Great Optics
I did a lot of shopping around before buying this optic. The scope itself is well worth the price. The deciding factor for me, since I have glaucoma was that it was the only optic I could find that would give me a crystal clear sight picture. The red/green dots are very crisp and completely in focus at all times. Once it was sighted in it has been dead-on out to almost three(3) hundred yards. Overall, just a fantastic optic all the way around. I would definitely recommend this optic to anyone who has eye issues and need that little extra adjustment to clear up those red/green starburst you get with other dot optics.
Get them here soon
Since this is not available yet, it is eagerly awaited. For many of us, the red-dot sights just are too fuzzy to use. This optic has an adjustable focus AND the reticle remains useful, even with a dead battery. We have been awaiting such an optic for a long time. Now if this holds up under hard use, they will grab a big chunk of the market.
Great optic
I love this scope, but I wish I had known it will not co-witness with iron sights before I bought it. I contacted customer service at Vortex and he explained that it functions more like a scope than a red dot, so the position of the front iron sight is distorted if you attempt to cowitness. Not a big deal, it would have been nice to know when I bought it. Do research! There is a qd lever mount available from American Defense Mfg for $80 that I will put under it so my buis are not worthless. Aside from that issue, I love this optic! The lighted settings work great indoors or out. I put a dab of superglue on the rear flip open cover because it kept falling off. Problem solved. I would highly recommend this optic, as long as you dont expect it to co-witness!
All most awesome
Ill start off by saying i know my way around guns and accessories. I was a active duty armorer in the Marines and worked as a salesmen and technition behind a gun counter for nearly 10 years, 6 of which i was also a gunsmith apprentice. When i wasnt working i owned a small preparedness consultation and instructing company for several years. I sold lots of vortex products at the last shop i worked in. I used "vortex dealer points" to aquire this optic. Normally not being excited about red dot optics because the batteries are always bad or dead it seems and i wouldnt sell or buy a red dot the price of aimpoints. So i got this becase of the etched reticle for use when the battery fails you. A feature that became invaluable to me. Ive mounted this optic on 2 rifles a piston ar and a mk18 pistol build. The first 2 times my friend and i went out and used it was on the 16in wolf T91 piston upper (which is fantastic for the money btw) it worked great. I was even impressed with the accuracy my buddy got out of it hitting the edge of a spinning ar500 square target at 50 yards multiple times i believe 3 out of 5 times. The 3rd time there was no illumination i used it successfully with the non illuminated etched reticle though. The 4th time i had put in a fresh battery, within a few rounds the illumination kept turning off and on. I tightened the battery cap it worked for 2 shots then went out. Since ive tried to replace the battery and no illumination. Like the first reviewer said the image seems farther away through the optic TILL YOU ADJUST THE EYE PIECE. So now its on my Daniel defense mk18 pistol with a brace with no illumination. Ive used it several times on there and have fired 100s of rounds and it seems fine. In conclusion Vortex optics are all made in the Philippians or vhina and are of generally sub par quality having had a bunch come back while selling them for a year. Id say 3 in 10 sold. The razors are nice but id personally spend that money on American or German companys optic, like Leopold Burris nightforce and primary arms.
Disappointed
I spent a couple of hours at the range trying to zero this device. The elevation and windage controls didn’t work even when I maxed out their settings .
Quality Control Issues, Skewed views
Followed instructions to get the focus set up correctly and reticle in line. Good things include clear glass, a reticle that is etched and usable without illumination, solid construction, very clear black, red or green reticle in daylight, reticle works well towards or into the sun. Really love the double circle and dot as it is just so easy to see and effortless to get on target. Bad things: 1) Reticle gets skewed looking around in the house with lights on or in the dark with both lower and higher illumination, and the red dot turned into 3 dots. 2) Can't use both eyes open as it disorients the shooter and can get double vision 3) optics pulled objects / views rightward where the scope would misrepresent where the object is (Shows object more rightward than where the object is actually located) 3) With one eye closed and moving scope view around, everything in the view gets distorted but still very clear. Houses and other objects grow and bend slightly like the funny mirrors in a circus fun house, but not as extreme 4) Can't use it effectively like a normal red dot meaning it has a specific eye relief range to use it properly - not unlimited eye relief like a red dot, more like a normal scope. 5) When moving scope view left to right, objects will stretch rightward into the view of the scope too soon and stretches the overall width of the object. 6) Size of objects can get smaller or larger as they enter the scope view depending on how you have the scope focused. I experimented with numerous focus positions, but when I had the focus set up per instructions, objects for me would get stretched out slightly, get slightly smaller in size in the view and drop down slightly. Crazy experience. Never have I seen a scope have so many distortion issues. Maybe the prism technology is more susceptible to quality control issues like lenses off kilter, etc. What kind of quality control does the manufacturer have to allow a scope like this get approved for sale? It's OK to have good warranty and warranty service, and I heard Vortex is great in this area, but it is better not to inconvenience the customer in the first place. All scopes should be in fully 100% perfect working order when new, then use the warranty later down the road if something happens. Customers should not have to deal with warranties or returns before they can even use the product. This scope is brand new and has never been used. This was all found doing visual checks before I took it to the range. Haven't even checked if the windage and elevation adjustments work or if the scope holds zero. No reason to after all this mess. Hope this helps.
Made in China
I helped an officer mount this optic on his patrol rifle. I had never handled one prior so I examined the entire thing. I was surprised but not really about finding a "Made in China" sticker on the bottom of the optic. It was nice that Vortex included a separate turret for BDC. It was thoughtful. One thing that really struck me was the fact that this optic actually made the target seem further away that it was. But seeing that it was made in China I was not surprised. Also the reticle illumination was consistently flickering on and off while zeroing.