Vortex users

[jlewis406]

I have a Sparc on my 10/22 and a Strike Fire on my wife's Bushmaster. They are pretty much the same scope in my opinion.

Things I like about the Strike Fire
-Cheap
-Robust enough for every day use. Banged it around a bit and still held zero.
-Long battery life.
-Ability to switch between red and green dots. Dots are good size too.
-Control's are decent. On/off/dot color could use some re-design but I don't have any better ideas.
Things I don't like about the Strike Fire
-Objective lens coating makes shooting in low light hard. Even at low power settings the dot can bloom out your optic easily.
-Red and green dots bloom out scope even at low power settings in low light.
-Magnifier doesn't really magnify. It just restricts your vision (like watching a small TV across a large room. After a while you don't even notice it's a tiny TV)
-Magnifier takes about 13,000 turns to get installed. Kind of a long ordeal. Focus adjustment takes about 5 or 6 turns to see any change.
-The mount is meh. I torqued it down tight with some nail polish on the threads.
-It takes a CR2 battery that can be tricky at times to find.


Things I like about the Sparc
-Size. I can shoot both eyes open and the optic all but disappears. Doesn't obstruct my vision very much.
-Very light weight.
-Options on mounts. Low cheek weld on my 10/22 or co-witness on an AR-15.
-Good battery life.
-Tough. It's on my 10/22 that gets banged around in my truck or in my ruck and holds zero.
-Has lanyards on the adjustment caps.
-Price.

Things I don't like about the Sparc
-Lanyards have a tendency to twist and can be hard to get tiny caps off for adjustment.
-Screws in mounts need some nail polish or Loctite to stay put. I pulled it off after a few hundred rounds and found 2 screws missing.
-Objective lens coating is better than Strike Fire, but still not awesome in low light. Even in normal light it adds a blue hue to everything. Odd when shooting both eyes open because one eye sees things normally, the other see's the blue hue.
-O-rings on caps suck. Cracked or broke in a few months.
-Magnifier...same as I said on Strike Fire.
-Controls....same opinion as on Strike Fire.
-Would like option of red or green dot with the push of a button like on Strike Fire


Conclusion.
For the price, they are to beat IN MY OPINION. The optics seem pretty tough and stand up to abuse as long as you put in some forthought to use loctite or nail polish (my personal favorite for screws) to keep things from falling out. Easy to zero and they hold their zero well. Good battery life and decent controls. The magnifier and the objective lens coating are my only real gripes with these dudes. All in all, if you don't wanna drop the money on a high end red dot or holo optic this is a good choice especially for normal use. Would I take them to Afghanistan with me? No. Would I use them for plinking, coyote hunting and as a fairly reliable everyday use optic? Yes.

 

[WoofersInc]

I have a Strikefire on one of my Ar's. Main complaint for me is that in bright daylight the dot is hard to pick up. Other than that it has worked great. Holds zero and was easy to get dialed in.

I also have a Crossfire on a 10/22 Target. So far it has been a great scope on this gun.

 

[gunfighter48]

I have a Vortex Viper HS 5-15 X 44 on my DPMS LR 308 and it's a fantastic scope. These scopes were made for Midway and only sold thru Midway. It's very clear and sharp from edge to edge and holds it's zero just fine with the 308. The turrets have very positive clicks and it has zero reset. The reticle is Mil - Mil, very sharp and easy to use. I've had several scopes over the years and the Vortex is the best one yet. I got mine a week after the Midway sale price of $399.00 expired. So I paid $499.00 for mine and it's worth every penny!! Now the listing on Midway says out of stock, it's a seasonal item. Hope they get them back again because I want to buy another one for my next rifle!!!

 

[Walkalong]

I bought the same scope. I back ordered it when it was on sale. It took almost four months to receive it, but It was worth the wait.

I agree. Superb scope.

 

[helotaxi]

I've been very impressed with my Strikefire but I still wouldn't take a chance on one of their higher priced rifle scopes. Not if I could get something comparable from a well-established brand like Leupold, Burris, Nikon, Weaver, etc..

None of the brands you listed offer a scope with comparable glass and features in the same price category as a Vortex. Leupold can offer some of the same features but at 2x or more the price.

Vortex has been around for around 20 years, or thereabout, so it's not like they're some upstart. They are relatively new in the riflescope market but they've been well known for their binoculars in the birding community for some time.

 

[Driftertank]

Viper PST 4-16X50 FFP

Some people will say "My Schmidt & Bender/Swarovski/USOptics has MUCH better glass" and i'm sure they are, but i've never played with any of those. As far as my experience, my Vortex is the most scope i could have gotten for the money. Glass is brilliant, controls and adjustments have a good feel. Reticle is easy to read, simple to use (I specified MOA graduation/adjustment, and being FFP, leads and holdovers are accurate at ANY power) and features multilevel LED illumination. Has large, clearly marked target turrets, and a simple but effective shim-based zero-stop feature. Has "side-focus," and generous range of eye-relief. Very little glare/flare from light sources in low-light conditions. The best part is i paid less than a grand for it.

A friend of mine hadn't heard of Vortex a year ago, now owns a riflescope, rangefinder and binos from them, loves them all.

Neither of us has had to use their (reportedly excellent) customer service yet.

