vortex? ?

[westcliffe01]

I have 3 vortex scopes. 4-16x50 PST FFP, 6-24x50 PST FFP and the new 4-16x44 HST. The optical quality of the HST is not on par with the PST scopes, but then its less than half the price. Something has to give somewhere, its a fact of life. All 3 scopes have repeatable reliable turrets. These scopes have replaced my Nikon Monarch scopes. The Monarchs had capped turrets and plain duplex SFP reticles. The Gen 3 and later monarchs have turret caps that cannot be locked so you can easily lose your reference inadvertently and be up a creek. So for me I have reached the end with Nikon.

Leupold seems to be a company with a bipolar product line. On the one hand, very basic scopes with decent glass, basic reticles and capped turrets intended for zeroing. On the other hand, very costly tactical scopes with more options for reticles and target style turrets. Basically no middle ground. Someone at my pay grade feels left out at Leupold. Vortex saw an opening in the middle ground and that is the market they chose to serve first. Since that time they have obviously expanded both downward with "cheap" scopes and upward to compete more directly with Leupold, NF, Zeiss and others.

The HS and PST line of scopes is forcing the historical market leaders to improve their middle ground offering. When I bought the first 4-16x50 PST the waiting time for PST scopes was several months. So that clearly tells a story about how many of these scopes have been sold.

I think you are safe buying a viper class scope. I would not buy the cheaper diamondback scopes. I think you need to spend at least $350+ to get an optic that will have turrets that work.

 

[Kurt]

It's better to have great QC than great CS.

CS won't do you any good in the middle of nowhere.

So get a proven scope that has been around, made by people who aren't afraid to show you how they make them.

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so your saying a company like vortex. it opens the doors to the factory and shows them being built in wisconsin.

 

[Sargesniper]

I own a pst 4-16X50 and i absolutely love it. It tracks 100% perfect and always comes back to zero after im done dialing for longer shots. Very clear scope until it gets on 16 power then things start to get fuzzy but its not bad. Great sope for the money.

I own NF's, Leo's, Weavers, and 1 PST. The PST tracks as good in a box test as the NF's do. For the price, ($749.00 for 2nd. FP), You cannot ask for more IMO. Will buy again if the need arises. A very good buy.

 

[918v]

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so your saying a company like vortex. it opens the doors to the factory and shows them being built in wisconsin.

They're building what in Wisconsin? All of them? Or just one model?

 

[stomp442]

I find this hard to believe but any one can type on the inter webs these days.(laughing)

Even dumb dumbs that buy crap scopes.




Do you have any helpful info to add to the topic at hand or do you just like being a Richard cranium online?

 

[Rich Coyle]

The other day I was at the shooting range. There were two guys getting ready to leave when I got there. Both had Vortex 4-16X scopes. I asked if I could look though them because I've heard so much about them. After I looked through the first one a guy told me to look through the other because is was a level up. It was a little better.

Then I looked through my Leupld VX-6 and turned it up to 16X and looked at the same 200 yard target. Compared to the VX-6 they were second rate.

 

[westcliffe01]

Looks like a VX 6 with that magnification range is a $1200 scope or more. Thats never going to be a fair comparison to a $400-$700 scope.

 

[Timber338]

Looks like a VX 6 with that magnification range is a $1200 scope or more. Thats never going to be a fair comparison to a $400-$700 scope.

I understand what you and others are saying that you can't compare the optics of scopes in different price ranges, but I look at it a little differently. I think a scope is a scope. Apples to apples. My PST blows away my ATACR in both weight and cost. Those are two very important factors. The ATACR blows away the PST in optical quality. Just depends on what factors are most important to you.

I've considered a VX6 for my 338, and it's great info to hear somebody compare the quality of the optics side by side with a PST. I would assume the VX6 is better but I've never had the opportunity to look through on at the range.

I'm also curious to hear some reports of the vx6 CDS tracking compared to a PST or nightforce. The tracking on my PST and ATACR are both excellent.

 

[Kurt]

They're building what in Wisconsin? All of them? Or just one model?

diamond backs nope but on up they are a american made as leupy but in the end japan gemany usa i dont really care as we live in a global economy and where it is made is less of a concern on how it funtions

 

[Kurt]

Even dumb dumbs that buy crap scopes.




