BLACK Vortex G3 now available

I wonder how many of those euro optic had to order for vortex to do a run for them.

IIRC they did the same thing with the razor G2, I remember seeing at least one batch of black ones...
 
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I wonder if I can send my G3 in for warranty repair and request they remove the :poop: brown color for standard black :ROFLMAO:
They might just do that if your G3 Razor is irreparable. Vortex warranty and CS are great to deal with. I just try to avoid their Chinese made stuff for obvious reasons and go with other brands of made in China products that seem less problematic.
 
I wonder how many of those euro optic had to order for vortex to do a run for them.

IIRC they did the same thing with the razor G2, I remember seeing at least one batch of black ones...

I messaged them about it yesterday afternoon and I asked how many they have. The rep said "a lot". I don't know what that means, but I'll be placing an order for one. Black should be the standard color. I like the bronze, but it is not aesthetically pleasing all the time.
 
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45.1 oz... And folks talk shit about how the LRP S3 is a tank... 😂
You should probably have a zeiss logo as your avatar, you plug that thing so much! I had both the Gen3 and S3 6-36 at the range this morning shooting at 850y in overcast conditions, to my eyes the Gen3 is optically superior. But, my samples and my eyes. They all differ a bit.
 
You should probably have a zeiss logo as your avatar, you plug that thing so much! I had both the Gen3 and S3 6-36 at the range this morning shooting at 850y in overcast conditions, to my eyes the Gen3 is optically superior. But, my samples and my eyes. They all differ a bit.
No, I was just comparing them since they're both 6-36x56 scopes of similar builds and design...And folks always ask about them in comparisons a lot on here.
 
No, I was just comparing them since they're both 6-36x56 scopes of similar builds and design...And folks always ask about them in comparisons a lot on here.
The parallax knob with no yardage bugs me, gives no reference. The reticle is heavy at given magnification value versus most the other high end tree reticles. My only two gripes, everything else is solid. I was gonna shoot tomorrows match with the S3, but swapped my ZCO on this afternoon just because of my familiarity. Need to get more practice with the S3.
 
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The parallax knob with no yardage bugs me, gives no reference. The reticle is heavy at given magnification value versus most the other high end tree reticles. My only two gripes, everything else is solid. I was gonna shoot tomorrows match with the S3, but swapped my ZCO on this afternoon just because of my familiarity. Need to get more practice with the S3.

The reticle is actually great for match shooting. I have shot mine in both the 4-25 and 6-36 in multiple matches and the reticle isn’t heavy at all in use and great for holds. Give it a try before passing judgement on it.

The parallax is a pain at first but you learn where the spots are on the knob or you could mark it yourself if you wanted.
 
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The parallax knob with no yardage bugs me, gives no reference. The reticle is heavy at given magnification value versus most the other high end tree reticles. My only two gripes, everything else is solid. I was gonna shoot tomorrows match with the S3, but swapped my ZCO on this afternoon just because of my familiarity. Need to get more practice with the S3.
I'm with @Rob01 on this one... Personally, I don't find the S3 reticle to be too heavy, but that's just me. I wouldn't complain if it was a slight bit thinner, but it's useable as-is, IMO. Everyone's eyes are different. The parallax doesn't bother so much, as I have some top-tier scopes that have numbers on them, and they don't even line up remotely at all with where the adjustment needs to be set at given distances (cough cough...NF ATACR F1...cough cough).
 
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I'd been holding off on upgrading from a Gen2... but was finally ready to buy a Gen3 as it seemed like all the recent reports of recent production scopes were that all the minor bugs had been worked out (gummy turrets, turrets inadvertently locking, wonky parallax on some units, etc).

Saw this thread about the black one, and figured that'd be a pretty easy way to know I was grabbing a recent production unit...

FWIW, the turrets on my unit are awesome, seriously probably some of the nicest I've ever played with (and I shoot with a couple of guys who run a TT and ZCO so I have some experience with those), super deliberate and positive feeling (very TT-like, muy bueno), worlds apart from the couple of early Gen3 units I had played with.

I didn't think the new zero system would be a big deal because I didn't mind the old method with the Gen2s, but yeah, it's so easy, I now can see why some are saying it's probably the best out there now.

