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Rifle Scopes Vortex AMG?

vno.helix

vno.helix

"comfort is the enemy of progress"
Full Member
Minuteman
May 22, 2011
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I have been gone for a while and just made it back to the forum for the first time in 1.5 years. I am trying to find any information on the AMG. I saw a review/video mid 2016 and was immediately attracted to the light weight. Now, 1.5 years later I was expecting the AMG to be all over the forum, the good, the bad, the ugly etc etc. I did a search and somehow cant seem to find any information about it. Am I missing something? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
I think the search may be down. I couldn’t get any results back either but there have been several topics on it and mentioned in a number of threads.

They are g2g. Glass is on par with the gen ii razors, tracks great and lighter weight. Eye box is a little tighter than the razors but not unpleasant. All around great scope.
 
vno.helix said:
I have been gone for a while and just made it back to the forum for the first time in 1.5 years. I am trying to find any information on the AMG. I saw a review/video mid 2016 and was immediately attracted to the light weight. Now, 1.5 years later I was expecting the AMG to be all over the forum, the good, the bad, the ugly etc etc. I did a search and somehow cant seem to find any information about it. Am I missing something? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

They are great little scopes. The scope market has blown up the past 2-3 years so it’s the next new thing after a few months in the spot light. They are tried and true though. Plenty of people here running them and are very happy. I haven’t heard of any common problems with them since being released.

 
Eyebox was my only complaint. Glass, turrets, etc are exactly what you’d expect
 
The amg turrets are better than the razor 2, and the glass seems a tiny bit better as well. The FOV and eye box are better on the razor 2 though. Both are excellent.
 
In what way are they better vs the Gen2 raZor ?
turrets should be the same except down sized ?
 
M77 said:
In what way are they better vs the Gen2 raZor ?
turrets should be the same except down sized ?
Click to expand...

They are down sized Gen II Razor knobs. Small differences are no turn indicator and the center when zeroing uses the same allen wrench as the locking screws instead of a screwdriver type. They both have great clicks which are audible and tactile.

AMG knobs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI82RsFzEnI

Gen II Razor knobs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD9-_CzPtN4

OP I have one of the first AMGs and it's still going strong. Solid scope and as mentioned great glass and reticle. Tracks perfectly. Knobs you can see above. The eye box is a little tighter than the Razor II but it's not bad by any means. The AMG is an excellent way to get a great feature filled scope in a lightweight package.

7g2uOu8.jpg
 
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M77 said:
In what way are they better vs the Gen2 raZor ?
turrets should be the same except down sized ?
Click to expand...

The AMG's clicks feel more positive to me. I feel like I can speak with some level of certainty on this as I own both. YMMV.
 
koshkin said:
I am a big fan of the AMG. I am wrapping up with my testing of one (currently on my 338LM) and I like it a lot.
I just went through and updated my list of recommendations and the AMG easily makes the cut: http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=94

ILya
Click to expand...

When you say testing does that mean there will be a review on it?

DSG Arms had them for $2175 shipped and I caved like a fat kid in an ice cream shop.
 
lte82 said:
The AMG's clicks feel more positive to me. I feel like I can speak with some level of certainty on this as I own both. YMMV.
Click to expand...

thanks for the heads up , i own 2 gen2 razors myself . you'd think they feel the same , whatever
 
I did a review last year, might give you some info on the AMG that you're looking for - https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/forum/...uation-part-ii

In a nutshell the AMG is one fantastic scope and one of the best things it has going for it is its weight, at under 30oz it is one of the best tactical/hunter scopes out there. Resolution and contrast are excellent, CA is kept to a minimum, low light performance is superb and the great FOV for a 6-24 make it a viable big game option where many might consider a lower magnification. If you absolutely must have lower magnification then the March 3-24x52 is another superb lightweight option, but I like the EBR-7 reticle better than the FML-1 reticle which is a big reason why I kept the AMG.

Also, the AMG has been out (or at least announced) for 2 years now and there were several writeups about it on the old Hide site which all that great information has disappeared into the internet ether, so that also might be why you don't see too much about it especially looking on the Hide.

ILya has better eyes than I do and is more thorough in his reviews with a lot more experience with optics so I'm really curious to read his final write-up.
 
