Yet Another Vortex Going in for Warranty

[brockel]

It's hard to figure out failure rates on the internet. Vortex and Leupold sell a lot of products, some will have issues. What percentage, and how they stack up against the competition, is the data I would like to see.

And I think vortex has even taken over selling more scopes than leupold has now days. Offer a lot more options to the tacticool crowd. Plus I think you’d have to see how people are using their scopes. Are they setting and forgetting or are they dialing?

 

[woods89]

Couple years back i talked to a guy at vortex that said the vast majority of their scope return issues relate to people mismounting them. Honestly i have seen some crazy at home mount jobs on all brands of scope but especially budget scopes so i believe him. Didnt we just have a conversation about using tape on scope rings...

No doubt there are a ton of mis mounted scopes. But, to play devils advocate here, that's exactly the kind of line I would expect to hear from a company rep trying to explain a stat that's problematic.

I don't own any Vortex optics anymore. I never had anything real awful happen because of them but I did have a Viper lose zero after a flight. My Nightforce held zero perfectly this fall. I have very little patience for scopes I don't trust these days.

 

[brockel]

No doubt there are a ton of mis mounted scopes. But, to play devils advocate here, that's exactly the kind of line I would expect to hear from a company rep trying to explain a stat that's problematic.

I don't own any Vortex optics anymore. I never had anything real awful happen because of them but I did have a Viper lose zero after a flight. My Nightforce held zero perfectly this fall. I have very little patience for scopes I don't trust these days.

Nightforce is built like a tank and weighs about as much too. And is out of 75% or more of mosts peoples price range

 

[woods89]

Nightforce is built like a tank and weighs about as much too. And is out of 75% or more of mosts peoples price range

No argument that reliability costs. But my 3-10 SHV cost me $750 used. For the peace of mind it gives me I feel like it's worth that cost, both on the weight and monetary front. Everybody has to make that call themselves.

I still check zero frequently, but it's become a fairly boring exercise.

 

[std7mag]

The only optic i've ever had to try to send for warranty was a Barska scope.
Looked like a large flake of something on the inside of the objective lense.
After not having any response from Barska over a 6 month period of trying, i just threw the scope in the trash.

 

[ImBillT]

No doubt there are a ton of mis mounted scopes. But, to play devils advocate here, that's exactly the kind of line I would expect to hear from a company rep trying to explain a stat that's problematic.

I don't own any Vortex optics anymore. I never had anything real awful happen because of them but I did have a Viper lose zero after a flight. My Nightforce held zero perfectly this fall. I have very little patience for scopes I don't trust these days.

I bought a scope from a person on this forum that described their problem, and said the company told them it was a mounting issue. The person complained about the company. I told that person that it was a mounting problem, and that I did not think anything was wrong with that scope. They sold me the scope at a very low price. I mounted it on a match gun and performed a tall target test which the scope passed with flying colors. No issues at all. Perfect scope.

 

[williaada]

I have vortex, Zeiss, and leupold. Two of the vortex have gone back for warranty and I have had at least 3 go back to leupold go back. Each time leupold has given me a hard time, and have been slow to send a replacement or repair the scope.

Might be time to save up and go to a NF on my next rifle.

 

[WapitiBob]

If you want a cheap scope that works get a swfa 12x42 or 16x42 for $300. I have two of them and they work, but they're not a nightforce nxs or a leupold mark 5.

 

[mtmuley]

Why doesn't SWFA offer a clean duplex reticle? mtmuley

 

[Doublecluck]

Vortex is great for kids and people that abuse shit. When you brake it they just send ya a new one. I’ve still got a razor spotter that was problem free other than the zoom on the eyepiece quit working last year and they sent me a new one (eyepiece). Glass is exceptional and I got it for 600 bucks (400 off) as it’s gen one and was being phased out. I had a hst that was great till my daughter dropped it on the bell connected to a 10 lb rifle.. oooof!. Both replacements didn’t hold zero so third one went on cl still in the box.

