Are vortex scopes that good?

[steven]

https://www.kitterytradingpost.com/hunting-shooting/optics-game-cameras/scopes/vortex-diamondback-3-9x40mm-dead-hold-bdc-riflescope-84027.html

3x9x40 Diamondback for $99

[bloodtrail18]

Lots of good info here in regards to Vortex lower end scopes being junk. I was shooting with a buddy a few months back and the reticle in his diamondback scope literally broke into pieces while he was shooting it on a 223 AR. I own several vortex products across their lineup and like several here have said I wouldn't trust any of their products below the Razor line. I'd easily put an entry level Leupold against any Vortex product below the razors.

[flywise]

Nope, but an F250 ain’t worth what they get on those either.

[trophy8]

The biggest issue I see, and it happened on this post, is folks say they are just as good as much higher end optics. This is a lie

Your $300 vortex binos or scope it not even in the same universe as Swarovski. Kahles, upper end leupold. Nightforce. Etc.

If you think so, you’re blind. Like legit blind lol

Vortex makes good budget optics that may or may not break. IF they break, and I’ve had a few go back for repairs, they will fix it.

I’d rather buy a product that will NOT let me down in the field. Aside from the razor gen 2 I cannot in good faith trust them to stay solid on tougher hunts.


Now with that said, they are mostly budget optics. They’ll give up glass quality or turret repeatability or reticle. Or FOV. Something. I assure you that the big boys would charge half of what they charge if they could and sell a lot more. It costs money to build high quality stuff.

PST gen 2 seems to be far superior than the first gen I had several issues with. Gen 2 razor has always been solid.


I think you get so much negative comments around them because people aren’t honest it don’t use them enough to know better.

Nobody wants to say what they have is junk. And a guy that looks through his for a sight in shot and one shot at a critter per year isn’t a reliable source. Then there are guys who think they can tell a major difference mid day at bass pro. You can’t.

They have their place. They’ve made the industry get far more competitive. Which has been great for everybody. And vortex seems to have significantly improved their mid range offerings.

Leupold is getting left in the dust as far as features.

[TX03RUBI]

The biggest issue I see, and it happened on this post, is folks say they are just as good as much higher end optics. This is a lie

Your $300 vortex binos or scope it not even in the same universe as Swarovski. Kahles, upper end leupold. Nightforce. Etc.

If you think so, you’re blind. Like legit blind lol

Vortex makes good budget optics that may or may not break. IF they break, and I’ve had a few go back for repairs, they will fix it.

I’d rather buy a product that will NOT let me down in the field. Aside from the razor gen 2 I cannot in good faith trust them to stay solid on tougher hunts.


Now with that said, they are mostly budget optics. They’ll give up glass quality or turret repeatability or reticle. Or FOV. Something. I assure you that the big boys would charge half of what they charge if they could and sell a lot more. It costs money to build high quality stuff.

PST gen 2 seems to be far superior than the first gen I had several issues with. Gen 2 razor has always been solid.


I think you get so much negative comments around them because people aren’t honest it don’t use them enough to know better.

Nobody wants to say what they have is junk. And a guy that looks through his for a sight in shot and one shot at a critter per year isn’t a reliable source. Then there are guys who think they can tell a major difference mid day at bass pro. You can’t.

They have their place. They’ve made the industry get far more competitive. Which has been great for everybody. And vortex seems to have significantly improved their mid range offerings.

Leupold is getting left in the dust as far as features.

I normally don’t agree with gingers, but this post is pretty much spot on.

[JTeLarkin08]

The biggest issue I see, and it happened on this post, is folks say they are just as good as much higher end optics. This is a lie

Your $300 vortex binos or scope it not even in the same universe as Swarovski. Kahles, upper end leupold. Nightforce. Etc.

If you think so, you’re blind. Like legit blind lol

Vortex makes good budget optics that may or may not break. IF they break, and I’ve had a few go back for repairs, they will fix it.

I’d rather buy a product that will NOT let me down in the field. Aside from the razor gen 2 I cannot in good faith trust them to stay solid on tougher hunts.


Now with that said, they are mostly budget optics. They’ll give up glass quality or turret repeatability or reticle. Or FOV. Something. I assure you that the big boys would charge half of what they charge if they could and sell a lot more. It costs money to build high quality stuff.

PST gen 2 seems to be far superior than the first gen I had several issues with. Gen 2 razor has always been solid.


I think you get so much negative comments around them because people aren’t honest it don’t use them enough to know better.

Nobody wants to say what they have is junk. And a guy that looks through his for a sight in shot and one shot at a critter per year isn’t a reliable source. Then there are guys who think they can tell a major difference mid day at bass pro. You can’t.

They have their place. They’ve made the industry get far more competitive. Which has been great for everybody. And vortex seems to have significantly improved their mid range offerings.

Leupold is getting left in the dust as far as features.

This. If you can only afford vortex get one. The warranty is bad ***. It’s also one of the most used warranty in the outdoor industry. They break but you get what you pay for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gatorgrizz27]

The biggest issue I see, and it happened on this post, is folks say they are just as good as much higher end optics. This is a lie

Your $300 vortex binos or scope it not even in the same universe as Swarovski. Kahles, upper end leupold. Nightforce. Etc.

If you think so, you’re blind. Like legit blind lol

Vortex makes good budget optics that may or may not break. IF they break, and I’ve had a few go back for repairs, they will fix it.

I’d rather buy a product that will NOT let me down in the field. Aside from the razor gen 2 I cannot in good faith trust them to stay solid on tougher hunts.


