westernspeed

I need to replace a scope on my Savage .300 win mag and I'm thinking about going with a Vortex 4-16x42mm Diamondback HP. Does anyone have any experience with this particular model? I'm thinking I'd like to stay within the $400-$500 price range and the VIP warranty Vortex offers is appealing. The area I elk hunt each year is fairly thick. My longest shot in this area is usually around 300 or 400 yards. I've read some very basic reviews of this scope on other sites and would appreciate any first hand knowledge. Thanks

Big Uncle

I don't own one but have seen them at the range. Vortex imports a fairly good scope, and the warranty should be good as long as the importer is in business.

westernspeed

I spoke with a guy that owns a regular Diamond Back 4-16 and he seems to be fairly pleased with its quality. Doesn't sound like he has any issues from 50 yards out to 500 yards. I'm pretty sure I'll go with the HP version, just waiting until Black Friday to see what scopes are on sale.

tojo70

I don't have a Vortex but have checked them out quite a bit. I currently have a Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40 and love it. I did a side by comparison of the Vortex Diamondback HP 4-16X42 and the Zeiss 4.5-14X44. I set them both to 8 power and looked out the window at the store. It was pretty close, but I think the Vortex had a little bit better view. I would like to do a "blind" test for them just to see.
I have read a lot of customer reviews on the Diamondback HPs and have found nothing but good things on them. One thing to note though is that I found negative comments on the regular Diamondback's about short eye relief. This should be corrected on the HP versions as the regular Diamondbacks have 3.1-3.4 where the HP versions have 4.
I just got a new rifle.....25-06 and currently have a 300WSM that has the Zeiss on it. From what I've seen and read, I think I'm going to take the Zeiss and put it on the 25-06 and get a Vortex Diamondback HP 4-16X42 to put on the WSM.
One other thing about the Vortex is the unconditional lifetime warranty which may come in handy. I only have read one comment about that on another forum. A poster on that site (can't remember which one) said that his Vortex fogged up. He called the customer service dept. and they sent him out a new one with a prepaid carton to send the old one back. He didn't even have to send the old one in before they sent him out a new one. That's incredible.

Sheridan

In here lies the biggest question at hand - as long as you are happy with the "quality" and the purpose of the scope ?

Lightjunkie

I realize this is an old post but i just had to post my experience with this great peice of glass,i has a similiar experience I needed a good qaulity scope to sit and top of my Remington 700 classic chambered in .300weatherby,i have a fixed income but any qaulity issues with a inexpensive cheap scope will really show up in cheap optics I originally had a 4x12 Bushnell scope chief which broke the reticle flew apart after 5th shot.So I then tried a cheap Redfield 3x9 and it held zero for over 22 years,but optically it was aweful and it bloodied more than 1 eye brow.I finally realized I needed desperately needed to upgrade my glass.I looked at several nikon prostaff,monarchs burris fulldied leoupold vx2and when the sale man brought out the diamondbackHP and my search was over it has held up to high recoil a d holds zero

Valentine

Not everyone needs a scope that is greater than a 3x9-40. No law against that. There are many hunters in the east who hunt deer on land that gives a 100 yard shot. No law against that.

Some only need a scope that doesn't have a 700 yard shot in it. Some folks only save some money on a rifle shot.
And not every hunter quits at 30. And everybody isn't looking to be a sharpshooter. Just a good deer hunter.

Lightjunkie

Agreed Valentine,i had to save up sell and sell my old work tools and iam a 48 year old disabled hunter with severe diabetic retinopathy so my vision is very limited,this scope gives me the ability to get some definition of what iam shooting at and this was a big stretch financially it i dont regret it

dogbone13

I own (5) 2.5-10x50 diamondback models. I know isn't exactly what was asked about when this thread was started but thought I would give my feedback for anyone else interested in looking at vortex line of optics.

the pros
1 clear glass
2 light transmission at last shooting light is unbelievable good for price of this scope.
3 adjustments with this scope are true. (adjust 2in shoot, adjust 2in back shoot and it is back where you started before first adjustment)
4 resettable to zero turrets
5 have made 0 adjustments to any of 5 scopes after sight in in 3 years
6 wide fov

cons
1 when looking into sunset you will have a little glare at 10 power. ( back down to 8 power no glare)
2 zoom on 10 power of this scope is comparable to 9 power on some other scopes
3 bdc reticle at last shooting light is hard to see as they are so thin. (but has not cost me a shot to date)

if you are going to be making shots at 250 yards and less I highly recommend this scope. it is great for in the woods or in the fields as the wide range of zoom.

if I were making shots consistently over 250 yards then I would consider going with a 4-12 or 4-16 power scope for top in zoom.

I have one of these scopes mounted on a 270 with 130 grain nosler. the bdc reticle with hash marks don't match up to trajectory of this particular bullet so I recommend shooting your load and find out exactly what distance each hash mark relates to with your particular set up.

all in all I would recommend anyone to spend the money on a vortex line as I have been extremely impressed with the quality especially how true the adjustment are with windage/elevation

AthlonOpticsGuy

I have a Vortex Vyper HSLR 4x16.. It is a very nice scope and I have been very pleased with it.. Shameless plug here, but I am moving all my stuff over to Athlon.. Same warranty as Vortex, and IMHO the glass and construction quality is on par with Vortex, but you end up saving about $100-$200 or more on each scope. Thats alot of money..