Vortex vs leopold vs ???

three of us have had many issues with leupold we sent a mrk 4 back and it came back still not holding zero so my buddy won't be taking it on his premium elk hunt. so none of us would say get a leupold any longer.
 
I'm a big Leupold fan. I have a VX3i 6-20x50) on a Sendero II in 300 win mag. I shoot this thing out to 1200 yards it tracks dead on all the way out. When I dial back to zero (100 yards) it consistently goes back time and time again. It is light, and optics are nice.

I also have a Zeiss 5-25x50 HD5 that tracks well out to 1000 yards on a 22-6mm. Glass is very good.

I am very happy with both.

I don't own any Vortex scopes any more. They also tracked well, but the optics left a lot to be desired on my 6-24x50 PST. If I went with them again, it would be a Gen I/II Razor but would have to be on a gun I don't mind the extra weight.
 
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They've always made some of their rifle scopes in China. Usually anything below their PST line is made in China. The PST line is made in the Philippines. Razor line is made in Japan with the exception of the AMG being made in USA. This is only true for the rifle scopes though. I believe they have moved some Razor spotting scope and bino manufacturing over to China which is a huge let down.
 
I dont care fo the lower end Sightrons or Vortex, the high end models are good [beeep], same can be said for Leupold as well, get what ya pay for, dont get me wrong I like Leupolds but they are not the end all be all when it comes to scopes. Another sleeper scope I think is the Weaver Grand Slams.
 
I own several Leupold and Vortex scopes and have to say that the Leupold is overall the better scope, but the Vortex is still a good value. A poster above said that he would rather own a Tasco or Simmons which is a ridiculous statement as Simmons and Tasco are complete [beeep] and the Vortex (Viper and above) are excellent scopes at a reasonable price. The 5 Vortex scopes I own have all been great and have worked well for me. I recently replaced a VX3i with a Vortex Viper HS as I was unable to focus the Leupold eyepiece to my liking.

Both are good scopes and will serve you well with the Leupold having a slight advantage in optical quality (with the Leupold costing a lot more for what you get).
 
I just mounted a new VX-3i 4.5-14x40 on my heavy-barrel .260 Rem last night. It sits next to four other rifles with Leupold VX-3 scopes. I've used the lower-end Leupolds, but not the Vortex. However, I won't go any lower than VX-3 anymore. To my eye, that's about the best bang for the buck in scope quality and features.
 
My preference would be Leupold. Vortex glass does not agree with my eyes. I own a couple of Viper PST’s and find the optical clarity lacking. Own several other brands and find Vortex to be near the bottom when it comes to clarity.

One afternoon I set out a xariety of items at 100 yards and proceeded to evaluate my scopes. Leupold and Nikon yielded the crispest images. Vortex was not as clear as some cheap Bushnells. Again this is the results for my eyes,others may find it different for their eyes.
 
Damned shame seeing American conservatives trying to knit-pick gun accessories and compare equal products from other countries when there's an American company with a pretty dang positive feed back spanning decades, and a lifetime warranty.

I've got one Nightforce and I got that before Leupold had any real Fclass or benchrest options. I've managed to break one of their scopes, and that was only because I had an aftermarket switchview attached and I came crashing down on that one little lever. Sent it in, they fixed what I broke, they gave me new glass because one lense had a scratch, they tightened up the exposed turrets because I asked if they could then they replaced the functioning electronics because they said water got in the scope because I compromised the seal then hunted another 8 months(much snow and rain included) after breaking it. 3.5 weeks later it was back on my gun and better than when it came from the factory. One week after I mounted it back on I left my dang rifle on my roof and dropped it on the pavement traveling 30mph and it landed directly on the scope. Luckily it was in a soft case, the case tore open where it landed first and the vertical exposed turret on the scope got a little dinged up but, otherwise, I was shooting .75" groups and under yesterday.

I've handled a couple Vortex scopes. My buddy got one of their higher end 1-6x scopes for coyote hunting mostly at night. I'm not sure what he was smoking, I think he just didn't want to buy the same scope I already had. Twice the weight of my VXR and the light up reticle lit up parts of the scope not even used for aiming... making it harder to see your target. He had a VXR the next season, he got a 2-7, I've got 1-4 and now I'm shopping around for a 2-7.

I hope vortex goes out of business.
 
Vortex's Crossfire II and Diamondback line are Chinese. HS,HS-T and PST are all Philippine. Razor line are all Japanese glass. Ive own a handful of Leupold and have two Vortex's on order. Sold my Gen 1 PST to upgrade to a gen II. The Leupold's are good but Vortex has come a LONG way. Their new PST Gen II glass is close to Razor quality. Ill have to report back in greater detail once i have a few years worth of use under my belt with my Razor and Gen II PST. Its worth noting that ive had two leupolds come through the shop with out of the box tracking issues as well as one of mine being sent back 3 times in its lifetime. I have yet to need Vortex's VIP warranty and have had a lot of good feedback on them. just my $0.02
 
I just picked up a Vortex Razor HD LH 3-15x42 and even the lightweight version of their Razor is Japan made. The Razor HD LH has quite a bit better optics than does the HS or HS-T.
 
Never liked the clicks on leupold turrets to musshy. Their mid to higher end scopes are over priced unless you can find them on sale some where. They are well built tough scopes.
I have a few vortex scopes from HS to PST ffp and have good luck with them.
 
Turret stopped adjusting on my vortex viper hs lr took me some ammo to figure out what was going on. And my vortex binoculars are going back for the second time you can only keep one eye open to look through them. I’m sticking to leupold from now on. I have a pair of old leupold windrivers from the 1900’’s that look like they have been through war and they still are hanging around my neck.
 
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