Now with that said, they are mostly budget optics. They’ll give up glass quality or turret repeatability or reticle. Or FOV. Something. I assure you that the big boys would charge half of what they charge if they could and sell a lot more. It costs money to build high quality stuff.

PST gen 2 seems to be far superior than the first gen I had several issues with. Gen 2 razor has always been solid.


I think you get so much negative comments around them because people aren’t honest it don’t use them enough to know better.

Nobody wants to say what they have is junk. And a guy that looks through his for a sight in shot and one shot at a critter per year isn’t a reliable source. Then there are guys who think they can tell a major difference mid day at bass pro. You can’t.

They have their place. They’ve made the industry get far more competitive. Which has been great for everybody. And vortex seems to have significantly improved their mid range offerings.

Leupold is getting left in the dust as far as features.

Agreed. There are a couple things going on with Vortex. The first is that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. A guy who has used Wal-Mart clamshell $39-79 scopes his whole life isn’t lying when he says a Vortex Diamondback is “the clearest glass he’s ever seen.” A lot of people put reviews on Cabela’s, etc as soon as they open a package and handle something. There are also a lot of hunting rifles out there that probably have less than 2 full boxes of ammo shot through them in their entire lives. I’d hope the cheapest scopes can make it 40 shots without breaking.

Glass clarity also isn’t always apparent in ideal situations like looking across a 300 yard field in the middle of the day. To be honest I wondered if my Zeiss Conquest HD binos had been worth what I’d spent on them, as they weren’t shockingly better than the Leupold’s I’d been using before in short range eastern situations. I took them out to Colorado and watching elk at over 2,000 yards as the sun was setting confirmed that they were easily worth the coin.

The warranty stuff is also overrated. All of the quality manufacturers (Leupold, Zeiss, Swaro, Leica, Sig, etc) have lifetime warranties where repairs are either free or for an extremely reasonable service fee. I haven’t heard of a single instance of a manufacturer telling a customer to go pound sand, even after dropping binos down a mountain. Admittedly, some of the euro companies do have customer service departments that are slow and difficult to get in touch with.

I’ve heard more Vortex stories along the lines of “my binos broke in half pulling them out of the harness, but they are super awesome and sent me a new pair, no questions asked!” Sorry, but I’m not happy in that scenario, particularly if it’s on a big hunt where you can’t just grab another pair out of the truck.

All that being said, there are worse things than buying a cheap scope if that’s what it takes to get you in the field for a little while. You can always upgrade down the line and put it on a .22 or pellet gun.

[eaglegolfj]

Dang there is a bunch of bashers on here. I own a couple of them and have had no problem with them at all holding 0 or anything else for that matter. I have Nikon as well and as far as the clarity I can not tell much difference. I did buy a refurbished vortex and found out it was messed up and sent it in under the warranty and they sent me a brand new scope.

[dustoffer]

Bought a 4x12 with lighted reticle to use for nighttime pig hunts---mounted and zeroed, and after the first night took it off and went back to my Leupold with heavy duplex reticle---I could see the lighted reticle on the Vortex but that was about all compared to the Leupold's much brighter field.

[SwampRanger]

I have Binos and scopes and am
Pleased with both.

[sticknstring]

They are not the best ,but for the money- they are really hard to beat!
I own several diamondbacks and pst’s. I have an older 6x24 ebr1 FFP pst on my to go to rifle that still tracks like it did when I bought it almost 10 yrs ago with many long distance 1 shot kills.
The warranty is lifetime and the customer service is good. I sent a scope in about 4 yrs ago- I had it back in a week( a month before season started). Not only no questions asked but turn around was quick. Many good scopes out there but not going to beat it for the price point. Good luck with your search

[BBReezen]

I have some vortex Binos, vipers I think. They’re about 7-8 years old now and I really like them for what I do. They have been the most money I have invested in a pair of binos and are way beyond what I have always had.

6 months ago I came down to Vortex or Sig Whiskey scope for my Grendel build. I chose the Sig Whiskey 3 over the Crossfire II and well, my illumination control knob fell off this weekend. Guess I wouldn’t have been too bad off if I had chose the Vortex

[kingranch]

mine shoot excellent, however on my last elk hunt the turret just fell off as I was dialing to take a shot at a bull... classic nightmare situation.
They upgraded my scope for free however they cant replace that missed opportunity...
I will say my buddy ended up slapping the bull bc I couldnt fire but still

[DRT]

The reality is many guys buy the highest end rifle or optics because it is a status symbol. A entry level Vortex, Nikon or Luepold scope will do for 90% of the hunters in the US. Whether you are shooting whitetail on crop field edges and hedgerows in the mid west or over a feeder in Texas a high end scope ain't gonna make a hill of beans worth a difference.
I've never had a Luepold scope just **** the bed. Now I've had one bust when a kid knocked the rifle off a rack and it hit the concrete floor.
They sent me a new one.
I've had cross hairs fall loose in a Bushnell scope during a pistol silhouette match. I've had a Nikon that would not stay focused.
I've looked through Swarovski binoculars right next to my Luepolds on a mountain in Colorado and they are night and day better. If I were hunting elk every year I'd invest in them.
But the pair of Vortex binoculars I have work fine for the hunting I do. And I don't have to spend more to make me a real hunter.

Gary

[Conquest]

you can buy a refurbished Vortex at ~60% retail and it still comes with the lifetime warranty. i got 2 from Cabela's.