Weaver vs Vortex

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Kujones
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Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Kujones »

I am considering an upgrade in scopes. I currently use a Weaver T-15 and really like it but want to increase the magnification. I am considering the Weaver or Voretx. Any EXPERIENCE with the Vortex?
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by GSL »

HI ,
Do yourself a huge favor and get a WEAVER T 24X ...
Stay away from VORTEX ...

GSL .
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Jason
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Jason »

My Weaver T24 has a great adjustment mechanism, but the glass is only mediocre compared to Sightron SII Big Sky (not plain SII, which has worse glass) or Leupold FX3 silhouette scopes. Without knowing which Weaver scope and which Vortex scope you're referring to, there's no way to give you a recommendation. Some of the Vortex scopes have much better glass than the common FX3 and VX3 Leupold scopes that are used most in silhouette, but they are $$$ just like the higher-end Leupold scopes are. The Leupold scopes used most commonly for silhouette are only mid-range quality in the Leupold lines. Similary, with a Weaver T24 you are paying for a good adjustment mechanism but not top end glass and coatings. With all of them, you get what you pay for.

I have two Weaver T24 scopes with 1/2 minute dots and 1/4 minute clicks and three Sightron SII Big Sky 6-24X Silhouette model scopes with 3/8 minute dots and 1/4 minute clicks that I used on my rifles. Either would be an upgrade for you, but the T24 wouldn't be a huge upgrade. Unfortunately, neither model is still made. Even the Leupold FX3 isn't all that readily available currently. You may want to change your focus to finding available models from any manufacturer with power, reticle, adjustments, etc. that you want instead of trying to choose based on a brand and then trying to find a model from that brand.

If I have to answer the question as asked and I could choose any Vortex scope or any Weaver scope, I'd choose one of the higher-end Vortex scopes over anything Weaver is currently producing or has ever produced. Of course, the Vortex that I would choose also costs a lot more than any current or previous Weaver products.
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DavidABQ
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by DavidABQ »

An alternative is to contact Pete about s Leupold FX3, 25x40 Sulhouette scope.
\m/
Last edited by DavidABQ on Sun May 07, 2017 12:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

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DavidABQ wrote:An alternative isnto contact Pete about s Leupold FX3, 25x40 Sulhouette scope.
\m/
Second that! I haven't worked with Pete yet, but be aware that once you go Leupold FX3 25x40, there's no going back.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by DavidABQ »

BCloninger wrote:
DavidABQ wrote:An alternative isnto contact Pete about s Leupold FX3, 25x40 Sulhouette scope.
\m/
Second that! I haven't worked with Pete yet, but be aware that once you go Leupold FX3 25x40, there's no going back.
I now have two of those Leupold FX3 in 25x40 and they are a great scope.
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Another Dang 9
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Another Dang 9 »

All my scoped rifles have Weavers. Always will. That includes a .338LM all the way down to my .22s not a problem with any of them.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by OldRanger »

I shot one season with a vortex and it did just fine. Never a problem with reliability or repeatability. Sold it with the ruger 10-22 I was competing with and got a Leupold. I would get another vortex. This one was a 6-18 with an illuminated reticle. The reason I got that model was it was the only one that had a dot reticle out of the box.

The time glass clarity really becomes an issue is in low light, and the lowest light we shoot in is a little rain during daylight hours. The difference in clarity between the relatively cheap vortex and the leupold was negligible when we shot.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Kujones »

The other concern with a competition scope is how well the turrets hold up with repeated and frequent adjustments
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by frankmako »

For me the El Paso Weaver scopes are the best for our game. If they go bad Bill Ackerman can make them new again.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by tnchicknsnipr »

I started using vortex scopes 2 years ago and would not change for anything. The optics are as good or better then Leopold or sightron.The target knobs have a good crisp movement. The price when on sale is cheaper than others.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

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tnchicknsnipr wrote:I started using vortex scopes 2 years ago and would not change for anything. The optics are as good or better then Leopold or sightron.The target knobs have a good crisp movement. The price when on sale is cheaper than others.
The glass is good for the money, but how are reliability and resale? For me, Leupold is a known quantity, but there are still questions around Vortex.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Doodaddy »

Vortex can make a very nice scope. They don't make an off the shelf option that is very suited for silhouette. READ: that doesn't mean that a Vortex scope can't be used for silhouette successfully.

The reason why I say they aren't very suited for silhouette is based on a few things.

Reticle. Usually fine crosshairs and a large dot (around 1/2MOA) is what silhouette shooters prefer. Vortex scopes that have at least 24X (assuming that's the area you're wanting to upgrade to) have their EBR, ECR, SCR, XLR, and reticles VMR save for the Viper HS and Crossfire II. The latter scopes offer a standard V Plex reticle and their Dead-Hold BDC. The EBR, ECR, SCR, XLR, and VMR reticles are very busy and distracting as they are including hash marks for ranging, holdover, and windage corrections which aren't exactly easily utilized (if at all) for an offhand silhouette shooter.

Weight. Their lightest scope with at least 24X magnification is 21.4oz. That's a bit on the heavy side. It's not the end of the world assuming you accounted for it, but if your rifle is close to the max weight, you'll go over switching to this over the Weaver T15. Keep in mind that the Viper HS and Crossfire II scopes are 30mm rings which have a tendency to be heavier as well.

