Why are so many selling Vortex scopes.

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punxsutawn

New member
I've been considering a Vortex 6-24 x 50 PST for my 257 Wby. and while I've read some nice reports here, I'm curious why so many people end up selling them in the classifieds, sometimes after owning them just a few months. I like my Zeiss scopes, but the price along with the good reports on the Vortex has me looking in that direction.
 
I have 2 vortex both vipers, one is a pst. And I don't plan on selling either. Different strokes for different folks.
 
Like you, we were sucked in on the hype, tall tales of bells and whistles and the promise of great glass. After the new wears off and our eyes clear from the blood shot drunken purchase, we find they just don't live up to that hype so we list them in classifieds looking for a sucker to take them off our hands so we can buy something with better glass.

I've had both the 4-16 and the 6-24 PST's trust me when I say stick to the Zeiss. Since you know what good glass looks like, you will be disappointed looking thru the the PST. They might look good in the store but side by side on the bench they can't compete with the Zeiss, they can't compete with my VX-6 either.
 
I always pay special attention when fur hunter responds to posts. He has a lot of experience on paper and definitely in the field with different weapon systems and components. That being said the Vortex line is a decent scope in a price range that allows an initial purchase under some of the upper notch scopes. I own a PST that i got off of a awesome member here and so far has performed as the seller and Vortex claims. I must be lucky due to the fact that the glass is as good as the same price range Leupolds that i own. IMHO the majority of those selling the upper grade Vortex scopes are moving up to better more expensive glass. Why?? I believe it is the hunter in us ... That inner core that is always trying to better our gear. Let's face it we don't NEED the majority of the products we buy, albeit guns, camo, or glass. For example do we really need a dedicated "coyote gun"? The majority of us start out hunting squirrels to whitetails. Why not use the same two guns and scope combo? It will kill yotes or anything else we choose to harvest. The reason is because we can and enjoy the journey of building our own rifle and picking the specialized components. It's a level of pride and FREEDOM. Buy Vortex Optics with confidence. The comparisons are subjective, that is until you eventually graduate to the upper Escalon. Then you will be passing your PST on down the road to fund your next optic. The cycle continues. It's inevitable.
 
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Where are you seeing "so many" of them for sale. I did a search here and seen 7 Vortex rifle scopes going back to Nov 2013.

I see 4 Night Force

I see 9 Leupold since the first of the year

I see 9 Zeiss since Nov 2013

I would say that there are more Zeiss and Leupolds sold.
 
If you have the money to spend on a Zeis or VX6 by all means spend it. I have a wife and kid to support and a $20.00 and hr factory job so the Vortex does me just fine. I get out to 1000 yards no problem with mine.
 
Originally Posted By: reb8600Where are you seeing "so many" of them for sale. I did a search here and seen 7 Vortex rifle scopes going back to Nov 2013.

I see 4 Night Force

I see 9 Leupold since the first of the year

I see 9 Zeiss since Nov 2013

I would say that there are more Zeiss and Leupolds sold.

How many more Zeiss and Leupold scopes were sold and are on the market before Vortex was in existence? The compararison a bit unfair considering there's probably millions more Leupold scopes out there than there are Vortex. When you look at your numbers like this it kinda casts a different picture.
 
Originally Posted By: punxsutawnI've been considering a Vortex 6-24 x 50 PST for my 257 Wby. and while I've read some nice reports here, I'm curious why so many people end up selling them in the classifieds, sometimes after owning them just a few months. I like my Zeiss scopes, but the price along with the good reports on the Vortex has me looking in that direction.

Just how are you going to be using this new scope? What's its intended purpose?

Are you needing a ranging reticle and target turrets?
 
I saw this post and while having similar thoughts to Furhunter about some of Vortex's, let's call them upper mid-range priced scopes, I did take another chance and happy I did.
Saw the new 2.5-10X32PST FFP mil/mil and it was a great buy but being wary about the disappointing glass did a little research and all the reports were positive. I brought it home and it's a whole different animal than my prior Viper's. I will admit it's only had a little range time but I was impressed enough that if the need arose I would buy again. This is the model I got.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/product/vort...reticle/reticle
 
Venatic.
I have a good friend with that scope. His is SFP if memory serves me.. Not a bad scope at all.

You can look at several manufactures with 10 to 12x scopes on the top end and the glass seems pretty good. Its when you take that same quality glass and bump up the magnification to 16, 20 and 24x or more is when the glass starts to show its short comings.

I'd love to do a side by side comparison. I could probably get my hands on a variety of scopes to do it but I don't know of anyway to provide proof of my conclusions. I dont know how or have the equipment to photograph thru a scope with enough quality to prove that one is better than another.
 
Venatic I think that model might have got a bump in glass or better QC from what I've read, I've had several vipers and a hs lr and played with a pst and it's been a toss up on glass. 1 viper and the hs lr were noticeably better than the pst and my other viper.
 
