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Rifle Scopes What’s the deal with Vortex? Yay? Nay?

Cerracote guy painted over the numbers on turrets, the Vortex guy I was talking to got a chuckle out of it, they sent me new ones, flood washed away my sun shades for two scopes, they sent me new ones. I called them expecting to pay for these things, they refused to let me pay! They wouldn’t even let me pay for shipping. I have two Vipers and one of the lower priced ones, I think they are pretty damn good for price, I can’t really complain about much............
 
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wade2big said:
I would wager that Leupold sells more scopes than Vortex. Doesn’t really matter but there is lots of Leupold and Remington hate on the hide. ?
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I don't know that they sell more. I would venture to guess they don't have the Chinese bottom of the market that realistically sells a TON. (My Dad's retirement job is counter guy at the lgs, he sells 5+ $100 scopes for every $400 scope. Vortex crossfires, Simmons, bushnell, nikon base model 3-9's because they just bought a new rifle and couldn't afford/save for a decent scope. He hates 90% of his customers).

I feel like vortex could actually improve their image if they dropped the crossfire line. But that also looses the Chinese made cheap market to get brand loyalty so it is a catch 22.



Really I just like to poke at the haters with a stick and remind them that the "cool kids toys" aren't necessarily the best or only choices.
 
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I try my damndest to not buy from China because I have never thought it was in the best interest of the nations economy.
 
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Akaftermath said:
I don't own any Vortex gear. I do own several Nightforce, several Swarovski, Zeiss, Kahles, Bushnell, Leupold and Burris optics. I talk to guys that have Vortex scopes they like and they always tout the warranty. The only experience I have with any warranty issues was with a Leupold and they corrected the issue right away. I try my damndest to not buy from China because I have never thought it was in the best interest of the nations economy. Vortex is a Chinese company.
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Did they move Barneveld, Wisconsin to China, or are you just making stuff up? because Vortex Optics is based out of Barneveld, Wisconsin.
 
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chevy_man said:
I agree with this. Razor/AMG are the only reasons to go vortex.


Their marketing sells a tons of cheap scopes that are hot garbage though. I was at the range last saturday and had a guy ask for help as he was pulling his hair out. Turns out the scope he just got back from vortex (diamondback HST) wasn't tracking windage. It was sent in the first time for no parallax adjustment. He was hot to say the least.




I love all mine. Never broken one. Never had to send one in. More than I can say for the vortex's I've owned.
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I’m not a fan of Vortex products but have enjoyed my Ranger 1500 LRF and know plenty of people satisfied with their Razor II’s etc. I think if you stick to their more expensive products and avoid stuff like their Cross Fire you’ll be okay.
 
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I’ve owned many Vortex products over the years. From their cheaper red dots to their AMG Huey red dot, Gen 1 PST’s, Gen1 Razors, and I still own a Gen2 Razor and a 6-24 AMG. I’ve had zero issues with the Razor/AMG line, but it is comforting to know that if they were to crap out on me; that Vortex would take care of it no questions asked. Until I can save enough $ for a ZCO or maybe a TT, my Vortex scopes are doing the job just fine.?
 
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My experience with lower end scopes wasn't bad at all ,its just when I decided that I wanted put one shot in the same hole as the other is when I realized that I had to have any advantage. For me the Nightfrorce helps , I do not believe that Vortex is inferior in any way
 
JFComfort said:
I’m not a fan of Vortex products but have enjoyed my Ranger 1500 LRF and know plenty of people satisfied with their Razor II’s etc. I think if you stick to their more expensive products and avoid stuff like their Cross Fire you’ll be okay.
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Don’t hate on the Crossfire II. I have one and the glass is just as good, if not better than my S&B 5-25x for 1/10 the cost!! ? and the parallax adjustment on the bell is the best idea since sliced bread!
 
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I tend to be practical about these things - I'm not really a fanboi of anybody, Vortex or otherwise. I've had a few Vortex optics over the years, mosty from the Viper line. Currently I have a Viper PA on a hunting rig and a Diamondback Tactical FFP on a NRL22 base class rifle. I've never had a problem with anything from Vortex, but then I don't tend to be that hard on my equipment. I like Vortex because they give me a good range of options in configuration (FFP/SFP, exposed/covered turrets, mag range, etc) and reticles and seem like generally decent stuff for the price.

