This year my hunting partner showed up with a new scope on his 06. Apparently he spent about $300.00 on a Vortex diamondback. I didnt have the heart to tell him what i really thought. The eye relief and optical quality was Meh at best. My Elite 3200 was easily a superior product IMO. And when he complained that it fogged up opening morning I knew he got took to the cleaners.

Just curious if others feel the same about those scopes, or not.

It seems the lower end Vortex scopes leave a lot to be desired. The upper end are very good. like most optics, you usually get what you pay for.

Fogged up on the inside or outside?

My friend had a Vortex of some breed on a Direct Impingement Ruger AR. After three magazines the reticle snapped.

Cant he send it back and get it replaced? I have a couple but have not hunted them and don't know the model.
Peter

I am sure he could, but still annoying. He is military (enlisted Army infantry). He just turned 21 one and saved his pennies for the rifle and scope. He was shooting then started cussing. I believed him, but looked through the scope anyway. The cross hairs looked like you had cut them with a pair of scissors where they intersect.

I have been blessed in that never happing to me. Most in my family uses Nikons. I use one Nikon. 2 Leupold VX3s, a Swarovski, and used a cheap Bushnell for years. First time I ever saw a broke cross hair. None of my rifles over 375 are scoped.

If anyone likes them and wants to use them I am not put off. Just reporting what I saw when one was in my eyes on a rifle. I did not think to ask him about the warranty/return policy.

Vortex makes some decent scopes but you do get what you pay for. He can send it back and they'll replace it free of charge. They are guaranteed for life. There are some pretty decent hunting scopes out there but you will pay more for the better optics. It does hurt when you get to a hunt and find out your scope is kaput. Condolences.

I'd pass on a Diamondback or Crossfire II. I even got rid of an HS-T rifle scope.

I love my Razor HD 8x42 binoculars and 2-60x85mm spotting scope though. I plan on buying the 12x50 Razor HD binoculars as well.

Vortex has the best customer service as well. I have not tried their warranty but I was missing lens covers and received them next day at no charge.

Athlon makes a pretty good scope but you have to get up to the Ares line to get HD glass. For the money it is perhaps a little cheaper than the Vortex line. The Cronus is great glass and comparable yet a little cheaper than the Vortex Razor. Here you're looking at $1700-2499 scope. The Elite 3200 at $189 might be better looking through than a defective Diamondback but you might give it a try after he gets a new one that isn't defective. You might be surprised.

We have some amazing deals on Athlon and Steiner. Please give us a call 516-217-1000

We have also started posting our Special Black Friday and Holiday Sales Section deals on our site, check it out

hmm.
I have been running almost nothing but Vortex scopes for at least 10 years now.

only one has a little quirk in that it doesn't like to be turned all the way up against it's stop at the top power.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Henderson:
Vortex makes some decent scopes but you do get what you pay for.

Maybe I heard him wrong, but I would think that for $300.00 one could get some pretty good optics. Sometimes you get less than what you paid for. Ill take my $150.00 Redfield over that thing any time. Ive not seen any of their higher cost scopes, but using that as a yardstick it seems like one could do better for their $$. Maybe I am wrong, that was my only experience with that particular brand. But at this point I dont see one of them in my future.

quote:

Originally posted by KY Nimrod:
Fogged up on the inside or outside?

Good question. I will ask him.

A few years back my brother bought a .270 and the kid at the store told him he HAD to have a Vortex scope be cause they're the "best". I believe it was a Viper.

After sighting it in he let me shoot it. Let's just say I was completely unimpressed with the scope. It's optical quality was merely ok and it had about the shortest eye relief of any scope I've looked at. For the same price he could have chosen something better but he's not much of a rifle nut and listened to the kid at the store instead.

At the time they seemed to be pushing Vortex scopes pretty hard. Some folks may like them but at least the ones I've seen for the same amount of money there are better options then some Chinese made scope.

I currently own 2 of these scopes one mounted on Rem. 700 mt rifle the other on 300.wthby mag. The .o6 with hand loads will do sub moa at 200yds all day long. The wthby in 12 shots blew this scope apart. They were both crossfireII 4x18.Not sure what to buy for my wthby but I won't buy another one of those.

In under $250.00 quality options there's:
Burris
Athlon
Konus
Leupold

Please give us a call to discuss what would be best for you

I am very picky with scopes and cannot afford the higher end ones. I try to choose Leupold when I can find one used in my price range.

I have had 2 surgeries on my right eye. Cornea transplants and scarring from the surgeries has limited my light gathering capabilities. I see great in the day but my night vision is fair. With that said, I have tried Vortex Diamondbacks and compared to Nikon or Leupolds they do not gather enough light for me in low light shooting ie. Dawn or Dusk. I have no problems with Nikons or Leupolds during those times. As far as quality of Vortex, I cannot comment because I won't use them.

quote:

Originally posted by captbubba:
I currently own 2 of these scopes one mounted on Rem. 700 mt rifle the other on 300.wthby mag. The .o6 with hand loads will do sub moa at 200yds all day long. The wthby in 12 shots blew this scope apart. They were both crossfireII 4x18.Not sure what to buy for my wthby but I won't buy another one of those.

What exactly happened in this explosion? Are we talking dislocation of the erector tube?