Rifle Scopes Moving from a Steiner 1-4 to a VCOG 1-8 or Razor 1-10 - Opinions?

[Hodge]

Decided to upgrade from a Steiner 1-4 (great scope) and have narrowed it down to the Razor 1-10 or VCOG 1-8. I was also considering NX8 but the eye box concerned me and the ATACR would be about $2600 - not sure the price increase is worth it over the Razor or VCOG.

VCOG 1-8: I can get for about $1750 new. Benefits over the Razor would be build quality and the included mount. Negatives would be increased weight, warranty (5 years), 8x vs 10x.

Razor 1-10: Looking at around $2000 with a mount, lower weight, better warranty, brighter reticle and 10x vs 8x

While there are numerous reviews on the Razor, reviews on the VCOG seem sparse. From what I have read, glass quality and eye relief seem similar on both - please correct me if I am wrong. I am kind of leaning towards the VCOG due to the price but the Razor seems to be the scope to go with according to the reviews. Anyone have experience with both?

 

[Twistid]

You just missed the Razors for $1550 shipped from Liberty Optics. Shoulda got that

 

[GreenMushroom]

You just missed the Razors for $1550 shipped from Liberty Optics. Shoulda got that

Someone gave me link for new around 1600 but I can't find it now and I saw a used for 1500. Did you get banned on the ar15 forum for hurting that guys feels

 

[Twistid]

Yes I got put in time out for hurting the feelings of the swampfox shills

Yeah I got my Razor for $1650 from Liberty but over the weekend they were doing a sale for $1550 shipped, absolutely smoking deal. Beats the military discount by far

 

[st1650]

Whatever you do, the VCOG is one of the worst choice possible.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Whatever you do, the VCOG is one of the worst choice possible.

Can't be, Guns and Ammo said it was great!

In all seriousness, I've always wondered why they didn't catch on. What's so terrible about it?

 

[Hodge]

Can't be, Guns and Ammo said it was great!

In all seriousness, I've always wondered why they didn't catch on. What's so terrible about it?

Maybe everyone figured if the Marines got it it must be crap....

 

[st1650]

Its not a really bad scope, it’s just overpriced and behind compared to the competition.
It literally weights more than a MK5 3.6-18x44 with mount. It’s 6oz heavier than a Gen iii razor which is an infinitely better product.
It’s overpriced
The 1-6s were plagued with issues like Diopter shift while changing mag and high failure rate.
Reticle is underwhelming
Meh glass
Illumination not on par with Nightforce or Razor Gen iii/Gen ii

what else did I forget ?

 

[Hodge]

You just missed the Razors for $1550 shipped from Liberty Optics. Shoulda got that

Shoulda coulda woulda.... Maybe I will wait to see what labor day sales bring. Seems there is not much love for the VCOG.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I ordered the Athlon Ares 1-10x. $835.00 from Cameraland (who are awesome to deal with btw). It's not here yet, but it sure has gotten a lot of high praise and the guys I know who have athlon. Scopes absolutely love em. Id certainly check it out. CL should have their first batch of em in a few weeks to ship out.

 

[GreenMushroom]

Yes I got put in time out for hurting the feelings of the swampfox shills

Yeah I got my Razor for $1650 from Liberty but over the weekend they were doing a sale for $1550 shipped, absolutely smoking deal. Beats the military discount by far

How dare you...internets is serious business

Whats your take on the g3. Just your average LOW scope with more zoom or game changer? Does it have the disappearing edges like a g2 or tr25?

Eta I'm just widow shopping right now. I went on a thermal binge so I'm the poors for awhile.

 

[Hodge]

Yes I got put in time out for hurting the feelings of the swampfox shills

Yeah I got my Razor for $1650 from Liberty but over the weekend they were doing a sale for $1550 shipped, absolutely smoking deal. Beats the military discount by far

You mean to tell me Swampfox is not a $2000 optic disguised as a $400 optic?