Vortex has their place in the market, probably not at very top but they're not garbage either. I've also used stuff from other manufacturers (Burris, Bushnell, Nikon, SWFA, Weaver, etc.) and I think the Vortex models definitely are competitive. One thing I think they have done is pushed other manufacturers to up their game by continuing to bring features from the higher-end stuff down into their lower-end product lines. I feel like they've been a market driver for a while now and are at least partially responsible for the availability of nicer stuff for guys like me who don't have mega-$$$ to spend on my hobby.

I'd love to drop $3k+ on a Nightforce or S&B, but that's just not going to happen for a while. In the meantime Vortex, among others, helps me play the game with what I can afford and shoot more while I'm working up to the better stuff.
 
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Agree with most of the comments.

My experience with Vortex has been really positive. GenII razors are fantastic. I love my NF F1 but considerably more street price. I love to shoot lots of different calibers depending on the day and can't afford to top them all with a 3k NF F1 7-35. Personally, I would take a GenII razor everyday of the week over a SHV or NXS. Just my preference since weight is not an issue for my applications.

As already mentioned in the thread, it cracks me up when people say "Vortex sucks! My NF/S&B...never had a issue!" Yep, and my acura is better than a scooter. If I could buy a NF variable 24x power scope for my cheaper guns and kids rifles for $400, and it had the same NF quality, I would do it! Haven't seen that unicorn yet. Although I haven't had to use the warranty for an issue, it is nice to know that it is there.
 
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Does an unlimited warranty bother anyone? To me, an unlimited warranty is like free government stuff. It sounds great at first until you do the math and figure out who is paying for it. If someone in Oregon cleans their lense with Turpentine and ruins the coating, does that cost get spread around the the guy in Georgia buying a Crossfire?
 
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Helislacker said:
Upon getting into precision rifle, I began following quite a few pages on social media. A few of these are satirical meme pages, and almost each of them have ragged on Vortex. These pages may be satirical, but many of the guys who run them are active duty or retired mil snipers who believe Vortex and all of their products are hot garbage. On the flip side, guys like Bill Rapier, Kyle Defoor, and many (if not the majority) of top level PRS guys run Vortex and have nothing but positives to say. To top it off, the Army’s premier CT unit runs the Razor for LPVO’s, when they could’ve chosen whatever they wanted.
Ultimately, there is apparently no consensus with this brand and I’ve seen absolutely die hard supporters on one side and absolute haters on the other. Unfortunately, I have neither the experience nor the knowledge to be able to make an informed opinion myself. All I know is that any Vortex product I’ve had has worked well. At the end of the day, I’m curious as to what the truth is here so it can inform future purchase decisions.

Thanks
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Quit reading so much Instagram/social media. 99% of it is complete and unadulterated bullshit. Which begs the question, why would you give ANY of it any credibility when you have first hand experience with the brand.

Use your brain.
 
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Vortex has built their business model around their warranty. You can either look at that as a positive or a negative.

As has been said, the Razor line is the most reliable of them and can be a good value.

I personally run a Vortex 1-6 on a duty rifle and it is great for my needs.

I have seen 3 razor Gen 1 5-20's personally go down. 1 time it was at a 2 day match early first day and my brother in law was unable to shoot the match which sucked. Vortex fixed it eventually but what if that had been a $40,000 sheep hunt or worse, while betting his life on it? As it is it was a $300 entry fee and the time and money to travel.

As Rob01 pointed out, many of the issues are user error like tightening down rings too hard, etc.

Vortex pushed the market forward a ton with good reticles, FFP optics and warranty. Many of the other big names were forced to improve or lose out. That's the beauty of competition.

I trust my life to MY Razor but also have tested the piss out of it. I sold my other Vortex scopes and run Nightforce on the hunting and target guns that I dial because I have never seen a Nightforce go down or personally had to send one back for warranty.

So I guess my opinion and experience kinda explains both sides you brought up, lol.
 
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Helislacker said:
Upon getting into precision rifle, I began following quite a few pages on social media. A few of these are satirical meme pages, and almost each of them have ragged on Vortex. These pages may be satirical, but many of the guys who run them are active duty or retired mil snipers who believe Vortex and all of their products are hot garbage. On the flip side, guys like Bill Rapier, Kyle Defoor, and many (if not the majority) of top level PRS guys run Vortex and have nothing but positives to say. To top it off, the Army’s premier CT unit runs the Razor for LPVO’s, when they could’ve chosen whatever they wanted.
Ultimately, there is apparently no consensus with this brand and I’ve seen absolutely die hard supporters on one side and absolute haters on the other. Unfortunately, I have neither the experience nor the knowledge to be able to make an informed opinion myself. All I know is that any Vortex product I’ve had has worked well. At the end of the day, I’m curious as to what the truth is here so it can inform future purchase decisions.

