Give me the lowdown on this company, do they hold up?
Well, I am in the market for a new optic in the standard 3x9 BDC reticle. Vortex scopes are mainly what sit on my rifles, after a few bad experiences with eye relief and dusk hunting i am sad to say I am giving up on them. Leupold VX3 in the dusk plain destroys my vortex scopes. I hate to say that as I have been a Vortex owner/fan since before they became the household name they are. Their glass quality isn't bad, but until you step up to the Viper HS series they just aren't all that impressive for the price point.
With that being said I looked at 5 different brand scopes today including Vortex because deep down I really want to stay loyal.
The brand names were Vortex, Nikon, Leupold, Bushnell, and Styrka. (That's all my local shop carried down the road when I was getting groceries)
I was blown away by the Styrka in their S3 3x9 with their duplex reticle. Their claimed 4" of eye relief was true, unlike some other companies claimed eye relief. Their glass is super sharp and crisp to the edges with ZERO black lines on the outside. You can move your head quiet a bit before you start seeing the shading effect by not being properly aligned. I couldn't believe the quality of the glass and the eye relief. I have ZERO experience with how they hold up, but I grabbed their pamphlet and they will return your scope ZERO questions asked without filing out registration paperwork. This means the warranty transfers!
I compared the Styrka S3 3x9-40 to a couple different Leupolds (VX2,VX3,VX3i and Mark4) because that's what I was planning on purchasing when I walked in the store due to my last hunting experience when I couldn't make out a caribou at 100 yards and my father in laws Leopold VX3 was able to see it super clear in the dusk.
I kept going back and forth between the VX3i 3x9 CDS and the styrka and I will be damned if they styrka was better all around. I honestly thought my brain was playing tricks on me. I walked out of the store without the Styrka because I have never heard of them and I don't like taking a gamble on no name stuff. I have done that in the past and its almost always burned me when it comes to optics. I did have a chance to look at the Styrka s5 in the 4.5-14x and it was about on par with the VX3. The eye relief on the S5 4.5-14x was no where near as good as the S3 series in the 3x9, glass wise they seemed identical. I also looked through their styrka s5 series in the 1.75-5 AR type optic and I would say it was on par with the leupold glass.
To give you an idea, I own Swaro Binos, my old man has Nightforce scopes, my brother in law only wears ziess, my father in law only owns VX3's, so I am very familiar with good glass properties and what I want in a scope. I personally only own Vortex, Previously I only owned Burris high end scopes and after having to send them back multiple times I finally made the switch to Vortex.
Sorry for the long winded post.... What I came here to ask, does anyone have first hand experience with this glass/company? Their 3x9 series is only $220 at my local store, I was comparing $400+ glass and I swear my eyes chose the Styrka every time. What am I missing?!?!
