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Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review
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<blockquote data-quote="catorres1" data-source="post: 2206626" data-attributes="member: 80699"><p><h3>Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review Part III</h3><h3></h3><p><strong>Non-Reflective, Rain</strong></p><p></p><p>Even more interesting was what I found when the rain came down, something I was keen to test after hearing from Vortex how their engineers had put a particular emphasis on inclement weather performance. During these tests, using the same trees, hills and houses I had used in full sun, the Fury was consistently besting the 2800. Under those particular conditions, the Fury was able to range trees out to 830 yards, and houses past 1000. The 2800, in this case, did not fare well, not being able to hit a single one of those targets.</p><p></p><p>This performance, taken in balance with all the other data, from the reflective performance to the capabilities in full sun, I believe demonstrates how each leg of the performance triad determines RF performance, and suggests to me the nature of the Fury's development. The reflective performance, and even the ability to hit the water tower suggests to me that the horsepower is there in terms of the laser. The larger receptor also is unquestionably a huge asset, and these two taken in concert suggest that in terms of hardware, the Fury is not lacking. In this sense, it seems it may be similar to the Sig 3k, but yet, it cannot match its performance.</p><p></p><p>It's comparison to the 2800 is a little more complicated because it clearly has more raw power, as evidenced by its reflective performance, but falls behind in its full sun performance, only to quickly close the gap when the sun goes down. And then there is the Fury's winning performance verses the 2800 in adverse weather conditions to consider, an area of performance particularly called out and focused on as a priority by Vortex's engineers.</p><p></p><p>All of this suggests to me that the Fury's performance envelope is defined and limited not by hardware (laser and receptor), where I suspect it may share much with the 3k, but by the third leg of the ranging performance triad, the software/signal processing. The Fury seems to struggle a bit more than the other two with what it is seeing when the ambient light levels are very high. Leica, in comparison, is the oldest in it's model line of the three RF's here and has the smallest receptor by far, but still puts out impressive performance. I believe this is due to their long experience in signal processing and internal RF software, which gives them a significant advantage in taking the hardware they have and getting the best out of it. On the other hand, when the light falls, or targets are truly reflective, the 2800's advantage lessens as the software influence diminishes and the raw power advantage increases. Another way of saying this is Vortex is pulling off their performance through brute force, with their weakest link being their software algorithms to interpret their data, while Leica is performing via an experienced software approach that makes efficient use out of their hardware so that it can perform in an outsized capacity when you compare things strictly from a hardware perspective.</p><p></p><p>Additional evidence for software being a major factor comes when you consider the weather performance, where the Fury outperformed the 2800. In this case, Vortex specifically focused their algorithm on solving for this problem, and it paid off by allowing them to use both their brute force as well as apparently smart algorithms to leapfrog the 2800 in this area.</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, the Fury is an interesting view into RF's, how their ranging performance is affected by the triad, and how the designed balance needs to be considered when making a decision on what you want. When considering the Furys ranging performance I judge it to be about 80% of what a 2800 can do in full sun on all realistic targets. When the light goes down, either because it's just after sundown, or it's particularly overcast, that gap closes considerably. And when the rain comes or the snow falls, the Fury comes into its own when compared to the 2800. Overall, the purpose here is to express a comparison against a known control with the closest level of performance, which in the case of my RF's is the 2800. So I'll sum it up by saying under most conditions, I would put the 2800 about 15 or 20% ahead of the Fury in terms of ranging distance capability. Take that reading in the last hour of hunting light, and the gap closes considerably, but I think the 2800 still is ahead. But bring on the rain, and the Fury pulls ahead.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center"><a href="https://postimg.cc/gxJrp8bD" target="_blank"><img src="https://i.postimg.cc/qvcK8xm9/IMG-20210406-161916948.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: center"></div> <div style="text-align: center">Vortex's pro mount installed easily and provided a quickly employable but very steady connection to a tripod for range testing</div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Ballistics</strong></p><p></p><p>Ultimately, though bested in some cases by the 2800, the Fury still does quite well in the ranging department. But once you move the evaluation deeper into what it can do with that data, the Fury really comes into its own. While not the first with some of its features, it does include a suite of capabilities that I have not seen together in one package in the RF market, and it has some unique capabilities of its own in the RF bino market, at least to my knowledge at this time. Where the Sig 3k is undoubtedly the winner in any ranging matchup, in the category of ballistic solutions and workflow, the Fury has the upper hand.