I've got several Vortex vipers and a diamondback. Pretty decent, work well. Been eating youtube, and a guy who reviews optics called "Cyclops" says they're a piece of crap. "Everyone he knows" with one has issues, one been returned 3 times, etc. Any experience or input here? $700 I think.
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Rifle Scopes Vortex's newer 6?-24?x56 Strike Eagle any good?
- Thread starter Superdog
- Start date
Listen to Cyclops, forget the Vortex and get yourself an IOR Valdada.
/s
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I'm wondering about the new Strike Eagle too..?
Watched the Cyclops vid, he's funny for sure, but I wish he explained in some detail what was going on with the scopes that got sent back, or maybe showed some B-roll of them at least, because otherwise it's just heresay... As for the Strike Eagles, someone is buying them, because they're sold out at quite a few places and gun-guys aren't usually too shy about hitting the forums when a company like Vortex releases a turd, and I haven't seen much out there of guys proclaiming them shiite? And the thing is, he did offer praise for Vortex's warranty and customer service; their lower-tier stuff is all made in China to hit the price-point where guys don't have to melt credit cards or save for a year in order to get something decent enough to go out and shoot, so things are going to have to go back... but again, Cyclops is obviously no business wizard, because he's missing the point that not everyone buying Vortex stuff is a Vortex fanboy or even really just buying a scope, they're buying that warranty.
Besides, I'm new to long-range rifles, but I'm not new to shooting: if I had to count up all the times I've had to send even higher-tier stuff back to Trijicon and Aimpoint I'd be almost out of digits and looking at needing a third hand soon lol.
I know there's more than a couple 5-25/6-24's out there now offered by smaller names at around (but usually above) the same price-point, but we all know all those were/are probably made in the same Chinese factory/factories where Vortex gets theirs made... so not to be a dick, but most of those smaller companies might not be around long enough for anyone to have somewhere to send their scope back to if/when it fucks up. Outfits like Primary Arms and SWFA are the outliers, not the rule. A lot of these newer companies are selling the same scopes, made in the same places, just with maybe a slightly different reticle and their logo printed on them, often at a higher price tag than Vortex because they don't have the same buying power, and most of them can't tell you if they have the business capital on-hand to be around even 2 years from now if things don't go right...
I know $700-1000 is nothing in the realm of good glass, but it's not nothing, so I'm not just giving it to anybody. So I'm hoping the new Vortex is ok, but if it's not, I know Vortex will be ok, and they'll be around and can replace it if/when I send it back ;-)
Caveat emptor.
Watched the Cyclops vid, he's funny for sure, but I wish he explained in some detail what was going on with the scopes that got sent back, or maybe showed some B-roll of them at least, because otherwise it's just heresay... As for the Strike Eagles, someone is buying them, because they're sold out at quite a few places and gun-guys aren't usually too shy about hitting the forums when a company like Vortex releases a turd, and I haven't seen much out there of guys proclaiming them shiite? And the thing is, he did offer praise for Vortex's warranty and customer service; their lower-tier stuff is all made in China to hit the price-point where guys don't have to melt credit cards or save for a year in order to get something decent enough to go out and shoot, so things are going to have to go back... but again, Cyclops is obviously no business wizard, because he's missing the point that not everyone buying Vortex stuff is a Vortex fanboy or even really just buying a scope, they're buying that warranty.
Besides, I'm new to long-range rifles, but I'm not new to shooting: if I had to count up all the times I've had to send even higher-tier stuff back to Trijicon and Aimpoint I'd be almost out of digits and looking at needing a third hand soon lol.
I know there's more than a couple 5-25/6-24's out there now offered by smaller names at around (but usually above) the same price-point, but we all know all those were/are probably made in the same Chinese factory/factories where Vortex gets theirs made... so not to be a dick, but most of those smaller companies might not be around long enough for anyone to have somewhere to send their scope back to if/when it fucks up. Outfits like Primary Arms and SWFA are the outliers, not the rule. A lot of these newer companies are selling the same scopes, made in the same places, just with maybe a slightly different reticle and their logo printed on them, often at a higher price tag than Vortex because they don't have the same buying power, and most of them can't tell you if they have the business capital on-hand to be around even 2 years from now if things don't go right...
I know $700-1000 is nothing in the realm of good glass, but it's not nothing, so I'm not just giving it to anybody. So I'm hoping the new Vortex is ok, but if it's not, I know Vortex will be ok, and they'll be around and can replace it if/when I send it back ;-)
Caveat emptor.
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After much soul searching, going from low to high price points, spending hours looking at YouTube and forum comments I bought a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25 x56. The three points I was considering were 1. 34 mm tube, 2. 56mm objective lens, 3. glass. After buying several Nikon scopes and having the rug pulled out this year from the front door at Nikon, a stable company with great CS was also in the equation. I have not had a single issue, (knock, knock). Does it have top tier glass, no; but then I am not shooting photos with it either. It seems solid, covers all the basics and leaves money for other toys on the table.
i can only compare my strike eagle to my gen1 ares.
here in Oz the ares is waaaaay over priced for what you get (retail here is close to $2k for the ares), comparing it to the strike eagle price vs glass etc.
both made in china.
eye-box on the strike eagle is better than the ares.
ares paralax isn't as sharp i find compared to the strike eagle. this opinion would go hand in hand with the one below regarding the ares.
glass clarity of the strike eagle on max power is far superior than the ares. the ares glass goes milky at max power at short distance but not noticeable at long distance.
maybe i got a dud ares?
i can only compare those 2 and to throw in the mix my s&b it wouldn't be fair.
here in Oz the ares is waaaaay over priced for what you get (retail here is close to $2k for the ares), comparing it to the strike eagle price vs glass etc.
both made in china.
eye-box on the strike eagle is better than the ares.
ares paralax isn't as sharp i find compared to the strike eagle. this opinion would go hand in hand with the one below regarding the ares.
glass clarity of the strike eagle on max power is far superior than the ares. the ares glass goes milky at max power at short distance but not noticeable at long distance.
maybe i got a dud ares?
i can only compare those 2 and to throw in the mix my s&b it wouldn't be fair.
