Rifle Scopes 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

[timelinex]

<span style="font-weight: bold">READ ME: This rates the scope's at 50 yards and below</span>, SO turns out to not be too accurate when you look at them overall, since the vortex certainly has better resolution at 100+ yards. This is below the vortex's functional range apparently, so its a bit unfair BUT it still shows that the big disadvantage with vortex is you better not expect to be shooting anything <50 yards. Otherwise the glass on the vortex is EXCELLENT and much better than the BSA at distances.

Warning: This is a very long post and has many pictures. So if you don't actually care about either one of these scopes, you might as well move along to the next thread. I wished someone did a review like this on these scopes when I was buying both of them though, so here it is....

I have had my BSA 6-24X44 for about 2 months now on my 22lr. It is a midway exclusive and is not sold anywhere else but here . This is a 250(on sale for 150) dollar scope that has features only 400-500+ dollar scopes start having. It has 58 MOA of elevation, Parallax adjuster, 6-24 magnification, comes with a free shade,Big turrets and zero reset. It holds zero, but on a 22 so I can't speak much for high recoil rifles. Lastly, while I haven't done 'official' tracking tests, It tracks correctly when I do adjustments at the range.

The Vortex Viper 6.5-20X50 I have just received and plan on putting it on a .308 for long range shooting. From all my research I have found that its agreed upon that its a 450 dollar scope that has glass as good as many 800 dollar scopes. It has the same features basically as the BSA but less magnification.

Now Ill compare the features...
Turrets: Both have nice size turrets. Both have audible clicks that feel solid. The vortex has slightly better feeling clicks though. The vortex turrets are enclosed while the BSA ones are exposed. Both have its advantages and disadvantages but its not a big deal either way. They both reset zero, but the vortex wins out considering you don't need a tool to reset them. You pull on it, spin and let go.
Winner: Vortex but on marginally important differences.

Parallax Adjuster: The vortex goes from 50 yrds to infinity. The BSA goes from 10 yards to infinity. This is a big win for the BSA if you are ever shooting under 50 yards. Looking through it at 20 yards, the vortex is still focused but I did see some parallax. So atleast the picture is clear at <50 yards. On the other hand concerning the actual adjuster, the vortex adjuster is MUCH smoother and feels like its much better quality. It doesn't work any better, but it feels alot better using it.
Winner:BSA on functionality, Vortex on quality

Magnification:
The bsa is 6-24 while the vortex is 6.5-20. The BSA obviously has a bigger range, but as we all know that doesn't always mean alot(if resolution isnt there). But for what its worth...
Winner: BSA

Warranty: They both have lifetime warranties. I have heard many people having no problems exchanging their BSA. BUT, that being said, vortex is known for their no questions asked customer service. Vortex customer service is considered on of the best in the business.
Winner: Vortex

Glass:
Finally onto the bread and butter. This is the part that really shocked and disappointed me. I tried to do this as fairly as possible and take the best pics I could with each scope. If anyone see's any flaw in my process please tell me. I used a nikon d300 and spent 2 hours to try and get these pics. I tried to be as thorough as possible, to squelch all doubt. I have the full pix, but cropped them down to just the scope image in most. If anyone wants the un-edit pic of any of these just ask.
After spending over 400 on the vortex I was really excited to see the clarity of the glass. I thought it was gonna blow away my BSA, b\c my scope is known for its amount of features for the $$ not the glass. Well you decide for yourself
I will always put the BSA picture first and then the Vortex.
20 YARDS:
6.5X The little bar below the the numbers is out of focus because its actually my balcony fence, so thats why its blurry. Not the scope, but rather they were focused on the farther object.

10X

12X

14X

18X

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

20X
I have always read stories about people saying when they went back to their cheap scope it was like looking through a milk jug. I never knew exactly what they meant, because my BSA and other scopes never had this effect. Believe it or not, the first time I saw this is right now with the vortex. I don't know if its because its only 20 yards, but this is as good as it got. Looking through it with my eyes and not camera was not any better

24X
JUST the BSA, so people can see the resolution at its highest

now 50 YARDS
Little blur spots are not because of the scope, but if you can see, its actually small branches from tree's before this one randomly creeping into the picture.
6.5X

12X

20X

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

NOW I did a resolution target at 18 yards.
14X

20X

Notice how the BSA is darker. These were taken when the sun was already setting. The BSA was not actually this much darker, but I could not get the camera to show the true difference. In reality it was only slightly darker than the vortex. This is expected as the 50mm objective really does it's job collecting light compared to 44mm. On the other hand, BSA dominates resolution comparison.
Winner: I am very sad to say that the BSA dominates the vortex is glass quality and clarity. I have always been the first to say that paying more money only gets you marginally better results and rooting for the underdog, but I never expected it to be this bad. I don't know if I got an exceptional piece of glass on just my BSA or if there is something wrong with my Vortex. Can anyone comment on their experience with this model vortex at higher magnifications. I bought the vortex, sacrificing on magnification, expecting that atleast it will be much more clear at the magnifications it does have. The only thing the vortex was better at,glass wise, was brightness. It always had a slight edge concerning its brightness. This is obviously because of the 50mm objective. Otherwise, I was dissapointed

Conclusions: To wrap this up, Ill say that if I had to do it all over again, I would still buy the Vortex over the BSA. Why you ask? At this point simple economics. With the BSA if I ever wanted to sell it to get something new, because of BSA's name , I dont even know if it would sell. Maybe I could sell it for 50-75. On the other hand Vortex I can probably sell years later for almost the same price I bought it. They have an amazing warranty so their scopes 'fly off the shelves' whenever put up on these forums, and for almost brand new prices.

