for), and also that the fixed 6x had less eye relief than a Leupold Vari-XII 3-9 set at 6X. That and stories about Burris' terrible CS, put me off them for good. I do have a Fastfire that has worked well.

A new VX-1, made with a double letter serial number, is nothing to sneeze at for clarity and resolution.

Never seen a Leupold Green Ring scope, which is what the thread is about.
Unfortunately they have gone that direction with some of their Redfield line along with most of their binos and spotters. Those aren't on my buy list either.

Vortex is a great scope and i love the 2x7 . Plus Vortex has the best warranty in the businees along with Leupold

I had had a 3x9 Crossfire II mounted on a Rock River arms Lar 15, compared it to a Nikon and Redfield, the Vortex was at least equal and cheaper. Liked it so much that I bought a 4x12x44 and had it mounted on my M 70 270 wsm, going to buy another 4x12 for my 264, it will be replacing an old 6x Redfield Wideview. The only scope that I own that appears a little clearer is my Burris fullfield and not by much.

I have a couple of these also - no complaints...

Bought a 2-7 and 3-9 Viper three or four years ago and they were good scopes. For my eyes and my eyes only they were great in good light and not up to snuff in low light compared to other scopes I own or have owned. Plus I wasn't thrilled with the eye relief.

My number one requirement in a scope is good low light transmission so there are other scopes that work better for me. Plus I prefer German #4 reticles and have never found a Vortex with one or something comparable(not to say they don't make them I just never have seen one).

I'll take a Fullfield II over a Diamondback and a VX-2 over a Viper. Maybe if I was a target shooter I would feel differently. When I look at a Crossfire for under $500.00 with all the bells and whistles some of them have, something just doesn't feel right. Neither one of the Vipers I had ever had any mechanical issues though. They were not on heavy recoiling rifles though, a 30-30 and a 30-06.

I have bought several Vortex from Doug at Cameraland. No complaints. That 2-7 Viper is superb for the money. I prefer it to my 2-7 Leupold.

Uncle Rico
When is your movie coming out? Surely you have enough film of yourself by now...

Sitting here looking at a Viper PST 1-4x24 that has been used to shoot more bears, black and brown than you will ever see. Some shot at a fair piece and some pretty freaking close. Same rifle has had a number of different scopes and has a pretty fair number of Kodiak bears in its wake. A 375AI is not all that hard on a scope, but enough to separate the dreamers from the doers...

As for Accubombs... Little makes me happier than realizing we are 180 out on them. The difference is I have seen them used on deer, Kodiak bears, moose, bison, caribou, and black bears. I have seen less than one in ten leave an exit hole. Would love to catch an X bullet sometime...

Had one TTSX go lengthwise through a Kodiak bear and exit while four Accubombs shot broadside through the same bear failed to exit. Saw seven 338 Accubombs destroy a bison shoulder without a single lung puncture... Have seen the meat damage caused by a number of Accubombs and have never seen close to the same damage while looking at far more X bullet trauma.

The fact you do not see it probably explains why you play Uncle Rico so beautifully... So busy posing you have no idea what actually happened...

And nice touch bringing in the hint you were actually guiding someone... Hows the price of feeder corn there?

I like the 6.5-20x44 Viper on a 22-250 it hasn't seen enough time being dragged around yet to say it is a great hunting scope but has been consistent and held zero nicely. I put a crossfire on a friends AR recently and for a cheap scope it looked and worked very well.

My rifles have lots of scope brands represented and Vortex wouldn't be my first choice but they haven't been disappointing so far.

Off topic but my Barnes performance stories are better than my Accubond stories and accuracy has been a little better too. I've eaten quite a few elk steaks courtesy of the Accubond so they do work a bunch of the time.

Have no issues with mine.. the military dot over the 264 is LR heaven.

the only Vortex I have is a blow out priced 6x32 binoc which for $200 bucks was a good deal for bow season. With optics there just is no free lunch, you get what you pay for. Get a Meopro fixed 6 or Leup fixed 6 or find a used Conquest etc, heaven forbid a Leup VX3. I would sooner buy a plastic pack scope from Walmart than spend $100 more on a Vortex.

TF.. how Vortex scopes continually get a bad rap by folks who don't own one!

BTW the scope in my pic wasn't a cheap buy at five bills but worth every penny as it's as good or better than several of my Leupold's.

Sitka, use what you like. Makes no difference to me. I've only guided 120 or so over the past 13-14 years. Glad the Vortex makes you happy. BTW, I'm headed to Namibia as we speak, loaded with 7mm 160 acubonds.

Here's wishing you a very prosperous 2015 shoplifting season.

OP, keep a couple things in mind as you read the replies. Most of the Vortex hate is coming from people who has not used Vortex products. It's painful when people post real life examples of cheaper products (Vortex) performing on par/better than their higher priced Leupold. They bash them to justify their live and die Leupold commitment.

I can say the same thing for Vortex that other have said for Leupold. I don't even consider Leupold when I can have 2 Vortex for the same price roughly.

I tried to talk myself into a Leupold VX-2 to save some weight, but the Viper HS outperforms the VX-2 by such a large gap at the same price range, I'll live with the extra 3 oz.

Another thing for the OP to keep in mind is that optical performance as measured by eye is very subjective. Better to rely on actual test results from a reliable source or your own eyes at least.

Anecdotal evidence about reliability and customer service can be very helpful. I usually spend some time reading customer reviews about stuff before taking the plunge. It's usually fairly easy to sort out the ones from folks who know what they're talking about.

In general, I'm a little leery of companies that outsource production as they may switch suppliers for reasons that may or may not be to your advantage as a buyer. That's not to say the practice can't produce a good product, but there is the potential for ending up with an item that was manufactured before they "got it right" at the new factory. Vortex CS has a great reputation, so at least you can depend on them to make it right if there's a problem.