</p><p></p><p>As mentioned previously, the upgrade over the previous Fury 5k is all about ballistics and workflow. In the Fury AB, Vortex took the original 5k and added the full Applied Ballistics suite onboard. Arguably one of the most powerful ballistics solvers available, the onboard AB is not a limited version in any way according to Vortex. So unlike other onboard solvers in RFs (except for Sig's 2400 ABS), you now have onboard a solver that takes into consideration all of the higher level forces, including coriolis, spin drift, and aerodynamic jump, needed to provide a top shelf shooting solution. Consequently, there is no need for a distance limit for your solution, because the RF is internally capable of the levels of accuracy needed to shoot as far as the Fury can possibly range.</p><p></p><p>To support this capability, the Fury has onboard environmentals, just as the Leica 2800 has. Pressure, temperature and humidity are all fed into the solver. It is important to note Vortex took note of the problem with temperature drift and inertia in the Fury, and implemented a solution through the app. All temperature instruments that we use for shooting are subject to drift or inertia. RF's are particularly bad in reacting, and their instructions will tell you that it takes a while, sometimes more than 30 minutes, for the temperature sensors buried inside the RF to equalize to significant changes. So if you get out of a warm truck and into the cold, your solution might be based on the 75 degree truck temperature, and not on the -5 ambient temperature, for example. The Kestrel solves this by having that sensor exposed and allowing for a clearing process, as well as easily set lock and input functions for temperature. While not as convenient, the Fury can also have its temperature locked or set by connecting to the app and having it over-ride the temperature reading in the RF.</p><p></p><p>Like the 2800, in addition to the regular environmental sensors, the Fury has an onboard compass that it utilizes to automatically set the firing direction so that Coriolis is correctly set.</p><p></p><p>In terms of ballistic curves, these are loaded onto the Fury via the app. The RF can store up to 3 different profiles internally, so you can very quickly cycle between different guns if you are hunting in a group, or are at the range and switching between different guns etc. When creating your profiles on the app, you can choose between G1, G7's, or best of all, AB's CDM's, adding an additional level of accuracy to the calculated solution.</p><p></p><p>When connected to the app, you can range and the range and direction will be fed into the app, but you can also range directly from the app, which can be useful when trying to hit very small targets while having the RF mounted on a tripod. The app will display the usual elevation and windage adjustments, but will also show LOS range, inclination, set wind speed and direction (we'll go over that in a moment), MV, temperature, pressure, DA, velocity on target, and remaining energy. The app even has a screen for automatic calculations for moving targets. For the sake of brevity, I won't go into any further detail on the app, suffice it to say that the app is well designed, very capable with a lot of functionality, while still being very easy to use.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="catorres1, post: 2206626, member: 80699"] [HEADING=2]Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Review Part III[/HEADING] [HEADING=2][/HEADING] [B]Non-Reflective, Rain[/B] Even more interesting was what I found when the rain came down, something I was keen to test after hearing from Vortex how their engineers had put a particular emphasis on inclement weather performance. During these tests, using the same trees, hills and houses I had used in full sun, the Fury was consistently besting the 2800. Under those particular conditions, the Fury was able to range trees out to 830 yards, and houses past 1000. The 2800, in this case, did not fare well, not being able to hit a single one of those targets. This performance, taken in balance with all the other data, from the reflective performance to the capabilities in full sun, I believe demonstrates how each leg of the performance triad determines RF performance, and suggests to me the nature of the Fury’s development. The reflective performance, and even the ability to hit the water tower suggests to me that the horsepower is there in terms of the laser. The larger receptor also is unquestionably a huge asset, and these two taken in concert suggest that in terms of hardware, the Fury is not lacking. In this sense, it seems it may be similar to the Sig 3k, but yet, it cannot match its performance. It's comparison to the 2800 is a little more complicated because it clearly has more raw power, as evidenced by its reflective performance, but falls behind in its full sun performance, only to quickly close the gap when the sun goes down. And then there is the Fury’s winning performance verses the 2800 in adverse weather conditions to consider, an area of performance particularly called out and focused on as a priority by Vortex’s engineers. All of this suggests to me that the Fury’s performance envelope is defined and limited not by hardware (laser and receptor), where I suspect it may share much with the 3k, but by the third leg of the ranging performance triad, the software/signal processing. The Fury seems to struggle a bit more than the other two with what it is seeing when the ambient light levels are very high. Leica, in comparison, is the oldest in it’s model line of the three RF’s here and has the smallest receptor by far, but still puts out impressive performance. I believe this is due to their long experience in signal processing and internal RF software, which gives them a significant advantage in taking the hardware they have and getting the best out of it. On the other hand, when the light falls, or targets are truly reflective, the 2800’s advantage lessens as the software influence diminishes and the raw power advantage increases. Another way of saying this