 

[Hodge]

I ordered the Athlon Ares 1-10x. $835.00 from Cameraland (who are awesome to deal with btw). It's not here yet, but it sure has gotten a lot of high praise and the guys I know who have athlon. Scopes absolutely love em. Id certainly check it out. CL should have their first batch of em in a few weeks to ship out.

Is this a Chinesium scope? 26.9 oz.... She is a curvy one.

 

[GreenMushroom]

I ordered the Athlon Ares 1-10x. $835.00 from Cameraland (who are awesome to deal with btw). It's not here yet, but it sure has gotten a lot of high praise and the guys I know who have athlon. Scopes absolutely love em. Id certainly check it out. CL should have their first batch of em in a few weeks to ship out.

Do you know where these are made? All the Athlon models confuse the shit out of me. The cronus are the LOW made ones right?

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Its not a really bad scope, it’s just overpriced and behind compared to the competition.
It literally weights more than a MK5 3.6-18x44 with mount. It’s 6oz heavier than a Gen iii razor which is an infinitely better product.
It’s overpriced
The 1-6s were plagued with issues like Diopter shift while changing mag and high failure rate.
Reticle is underwhelming
Meh glass
Illumination not on par with Nightforce or Razor Gen iii/Gen ii

what else did I forget ?

Yeah, that all sounds pretty great, I guess.

 

[Neurotic]

Do you know where these are made? All the Athlon models confuse the shit out of me. The cronus are the LOW made ones right?

The Cronus' are made by LOW, the rest are Chinese.

Most of the others are made by Sam Electrical.

 

[madangler1]

The VCOG 1-8x is a completely different animal than the 1-6x model. I agree that the VCOG 1-6x is inferior to the 1-6x Razor and definitely the Kahles 1-6x (which is my favorite LPVO).

The VCOG 1-8x fixes all of the issues of the 1-6x model. For a 1-8x scope, it has the best eye box and the glass is on par with the ATACR. It has an excellent FOV on 1x with virtually no distortion. I love the AA battery and the illumination is NVD compatible and also day light bright. I really feel it is the best 1-8x model out there in terms of being a true 1x capable scope. The ATACR I have shot with might have a tiny edge on 8x but not much. The VCOG is much better at lower powers. The downside to the VCOG is the front end of the scope lights up like a Christmas tree with the illumination on day light bright. Hard to see beyond 10 yards but it is there.

I have looked through but not shot with a Razor 1-10x. I felt there was some distortion on 1x but the glass was clear, nice reticle. If you plan on shooting distance mostly I can see the need for a 10x scope. Otherwise, I guess it depends on what caliber you are using, set up etc

I currently run a VCOG 1-8x on my Scar 17. ADM VCOG mount with two titanium levers. I really don’t feel much of a weight difference over the ADM Delta mount and Kahles it replaced. Most of my shooting is < 200 yards in and the optic works as well as my Kahles but gives me an 8x option beyond 100 yards. 1x for me is more important for my purposes than the high end of the optic.

Edited to add: I am -8D with astigmatism. I am very sensitive to slight perturbations in image clarity, eye box, edge clarity and distortion seen with LPVOs. Hence my love for Kahles K1-6. I actually love my Steiner 1-4x as well. I picked the VCOG 1-8x over the Steiner, Minox, ATACR and S&B because I felt it gave me the best eye box and image quality.

 

[louu]

Decided to upgrade from a Steiner 1-4 (great scope) and have narrowed it down to the Razor 1-10 or VCOG 1-8. I was also considering NX8 but the eye box concerned me and the ATACR would be about $2600 - not sure the price increase is worth it over the Razor or ACOG.

VCOG 1-8: I can get for about $1750 new. Benefits over the Razor would be build quality and the included mount. Negatives would be increased weight, warranty (5 years), 8x vs 10x.

Razor 1-10: Looking at around $2000 with a mount, lower weight, better warranty, brighter reticle and 10x vs 8x

While there are numerous reviews on the Razor, reviews on the VCOG seem sparse. From what I have read, glass quality and eye relief seem similar on both - please correct me if I am wrong. I am kind of leaning towards the VCOG due to the price but the Razor seems to be the scope to go with according to the reviews. Anyone have experience with both?