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lte82 said:
The AMG's clicks feel more positive to me. I feel like I can speak with some level of certainty on this as I own both. YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ive got both as well, and access to a handful of other razors and AMGs and i agree...the AMGs all have a more snappy feel between clicks...the gen 2s arent bad at all, the AMGs are just different

im really liking my AMG with the ebr7b reticle in it...thinking of picking up another and selling my minox zp5
 
I love my AMG's, that said I still tend to lean toward the Razor Gen II's when a little extra weight isn't a deal breaker. I like the larger knobs, EBR-2C reticle, and more forgiving eye-box. YMMV. Can't go wrong with either option.
 
wjm308 said:
I did a review last year, might give you some info on the AMG that you're looking for - https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/forum/...uation-part-ii

In a nutshell the AMG is one fantastic scope and one of the best things it has going for it is its weight, at under 30oz it is one of the best tactical/hunter scopes out there. Resolution and contrast are excellent, CA is kept to a minimum, low light performance is superb and the great FOV for a 6-24 make it a viable big game option where many might consider a lower magnification. If you absolutely must have lower magnification then the March 3-24x52 is another superb lightweight option, but I like the EBR-7 reticle better than the FML-1 reticle which is a big reason why I kept the AMG.

Also, the AMG has been out (or at least announced) for 2 years now and there were several writeups about it on the old Hide site which all that great information has disappeared into the internet ether, so that also might be why you don't see too much about it especially looking on the Hide.

ILya has better eyes than I do and is more thorough in his reviews with a lot more experience with optics so I'm really curious to read his final write-up.
Click to expand...

We thank you Bill. I used that review twice now to determine scope purchases. The first was for the T5Xi vs DMRII and most recently the K624i vs AMG.
 
I like my AMG. Only thing I would change is cross hairs get a little thicker at 24x than I like. So I usually stay around 18x when shooting.
 
I also like my AMG, there's only two things that I think could be better. The eye box is a little tight on higher magnification and the finish is very easily scratched up. Vortex needs to use a more durable coating for the scope body. I'm actually debating getting another one with the EBR7-B reticle.
 
morganlamprecht said:
im really liking my AMG with the ebr7b reticle in it...thinking of picking up another and selling my minox zp5
Click to expand...

That's funny.. care to elaborate why? I have an AMG and thought I might 'upgrade' to a ZP5 with MR4 at some point. You can PM me if you'd rather.
 
I've got one with the new reticle, haven't mounted it on a rifle yet, the build is slowly coming along, but regarding the feel of the scope, I think it's great, clicks are very positive and defined - crisp. For a 30mm tube the eyebox is quite decent, I don't see it being an issue once it's mounted up. I've done some glassing with it and there's nothing to complain about there, for what you pay you are getting an awful lot of scope. If you don't mind adding half a kilo to your rifle, get a Gen 2 Razor, otherwise you will not be disappointed with an AMG.
 
B-P-UU said:
That's funny.. care to elaborate why? I have an AMG and thought I might 'upgrade' to a ZP5 with MR4 at some point. You can PM me if you'd rather.
Click to expand...

nothing negative really, the zp5 has better glass, i like the AMG turrets better and the AMG/Gen 2 type turrets fit my uses better than anything out there, i have a handful of barrels for my AIAT and i just jot down the inner turret settings for each one and i can really never lose my zero setting...on the standard turrets like the zp5 if i ever miscount or get 2 offsets mixed up, i have nothing to reference unless i count clicks all the way down or up...and on the reticle, most all the movers i find myself shooting the lead is around 1.5mil, either 1.5 on center, leading edge, or trailing edge makes hits...with the zp5 and the .2 marks, ive found myself sometimes breaking shots off the wrong mark (confusing the .4 and .6 under stress)...100% my fault, but the AMG with the 7b has the big .5 mark going down that helps draw my eye to it
 
Thanks.. I use the .5 mark on my AMG for the same reason you mentioned.. keeps me from miss-counting hashes under stress.
 
morganlamprecht has it figured out, I swap out barrels on my at at the range and just have notes on zero shift, loosen the three allens, make your adjustment and you're good to go. For the features, weight, and the customer service at vortex I don't think you could go wrong
 
I'm glad to see all the positives here. I have the Gen 2 Razor and am seriously considering the AMG for a hunting rig.
 