Thanks
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I had the same conundrum a few years ago. Here's my story ...

I started mid-to-long range shooting (out to 800-ish) with Vortex scopes, and thought they were just fine. Saw them as a good compromise between features and price. Got good results for a couple of years with HS-T, Golden Eagle, and others. Then a new 6.5 Creedmoor (LWRCI REPR MKII Elite) landed in the safe, and a buddy talked me into trying an Athlon Cronus 4.5-29. The difference in features, glass, quality, and results ... were measurable. I just plane "shot better" because I could "see better" and the scope just felt really comfortable. Bought another for a new 300-WM (MPA) and used it this summer to get my "Bucket List" mile shot. I was happy. Then my LGS guy that helped me hit that mile shot, suggested I go with a Leupold Mark-5 HD 5-25 for a new 6.5 Grendel that I wanted to shoot to 1,000 and beyond. I tried it, and OMG ... what an amazing scope. Eye box is stunningly big, illumination is off the charts, glass is crystal clear ... just a top tier scope in every way I could see.

As a "Toddler", I started with Vortex and was happy. I developed into a "Teenager" and the Athlon gave me great results for that stage of my skills. I became an "Adult", got a high-end Leupold, and now my skills development has evolved to allow me to take advantage of that superior optic. Hard to imagine something better than a Leupold Mark-5 for future guns ... but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

That was my personal journey. Everyone has a different story.
 
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supercorndogs said:
Did they move Barneveld, Wisconsin to China, or are you just making stuff up? because Vortex Optics is based out of Barneveld, Wisconsin.
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Well, every single Vortex branded item I have ever picked up had a "Made in China" stamp.
 
Rob01 said:
Vortex is a Chinese company? Lol That wins the thread for the most ignorant comment and there have been a few in here.
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Well, every single Vortex branded item I have ever picked up had a "Made in China" stamp.
 
supercorndogs said:
Are you really going to double down on that stupidity?

You know you can multi-quote rather than making three separate posts with the same stupid thing in them.
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I stand by my statement: I try my damndest to not buy from China because I have never thought it was in the best interest of the nations economy.
 
Rob01 said:
That's because you are buying the bottom of the line of their gear. They make everything from that on up. The AMG is the most made in the US scope there is. Educate yourself on their product line.
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I repeat: "I do not own any Vortex gear." Every single piece of Vortex gear I have ever picked up has "made in China" stamped on it. The NXS scopes (Nightforce) I own have "made in Japan" stamped on them and were not cheap to purchase. The Swarovski scopes I own do not have a "made in China" stamp and were not cheap to purchase. I try my damndest to not purchase items from China. I am willing to pay extra in order to not have the item with a stamp that says "made in China".

Several years ago I stopped in a small town in NE Montana because I had been driving for 18 hours. The next morning it was cold AF and my truck would not start. The hotel owner brought out a nice, big battery jump starter/charger. The truck would not even turn over after more than an hour on the charger. He gave me a ride to a parts store and they had new batteries for my truck..."made in China". I bought 2 and was glad to have them. If there would have been a different option...say batteries made in India, Malaysia, Brazil...I would not have bought the batteries "made in China".

I stand by my statement and my conviction. You are certainly welcome to stand by your own.
 
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Multiple folks have hit the nail on the head with Vortex where they’ve made a good point. Vortex tries to have a scope offering for a lot of price points and some of the others like Nightforce, Schmidt, etc focus a lot on the higher end. For long range competition, I have seen 3 Vortex turret failures with 2 different models. In all the cases, Vortex’ warranty treated those folks good with a very quick replacement, but I overheard one guy in a competition say “it should’ve not failed in the first place” and “the warranty doesn’t matter to me right now since I can’t finish the competition.”

I personally like the Nightforce ATAC-R line, Tangeant Thetas, Kahles, and Schmidt and Bender. Nightforce more recently because of all the elevation dial capability.
 
OP: Honestly as you can see it's all subjective. I have two razor G2s and at one point had a SM PM2. Both are good scopes, both will get you far. Big thing is what does your eye like? Personally I liked the turrets on the SB over the razor but prefer the image through a razor over the SB. Warranty yeah it is what it is but it's nice to have a company that will fix your gear and get it back on your door in a matter of days if you politely ask. There are companies that yell "Ultra Rugged" yet will leave you hanging for 6+ months while your gear is fixed. Everything will break at some point...hell you'll find some threads of TTs breaking but they take care of people.

