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Rifle Scopes VX5 hd, NF SHV, or Razor LHT?
- Thread starter athanasios23
- Start date
What about all of the turret problems leupold has had with the vx5/6 scopes?
There are multiple conversations on the slide and 24hrcamp forums.?
There are multiple conversations on the slide and 24hrcamp forums.?
As far as tracking goes on my vx5hd I haven't checked to see. I don't shoot that rifle beyond 200 yards so I've never had the need to. Next range trip I'll do a tracking test and see though.
Interested to hear more on tracking issues. If I recall correctly I thought the issues with the vx6 is that everyone just hated the turrets as they were "mushy".
Big difference between the turret feel on the older VX6 and newer VX6HD. The two samples of VX-6 i had did not track all that well, good enough to sight in but not something I would feel comfortable to be reliably dialed. The VX6HD I have now is a totally different animal IMO. I havn't done a "scientific" tracking test but so far it seems to return to zero everytime and turret feel is much much better than the old non HD series. Also have a new 3-15LHT. So far I really like it, but havn't had a chance to run it thru its paces. I was a fan of the first gen 1" tube scopes, but the turrets sucked large donkey balls. The LHT mostly fixes that IMO and still keeps the scope light. The VX6 HD 3-18 I have probably has a little better glass, but not by a wide margin, at least to my eyes. Leupold glass seems to edge it out slightly in low light situations, but either would get me way past legal shooting hours. I think overall the VX6 HD is a better scope, but its also significantly more expensive. I prefer the reticle options on the vortex over the Leupold. VX5HD is probably a better comparison price wise. Glasswise I'm told they are similiar to the VX6 line, just a 5x erector.
On reticle illumination:
Leupold uses a fiber dot, while Vortex HD LHT uses a conventional reflective etch and fill illumination. With conventional illumination, if you run it too bright for the conditions, it will bleed out. On every scope that uses it, not just Vortex. It is designed to run it as low as you can for the conditions. If you turn it up too bright, it will always look weird, but that is not how the scope is intended to be used. These are hunting scopes, not LPVOs. In the Razor Gen2 1-6x Vortex uses the fiber illumination since there they need it to be bright, while on hunting and generally higher magnification scopes where you never really need to go nuclear, etch and fill illumination is much more common. That allows them to make changes to how they illuminate reticle later if they are so inclined. With the fiber, it can only be that dot. With reflective illumination, if they ever want to illuminate more of the reticle pattern, they are already set up for it.
ILya
Leupold uses a fiber dot, while Vortex HD LHT uses a conventional reflective etch and fill illumination. With conventional illumination, if you run it too bright for the conditions, it will bleed out. On every scope that uses it, not just Vortex. It is designed to run it as low as you can for the conditions. If you turn it up too bright, it will always look weird, but that is not how the scope is intended to be used. These are hunting scopes, not LPVOs. In the Razor Gen2 1-6x Vortex uses the fiber illumination since there they need it to be bright, while on hunting and generally higher magnification scopes where you never really need to go nuclear, etch and fill illumination is much more common. That allows them to make changes to how they illuminate reticle later if they are so inclined. With the fiber, it can only be that dot. With reflective illumination, if they ever want to illuminate more of the reticle pattern, they are already set up for it.
ILya
Has anybody compared glass on the new LHT vs the old LH 1”? To my eyes the razor LH has brighter clearer glass than the VX5HD. Not to say the Vx5hd is bad, it’s very good. I think the razor glass was closer to Swaro glass. I hope the new vortex LHT is close to the older version. If it does I’ll replace my razor 2-10 on my fieldcraft.
I haven't compared the two but I've owned both and I'd say the glass is identical. I thought the Razor LHT/LH and VX-5 had better glass than the Swaro Z5/Z3 series.
The LHT 3-15x42 is almost identical to the original HD LH, except it is a little bit better toward the edges. Center performance is about the same.
ILya
the glass/coatings are identical between the VX-5HD and the VX-6HD. Not sure if that is what you meant....
Mine came with a canted reticle and was 50% off in elevation tracking and wouldn’t zero at all. I sent it in they said they didn’t see anything wrong with it but the reticle was obviously fixed and I got rid of it.
I think im going with a nightforce shv 3-10.
I bought a nvision halo LR last year and although it had the best image, the plastic housing broke 3 times and it spent more than half of my coyote season in the fed ex truck.