Today I changed more things at once than I normally like to by going to a new scope, new brake, and higher mount, but it still seemed like an old friend. My first impressions after shooting it today are that I like how much it felt just like my old trusted Gen2... just a better image, better clarity, same easy eyebox, same solid feel. Plus... black > brown lol.

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How did we end up talking about the friggen Zeiss S3 in this thread haha. Christ.

These black G3s look badass, I’d nearly consider selling one of mine to swap it to a black one, if the price was closer to the 2k mark. I’d pay a couple of hundred premium, but not $500.
 
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You should probably have a zeiss logo as your avatar, you plug that thing so much! I had both the Gen3 and S3 6-36 at the range this morning shooting at 850y in overcast conditions, to my eyes the Gen3 is optically superior. But, my samples and my eyes. They all differ a bit.
The S3 is not bad at all, very good scopes, but the Razor G3 HD is in Schmidt and Bender PMII optical territory now. Funny but the black G3 reminds me of a Tangent T.
 
The gen 3 looks much better than the PM2. The PM2 is significantly darker, while the resolution is still good. You will notice it when shooting in bad conditions.

G3 is closer to the ZCO in glass quality than the PM2, and that's a good thing.

Run them side by side and its apparent.
 
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For me, the truth is that the color didn't really matter, it was just a good deal and I didn't have to wait (which I probably would have if I wanted to get one using my LEO discount).

I always thought the Razor's bespoke shit brown/purple mix was pretty cool (didn't it have its own cool name like "Stormshadow" or something?)...

But, probably as intended, it was also built-in "advertisment-flage" that let everybody know "Hey, that dude bought the top shelf/non-shitty Vortex" (or if you're a TT/ZCO guy, "Hey, another dude with a way cheaper scope than mine that's really nearly as good but I won't admit it out loud" lol). I ran one for a long time and think it's cool that they have their own color that is synonymous with their best scopes.

That said, sometimes, for probably the same reason you won't find any stickers on my truck, I like to roll "gray man" style and wanted plain vanilla for a change this time.

Honestly, those who mentioned that they look like a Strike Eagle are right, and that's probably why they're $500 cheaper than the "Stormwizard" ones, no Gucci factor lol.
 
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Hey we all agree it's a good scope! And it's available in two F'n colors now! The only others that give that option are the mipspec FDE Nightforce units, and TT with their coyote color. But who was first to have the bronze/copper color..........yup vortex.
 
The gen 3 looks much better than the PM2. The PM2 is significantly darker, while the resolution is still good. You will notice it when shooting in bad conditions.

G3 is closer to the ZCO in glass quality than the PM2, and that's a good thing.

Run them side by side and its apparent.
It's been a while since owning my PM2s but I'm more referring to clarity and sharpness, you're right I'm sure.
 
It's been a while since owning my PM2s but I'm more referring to clarity and sharpness, you're right I'm sure.

Having had a couple S3s near a couple G3s on the same day in same conditions I can tell you there is no huge difference in glass and the day we looked the S3 edged the G3 by a hair. Both are very clear though but don’t think you are getting any great glass jump in those two.
 
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Having had a couple S3s near a couple G3s on the same day in same conditions I can tell you there is no huge difference in glass and the day we looked the S3 edged the G3 by a hair. Both are very clear though but don’t think you are getting any great glass jump in those two.
Everyone's eyes are different, and as well a deal of subjectivity. I'm stating from my perspective...IMHO. some glass and coating may suit different people, guessing here. Once again the S3 glass is very good.
 
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Everyone's eyes are different, and as well a deal of subjectivity. I'm stating from my perspective...IMHO. some glass and coating may suit different people, guessing here. Once again the S3 glass is very good.
Yup and when you have some saying one is slightly better and some saying the other all it proves is there is not a real difference between them. Neither is head and shoulders above the other.
 
But now that it's been done maybe Vortex will keep it as an option if demand is there.
They ought to but IIRC euro had a batch of black 4.5-27’s but never saw any official black from Vortex after that. My guess is euro has the ability to buy in significant enough quantity and as such can likely request all black. The only reason I don't like the Vortex brown is because it doesn’t match anything other than the above mentioned DD Mil-Spec. They are quickly recognizable at the range and comps which is likely why Vortex does it, even negative publicity is still publicity. Eventually I’ll wrap mine in camo kling and probably not care what color the base color is.
 
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