is Vortex is pulling off their performance through brute force, with their weakest link being their software algorithms to interpret their data, while Leica is performing via an experienced software approach that makes efficient use out of their hardware so that it can perform in an outsized capacity when you compare things strictly from a hardware perspective. Additional evidence for software being a major factor comes when you consider the weather performance, where the Fury outperformed the 2800. In this case, Vortex specifically focused their algorithm on solving for this problem, and it paid off by allowing them to use both their brute force as well as apparently smart algorithms to leapfrog the 2800 in this area. Ultimately, the Fury is an interesting view into RF’s, how their ranging performance is affected by the triad, and how the designed balance needs to be considered when making a decision on what you want. When considering the Furys ranging performance I judge it to be about 80% of what a 2800 can do in full sun on all realistic targets. When the light goes down, either because it’s just after sundown, or it’s particularly overcast, that gap closes considerably. And when the rain comes or the snow falls, the Fury comes into its own when compared to the 2800. Overall, the purpose here is to express a comparison against a known control with the closest level of performance, which in the case of my RF’s is the 2800. So I’ll sum it up by saying under most conditions, I would put the 2800 about 15 or 20% ahead of the Fury in terms of ranging distance capability. Take that reading in the last hour of hunting light, and the gap closes considerably, but I think the 2800 still is ahead. But bring on the rain, and the Fury pulls ahead. [CENTER][URL='https://postimg.cc/gxJrp8bD'][IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/qvcK8xm9/IMG-20210406-161916948.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Vortex’s pro mount installed easily and provided a quickly employable but very steady connection to a tripod for range testing[/CENTER] [B]Ballistics[/B] Ultimately, though bested in some cases by the 2800, the Fury still does quite well in the ranging department. But once you move the evaluation deeper into what it can do with that data, the Fury really comes into its own. While not the first with some of its features, it does include a suite of capabilities that I have not seen together in one package in the RF market, and it has some unique capabilities of its own in the RF bino market, at least to my knowledge at this time. Where the Sig 3k is undoubtedly the winner in any ranging matchup, in the category of ballistic solutions and workflow, the Fury has the upper hand. As mentioned previously, the upgrade over the previous Fury 5k is all about ballistics and workflow. In the Fury AB, Vortex took the original 5k and added the full Applied Ballistics suite onboard. Arguably one of the most powerful ballistics solvers available, the onboard AB is not a limited version in any way according to Vortex. So unlike other onboard solvers in RFs (except for Sig’s 2400 ABS), you now have onboard a solver that takes into consideration all of the higher level forces, including coriolis, spin drift, and aerodynamic jump, needed to provide a top shelf shooting solution. Consequently, there is no need for a distance limit for your solution, because the RF is internally capable of the levels of accuracy needed to shoot as far as the Fury can possibly range. To support this capability, the Fury has onboard environmentals, just as the Leica 2800 has. Pressure, temperature and humidity are all fed into the solver. It is important to note Vortex took note of the problem with temperature drift and inertia in the Fury, and implemented a solution through the app. All temperature instruments that we use for shooting are subject to drift or inertia. RF’s are particularly bad in reacting, and their instructions will tell you that it takes a while, sometimes more than 30 minutes, for the temperature sensors buried inside the RF to equalize to significant changes. So if you get out of a warm truck and into the cold, your solution might be based on the 75 degree truck temperature, and not on the -5 ambient temperature, for example. The Kestrel solves this by having that sensor exposed and allowing for a clearing process, as well as easily set lock and input functions for temperature. While not as convenient, the Fury can also have its temperature locked or set by connecting to the app and having it over-ride the temperature reading in the RF. Like the 2800, in addition to the regular environmental sensors, the Fury has an onboard compass that it utilizes to automatically set the firing direction so that Coriolis is correctly set. In terms of ballistic curves, these are loaded onto the Fury via the app. The RF can store up to 3 different profiles internally, so you can very quickly cycle between different guns if you are hunting in a group, or are at the range and switching between different guns etc. When creating your profiles on the app, you can choose between G1, G7’s, or best of all, AB’s CDM’s, adding an additional level of accuracy to the calculated solution. When connected to the app, you can range and the range and direction will be fed into the app, but you can also range directly from the app, which can be useful when trying to hit very small targets while having the RF mounted on a tripod. The app will display the usual elevation and windage adjustments, but will also show LOS range, inclination, set wind speed and direction (we’ll go over that in a moment), MV, temperature, pressure, DA, velocity on target, and remaining energy. The app even has a screen for automatic calculations for moving targets. For the sake of brevity, I won’t go into any further detail on the app, suffice it to say that the app is well designed, very capable with a lot of functionality, while still being very easy to use. [/QUOTE]
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