I shot my buddies hunting rig with the AMG and the light transmission is awesome plus it looks tiny compared to my other scopes (nightforce, USO). If you haven't purchased one yet I would hold off until after SHOT show. Not that I know anything, I am just always hesitant to buy something new right before a lot of companies are coming out with new stuff. Especially because Vortex has their site down (could be announcing something??).
 
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I'd be interested in hearing from those that have had a AMG break on them, how did Vortex treat you in terms of timing/satisfaction? How long were you out a scope? Were they proactive/responsive?
 
V-Ref said:
I'd be interested in hearing from those that have had a AMG break on them, how did Vortex treat you in terms of timing/satisfaction? How long were you out a scope? Were they proactive/responsive?
Click to expand...
Never had such a positive experience with a company. They were absolutely fantastic and turn around less than a week.
 
V-Ref said:
I'd be interested in hearing from those that have had a AMG break on them, how did Vortex treat you in terms of timing/satisfaction? How long were you out a scope? Were they proactive/responsive?
Click to expand...
One of my AMG (I have 2) lost the locking turret system on the elevation turret. It took only 8 days from the time I talked to Vortex to the time I got my scope back with a new turret. Free shipping included.
 
Well that has got me worried. I could care less how good the warranty for my AMG is when I am spotted up on a dall sheep I hiked in 15-20 miles in and up 4k’ only to find my scope doesn’t track. Makes me a little apprehensive to put it on a rifle for hunting which is why I got it in the first place was for the lightweight aspect. I mean it’s great they are so quick to fix them but it doesn’t do me much good if they break in the first place...may be going 4-16 ATACR if this is the case.
 
Nightforces break too though. Never having to use the warranty in the first place is the goal for everyone involved.

With Vortex though...a large part of thier value stems from their VIP branded Warranty. But if that in actuality to be no more responsive than the Euro mfgs, then that might change the value of thier products to some.
 
Agree on all scopes breaking but most scope companies in this price range (except March maybe) seem to offer great warranties. Just hear a lot about how great vortex is cause they are pros at fixing scopes ;) Obviously the idea is to not have to use it in the first place. I will give it a whirl and run it certainly but it will def be in the back of my mind more than when I had a NXS hunting last year...
 
alaskalanche said:
Agree on all scopes breaking but most scope companies in this price range (except March maybe) seem to offer great warranties. Just hear a lot about how great vortex is cause they are pros at fixing scopes ;) Obviously the idea is to not have to use it in the first place. I will give it a whirl and run it certainly but it will def be in the back of my mind more than when I had a NXS hunting last year...
Click to expand...

last year alone i personally know of more than 1 kahles, a NF beast, a ZP5, a gen 2 razor, and more than 1 schmidt that had to be serviced...if youre around enough, and theyre used hard enough, theyll all break eventually...of the high end scope manufactures Vortex is one of the only ones i can think of who makes the full range of optics from $100 to $2k+...and they sell a ton of the lower end stuff, it makes sense you hear about it more often
 
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We used to have two Vortex Rep's on the old Hide site, are those guys still around on the new Hide? It was Dave and one other guy whose name escapes me right now...
 
Dave and Scott are still here but at SHOT show right now.

Short and sweet and I won't have time to follow up due to the craziness of the show...

AMG has had a great track record for returns. I remember wjm308's return personally...because we don't get many. He had one of the very first scopes off the line because he obviously loves optics and got his order in immediately after announcement. He had a lens lock ring that had no loctite applied so it came loose. We addressed this on the assembly line and put controls in place for even more redundant checks to keep this from happening again.

A few others came back, early on in production of this scope, because the incorrect lubricant was used on turret o-rings which caused the rubber of the o-ring to absorb the lubricant, swell up, and then dry out. Because of this the o-ring bound up and ripped and jammed the turret from turning. Simple fix, take apart turret, replace o-ring, and use correct lubricant. Again, this happened early on and was addressed with controls put in place on our line. We have not seen this since, unless it was one of the scopes from that small, early batch (don't know how many or serial #'s but very small batch)

I've personally used AMG in harsh environments on many hunts and it's performed awesome. We are also veteran owned and operated and many of us have been "down range," including, myself and we completely understand making a product with the most reliability possible and we put blood, sweat, and tears into our products to make sure we produce the most reliable product possible.