Everyone! I appreciate your input. I didn't think the question would develop to this degree. I live in AZ and usually stick to high power magnification. I love my Zeiss scopes, and would love to fit all my rifles with them if cost wasn't an issue. I don't mind spending what I need to, but the Vortex has an attractive price. I didn't look only at this site for how many were sold. That was not the point. I agree with the point that some may be upgrading. It's easy to be spoiled with good glass. Is it "needed"? Nope! As a kid, I've taken a lot of game with my .30-06 and a 3x9 Buschnell scope. It does sound like noone has a significant issue with the mechanics of the scope, which is probably one of my greatest concerns. A slightly less caliber of glass? I get that that can be subjective. That's a personal decision for a specific application. Perhaps I should have worded the initial question differently.
As always, it's great to have such input! The combined experience on this forum is absolutely invaluable!
 
Originally Posted By: 1badsheeVenatic I think that model might have got a bump in glass or better QC from what I've read, I've had several vipers and a hs lr and played with a pst and it's been a toss up on glass. 1 viper and the hs lr were noticeably better than the pst and my other viper.

You may be correct as it was easy to notice the coatings were different
 
id like to find some of those cheap used vortex for sale. I don't think Ive seen more than 8-10 for sale in the last 2 years and they were'nt much cheaper than buying a new one.

I have one viper, one diamondback and I had a crossfire. Crossfire is the only one that wasn't up to par, it was fine until above 16x then went slighty fuzzy. I will be picking up one of the new diamondback hp 4-16x as soon as cameraland has them in stock. vortex rep told me the glass will be as good or slightly better than the vipers. I guess I will find out.
 
I think it comes back what will work best for each of our eyes since we all see differently. The bootom line is still to take the salesperson with you and the scope and look though it outside, and look at each model the same way on the same day.
 
Originally Posted By: bluealteredI think it comes back what will work best for each of our eyes since we all see differently. The bootom line is still to take the salesperson with you and the scope and look though it outside, and look at each model the same way on the same day.

I agree 100%. Not everyone needs the same correction for eye glasses or wears them for that matter, and not everyone will look through a scope and see the same amount of detail or lack of. Best advice that can be given about optics is to personally look through them, outside and then compare side by side.
 
Originally Posted By: midwestpredatorid like to find some of those cheap used vortex for sale. I don't think Ive seen more than 8-10 for sale in the last 2 years and they were'nt much cheaper than buying a new one.

I have one viper, one diamondback and I had a crossfire. Crossfire is the only one that wasn't up to par, it was fine until above 16x then went slighty fuzzy. I will be picking up one of the new diamondback hp 4-16x as soon as cameraland has them in stock. vortex rep told me the glass will be as good or slightly better than the vipers. I guess I will find out.

I think they come in waves. At one point every other scope around here for sale was a vortex. Now, a few months later, there are next to no scopes for sale at all. I too sold my 4-16 Viper HS. It was a great scope compared to most I've owned, like a cheaper bushnell and the never again BSA. However, I looked at a VX-3 and VX-6 and though a little more money, totally worth it for me when it comes to shooting longer distances. But as Midwest said above, get out there and look at them before buying one. Everyones eyes are different.
 
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The biggest mistake people tend to make is when they associate brand with all of the scopes made for their lines. Each scope type and grade can be entirely different, often made by different manufacturers for brands.

One of my sleeper scopes is one that people will laugh at because most of what they have is cheaper budget scopes. Swift, but you have to get the Premier line which lists at over $300 and can be had online for about $235 or so in the 6-24x and 8-32x. At full magnification they are clear and crisp with no edge distortion or colors.

If you are one who reads about a product like Vortex, looks at their premium end of the spectrum and buys the entry level and expects great things you'll probably be disappointed. Judge by models, there's good ones and great ones for the price point.

Here's another little sleeper in 4.5-14x, the Burris Fullfield II is a bit pricey at $500+/- but a very nice scope, it is made by Pentax who has the exact same scope under the Pentax name (Whitetail Hunter) which can be found for somewhere around $225 to $240, this is a very nice scope at that price.
 
Originally Posted By: midwestpredatorOriginally Posted By: bluealteredI think it comes back what will work best for each of our eyes since we all see differently. The bootom line is still to take the salesperson with you and the scope and look though it outside, and look at each model the same way on the same day.

I agree 100%. Not everyone needs the same correction for eye glasses or wears them for that matter, and not everyone will look through a scope and see the same amount of detail or lack of. Best advice that can be given about optics is to personally look through them, outside and then compare side by side.

Sometimes the variables are harder to see unless trying them in an extreme. One of my parameters that has to do with brightness and light gathering is how well a scope performs at sun up or dusk when a poor scope becomes the liability that doesn't let you see a buck standing against a treeline in bad light.

I have an Elite 4200 6-24x mildot that was on a .243 WSSM that I was using for night time coyote hunting. We saw a bobcat in a tree at 150 yards, I was holding the light and my friend couldn't see a thing with his Bushnell, I switched rifles and held the light for him and he picked up the cat right away, he said it's the first time he could see the whole animal clear as day and not just glowing eyes.

It depends a lot on whether those are things you'll need.
 
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