 

[chaser_2332]

I have 2 razors and a pst. Love them all. The only scope
I would trade my razors for are a s&b.

 

[rodensouth]

I've got a Viper HS 4-16 x 44 and it has impressed me. I have a Swarovski Z6 2-12 that may be a bit nicer glass as far as edge to edge clarity and low-light work, but my lower end Swaro's are not as nice as the Viper IMO. I also have Leupold and Zeiss. It has become MY opinion that a high end Vortex is better than an entry level Swaro/Zeiss.

 

[Zebraranger]

I've had the Vortex Strikefire red/green dot on my Beretta CX-4 .40 for almost a couple of years now with no issues. Primarely my HD and fun range gun. Its held up well and it holds zero, seems to be pretty rugged too. Here in Florida on bright sunny days, the green dot can be hard to see, no issue seeing the red dot. I have it mounted on the low ring so it will co-witness with the iron sights. I dont use the magnifier because it really does'nt help, I think its just a selling point. All in all though, its a good value especially for its price point.

 

[Fishbed77]

I own a Vortex StrikeFire red dot that I have mounted on a dedicated .22LR AR-15.

It's a nice enough sight for that use, but there is NO comparison in build quality or optical quality to the Aimpoint PRO that I own. TheVortex glass is much darker and greener than the Aimpoint glass, and the dot is less crisp (but still quite good). I also find the button placement and operation a little fiddly compared to the simple dial and "always-on" battery life of the Aimpoint. I've also had the included Vortex mount work itself loose under the fearsome recoil of the .22LR (though easily addressed with some blue Loktite). It's nothing compared to the beast of a mount included with the PRO (QRP2 mount, as used with Aimpoint CompM4). The Vortex flip-caps are annoying difficult to close.

It may sound like I'm being really harsh on the StrikeFire, but I actually like the sight. At it's price point, it's the best thing out there. I just wouldn't call it the best "value" in red dot sights.

The StrikeFire is great for plinking, but for any hard use, the PRO is by far the best value out there. I've seen them occasionally priced under $400 at PSA. In the scheme of things that's not really a whole lot more money than the StrikeFire for a whole heck of a lot more optic.

 

[adelbridge]

I have 2 Crossfires and a Crossfire II

3-9 with illumnated reticle
4-12X 42 crossfire II
4-16 X50 AO illuminated reticle

the 3-9 I ran side by side with my buddies Leupold VX-II on a night hog hunt last week and the glass was pretty much identical. The illuminated reticle actually makes the scope slightly brighter under moonlight and I had no problem picking off a hog at 40 yards at 10:00 pm with no other light source.

 

[Snubshooter]

Good glass. Some of their electronics can be iffy at times. I think they expanded too fast and that part of QC didn't keep up.

 

[Zebraranger]

It's a nice enough sight for that use, but there is NO comparison in build quality or optical quality to the Aimpoint PRO that I own

I have to agree but you cant even compare the two. The Aimpoint Pro is in another league at upwards of $400. compared to $129. for the Vortex Strikefire. The Aimpoint is definitely a much better and quality optic, but you're paying for that quality in three times the price. Its kind of like comparing a Chevrolet Corvette to a Chevrolet Cavalier, they both do the job but the vette does it better.

 

[Temp430]

I purchased a Vortex Viper HD 20-60x80 angled spotting scope. Very nice. I can see Jupiter's cloud bands with it. Bought it to see holes at the range and it's seems a bit of an overkill for that.

 

[Batty67]

I've had a SPARC on my AO M1 carbine (scout-mounted). On/off crapped out and Vortex replaced with only a minor (reasonable) amount of fuss. New one works like a charm. You MUST use loctite or it will rattle and lose zero. I added Butler Creek flip-up covers. Very good quality and accesories for the price.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

i have to agree with the others. I also have 3 aimpoints. two comp 2s and a comp3 and there hands down better. But they sure should be for the price. My vortex strikefires are both on 22s. they serve well on those. But on the guns id want to rely on to protect myself and my family theres aimpoints and acogs. To me its worth the extra cost for piece of mind. But for a plinking gun or for someone that just cant come up with the 500 bucks for a aimpoint there a class setup. I also agree with the magnifier assesment. Id like to see them sell them for 10 bucks cheaper and ditch the magnifier. Its a joke.

 

[JoeMal]

I have a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x40mm on a Savage .223...holds zero, clear glass, and great customer service. One of my lens-caps broke and I called them up to see what they would do. They overnighted a new lens cap set and included a camo longsleeve shirt for hunting season. Not bad IMO. I will buy more

 

[elwoodm]

put my vortex strikefire on a saiga 12 and it handles 3 inch mag loads fine slugs 00 buck no problem great red dot for the money.

 

[JustinJ]

While comparing the Leupold VX R 1-4X against the vortex PST 1-4 i found the Leupold to have clearer glass. I could read signs with it at 4X that i could not with the Vortex. I think the VX-R patrol is a lot more scope for the money.

 

[saenzrich]

1-4x24 PST Is always at zero every time i take it to the range. Can't beat it for the price. I know but this was not luck yes 1st shot and it was only at 50yds, but there are always naysayers... they are great clear scopes as long as you can do your part..