Today my safe is vortex free other than two guns with pmr rings, I like their pmr rings, made in America too.

 

[338win]

I got a steal on a HD vortex spotter. The eyepiece has been in for a replacement. They are good if you pay 50% of the retail but for the retail id buy a leupold or step up to one of the euro brands.

 

[RobG]

My 2008 vortex viper 10x42 binoculars are still in great shape even though I treat them like a rental car. I dropped them once and bent the eye piece, but they repaired that under their warranty. I bought my wife a pair a few years back and would do it again.

Their rifle scopes… notsomuch.

 

[TheTone]

And I think vortex has even taken over selling more scopes than leupold has now days. Offer a lot more options to the tacticool crowd. Plus I think you’d have to see how people are using their scopes. Are they setting and forgetting or are they dialing?

Solid business model in current climate. Offer tons of discounts, give tons of product to influencers, and have a wide product line to suit about any budget. The profit margin must be pretty large to cover the discounts/freebies and returns

 

[LongRangeDisciple]

Ive heard issues like this, my cousin had 2 back to back failures finally the 3rd one worked it was a Viper PST 6-24 the reticles were blurry and the second one wouldn't even adjust that was in the Summer of 2017

 

[Hockaday2017]

Im in the same boat. Wont ever buy vortex again. Have had a really really good experience with Athlon Optics!

 

[Dsnow9]

Have a lot of vortex, currently have my first two items for warranty in a box as we speak. One is an eye cup I broke off while trying to rock climb to get a better vantage point. The other is the rubber eye piece on my range finder. Not big issues. That being said, as I have upgraded and replaced I have not been buying vortex.

 

[deer_shooter]

I have 2 vortex viper scopes, a PST and HST as well as a Razor spotter. All have been fine with no issues whatsoever. I did have to send the spotter back for a new eyecup after knocking the scope off a shooting bench. My only complaint with the scopes is the zero stop isn't really a hard stop.

 

[Doublegunner]

I have a pair of vortex viper binos that I've sent back twice. The first time they fogged during an elk hunt and the second time the diopter broke. I think my son did that one. They fixed them promptly and sent them back. I bought my son a pair of Viper HD binos and they seem to be working fine. I also have a vortex viper 4-12x40mm scope that hasn't had any issues. This scope gets moved around from rifle to rifle lately. Right now it's sitting on my 7mm mag tikka superlite.

 

[Don Fischer]

I have vortex, Zeiss, and leupold. Two of the vortex have gone back for warranty and I have had at least 3 go back to leupold go back. Each time leupold has given me a hard time, and have been slow to send a replacement or repair the scope.

Might be time to save up and go to a NF on my next rifle.

Something about this sounds fishy to me. Two Vortex and THREE Leupold's gone back? Every company puts out a bad scope now and then but three back to Leupold? I don't use Leupold for whatever reason but they have to have about the best reputation in the industry and I simply can't imagine one guy getting three bad ones from them! And then you want to go from apparently Vortex price range to Night force price range? Something is fishy!

 

[ImBillT]

Vortex doesn’t make things, they buy things. Their warranty is so good because they factor in replacement costs. That’s why if you buy a Chinese Vortex, it costs a LOT more than a similar Chinese scope. If you buy a Vortex made in the Philippines, it costs a fair bit more than a similar scope from the Philippines, and if you buy a Japanese Vortex, it costs a little more than some similar scopes from Japan, but not as much as some others. Sightron sells some very excellent scopes from Japan and the Philippines at lower prices than Vortex, but their warranty is not quite as broad, even though it is still a great warranty. Nightforce sells scopes from Japan that get a lot of inspection in the US before the go to the shelves and they cost more than most other scopes from Japan. As far as I know, Sightron, Nightforce, Vortex, Crimson Trace, Maven and quite a few others are not manufacturing scopes in Japan or the Philippines, they are simply specifying what they want to a relatively small number of manufacturers, then doing their own level of QC once they get them in their possession.