Vortex Razor Opinion

[psharon97]

I'm building a rifle for PRS matches and I really like the price tag on the Vortex Razor HD 5-20x50. Most places are selling the scopes for $1700. I know that the Gen II is selling for $2500. My question is, does the difference in price make the Generation II that significantly better? What are your thoughts?

My budget is less than $2000

[BC98]

While I have no experience with Gen I vs Gen II, I have some co-workers who have the Gen II versions and love them. I would check in the classifieds section on Snipers Hide forums. There's a big PRS following there and there will usually be one or two for sale. With any luck, you might be able to pick one up used for around $2K.

[psharon97]

When shopping around I noticed that OpticsPlanet was running a 10% off for the scope, so I purchased the Generation 1. I'm going to be posting a video hopefully on youtube over this build and a write-up on this site. The action will be Mausingfield (thanks Lonewolf).

[penna shooter]

I have my first ever Vortex HSLR and love it....Solid....While holding a few high end Vortex while in Cabelas, your Razor was one that stuck out being sharp, Crystal clear, and great eye focus....Out of my budget, but compared to the three I liked.....Great warranty to boot....Good luck.

[LoneWolf]

I started with a Gen 1 Razor and went to a Gen 2 Razor. The Gen 1 is a great scope! But the Gen 2 is better. The Turrets are better, glass was better in my opinion likely due to the 56mm objective. I also found the reticle to be cleaner and thinner in the Gen2. I felt it gave me an advantage over the Gen 1 in PRS comp. large field of view made target transitions much easier.

That's being said I'm running Bushnell scopes now. I love the H59 Reticle over any of the reticles offered by Vortex. Currently run an XRS2 and HDMR2. XRS2 beats the HDMR2 on clarity and ability to cut through Mirage, but the HDMR2 is no slouch.

[psharon97]

After receiving the scope I am thoroughly impressed with it. I'll know more once I am able to mount the scope on my new rifle build and run it through some firing solutions. For the money it's an outstanding deal. I'll probably review the scope and post an article once I've tested the scope.

[Rob01]

The Gen 1 should serve you well. It's a very good optic. The Gen II does have a better knob set up, glass and a better reticle in the 2C but it was an upgrade from the Gen I so it should. I own both and have used the Gen II for 3.5 years in matches. Enjoy your scope. It will serve you well.

Make sure to read the zeroing instructions on the clickless zeroing. It's easy and a great feature of both the Gen I and Gen II.

[LoneWolf]

The Gen 1 should serve you well. It's a very good optic. The Gen II does have a better knob set up, glass and a better reticle in the 2C but it was an upgrade from the Gen I so it should. I own both and have used the Gen II for 3.5 years in matches. Enjoy your scope. It will serve you well.

Make sure to read the zeroing instructions on the clickless zeroing. It's easy and a great feature of both the Gen I and Gen II.

I agree Rob. I do like the Zero Stop/turret setup a little better on my XRS2 though! Primarily the fact that if I need to tweak my zero a hair I can rezero the turret without changing the zero stop without taking the entire thin apart. And a dime or nickel will get it done.

[Rob01]

But the zeroing is not clickless so you can't get it right on. I really like that feature after having to be a little off for years. Being able to get an exact zero is very nice. I will take the need to take the cap off for that.

[LoneWolf]

It just got me more heated when I couldn't get it right on. half a tenth to the left at 100 is just fine with me. Helps counter spin drift on longer distances lol.

[psharon97]

With Shot Show next week, I won't be getting the action or trigger until the following week. I did get the American Rifle Company scope rings and those are beefier than what the picture led me to believe. I look forward to writing up this custom build and taking it to some matches.

[LoneWolf]

American Rifle Company Just announced the Nucleus Action as well. The features and introductory pricing are an amazing opportunity!

http://www.americanrifle.com/product/nucleus-bolt-action-introductory-price-of-850-through-jan-26-with-deposit-425-non-refundable-deposit/

[psharon97]

American Rifle Company Just announced the Nucleus Action as well. The features and introductory pricing are an amazing opportunity!

http://www.americanrifle.com/product/nucleus-bolt-action-introductory-price-of-850-through-jan-26-with-deposit-425-non-refundable-deposit/

I did see that on their Facebook page. Are you going to be buying one and reviewing it LoneWolf?

[LoneWolf]

I'm hoping to get one of the early batch ones. Was on the phone with Ted Tuesday Night about it.

[psharon97]

I'm hoping to get one of the early batch ones. Was on the phone with Ted Tuesday Night about it.

I'd be interested to see how they perform when compared to the Mausingfield action. It's interesting how Bighorn and ARC have come out with lower priced actions at the same time.

[Rob01]

Patriot Valley Arms is doing a full build off that action.

http://patriotvalleyarms.com/deposit-john-hancock-bolt-action/

[LoneWolf]

I'd be interested to see how they perform when compared to the Mausingfield action. It's interesting how Bighorn and ARC have come out with lower priced actions at the same time.

Bighorn didn't create a new action they just figured out how to make the TL3 cheaper and still keep the TL3 in a "higher tier". The Nucleus is all new and lots of innovative new features. Mausingfield will still be ARC's premier action. The Mausingfield will still be more reliable in functions as it's much more robust. But the Nucleus isn't going to be any slouch. I'm very interested in getting my hands on one!

[psharon97]

I kinda wish I was in a financial position to do another build to see just how the Nucleus stacks up. I've never been satisfied with many of the straight Remington clones. One of my criticisms of these actions is that they are cloning and trying to perfect an action that was, from the ground up, to be a cheaper action for public consumption, similar to the Savage Model 10. Personally, I wish the Winchester Model 70 pre-64 was the action that everyone wanted to clone and perfect. Unless I'm wrong, the pre-64 already used a Mauser extractor and a springfield ejector.

I wanted to go with an action that was an original design that looks to the past to see what worked and improve on these designs if needed. ARC is, at least to my knowledge, the only company that is innovating. Most other action companies are, for the most part, using the remington action and building them to tighter tolerances. I'll be looking for your write-up of the new action LoneWolf!!