LPVO’s

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

If there is a tread for this kick me in the dick.
I’m a bit tired of spending more on glass than the gun. Been doing some research and landed on the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 FFP. Anyone here have an opinion on it and Vortex as a company?
Thanks in advance,

 

[Box]

I have one - I love it. Getting ready to buy another one for my wife. There are plenty of options from Vortex that will make you happy that won't wreck your wallet. Leupold makes great glass for the price as well.

I put either Vortex or Leupold on my guns - there is definitely "better" glass out there - but you're going to pay as for for it as you paid for the gun.

On that same topic - you can still buy an LPVO from Vortex or Leupold that will cost more than the gun if you change your mind..

 

[RackMaster]

I have Vortex on all my guns, although I just use them for recreation and hunting. Never had issues.

 

[Totentanz]

If there is a tread for this kick me in the dick.
I’m a bit tired of spending more on glass than the gun. Been doing some research and landed on the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 FFP. Anyone here have an opinion on it and Vortex as a company?
Thanks in advance,

Quality is on par for price and the warranty is rock solid. I have a few (including the 1-8 strike eagle) and while I prefer Trijicon and Leupold, Vortex holds their own. It’s really hard to go wrong with their products.

 

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

I guess I’ll give it a swirl.

 

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

Anyone have experience with Reptilia mounts?

 

[Devildoc]

Anyone have experience with Reptilia mounts?

First, the Strike Eagle is a great optic for the price.

Second, Reptilia is a local company (10 miles west, in the town in which I grew up). High quality, they stand by their products. I'd buy without reservation.

 

[Blizzard]

If there is a tread for this kick me in the dick.
I’m a bit tired of spending more on glass than the gun. Been doing some research and landed on the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 FFP. Anyone here have an opinion on it and Vortex as a company?
Thanks in advance,

I have one on my rifle and it's a terrific optic. I used it for 3-gun. Great bang for the buck. It replaced a Leupold.

Vortex is a great company. They offer great veteran/pro pricing as well.

 

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

ARES ETR GEN2 UHD 1-10x24 ATMR3 FFP IR MIL - Athlon Optics

Going to give this a try as well. Midway had a blem on sale for $600.

 

[Devildoc]

ARES ETR GEN2 UHD 1-10x24 ATMR3 FFP IR MIL - Athlon Optics

Going to give this a try as well. Midway had a blem on sale for $600.

Damn, the price is right.

I had an Athlon, the Midas I believe, I'd give it a grade of a C-/D+. It would not hold zero and would fog up. Lemon? I don't know. It was OK, but I was glad to get rid of it. That said, the Ares has great reviews and I have heard good things about that line.

 

[RackMaster]

ARES ETR GEN2 UHD 1-10x24 ATMR3 FFP IR MIL - Athlon Optics

Going to give this a try as well. Midway had a blem on sale for $600.

Come on, give into peer pressure and get the Vortex. lol

 

[AWP]

The avid hunter, former Marine in my shop swears by Vortex as does my bestie who runs one of their red dots in IPSC. Their experiences convinced me to make that my next optic purchase.

 

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

I’m still getting the Vortex for sure.

 

[Devildoc]

The avid hunter, former Marine in my shop swears by Vortex as does my bestie who runs one of their red dots in IPSC. Their experiences convinced me to make that my next optic purchase.

I have not been a fan of their red dots but I understand their very pricey UH-1 (I think that's what it's called) is supposed to be the bee's knees.

Their scopes, on the other hand, even their 'budget' scopes, outpunch their class. I was hanging out on the range with an ODA, one of the cats had a Razor on his AR, he said it was better than the Nightforce he had used previously. That's pretty good company. My experience is mostly with the Strike Eagle and the Viper HD.

 

[Blizzard]

I have not been a fan of their red dots but I understand their very pricey UH-1 (I think that's what it's called) is supposed to be the bee's knees.

Their scopes, on the other hand, even their 'budget' scopes, outpunch their class. I was hanging out on the range with an ODA, one of the cats had a Razor on his AR, he said it was better than the Nightforce he had used previously. That's pretty good company. My experience is mostly with the Strike Eagle and the Viper HD.

I have Strike Eagle along with a Razor on an offset mount - and BUIS....because 3 is 2, 2 is 1...or something; you know.

The setup works great for me and the Vortex optics are terrific. I could probably spend more, but why?

 

[Box]

As I said, I am a full om fan of Vortex and Leupold but there are some very specific exceptions to what I'll buy outside of those two for my personal guns - that being said...