Assuming that we're sticking with going with a Vortex scope and based on available reticles, the Viper HS scope is both their lightest scope and one with a decent reticle (along with 1/4MOA adjustments) however its parallax setting is 50 yards to infinity which means its minimum distance is 45 meters. Chickens are shot at 40 meters. So the Viper HS is out. That leaves the Crossfire II 6-24X50 AO at 23.6oz which can focus down to at least 10 yards. Plenty for silhouette.

The Crossfire II is made in China. I'm not trying to make a blanket statement about Chinese scopes not being up to snuff, but there is a reason why the least expensive scopes are made there. Silhouette is hard on scopes. Most shooters zero in a rifle and rarely make adjustments after the fact. Silhouette shooters twist turrets in multiple directions multiple times a match. Turret quality and repeatability matter here and Chinese scopes make me nervous long term.

The only options that are silhouette optimum off the shelf and currently in production are the Leupold FX3 Silhouette scopes. There is a reasonable price tag associated to that scope though (I would look into contacting Pete for a quote). You didn't specify budget so I'll try and cover a lower priced item.

There will absolutely be compromise with any other new scope in production from the FX3 . Scopes can be made to be perfect for silhouette, but not without modification that will add price, wait time, and potential warranty voiding. Just food for thought. None of that may matter to you.

The closest scope I've found that is reliable is the Weaver V-24 with the Varminter reticle at 17.6oz and focuses down to 50 feet. It's a Plex reticle with a reasonably large dot in the center. Not perfect, but it's close. Decent glass and reliable adjustments. It has about 5/8 of the adjustment range of the FX3 though (40inches versus 27.23inches). You'll almost certainly be shimming the scope rings or using the Burris Signature Zee rings with the offset inserts to cover all of the animals.

Varminter reticle: http://www.weaveroptics.com/images/reti ... minter.png
Weaver scope with Varminter reticle ($350 shipped): https://www.amazon.com/Weaver-6-24X42-R ... B0000V2EBC

You could have the reticle changed at a place like http://targetshooteroptics.com/Services_and_Prices.html , but that is an added cost of at least $110 not counting shipping assuming you have a scope they are willing to work on.

What I'm trying to say is I wouldn't buy a Vortex scope specifically for silhouette if I had the choice. No I've never used one, but everything I've listed here does not need experience. I am not speaking to the clarity of their glass or how bright they are. I would need experience for that. I'm saying they're generally heavy (may not matter to you), have significantly less than optimum reticles, and the one that is the closest to being suited for silhouette is Chinese. No you don't have to the "best for silhouette" scope to be used for silhouette, but if you're looking to buy a new scope I would at least try to land somewhere close. Sightron Silhouettes, Premier reticle Leupold, fixed up Bushnells and Weavers all show up in the marketplaces across the internet from time to time if you are looking to do used otherwise I would buy the Leupold FX3 first and the varminter reticle Weaver V24 second.
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by acorneau »

To add to Doodaddy's excellent post...

I have two Weavers with the Varminter reticle on air rifles and while it's not a traditional dot reticle it's not a chunky duplex either, sort of a hybrid between the two. I find them quite useable.

This is the V-24 Varminter at 24X (it was raining):
Image


The only drawback to the V-24 is the 1/8 MOA adjustments. I have a V-24 on my TX200 which only needs 2 MOA of travel for all four animals so it's just fine. A smallbore rifle will need about 8 MOA between Chickens and Rams which means you'll go past "0" on your way up to Rams, a possible opportunity for scope settings being off a whole rotation resulting in many missed shots.

I've suggested to Weaver that if they would make the V-24 with 1/4 MOA adjustments they would sell a bunch to the Silhouette crowd, but they said they had no plans to do so.
8-}
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Re: Weaver vs Vortex

Post by Doodaddy »

acorneau wrote:To add to Doodaddy's excellent post...

I have two Weavers with the Varminter reticle on air rifles and while it's not a traditional dot reticle it's not a chunky duplex either, sort of a hybrid between the two. I find them quite useable.

This is the V-24 Varminter at 24X (it was raining):
Image


The only drawback to the V-24 is the 1/8 MOA adjustments. I have a V-24 on my TX200 which only needs 2 MOA of travel for all four animals so it's just fine. A smallbore rifle will need about 8 MOA between Chickens and Rams which means you'll go past "0" on your way up to Rams, a possible opportunity for scope settings being off a whole rotation resulting in many missed shots.

I've suggested to Weaver that if they would make the V-24 with 1/4 MOA adjustments they would sell a bunch to the Silhouette crowd, but they said they had no plans to do so.
8-}
Excellent picture. Really defines perspective. I personally like a bigger dot, but there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to increasing dot size as it's literally covering up your aiming point. For an unsteady shooter like me, I could very well fire near the edge and be off without fully realizing it. A level of preference does come into play here.

I guess it's smart for Weaver to do that. Sightron made a 6-24 with 1/4MOA adjustments with a dot between 3/8 and 7/16 (0.41" at 100 yards if I recall correctly), great glass, and a very easy AO only to be discontinued. If there was a big market for it, I think that scope would still be in production. I love my two. I'm guessing the silhouette shooting crowd isn't exactly growing or using new equipment for the builds. Or it could be that nearly 90% or so of the rifles on the rack at a match are Leupold. Who knows.

I do think since Vortex has such a wide product line that it wouldn't be detrimental to them to make a scope geared towards silhouette. All of their other scopes are pretty specific in their function. Why not add another?
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