To me, ill sacrifice the best glass for functionality, and ruggedness. Nightforce is no slouch, and while the vx5-6 and razors and swaros and lecias all may have a better picture, they are not as tough as a nightforce. If you have your sling break, or drop your rifle when your 15mi from the truck and loose confidence, well....
Id also hear the swfa 3x9x42 is a reliable scope, just cant find one to try.
I bought a nvision halo LR last year and although it had the best image, the plastic housing broke 3 times and it spent more than half of my coyote season in the fed ex truck.
To me, ill sacrifice the best glass for functionality, and ruggedness. Nightforce is no slouch, and while the vx5-6 and razors and swaros and lecias all may have a better picture, they are not as tough as a nightforce. If you have your sling break, or drop your rifle when your 15mi from the truck and loose confidence, well....
Id also hear the swfa 3x9x42 is a reliable scope, just cant find one to try.
I like the illumination on the LHT a lot. It’s not a RDS. For me it is the last few minutes of daylight in the woods. On its lowest setting it’s perfect. The windage turret feels like a Barska turret but other than that it’s great. CA isn’t great but if your parallax is set and you’re right in the middle of the scope it goes away.
I tested one. No issues, but I did not go beyond one full revolution of the elevation turret.
ILya
The one thing that i did like with my new NF is the way it feels. very rugged!!! looks like it could take a drop or two ....
I agree with the majority and go with Leupold. Nightforce makes bullet proof optics and if your dialing, that would be the clear choice winner. Shots under 300, the glass on the Leupold is amazing and if you get the right reticle, you can you just use the reticle
Went and handled some glass today.
Specifically the Razor HD LHT 3-15x40mm, NF SHV 4-14x56 and the MeaOpta Optika6 3-18x50.
My thoughts:
Glass -
Razor seemed the nicest glass to my eye, although it does have the smallest objective at 42mm (versus 56 for the SHV and 50 for the Optika6). Surely that 56mm sucker has to draw light better when it gets darker.. I'd prefer the 50mm Razor for that reason, but it only has the BDC reticle and only in MRAD (I prefer MOA). I tried looking in some darker corners of the store and up close couldn't really pick much difference. If anything the Razor looked brighter. I was quite surprised by how good the Optika 6 looked. It has the higher top end too in terms of magnification which would only really get used at the range I'm guessing but is still worth noting. It's glass seemed pretty close to the SHV if not clearer... Eye box seemed pretty forgiving on all three.
Rings and turrets -
Razor was the stiffest by far. Seemed overly stiff to me. Not sure how much it would loosen up with use, You sure aren't going to bump anything out of chosen setting... SHV and Optika 6 both adjusted nicely. Optika 6 turrets felt a little soft, but these scopes aren't really designed to see a lot of dialling I suppose. Razor has exposed, locking elevation turret, others are all covered. Razor has a zero stop feature, the SHV and Optika 6 do not (in SFP).
Reticle - I really like the HSR5 reticle in the Razor. SHV Moar reticle also looked good. Optika 6 had the BDC reticle which although not my preference is nice and simple. It would take some getting used to in terms of making use of it. I'd have to work up my Dope and have it on hand - especially as I'd ultimately like to be able to swap this scope between my model 70 featherweight 30-06 and what will probably be a Lithgow LA102 in .243 on its way soon.
Weight -
The Razor is clearly the lighter of the three at around 500g. Not much difference between the SHV or Optika6 at a little over 800g. They do feel unbreakable by comparison. The Razor 'feels' light. Will it handle the recoil on my featherweight 30-06 and the odd smack from branches and clunk on rocks as well? I'm not expecting to be doing much shooting off the shoulder (its running a bipod for a reason!), but will no doubt do some (most likely on pigs).
Price -
Here's where the Optika 6 stood up. Rounding down (and these are in Aussie dollars), it'll come in just over $1000, the SHV just over $1500 and the Razor LHT just over $1600. Note that MeaOpta's warranty is for 10 years, Vortex and Nightforce are for life...
So I'm left with a bit to think about
- The glass on all three would be more than sufficient in reality for my purpose (<500m hunting deer - mostly <300m down to close range for some pigs, but also varminting on the .243 also when it arrives)
- Am I confident of the build quality of the Razor - particularly given it's light weight. Will it be robust enough? Or dos it just feel light when comparing to heavyweight SHV and Optika6.
- For the same money as the Razor - I could get the Optika 6 and a range finder... and I should get a range finder.
For those that have already purchased a Razor HD LHT - how are they loosening up? How are they performing at night/dusk?
For those with an Optika 6 - do you actually find the BDC useful?