Is that the Ares ETR or BTR? I've got one of both and the BTR sounds a out like what you describe. Not that bad, but it was also like $350, so....
This thread reminds me of a convo I was having with a buddy of mine the other day who is also looking for a mid-priced decent scope for getting into long range... We were both like: there seems to be a bunch of scopes out there at the $400-900 price-point, then a bunch out there at the $1500-2500 price-point... so why is there basically nothing at the $900-1500 level..?
He works in tech at a company that manufactures hardware and is familiar with manufacturing and pricing and his hypothesis was this: “The $1500-2500 scopes probably are the $900-1500 scopes, but why sell them for that when everyone else in the market has already created a tier system where it’s accepted common practice where they can charge ~$1000 more... “ I tend to agree.
Since long range has been growing rapidly the last few years hopefully prices on better glass will come down, but the sport has been pay-to-play for so long that companies are in no rush to let go of their old pricing IMHO... but once they figure out they can actually make more profit by selling more units for less, prices on glass will probably fall.
It wasn’t that long ago that if you wanted to ring steel at 1000yrds you needed a $10k Accuracy International or something... but we’ve had more than a few years now where firearms companies wanted to sell new guns to an untapped market and now guys can buy a $1000 rifle and do the same thing, so hopefully sooner rather than later the optics companies will follow suit.... I hope so anyway lol!
It’s a cost benefit analysis IMO: I like shooting, and I’ve got decent means, but as long as top-shelf glass costs as much as adding a hot tub to my place, I’m choosing the hot tub and will buy mid-priced glass lol!
I’m wondering if Vortex with the new Strike Eagles is exploring this..? Looking at specs: 34mm tube, locking turrets, etc. seems like they’re onto what guys are looking for... so I hope it does well and leads to better stuff at more reasonable price.
He works in tech at a company that manufactures hardware and is familiar with manufacturing and pricing and his hypothesis was this: “The $1500-2500 scopes probably are the $900-1500 scopes, but why sell them for that when everyone else in the market has already created a tier system where it’s accepted common practice where they can charge ~$1000 more... “ I tend to agree.
Since long range has been growing rapidly the last few years hopefully prices on better glass will come down, but the sport has been pay-to-play for so long that companies are in no rush to let go of their old pricing IMHO... but once they figure out they can actually make more profit by selling more units for less, prices on glass will probably fall.
It wasn’t that long ago that if you wanted to ring steel at 1000yrds you needed a $10k Accuracy International or something... but we’ve had more than a few years now where firearms companies wanted to sell new guns to an untapped market and now guys can buy a $1000 rifle and do the same thing, so hopefully sooner rather than later the optics companies will follow suit.... I hope so anyway lol!
It’s a cost benefit analysis IMO: I like shooting, and I’ve got decent means, but as long as top-shelf glass costs as much as adding a hot tub to my place, I’m choosing the hot tub and will buy mid-priced glass lol!
I’m wondering if Vortex with the new Strike Eagles is exploring this..? Looking at specs: 34mm tube, locking turrets, etc. seems like they’re onto what guys are looking for... so I hope it does well and leads to better stuff at more reasonable price.
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I've had a strike eagle and I normally run Razor gen 2's, currently have a Kahles K525i, hopefully have a ZCO very soon. The strike eagle was a good value. The glass was somewhat comparable to the PST, but the PST has an edge. The turrets are ok, little bit of mush, lines don't line up 100%, Tracking was within .2 at 10 mils.
Overall, it's a good package for $700. The turrets are probably my biggest complaint, but I had no issues running it in a couple matches on an ar15. It would not surprise me to see quite a few being sent in for repair considering the price point and feature set of the scope. You're getting a hell of a lot for $700. I'd imagine they have to cut costs somewhere, and QC rate is probably taking a decent hit. Doesn't matter in my opinion just because I wouldn't be buying it for a setup I'd bet my life or a super important match on. If it goes down, I'll have it back within a week because I live close to Vortex. Others should see within 2 weeks.
IOR sucks. Their glass is great, but their failure rate is extremely high for a scope in the high dollar range.
Turns out I'm not the only one who feels that way
Overall, it's a good package for $700. The turrets are probably my biggest complaint, but I had no issues running it in a couple matches on an ar15. It would not surprise me to see quite a few being sent in for repair considering the price point and feature set of the scope. You're getting a hell of a lot for $700. I'd imagine they have to cut costs somewhere, and QC rate is probably taking a decent hit. Doesn't matter in my opinion just because I wouldn't be buying it for a setup I'd bet my life or a super important match on. If it goes down, I'll have it back within a week because I live close to Vortex. Others should see within 2 weeks.
IOR sucks. Their glass is great, but their failure rate is extremely high for a scope in the high dollar range.
Turns out I'm not the only one who feels that way
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If you did a search in the optics section there are a bunch of threads on the new 5-25x56 Strike Eagle and most all is positive. It really is a good value for the price range. I have one on my Vudoo and did a tracking test to 20 mils and it was on. In the price range it's definitely a winner. That is why they sell out fast.
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