Last year, the Razor HD Gen II 1-6x24mm dropped just after the show. Unusual. I suspect that the timing was accidental and owing to some last minute problem in a plan that was cut too close to start with. The result is that this scope has been out and floating around for awhile now, and all I have heard are good things. I have been anxious to take a look myself.
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II next to the GRSC 1-6x reference scope:
As you can see from the picture, the new Razor 1-6x is just about exactly the same size as the GRSC 1-6x. This is also very close to the same size as the Razor 1-4x was. Though the form is roughly the same, a few changes have been made with regard to the turrets and illumination control. The new turrets are capped to avoid accidental bumps. They are low profile, but wide, and have 50moa per turn with 1/2moa click. Zero can be changed on these by removing one screw, pulling off the turret, and putting it back with the new alignment. The new illumination control is a locking, exposed, analog unit. You pull out to adjust and push in to lock. The weight of this new optic is a very surprising 25.2 oz. The reference GRSC is 18.6oz and the Razor 1-4x is 20.2oz. This new Razor weighs more than a Leupold CQBSS and lags behind only the IOR 1-10x Eliminator as the heaviest in the whole 1-
x class. I'm really not sure how so much poundage was packed into such a small package. It must be basically solid glass back to front.
Fortunately, all that glass is not being wasted. The Razor 1-6x is noticeably optically superior to the GRSC reference scope, which was virtually identical to the Razor 1-4x in my earlier testing. I had noticed that the OEM I believe both GRSC and Vortex use for these optics put out some scopes with another step up in glass this year and Vortex appears to be using this glass on the 1-6x. In addition to this greater clarity, the 1-6x also takes great steps in regards to field of view, adding more than 20 feet to the GRSC or older Razor 1-4x at 1x magnification. I suspect that the switch to 2fp from ffp facilitated this change.
The switch in focal plane was also accompanied by a switch in reticle type and illumination technology. Whereas the previous 1-4x reticle had a floating glass etched reticle and conventional shine forward reflect back illumination; this scope has no floating elements, I suspect that the reticle is wire, and it utilizes a fiber illumination system. For those who do not remember back to the Leupold VX-6 1-6x article, fiber illumination systems are, by nature, point only, are easily daytime bright, do not allow illumination to escape out of the front of the optic, and require the reticle to go all the way to the edge of the field of view to hide the fiber element. They are also very battery efficient.
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II at 1x with maximum illumination:
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II at 6x with maximum illumination:
Speaking of the reticle, the Razor 1-6x is currently only available in one reticle choice. This reticle, called the JM-1, was designed by Jerry Miculek for three-gun use. It features drop lines at 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards from a 200 yard zero. The drops are calibrated for Jerry's 60gr V-Max load. Each drop line has a width of 10" at the appropriate distance at 6x. These are for ranging the 10" steel plates common in three-gun. I believe that this is the most purpose specific reticle that I have ever encountered in an optic. I think that it will be very popular with three-gunners, but that it is of limited usefulness for other purposes.
This brings us to my summary of the Razor 1-6x. I think that the specificity of the reticle is a good model for the scope as a whole. It is designed to be very appealing to a competitive three-gunner. The glass is good and has an excellent field of view. The illumination is point only, but daytime bright. The reticle is uncluttered, but has a few drop and ranging features that are very specific to three-gun use. Lastly, the weight, which is well beyond the norm, will not really adversely effect the user in a three-gun match. With a street price of $1.4k, this scope comes in at more than $1,000 less than the Swarovski Z6i that is so popular with three-gunners. I believe it is an excellent choice for the competitive three-gunner, but that the weight and reticle limit its appeal to a more general audience.
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II next to the GRSC 1-6x reference scope:
As you can see from the picture, the new Razor 1-6x is just about exactly the same size as the GRSC 1-6x. This is also very close to the same size as the Razor 1-4x was. Though the form is roughly the same, a few changes have been made with regard to the turrets and illumination control. The new turrets are capped to avoid accidental bumps. They are low profile, but wide, and have 50moa per turn with 1/2moa click. Zero can be changed on these by removing one screw, pulling off the turret, and putting it back with the new alignment. The new illumination control is a locking, exposed, analog unit. You pull out to adjust and push in to lock. The weight of this new optic is a very surprising 25.2 oz. The reference GRSC is 18.6oz and the Razor 1-4x is 20.2oz. This new Razor weighs more than a Leupold CQBSS and lags behind only the IOR 1-10x Eliminator as the heaviest in the whole 1-
x class. I'm really not sure how so much poundage was packed into such a small package. It must be basically solid glass back to front. Fortunately, all that glass is not being wasted. The Razor 1-6x is noticeably optically superior to the GRSC reference scope, which was virtually identical to the Razor 1-4x in my earlier testing. I had noticed that the OEM I believe both GRSC and Vortex use for these optics put out some scopes with another step up in glass this year and Vortex appears to be using this glass on the 1-6x. In addition to this greater clarity, the 1-6x also takes great steps in regards to field of view, adding more than 20 feet to the GRSC or older Razor 1-4x at 1x magnification. I suspect that the switch to 2fp from ffp facilitated this change.
The switch in focal plane was also accompanied by a switch in reticle type and illumination technology. Whereas the previous 1-4x reticle had a floating glass etched reticle and conventional shine forward reflect back illumination; this scope has no floating elements, I suspect that the reticle is wire, and it utilizes a fiber illumination system. For those who do not remember back to the Leupold VX-6 1-6x article, fiber illumination systems are, by nature, point only, are easily daytime bright, do not allow illumination to escape out of the front of the optic, and require the reticle to go all the way to the edge of the field of view to hide the fiber element. They are also very battery efficient.
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II at 1x with maximum illumination:
Vortex Razor 1-6x24mm HD Gen II at 6x with maximum illumination:
Speaking of the reticle, the Razor 1-6x is currently only available in one reticle choice. This reticle, called the JM-1, was designed by Jerry Miculek for three-gun use. It features drop lines at 300, 400, 500, and 600 yards from a 200 yard zero. The drops are calibrated for Jerry's 60gr V-Max load. Each drop line has a width of 10" at the appropriate distance at 6x. These are for ranging the 10" steel plates common in three-gun. I believe that this is the most purpose specific reticle that I have ever encountered in an optic. I think that it will be very popular with three-gunners, but that it is of limited usefulness for other purposes.
This brings us to my summary of the Razor 1-6x. I think that the specificity of the reticle is a good model for the scope as a whole. It is designed to be very appealing to a competitive three-gunner. The glass is good and has an excellent field of view. The illumination is point only, but daytime bright. The reticle is uncluttered, but has a few drop and ranging features that are very specific to three-gun use. Lastly, the weight, which is well beyond the norm, will not really adversely effect the user in a three-gun match. With a street price of $1.4k, this scope comes in at more than $1,000 less than the Swarovski Z6i that is so popular with three-gunners. I believe it is an excellent choice for the competitive three-gunner, but that the weight and reticle limit its appeal to a more general audience.