Specifically the Razor HD LHT 3-15x40mm, NF SHV 4-14x56 and the MeaOpta Optika6 3-18x50.
My thoughts:
Glass -
Razor seemed the nicest glass to my eye, although it does have the smallest objective at 42mm (versus 56 for the SHV and 50 for the Optika6). Surely that 56mm sucker has to draw light better when it gets darker.. I'd prefer the 50mm Razor for that reason, but it only has the BDC reticle and only in MRAD (I prefer MOA). I tried looking in some darker corners of the store and up close couldn't really pick much difference. If anything the Razor looked brighter. I was quite surprised by how good the Optika 6 looked. It has the higher top end too in terms of magnification which would only really get used at the range I'm guessing but is still worth noting. It's glass seemed pretty close to the SHV if not clearer... Eye box seemed pretty forgiving on all three.
Rings and turrets -
Razor was the stiffest by far. Seemed overly stiff to me. Not sure how much it would loosen up with use, You sure aren't going to bump anything out of chosen setting... SHV and Optika 6 both adjusted nicely. Optika 6 turrets felt a little soft, but these scopes aren't really designed to see a lot of dialling I suppose. Razor has exposed, locking elevation turret, others are all covered. Razor has a zero stop feature, the SHV and Optika 6 do not (in SFP).
Reticle - I really like the HSR5 reticle in the Razor. SHV Moar reticle also looked good. Optika 6 had the BDC reticle which although not my preference is nice and simple. It would take some getting used to in terms of making use of it. I'd have to work up my Dope and have it on hand - especially as I'd ultimately like to be able to swap this scope between my model 70 featherweight 30-06 and what will probably be a Lithgow LA102 in .243 on its way soon.
Weight -
The Razor is clearly the lighter of the three at around 500g. Not much difference between the SHV or Optika6 at a little over 800g. They do feel unbreakable by comparison. The Razor 'feels' light. Will it handle the recoil on my featherweight 30-06 and the odd smack from branches and clunk on rocks as well? I'm not expecting to be doing much shooting off the shoulder (its running a bipod for a reason!), but will no doubt do some (most likely on pigs).
Price -
Here's where the Optika 6 stood up. Rounding down (and these are in Aussie dollars), it'll come in just over $1000, the SHV just over $1500 and the Razor LHT just over $1600. Note that MeaOpta's warranty is for 10 years, Vortex and Nightforce are for life...
So I'm left with a bit to think about
- The glass on all three would be more than sufficient in reality for my purpose (<500m hunting deer - mostly <300m down to close range for some pigs, but also varminting on the .243 also when it arrives)
- Am I confident of the build quality of the Razor - particularly given it's light weight. Will it be robust enough? Or dos it just feel light when comparing to heavyweight SHV and Optika6.
- For the same money as the Razor - I could get the Optika 6 and a range finder... and I should get a range finder.
For those that have already purchased a Razor HD LHT - how are they loosening up? How are they performing at night/dusk?
For those with an Optika 6 - do you actually find the BDC useful?
Just an update. Got the Leupold vx5. Only have gotten to hold it and look threw the scope at full daylight. Looks really nice and can't wait to get it mounted and to the range.
Me too....after comparing a VX 5 HD Leupy side by side it was no contest
How do you like the reticle? One of the reasons I went with the leupold was the firedot. There just something about a duplex reticle on a deer rifle that I like. Especially for NE hunting where shots are short.
Love it..........I got the 3-15x42 with Mrad HSR-5i...........clean reticle that is very useful for quick wind holds being 1/2 Mil spaced evenly on the horizontal stadia. Center dot is the only part that illuminates.
I own the VX5-HD in 3x15-44 and just recently bought a Trijicon Credo HX 2.5x15-42. I haven’t tested the tracking much on either one but just from the little ive shot both of them, I’d go with the Trijicon. Both are SFP, zero stop, exposed elevation turret, capped windage windage. I’d certainly take them both over anything vortex has to offer.
Had an SHV, since then for hunting rifles I keep going back to the Leupold VX 6 and VX5 line. simple, clear, bright, light weight, great brand.