Overall the Vortex has an edge in quality. There isn't anything wrong with the quality of this BSA, but the vortex does feel more solid. I just can't believe the resolution results. Ill have to see how it does at the range with farther distances maybe.

 

[callen3615]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Good review but I dont agree with you on the glass. When I tried to take pics thru my vortex I had a hard time. I think the eye relief is pickier on the vortex than the bsa. When I get behind the bsa, then the vortex I can tell a difference. I really could tell how much the bsa fell short in the glass department when I was shooting at dusk, the vortex is much clearer than the bsa at dusk.

 

[buffybuster]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Why are all your resolution comparisons done at airgun distances? Especially when the minimum distance the Vortex focuses down to is 50yds.

 

[Yoaked]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Thanks for the review and pictures!

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Thats the next thing I wanna do, I want to compare these two at 100 yards+. I think that will make better comparisons.
The reason I did it so close, is because Im not sure if my neighbors would appreciate seeing a rifle haha. So I was really working within the limits of what I can see from within my place. I will definitely give an update when I take it to longer distances.

 

[Sportin Wood]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

You need to play with the eye adjustment on the Vortex, and take some pics further than 50 yds. Say 100, 200, 500+ to give an accurate review....

 

[Grump]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I'd accept a resolution test at 50-100 yards, no closer.

And there would be rock-solid evidence it's WRONG if the reticle is fuzzy.

You get an A- for overall methodology, but a C for technique with testing the Vortex at less than its side-focus specs, and for rushing to the end under fading light with the BSA. Not fair to either scope.

Being at the beginning of mirage season, I'd say don't bother with anything beyond 100 yards. I don't appreciate the prospect of having atmospherics masquerade for resolution differences in the instruments.

That's the way I see it. Still overall a great post.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I actually found the eye relief a little more forgiving on the Vortex...

Also, I want to be clear that these pictures are not the result of bad angle from the camera. They look better in person than through pictures, but they both do equally. The vortex really was just that bad. Looking through it on 20x almost made my eyes hurt! BUT as said before, it could be because of short distances. I stated all the distances I did the tests on, so its no surprises. As I said I will take some more pics, probably not with the nice SLR but my regular camera, of longer ranges when I get the chance. Till then this is a "to be continued" review

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grump</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'd accept a resolution test at 50-100 yards, no closer.

And there would be rock-solid evidence it's WRONG if the reticle is fuzzy.

You get an A- for overall methodology, but a C for technique with testing the Vortex at less than its side-focus specs, and for rushing to the end under fading light with the BSA. Not fair to either scope.

Being at the beginning of mirage season, I'd say don't bother with anything beyond 100 yards. I don't appreciate the prospect of having atmospherics masquerade for resolution differences in the instruments.

That's the way I see it. Still overall a great post.</div></div>

Thanks.
Believe it or not, I thought the same thing about the reticle being blurry means it wasn't focused right. BUT I went back and looked at it through with my eyes and saw the same results, something about that milkyness messes with the reticle. It doesn't make sense since they are on different planes, but at this point till further testing 'it is what it is'.

 

[callen3615]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I think if you take more pics of both scopes at 50 + you will get a better comparison, every pic with the vortex was under its lowest parallax setting. I dont know why the vortex only goes to 50 and the bsa goes to 10, this leads me to believe that bsa intended for their scope to be used on rimfires. If I set both scopes up at targets at around 100 yards the vortex dominates the bsa in light transmission, and in clarity, and I have the 44mm objective vortex.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Which reminds me to add one section

Reticle: The reticle on the BSA is glass etched while the Viper is wire. Glass etched is supposedly better, and if Im looking at something very small in the distance it is easier to see. But I like the look of the vortex wire reticle better. Even though its bigger, it makes it easier to see and extremely easy to have in focus.
Winner: Vortex but out of personal preference.

 

[ls1mtz]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I thought this thread was going to be a joke at first... Very interested to see the 100 yard results!

 

[XxMerlinxX]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: timelinex</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I actually found the eye relief a little more forgiving on the Vortex...

Also, I want to be clear that these pictures are not the result of bad angle from the camera. They look better in person than through pictures, but they both do equally. The vortex really was just that bad. Looking through it on 20x almost made my eyes hurt! BUT as said before, it could be because of short distances. I stated all the distances I did the tests on, so its no surprises. As I said I will take some more pics, probably not with the nice SLR but my regular camera, of longer ranges when I get the chance. Till then this is a "to be continued" review

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grump</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'd accept a resolution test at 50-100 yards, no closer.

And there would be rock-solid evidence it's WRONG if the reticle is fuzzy.