The UH-1 is a great piece of gear but when it comes to Holographic sites, I will take an EOTECH every single time.
The "quality" of both sites is more of a 'shooters preference' than either of them being objectively "better"
Admittedly, the cost for the EOTECHs has gone way up in recent years, I've literally "trusted my life" to an EOTECH 512 and later XPS. I carried an EOTECH on my service rifle for most of my time in Iraq and swapped out my scope/micro-dot combo in Afghanistan when I was working in and around Kabul in nonstandard vehicles.
I have an XPS on one of my own rifles.

I've tried M68's and their civilian counterparts - but for the price and end result, a Vortex Strikefire-II dot site or EOTECH are my "go to" choice for a either a holographic or dot site on a rifle/carbine.

The cost of a Vortex Razor with the JM1 reticle is just too rich for my blood - so for me, the next best thing is a Strike Eagle - which is almost 1500 bucks cheaper - and at my skill/interest level - will perform the exact same function while I spend the rest of that money on ammo and gun parts.

I tried a Sig Romeo - it was OK, then I swapped it out for a Vortex Crossfire.

I tend to put scopes from their "Viper" line on most of my rifles with Leupold being my "go to" scope for a rifle that is strictly a hunting gun.

With the exception of a Holosun that I put on a Shadow System pistol - all of my small micro red-dots are now some sort of Vortex. I had a Leupold Delta Point but I swapped it out for a Viper red dot.

 

[Devildoc]

You know what is a deceptively good optic, probably the best bang for the buck? Don't laugh: the SWFA Super Sniper. Originally branded under Tasco (yes, THAT Tasco, of low-grade/almost garbage stuff), Navy NSW trailed a 10X scope that was a great optic. Now under SWFA. I have used their 10X mil-dot scope for years on a mid Rem 700 and honestly, it was just as good (I said what I said) as a Leupold Mark 4 10X. I have no experience with their LPVOs, though.

 

[AWP]

You know what is a deceptively good optic, probably the best bang for the buck? Don't laugh: the SWFA Super Sniper. Originally branded under Tasco (yes, THAT Tasco, of low-grade/almost garbage stuff), Navy NSW trailed a 10X scope that was a great optic. Now under SWFA. I have used their 10X mil-dot scope for years on a mid Rem 700 and honestly, it was just as good (I said what I said) as a Leupold Mark 4 10X. I have no experience with their LPVOs, though.

An SWFA 1-4x is on my AR, probably for the last...13-ish years. Good scope. I want to say the Tasco guys found a different glass supplier and that became SWFA after breaking from Tasco? *shrug. The scope works for me.

 

[Box]

A Tasco scope isn't inherently "bad" - its just inexpensive.
Hell - I'd say more people have learned how to shoot with a 2x Tasco on top of a BB gun or pellet rifle - or a 4x Tasco on a .22 LR - than almost any other scope/rifle combination ever in the history of learning how to shoot.

"Good" glass (just my two cents) really doesn't start to earn its keep until you start pushing the shot distances to WELL beyond what most people are comfortable taking anyway - or if you want to squeeze every last moment of daylight into your hunt.

If you are shooting a rifle that was meant to shoot with "Minute of Deer" accuracy at a max range of maybe 200 yards - your scope really isn't doing all that much work.
Sure, someone can put a Schmidt & Bender Precision Hunter on a Savage Axis - or dumps a few bucks putting a Zeiss V6 on a Marlin 336
...but why?

For the range you will be shooting that 170 grain Core-Lokt out of that 20 inch barreled 336, you will be every bit as successful with a Vortex Crossfire 3x9 as you will if you spend the extra 2000 dollars on a Zeiss V6.
If you bought that hot little 6.5 Creedmoor so that you can shoot "speed goats" at 400 yards - AND - you don't think you ca do it unless you dump three grand on a Schmidt & Bender - well - 'Murika - but if somebody has that kind of money to spend on glass - why in the world would they buy a Mossberg Patriot, a Savage Axis, or oven a Ruger American when they could have bought something WAAAY nicer in the first place?

On the other hand- if you just dropped a few bills on an out of state tag - a few more bucks on an outfitter - a few bucks on plane tickets...
...and that bull elk that you've been chasing ALL day finally steps into the clear on the hazy ridgline 400 yards away during the fading few moments of daylight...
...you're going to wish you had GOOD glass on top of whatever rifle/caliber combination that you are holding in your hands as you realize your scope just doesn't have the clarity at "THIS" range under "THESE" conditions that you thought it would - and the outfitter isn't going to refund your money because your glass can't "see through he haze" as the sun disappears behind the tree line.

 

[Downtown “Funky Stuff” Malone🍆]

I’m loving this thread! Missed you guys.