With that said, there never has, and never will be a perfect product ever made. If you look hard enough you can find a flaw in any product under the sun. If we looked hard enough we could find a way to "fail" every single scope off of every single manufacturing line ever made by any brand including ours. With modern times and forums everything gets reported and it tends to magnify things by many orders of magnitude. When you look at the numbers of scopes coming off the line, however, the *percentage* of issues is extremely small, especially when you make a ton of scopes!

I think you should do whatever makes you feel comfortable. There are a lot of really nice scopes on the market and I'm not too proud to say that includes brands other than ours. I think you would be tremendously happy with an AMG and it would serve you well through thick and thin.

Back to the show! Thanks!

Dave
 
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alaskalanche said:
Agree on all scopes breaking but most scope companies in this price range (except March maybe) seem to offer great warranties. Just hear a lot about how great vortex is cause they are pros at fixing scopes ;) Obviously the idea is to not have to use it in the first place. I will give it a whirl and run it certainly but it will def be in the back of my mind more than when I had a NXS hunting last year...
Click to expand...


I’ve had 2 AMG’s. My first one did have the o-ring turret issue from the very very early batch (maybe even very first batch) described above. They fixed it and had it back to me in less than 7 days total. Outstanding service. Much better than the service I’ve received from any other company I’ve dealt with bar none. And I’ve had to warranty Tangent Theta, Schmidt Bender, Vortex, and NF. So I’ve dealt with most of the top tier companies.
The second AMG I had was absolutely flawless and was my most reliable scope, and I used it a lot and on a few different rifles. I do miss my AMG and always think about getting another one. It has one of my favorite reticles.

I wish Vortex and @Delta Hotel would make something similar to the NF 7-35 scope because I would buy several right away.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I bought the AMG thinking it should certainly be a cut above the PST line and atleast as good as the Razor II. Mine is a AMG-2 not 5 so still an earlier model so hopefully I am oring issues free. Time will tell I guess. I really dig the feature set as well as the glass for sure especially at the weight it comes in at. I hope to use it to tip over some critters here in Alaska. Thanks again fellas, on and DH don’t wear them feet out at the show!! Easy to do though and tell Mark B. Luke from Alaska said hello!
 
What advantage does the Razor Gen 2 have over the AMG? The weight of the Gen2 worries me a bit. I am in the process of deciding between a SB PMII, Vortex AMG, Gen 2 or Steiner M5Ti 5-25. The AMG looks so enticing.
 
stradibarrius said:
What advantage does the Razor Gen 2 have over the AMG? The weight of the Gen2 worries me a bit. I am in the process of deciding between a SB PMII, Vortex AMG, Gen 2 or Steiner M5Ti 5-25. The AMG looks so enticing.
Click to expand...

The Razor II has larger knobs, a turn indicator, more internal elevation, slightly different christmas tree reticle(both work great) and a slightly larger eye box. That's about the main differences. Don't let the weight worry you unless it's going on a lighter hunting rifle. On a PRS style rifle you won't feel the difference between it and the S&B and I know as I replaced 3 S&B 5-25s with 3 Razor IIs.

I have owned and used all the scopes you are looking at except the Steiner, which I have only looked through, and all are top of the line scopes. Pic the one with the best reticle for you and the features you like.
 
Thanks Rob01. Have input from someone who has had experience with the scopes is a big help. Trying to find a way to look through different scopes is hard. It would be great if there were a retailer where you could go and look through all the scopes but I know that is not realistic. Frank did a very positive review of the Gen 2 and he also said that the weight should not be the deciding factor.
 
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Delta Hotel said:
Dave and Scott are still here but at SHOT show right now.

Short and sweet and I won't have time to follow up due to the craziness of the show...

AMG has had a great track record for returns. I remember wjm308's return personally...because we don't get many. He had one of the very first scopes off the line because he obviously loves optics and got his order in immediately after announcement. He had a lens lock ring that had no loctite applied so it came loose. We addressed this on the assembly line and put controls in place for even more redundant checks to keep this from happening again.