You get an A- for overall methodology, but a C for technique with testing the Vortex at less than its side-focus specs, and for rushing to the end under fading light with the BSA. Not fair to either scope.

Being at the beginning of mirage season, I'd say don't bother with anything beyond 100 yards. I don't appreciate the prospect of having atmospherics masquerade for resolution differences in the instruments.

That's the way I see it. Still overall a great post.</div></div>

Thanks.
Believe it or not, I thought the same thing about the reticle being blurry means it wasn't focused right. BUT I went back and looked at it through with my eyes and saw the same results, something about that milkyness messes with the reticle. It doesn't make sense since they are on different planes, but at this point till further testing 'it is what it is'. </div></div>

So at max magnification you can't get it to focus at all? Sounds like it's defective.

 

[InfiniteGrim]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

You need to retake those pictures father then 40 yards. The closest my vortex will perfectly focus on is about 40 yards. But I cannot get both the image and crosshairs focused in a picture using my camera.

Can you compare the BSA and vortex at reading a masterlock....

I just measured with google maps and the lock on my shed is actually 38 yards away, so I went out and tried with 14x magnification, and if you do that math, 14x at 38 yards is actually a little less then 20x at 50 yards.

TO me it looked perfectly clear and focused on the lock but my camera wouldnt take a sharp picture, here is the best I could manage with manual focus...

Also I dont know if you can tell or not, my shed and the lock are in the shade....

Cropped....

Yes that is paintballs all over my shed.

 

[Xdguy]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Good write up, but the meathodology seems a little suspect. Since the Vortex focuses at 50yrds minimum, it would only seem fair to compare the 2 at 50+yrds. Sharpness aside, the Vortex looked a little brighter in your pictures. Did you have the camera set manually for both sets of images, or did you let the camera make the exposure? Ideally, the camera settings would not change at all between the 2.

Please try again, I would definitely be interested in a follow up review at longer distance.

I have to admit, the BSA looks interesting for my 10/22.

 

[EXSOCAL]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Good, detailed post, but...

Well, not to beat a dead horse but as everyone stated, you cannot begin to compare 2 scopes at distances that one of the scopes isn't meant to operate at. To be fair, 100 yards, adjust both optic's parralax and eyepiece to dial each as good as possible, and when taking pics with your SLR, make sure it is on manual, and use the exact same settings for each shot... not only will this give a better comparison but it will allow you to see light gathering abilities at the higher mags.

The Vortex Viper glass is not even in the same ballpark as a BSA scope, I have a 6.5-20x44 Viper and am amazed at the clarity, quality, and usability of this scope. I have never looked through a BSA scope (and I have looked through plenty) that I would use for anything more than a budget plinker. If that is what your goal is, then the BSA is fine. But there is no comparison between the two.

Just my 2 cents... Once again, nice post, your methodology just needs a little tweaking, I would definately like to see that same thing done at 100 or so.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Got my rifle and the rest of the mounting part's in today and just put it all together. So I'll be going to the range sometime soon to do a test at longer ranges. The first thing I noticed after mounting was the eye relief seem's to be bad.I have it as far back as I can, and its barely far back enough for the proper eye relief for my cheek position. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, or its the combination of the scope with my rifle or what, but I hope it works out.

 

[jtb33]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Looks like your cheekweld needs to be pushed forward on the stock rather than mount the scope further back.

 

[EXSOCAL]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Play around with the fast focus eyepiece...

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Does the foxus eyepiece have anything to do with eye relief? I thought it was just to focus the reticle

 

[yote_slayer31]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I have heard nothing but good things about the Vortex scopes. Thank you for a detailed review.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

I will be going to the range today and will report back. I won't have the SLR camera, but atleast I can take somekind of pictures with something hopefully.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Just got back from the range. Was unable to take pictures BUT the vortex did indeed have much better resolution at 200 yards than the BSA.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

Just went to the range again, and the vortex blows the BSA out of the water at 100+ yards. It was a hot but cloudy day today and there was alot of miraging, which really let the difference between the two shine. At 200 yards, the BSA still did a decent job but it didn't have too good of resolution. It was almost like I needed to adjust the parallax another notch, but it was in fact adjusted right. On the other hand the vortex was very clear, miraging made the bullseye dance around a little, but other than that it was still clear. At 20X it's still bright but definitely loses a little bit of resolution. So I feel like this scope would do excellent in low light conditions because of the big 50mm OBJ(relatively big). On the other hand half the time I ended up using 14x just because I couldn't get over the crispness of the image at 14x.

 

[callen3615]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

There it is. This is what I eventually found out. The BSA glass sucks.

 

[timelinex]

Re: 6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cpt. obvious</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There it is. This is what I eventually found out. The BSA glass sucks. </div></div>
You know the funny part is that the only other scopes I really looked through were relatively cheap scopes (<$300), so when I used my BSA I felt like it actually had pretty good glass and even at 200 yards it was pretty clear. I was fully satisfied with it, until I got this vortex and have been using it. Now it almost hurts the eye's to use the BSA! I've been spoiled after 2 range trips, sucks that it just always happens that way. You don't NEED quality to do most things, but once you have upgraded there's no going back.