Poll: Vortex Viper or Hawke Sidewinder

[SidecarFlip]

Just ordered my 3rd Viper PST a few hours ago. I feel they are as good as a Mark 4 Leupy for half the price..... I have 2 of that flavor.

 

[Clayne B]

I have seen both, VORTEX hands down

 

[minute of elk]

i have a few rounds downrange with my 5-15 viper hs and love it. it worked great on my 7WSM for 50 or so rounds, then got mounted on my 338LM and has been solid so far. i think any non-crossfire vortex is going to be tough & repeatable, period.

i was recently talked into looking through a hawke 6-24 sidewinder & was kinda blown away. it's bright & has a decent eye box, but the creepy thing is how accurate the side focus distances are. maybe i got a "good" one- time will tell. the local rep said to put it on the 338 & see if i could break it.

 

[dragman]

i have a few rounds downrange with my 5-15 viper hs and love it. it worked great on my 7WSM for 50 or so rounds, then got mounted on my 338LM and has been solid so far. i think any non-crossfire vortex is going to be tough & repeatable, period.

i was recently talked into looking through a hawke 6-24 sidewinder & was kinda blown away. it's bright & has a decent eye box, but the creepy thing is how accurate the side focus distances are. maybe i got a "good" one- time will tell. the local rep said to put it on the 338 & see if i could break it.

I have shot a lot of them!!!! seriously a really over looked scope! I have used them on all kinds of guns and had a LOT of success with them. I Have two I keep for "backup scopes" and testers cuz I am 100% comfortable with them.

 

[jack1k]

I sent an older Leupold 6 X 20 - 1" - 40mm target scope to Leupold for repair. I sent it out
on a Monday, from Pa. to Oregon, and it was returned fully repaired and adjusted, on the
following Monday. Would you receive this service from either Vortex or Hawke?
This one was the only Leupold I had to send in for service, and I have owned over 12 and
there was absolutely no probems with any other Leupold I have owned.

Jack1k

 

[dragman]

I sent an older Leupold 6 X 20 - 1" - 40mm target scope to Leupold for repair. I sent it out
on a Monday, from Pa. to Oregon, and it was returned fully repaired and adjusted, on the
following Monday. Would you receive this service from either Vortex or Hawke?
This one was the only Leupold I had to send in for service, and I have owned over 12 and
there was absolutely no probems with any other Leupold I have owned.

Jack1k

cannot speak for Vortex in this department but I can for Hawke they have a lifetime warrenty.
My friend put one on and used thick ring tape then over tightened it and it boogered up the side focus (it can happen to any scope) he called sent it in and they had a brand new scope mailed back to him. the process took less than a week he recieved the new scope with a detailed letter on why the old one was malfunctioning. The rep gave him his personal cell number and said if he ever had another problem call him directly and he would handle it. that IMHO is just as good as anyone. with scopes were lucky, I have delt with:
nightforce
sightron
leupold
hawke
and all were great and easy to deal with. gotta give the edge though to leupold and hawke.

 

[joseph]

Vortex loaned me a 6-24x50mm PST to take to Wyoming and when I got back they had received their first shipment of that scope which was a demo. When I called them to tell them I loved the scope they loaned me they sent me a new one over night which I received the next day even before I had a chance to send the loaner back.

joseph

PS: Here is the loaner and the first target shot at 400 yds. with their custom turret to see if I hit the paper. gun) - - - - - - - - - - -

 

[SidecarFlip]

cannot speak for Vortex in this department but I can for Hawke they have a lifetime warrenty.
My friend put one on and used thick ring tape then over tightened it and it boogered up the side focus (it can happen to any scope) he called sent it in and they had a brand new scope mailed back to him. the process took less than a week he recieved the new scope with a detailed letter on why the old one was malfunctioning. The rep gave him his personal cell number and said if he ever had another problem call him directly and he would handle it. that IMHO is just as good as anyone. with scopes were lucky, I have delt with:
nightforce
sightron
leupold
hawke
and all were great and easy to deal with. gotta give the edge though to leupold and hawke.

I have to ask, because I'm curious, what is ring tape? Been mounting optics for 30 years and never heard of it???

 

[shooter7]

I have owned both vortex and Leupold and have found that vortex is somewhat comparable to the leupy. that however is in regards to mechanical function. glass is better in the leupy without a doubt but vortex has my vote in a budget battle.

 

[charver]

i have just got myself a vortex and must admit they give my smit/b and zeiss a run for the money.
i have now sold the others and have ordered another 2 vipers and with the change took the wife out for a meal (im so in the good books now).
why spend £1000+ when you can get 2 for the price of 1 that do the same job and are as clear as they are.
people seem to spend on a name rather than the product.... VORTEX FOR ME ALL THE WAY NOW

 

[dragman]

I have to ask, because I'm curious, what is ring tape? Been mounting optics for 30 years and never heard of it???

some people like to put a piece of tape around the inside of the ring to make sure the scope can't slip. I don't buy into it but it is something some people do.

 

[dragman]

Hawke is a major player in the glass field. Basically glass comes from
Germany
Japan
China

German glass is great as is Japan's but china is creaping up very close to the others with some technology. and I bet within the next year or so Hawke will be a huge player. I bet people have used more glass that Hawke has cut than they know.

 

[SidecarFlip]

some people like to put a piece of tape around the inside of the ring to make sure the scope can't slip. I don't buy into it but it is something some people do.

Thanks for the clarifacation. I heard that term used once before but I never knew what it referred to. I don't buy into it either. Properly aligned and lapped rings provide almost 100% circumferential contact and if the ring is clamped to the manufacturers torque value, nothing will slip.

 

[WildRose]

Thanks for the clarifacation. I heard that term used once before but I never knew what it referred to. I don't buy into it either. Properly aligned and lapped rings provide almost 100% circumferential contact and if the ring is clamped to the manufacturers torque value, nothing will slip.

I've known a lot of people including several gunsmiths that would use one piece of double stick tape on the bottom ring half of just one ring.

They would use to get the scope perfectly level and stuck in place so it wouldn't shift/cant when the rings were tightened down.

Of course most of these were also people who had never even heard of lapping scope rings HA!