A few others came back, early on in production of this scope, because the incorrect lubricant was used on turret o-rings which caused the rubber of the o-ring to absorb the lubricant, swell up, and then dry out. Because of this the o-ring bound up and ripped and jammed the turret from turning. Simple fix, take apart turret, replace o-ring, and use correct lubricant. Again, this happened early on and was addressed with controls put in place on our line. We have not seen this since, unless it was one of the scopes from that small, early batch (don't know how many or serial #'s but very small batch)

I've personally used AMG in harsh environments on many hunts and it's performed awesome. We are also veteran owned and operated and many of us have been "down range," including, myself and we completely understand making a product with the most reliability possible and we put blood, sweat, and tears into our products to make sure we produce the most reliable product possible.

With that said, there never has, and never will be a perfect product ever made. If you look hard enough you can find a flaw in any product under the sun. If we looked hard enough we could find a way to "fail" every single scope off of every single manufacturing line ever made by any brand including ours. With modern times and forums everything gets reported and it tends to magnify things by many orders of magnitude. When you look at the numbers of scopes coming off the line, however, the *percentage* of issues is extremely small, especially when you make a ton of scopes!

I think you should do whatever makes you feel comfortable. There are a lot of really nice scopes on the market and I'm not too proud to say that includes brands other than ours. I think you would be tremendously happy with an AMG and it would serve you well through thick and thin.

Back to the show! Thanks!

Dave
Click to expand...

Hey Dave, great to see you on the "new" Hide as I hadn't seen you on here since they switched from the old site. I bet you're busy at the SHOW, even though the AMG is two years old now it's still probably one of the big highlights. I was really hoping for a "new" AMG to be announced, you know how I've begged you for an Ultra Short and now 4 manufacturers came out with ones this year... just sayin' :) Sending you a PM on another topic...
 
Resurrecting a thread from a couple pages back. I finally got my AMG and have had 2 range trips with it this far, about 250 rounds and distances from 100-1000 yards.

I had my T5Xi and MK6 and a buddy’s Razor GEN2 to compare it to and below are my impressions. Keep in mind that this is the nicest optic I have owned so the glass statements should be taken accordingly as I have nothing better to compare the AMG against.

-Glass: the resolution and clarity are amazing. At 700 yards I could make out the digits and a bar code on a telephone pole tag.
-Adjustment: After zeroing on a 7mil/24moa Mount I have 20.1 mils of usable elevation
-Eyebox: the eyebox is good and I didn’t really notice a difference, compared to the 34mm tubes, until above 18x which I believe is due to the 30mm tube.
-Magnification: magnification ring is the best I have seen and does not need a throw lever
-Turrets: the L-Tec turrets are very nice. They are a bit difficult to get unlocked but I think they will loosen up with time. The clicks are audible and have a very nice feel to them, stiffer than most, but not too stiff. The best way I can describe them are intentional and deliberate. The spacing between clicks is good.
-Reticle: I love the EBR-7B reticle. The 0.2 mil spacing above the horizontal line and thicker 0.5 mil spacing below the horizontal line make it very quick and easy to use. The open center with a dot is also clutch. This and the SKMR3 are my favorite reticles. I was originally worried about the thickness but since I use the scope primarily between 14-18x the reticle is finer.
-Parallax: The knob is great mechanically. From 25-100yards is pretty spacey, but 200,300,500 are all right on top of each other. I suspect this has something to do with the scope being more or less parallax free past 450yards.
-Illumination: Daylight bright on the highest 2-3 settings and entire reticle is illuminated
-scope caps: I have or do own Butler Creek and Tenebraex scope caps but the way the defenders lock back and keep it low profile is ingenious. I hated having to take my scope caps off for a stage because they got in the way and then putting them back on after to go to the next stage.

Gripe:
-Scope Coating: its a matte black and doesn’t seem to be too scratch resistant.

I was looking at the K624i, ATACR 5-25, Razor GEN2 4.5-27, PMII 5-25, and the AMG won out of that group. The PMII is the only one I wasn’t able to get my hands on before making the decision. The AMG replaced a T5Xi 5-25x56.

7CFBB791-A8DC-4346-8CCE-D49F50630247.jpeg

FF88479E-C1EB-419F-9F2B-95B309105083.jpeg
 
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Nice report. I am very fond of the AMG and routinely recommend it to people. I maintain a list of recommendations and in the "price no object category", I basically recommend Tangent Theta and AMG if weight is important.

One comment though: tube diameter has nothing to do with tightening of the eye relief flexibility. It is largely a function of a smaller objective lens in this case.

ILya
 
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