Eurooptics has a special run of MRAD
3-18x44 vx6hds with illumination and TMR reticle:
Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Metric Illuminated TMR, Shadow Brown 172756
FREE SHIPPING on Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Metric Illuminated TMR, Shadow Brown 172756
I believe it is also an artifact of whether the reticle is wire or etched. I have only seen fiber optic illumation (as seen in VXR, VX5, VX6 and Vortex Razor and Viper LPVOs) on scopes with wire reticles. I suspect this allows the manufacturers to better attach and hide the optic light pipe (sort of, as you can see it if you look carefully). On etched reticles with illumination I have only seen reflective illumination. IMO, the advantage of the fiber optic illumination is it creates far less stray light, thereby enhancing low light performance, also with wire reticle there is at least one, more likely two or more, fewer lenses further minimizing light loss. I know a lot of folks don't like wire reticles nowadays, what with the slick etched reticles available and concerns with wire breakage. But if low light performance is important to you, and if you hunt whitetail like me, it should, then I'd suggest the fiber optic illumination.
BTW, I have a Leupold VXR 4-12x50 with the Ballistic FD reticle and will say I can readily see game 15 minutes past legal shooting light and have taken feral pig that late (which is legal where I hunt). I have also been lusting over a VX5 for some time (given the side focus, 5x range, ZL2 turrets) to replace the VXR but I just haven't yet justified it to myself. The VXR has been just that good for the 7 years I've had it. Also, with the motion sensor tech, I've only changed the battery once, last year, and only because I was afraid it would go out during hunting season.
Etched reticle illumination if done right, on low levels, does not create any more stray light than fiber illumination. It creates more stray light when you try to go bright with it.
As far as light transmission difference due to one less optical element goes, that is imperceptible and makes no difference.
ILya
As far as light transmission difference due to one less optical element goes, that is imperceptible and makes no difference.
ILya
Has there been a comparison between the Nightforce 2.5-10x32 mil/mil and the LHT HD 3-15x42 mil/mil. They're very close in weight. Curious about the glass quality which I presume the Vortex would be better but those NF are pretty good for being 32mm objective.
your not gonna go wrong with the vx5hd. It is a awesome scope. Have it in the windplex reticle and just bout the vx6hd 3-18x44 after being so impressed with the the vx5hd. I don’t have any experience with the vortex but I have a Trijicon credo hx 2.5x15x42 that is a fine scope also. In my opinion, the vortex scopes are overpriced for what they are compared to scopes like Leupold and Swarovski for hunting and Kahles and Steiner for tactical. The 1-6x24 Razor II is a fine scope though
Have a VX-5HD 3-15x44 with the HTMR reticle. Only complaint is the windage turret is meh and not something you will ever want to reach for. It's plastic and mushy, but it's also capped so it doesn't matter. Would end up holding for wind anyways. Elevation turret is nice, no major complaints. I will probably pick up another one for a future build I have in mind.
I went with the LHT HD 3-15. It’s a pretty decent scope. Illum is fine. Fairly light weight. reticle is good. Returns to zero. Low light performance is decent but not on the same level as the VX6HD or top Leica/Swaro. It works for what I intend to do.
Would have preferred a 2-12 or 2-10 or 1.5-xx with mil/mil, parallax and illum but the only name in town beside the overpriced NXS would be the new March 1.5-15 or the Razor 1-10 but they were out of my budget. Also didn’t want to spend that kind of coin for an optics for a 300blk bolt gun.
Would have preferred a 2-12 or 2-10 or 1.5-xx with mil/mil, parallax and illum but the only name in town beside the overpriced NXS would be the new March 1.5-15 or the Razor 1-10 but they were out of my budget. Also didn’t want to spend that kind of coin for an optics for a 300blk bolt gun.
We just put the Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44mm - Varmint Hunter Illuminated #171567 on sale for only $1,299.99
Hell I have been using a mil scope for years and don't know that I could get it zeroed if I couldn't use my reticle for a ruler. Haha!
Eurooptics has a special run of MRAD
3-18x44 vx6hds with illumination and TMR reticle:
Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Metric Illuminated TMR, Shadow Brown 172756
FREE SHIPPING on Leupold VX-6HD 3-18x44 (30mm) CDS-ZL2 Side Focus Metric Illuminated TMR, Shadow Brown 172756www.eurooptic.com
What did those sell for? Clicked link but it says product discontinued.
Update.
the LHT I had initially was in fact a dud. I currently own 3 Vortex LHT 3-15X50 and a 4.5-22x50 FFP. My apologies for not updating this and honestly, they're killer scopes not only for the quality, but for the cost.
the LHT I had initially was in fact a dud. I currently own 3 Vortex LHT 3-15X50 and a 4.5-22x50 FFP. My apologies for not updating this and honestly, they're killer scopes not only for the quality, but for the cost.
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