What are you going to use this rifle for? 3 gun?

 

[candyx]

Marines went with the VCOG because you can remove it from your rifle and use it as a weapon to smash communist skulls in even if they are wearing a helmet. That and if you lay your rifle down and a tank drives over it you can just pop the VCOG on another rifle.
Razors aren't bad just don't knock it on the safe door........

 

[Hodge]

Marines went with the VCOG because you can remove it from your rifle and use it as a weapon to smash communist skulls in even if they are wearing a helmet. That and if you lay your rifle down and a tank drives over it you can just pop the VCOG on another rifle.
Razors aren't bad just don't knock it on the safe door........

That was one of the positives I liked on the ACOG 1-8 - its durability in an SHTF scenario...

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Razors aren't bad just don't knock it on the safe door........

What? I can't count the amount of Razors I've seen abused with considerable enthusiasm. And I can count pretty high for a Hide member.

 

[stefan73]

Why not a Steiner M8Xi 1-8?

 

[Twistid]

Why not a Steiner M8Xi 1-8?

 

[Hodge]

Spent some time on this channel, superSetCA and C_DOES. Seems the Razor is well liked on all of these.

 

[stefan73]

Well that sucks about the illumination. I guess don't throw it on the ground is key. I'll see how I feel about the illumination this weekend, nobody should pay MSRP

 

[Twistid]

Yes the Razor 1-10 for $1650 is the answer for most folks looking for a do it all, competitively priced LPVO.

For folks looking to not spend as much the Delta Stryker 1-6 for ~$675 is the answer.

Nothing against the Kahles, NF, Steiner or Trij bois but those two scopes are the answer for 99% of folks.

 

[Hodge]

Yes the Razor 1-10 for $1650 is the answer for most folks looking for a do it all, competitively priced LPVO.

For folks looking to not spend as much the Delta Stryker 1-6 for ~$675 is the answer.

Nothing against the Kahles, NF, Steiner or Trij bois but those two scopes are the answer for 99% of folks.

That is the conclusion I am coming to especially at that 1550-1650 price point.

 

[NC_Libertarian]

Liberty is currently showing a $1999 pricetag. Where is this $1550-1650 pricing coming from?

 

[Hodge]

That is the conclusion I am coming to especially at that 1550-1650 price point.

Apparently they come down to that price point on occasion. I also have a 10% off for sportsman's warehouse and that in conjunction with the 200 you get will bring it down to the 1600 range as well.

 

[GreenMushroom]

Liberty is currently showing a $1999 pricetag. Where is this $1550-1650 pricing coming from?

Not saying its the case in this instance but for higher priced items I always call around. You might be surprised how big of a discount you can get on some things.

 

[Twistid]

Yes you have to call and communicate directly with various retailers to find the best price.

As the person above me said eloquently, you have to talk to the retailers directly. When you're talking about things over $1k you'd be surprised at the amount of markup. Then again, I suppose there's lots of folks who don't care and buy at full price. I'd wager Snipers Hide is a mix of both penny pinchers and big wallets. Unfortunately I do have to try to save my pennies where I can

 

[st1650]

Those Razors usually have a minimum advertised price and you're typically not allowed to discount them but there's others ways around it. Call around and ask.

 

[CSTactical]

We have a few Razor Gen III's in MRAD in stock for anyone looking for one or more

 

[stefan73]

So, I ran the Steiner M8Xi 1-8X24. The illumination is NOT day bright (unless we are talking Alaska winter day aka night). The glass is clear and the reticle is nice, clear, easy to see. Adjustments on the turret are positive and I am not worried about accidentally bumping the adjustments. The parallax is fixed at 100m. I had initially thought that it had adjustable parallax but that only applied to the rest of the M8Xi line/higher magnification optics.

I still need to link up with Terry Cross and compare it to one of his ATACR's.

More to follow,