Do you have any helpful info to add to the topic at hand or do you just like being a Richard cranium online?

use full information such as that diatribe of bs you posted nope.

 

[918v]

diamond backs nope but on up they are a american made as leupy but in the end japan gemany usa i dont really care as we live in a global economy and where it is made is less of a concern on how it funtions

If you don't know where it's made and by whom, how can you trust it to function? Kudos to Vortex for setting up shop in the US, but the rest of their stuff is likely made by canibals, savages, etc. I don't want a scope made in a factory that used to make power drills last week and is slated to make toilet seats next month. That's the assumption unless Vortex discloses their vendors. I'll go with a known reliable scope over some tacticool market saturator.

 

[Kurt]

If you don't know where it's made and by whom, how can you trust it to function? Kudos to Vortex for setting up shop in the US, but the rest of their stuff is likely made by canibals, savages, etc. I don't want a scope made in a factory that used to make power drills last week and is slated to make toilet seats next month. That's the assumption unless Vortex discloses their vendors. I'll go with a known reliable scope over some tacticool market saturator.

it has been disclosed do a little work and find it for your self. Can you tell me where all of leupys stuff is made and if you say merica keep searching but as they say glass houses and stones and such. Old news but some like 1995 the best i guess.

 

[Sargesniper]

If you don't know where it's made and by whom, how can you trust it to function? Kudos to Vortex for setting up shop in the US, but the rest of their stuff is likely made by canibals, savages, etc. I don't want a scope made in a factory that used to make power drills last week and is slated to make toilet seats next month. That's the assumption unless Vortex discloses their vendors. I'll go with a known reliable scope over some tacticool market saturator.

You might try reading reviews on Vortex before you bad mouth them. For the $$$ spent on one, they are VG. The glass is made in Japan I think. Though not as good as lets say German glass, the price of them are a steal at todays economy. I too was doubtful of them but thought about getting one after reading the reviews. After mounting it and boxing it, I found that it was right on and repeatability was excellent also. To me this kind of function can only be had in a much higher costing product. I have high dollar scopes and it tracks as well as they do. I am holding my breath waiting for a 56mm model to hit the market. I will certainly buy one when and if they do.

PS; Hardly anything we buy today is made completely in the USA!

 

[Tex_Hunter]

Most people are answering with experience on the PST series of scopes. You originally asked about the Viper (2 tiers down from the PST). So I will do my best to answer closer to your original question.

I recently purchased a Vortex Viper HS-LR 4-16x44 (its basically a Viper with an exposed elevation Turret) to put on top of a .308 I just got, and really the only feature you give up over the PST is a glass etched reticle and illumination. My experiences below come after abotu 200 rounds downrange with this setup. I have been extremely satisfied with this scope, used it two weekends ago to bag a nice doe at about 360ish yards. The clarity isn't the best on the upper magnification levels but that doe I shot was maybe in the last 15 minutes of shooting light and I only had to turn it back to about 12x to maintain clear image so I am more than satisfied especially considering I grabbed it in a sale at Cabelas for $400 (about 150 cheaper than Midway or Optics Planet). I took a shot on a beer can that I had set up at 300 yds just for kicks and had no problem scoring a hit, on the full 16 power the sight picture was plenty clear. Elevation adjustments have tracked perfectly out to any range I have shot to (~500). and the BDC reticle is way better than something you will find in a similarly priced Nikon or Leupold.

My only gripe is that the eye box isn't as good as some other scopes I have shot, very sensitive to head position especially on upper magnification levels, and then the aforementioned clarity in low light and high magnification levels. With that being said, you wont find a scope that even comes close to the Vortex at this price level. A Leupold VX3 will be better and that Bushnell you mentioned will probably not be as nice.

The only scope I can think of that comes close would be the Nikon Monarch 3, but with that you only get a 1" main tube, no turrets (albeit not a deal breaker), and in my mind at least, a worse reticle (I much prefer the hashmark sub tensions of the Vortex BDC vs the circles of the Nikon BDC)

Take that for what its worth, the scope feels like it is built to survive a war, and the optical clarity punches well above its weight considering the price point, but it is a $500-700 scope which I have noticed really only seems to be a concern to the people who spent 3x that much on their own gear. If you keep those things in mind you will be very satisfied.