Mount it or List it?

[Esq]

I bought myself a present for Christmas. A Proof Research Elevation in 270 Win. I have a new refurbished Vortex Razor HD LH 2x10 - 40 sitting in my safe. It has the HSR-4 MOA ret. I've had it incubating in the safe for the last three years thinking it would be a solid option for a gun such as this. Now, however, after reading Form's many posts concerning scope failure, I don't think I can trust anything. My #1 requirement would be that the scope holds zero. I will use this rifle to hunt muleys and black tail, elk, and black bear. I am modestly careful with my rifle, but prone to occasional clumsiness. I'm not a hard core hunter or shooter, though I plan to spend more time in the field now that a few of my boys are out of high school sports. I don't expect to shoot past 400 and that would be unusual. I really like light weight, smaller objective for ease of carry and mounting low. I like this reticle as I won't be dialing and if I need to hold over it won't be much. I don't mind spmding the $ on a Schmidt and Bender if that's what it takes to not miss a good animal due to failure, but I don't want to spend needlessly. Should I list it or mount it?

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Anything mechanical can fail. The fact that you aren’t spinning turrets is a huge plus in the reliability front. I have heard a lot of great stuff about the LH’s. They are hard to come by nowadays. I would mount it and run with it.

 

[Esq]

Anything mechanical can fail. The fact that you aren’t spinning turrets is a huge plus in the reliability front. I have heard a lot of great stuff about the LH’s. They are hard to come by nowadays. I would mount it and run with it.

Reading about all the vortex failures doesn't inspire much confidence. The scope I have is a factory refurbished from AAO optics. Looks brand new. I suppose they have probably sold millions of units and the internet mostly receives the bad reports.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Reading about all the vortex failures doesn't inspire much confidence. The scope I have is a factory refurbished from AAO optics. Looks brand new. I suppose they have probably sold millions of units and the internet mostly receives the bad reports.

My buddy had an ATACR go down on a once in a lifetime alaskan moose hunt. You have to understand that Vortex makes scopes in every price range. Their razor lines are generally really really good and reliable. I have a 3-15x42 LHT on my mountain rifle. I love it, but I understand there is a tradeoff somewhere when you cut weight. I also have a 4.5-22 on backorder with Vortex. I have a pretty good mixture of scopes, I am not brand loyal, but have a lot of vortex HS-Ts and PSTs on kids rifles that have been awesome. I have a PST Gen II on a 223 varmint rifle that hasn’t had any issues and is shot a lot. If you don’t have confidence in the scope, sell it and get something else. Life is too short. If money and weight aren’t a consideration, get a Tangent Theta. They are the best of the best.

 

[Esq]

I ordered a Trijicon 2.5 x 15 and will Mont that on my new rifle. Not yet ready to list the Vortex as I might use it to upgrade the Burris Fulfield ii on my Tikka.

 

[NateO 77]

Run it. I bought one when sportsman's had them on clearance for 50 percent off. I put it on a loaner gun for buddies to hunt with. When I sighted it in I was amazed at how clear it is. Like others have said if your not dialing it you will be fine. If you plan to dial it you need to send a whole bunch more for reliability.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Lol I was waiting for these. One guy does 1 test and all of a sudden it’s gospel. Lots of guys have a year or more with the LHT. Forms is the first (I bet there are more) person to talk about failures with the LHT. I Have 2 of them on a 7saum and a 6.5cm. I have double, triple, quadruple, or more shots down range than form on his test (combined about 600), carried it on 4 hunts, multiple days per hunt , killed 3 animals, dropped it, tipped it over, let it ride around in my pack and truck and I’ve had zero issues. How’s that for a “test”. I know I didn’t drop it 6” IN THE SNOW and say it lost zero, but I’ve done worse, 20 times and had no issues with either scope. If you want to use your rifle scope to baton wood then by all means, but a 35 ounce night force. If you want a 800 dollar, 19ounce scope that holds zero, dials well, and has great glass then don’t go off one guys test, especially someone that admits that he’s biased against vortex and never had one “not fail”. If you go in expecting a result, you’re probably going to get it. FLAME AWAY!!!!

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I have three LH scopes. One on my 308 Win, one on my 30-06 and one on my 17 HMR.

Lots of hunting days with my 308 Win in rugged terrain and a lot of dialing over the years. Never had an issue maintaining zero.

The scope on my 30-06 has been moved around multiple rifles. Some range time, some hunting time and quite a bit of dialing. I have not experienced any issues maintaining zero.

The scope on my 17 HMR has the most use out of all of my scopes. I average a box a month (50 rounds) and have been using this setup for 2+ years. First shot is at 100 yards, second shot is at 200 yards, third shot is at 300 yards. I repeat this until all 50 rounds are gone. That’s a ton of dialing and returning to zero over the years with no issues. It has not had any field time.

This is a sample size of three. Overall I’ve been very happy with them and have not encountered any issues related to zero and dialing. My main gripes are no zero stop and it’s associated negative impact on limited elevation (too easy to screw up where I’m at due to no zero stop).

If my life truly depended on a scope to be reliable, this scope would not be my choice. But this is such a rare event that I don’t even consider it.

This scope would not be my choice for a true once in a lifetime hunt. Go with a proven winner.

This scope is a viable option for the bulk of hunts that most people do on an annual basis. Folks on this forum often forget that most hunts are simple affairs with short distance shots in pretty mild affairs.

 

[Ram94]

It’s not a worthless piece of equipment. All the test pointed out was that it is not a “tough” scope. I’m not sure this caught anyone off guard. Not everyone needs a super durable scope and that’s fine.

 

[Dioni A]

Call me a guy who drank the cool aid but why use anything that isn't bomb proof. There's enough reliable options out there to not warrant risking it with delicate gear. I work to hard and have too little free time to waste on anything that I can't trust.

 

[cmahoney]

What was the issue that results in a refurb?


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[freddyG]

A 6” drop on a mat? Too soon?

 

[Jbehredt]

3 years of “moderate” use on a 308 Montana. Hasn’t let me down. It did take a pretty good hit when I had my rifle leaning against a tree and it fell hard enough to ding the scope on a rock. Held zero. No dialing. That said, if you’ve lost confidence when it’s still nib, you’re probably not going to get it back. If you bought it on close out like I did you can turn a small profit.

 

[sndmn11]

Mount both scopes and do your own testing. You should be able to test both with a box of cartridges.

 

[Esq]

They don't tell you why it was refurbished. The scope looks brand new and the packaging looks new, there may be a code on the skew to indicate refurbished, but other than that it looks brand new. As do the refurbished Vortex Precision Matched Rings. They were only $80 for refurbished. Both carry same warranty as new product. I will keep the LHT and upgrade the Burris on my Tikka. I am waiting to receive a Credo 2.5 x 15 x 42 that will go on the new rifle. I like the reported reliability of the Credo and increased magnification.

 

[cmahoney]

2 of the 3 vortex optics I’ve owned have had to be sent in for refurbishing


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[Huntsalot]

How much could you sell the Razor for?

 

[Esq]

How much could you sell the Razor for?

I've got no idea to be honest.

 

[BCD]

2 of the 3 vortex optics I’ve owned have had to be sent in for refurbishing


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Which models?

 

[cmahoney]

Which models?

A brand new Viper HST that didn’t track or return to zero and a Razer spotting scope that fell apart during a hunt. I had another viper on a .223 that worked well and I’ve since gave it to my brother


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