TL;DR: You won't get a clear answer to this. Just buy what you like and can afford.

As to the made in china debate, I bet the electronics of even some higher end scopes have parts sourced from china. Like it or not you seriously cannot avoid it. But if you have the coin to buy EVERYTHING made in the US you probably can afford to pay off your carbon offset.
 
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roaring80sgun said:
Multiple folks have hit the nail on the head with Vortex where they’ve made a good point. Vortex tries to have a scope offering for a lot of price points and some of the others like Nightforce, Schmidt, etc focus a lot on the higher end. For long range competition, I have seen 3 Vortex turret failures with 2 different models. In all the cases, Vortex’ warranty treated those folks good with a very quick replacement, but I overheard one guy in a competition say “it should’ve not failed in the first place” and “the warranty doesn’t matter to me right now since I can’t finish the competition.”

I personally like the Nightforce ATAC-R line, Tangeant Thetas, Kahles, and Schmidt and Bender. Nightforce more recently because of all the elevation dial capability.
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If serious about competing or hunting, always have a backup. I bet those guys learned that lesson.
 
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I ignore the haters... I have plenty of Vortex scopes that I run hard and have never had an issue. I have used their customer service and its awesome. lost the tool for the razor zero stop and the cover for my viper red dot, they replaced both no questions asked.. Great company.
 
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wade2big said:
I would wager that Leupold sells more scopes than Vortex. Doesn’t really matter but there is lots of Leupold and Remington hate on the hide. ?
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Don’t know why. They make a fine scope and have great warranty and service.....and ... and they’re made in the USA!!
 
Helislacker said:
Upon getting into precision rifle, I began following quite a few pages on social media. A few of these are satirical meme pages, and almost each of them have ragged on Vortex. These pages may be satirical, but many of the guys who run them are active duty or retired mil snipers who believe Vortex and all of their products are hot garbage. On the flip side, guys like Bill Rapier, Kyle Defoor, and many (if not the majority) of top level PRS guys run Vortex and have nothing but positives to say. To top it off, the Army’s premier CT unit runs the Razor for LPVO’s, when they could’ve chosen whatever they wanted.
Ultimately, there is apparently no consensus with this brand and I’ve seen absolutely die hard supporters on one side and absolute haters on the other. Unfortunately, I have neither the experience nor the knowledge to be able to make an informed opinion myself. All I know is that any Vortex product I’ve had has worked well. At the end of the day, I’m curious as to what the truth is here so it can inform future purchase decisions.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Vortex is top of the line, that is my experience with them.
 
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I only have one, a PST 1-4x I got for a .22 I built. Probably not a better scope for the price, especially for what I wanted. Was even more impressed using it, it's actually a very nice scope and for what I paid I surely can't complain.
 
I've run Gen 2 Razors for 5 years I think. In the last 8 years i've had a S&B 5-25, Leupold Mark 6 and Sig Tango 6 go down but not a Vortex. Now that being said, on the higher end, they are finely tuned mechanical devices that get subjected to some pretty tough conditions - they will all go down eventually. The only scope that may be more durable than a Vortex Gen 2 Razor in my opinion is the Nightforce ATACR lineup. Nightforce reticles are getting better, but still haven't made a great one. I'm currently running 3 Gen 2 Razor's with EBR7-C's, and a Tangent Theta that sits in the safe on a hunting gun #nonlockingturrets #costyoupointsatmatches.
 
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BANG...ping said:
Does an unlimited warranty bother anyone? To me, an unlimited warranty is like free government stuff. It sounds great at first until you do the math and figure out who is paying for it. If someone in Oregon cleans their lense with Turpentine and ruins the coating, does that cost get spread around the the guy in Georgia buying a Crossfire?
Click to expand...


 
wade2big said:
If serious about competing or hunting, always have a backup. I bet those guys learned that lesson.
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Rob01 said:
Stay around the sport long enough and you will see scopes go down. I have seen NF, S&B and USO go down at matches. It happens.
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Like he said. Every scope has the potential to fail. There was a thread on here not too long ago about a ring in a tangent theta come loose in the tube and on one of the recent podcasts there was mention of a kahles where the reticle started canting inside the scope. So yeah everything can break. Should those things happen? No. But a big thing is how the company fixes it. TT, Kahles, Vortex, SB, etc will get you back up and running as soon as possible while others will leave you hanging for nearly a year (had this happen to me).
 
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