Anyone have or used the Vortex 4-24x50 Strike Eagle?

[Harrier]

I asked this previously and didn't get much response, now that they have been out a little while maybe someone has tried one....

Any opinions on the new Vortex 4-24x50 Strike Eagle scope?

The other day, before going to the range I decided to remove the reflex sight from one AR I wanted to test and looked to see what extra scopes I had laying around... Looking for a higher magnification the only things I could find was a Burris 8-32 and an old Tasco 6-24... so I put the Tasco on for the range trip.
What a horrible thing to stick on a gun- ughhh the eye-box was next to non-existent, the clicks wouldn't hold, the AO focus was terrible and I couldn't get a clear target picture from the glass. This was in clear sunny conditions.
I muddled through the day but now am looking for a replacement. Most of my scopes max at 12 to 16x so I do want to get something in 20x-30x for the range.

On the next outing I put the the Burris on. It is a little better but the eyebox is also next to non-existent. Plus they are both 1" scopes and my latest mount is 30m, so it is time for a new scope.

I have a few Vortex scopes and binocs and am very happy with them so when I saw the all features the new 4-24 Strike Eagle has, including etched reticle, illumination and most features of the PST series I got interested... At $700 retail and $500 from most resellers, its about half of the PST... but I do realize there must be some compromise somewhere- Since they are made in China, it most likely is the quality of the glass.

OTOH the specs make a lot of difference and it could actually be decent glass and as long as the QA is rigorously applied. Vortex does stand behind their lifetime warranty, so it might just be a PST made under cheaper labor. Remember LG used to be GoldStar and Japanese cars were considered junk at one time....

So, does anyone have any experience with one of these they can comment on?

 

[XJThrottle]

I have the little brother, 3-18x44. Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet though. Not much help, but it is nice. 30mm tube too.

 

[Harrier]

How is the glass? That is I think the deciding factor on the Chinese made scopes.

ETA... You can do some evaluations at home.
Look at some objects at different distances (say 30 to 300yds) are they all clear/sharp once you focus the side AO?
Is the reticle also sharp (once you adjust the eyepiece to your eye)?
Are colors good, what you would expect and crisp not muddy?
Look again at those objects - is the image clear in the center ALL the way out to the EDGES?
Move the scope around while keeping an eye on the object- are there any squiggles or distortions?
Try to look at those distant objects during dawn or dusk- can you still see them pretty good?

When you get to the range and get it sighted in, try shooting a square (hole pattern on the target) by moving the POA Right-Down-Left-Up (via H-V Turret click settings -not your aim point)- does the last set of bullets impact the same place the first? now repeat it going backwards. (sometimes this is best done at 25-50 yds). After shooting for a while, and dropping your gun a couple times, does it hold zero? (jus kidding on dropping your gun but it does happen unexpectedly)

 

[Steve_In_29]

My shooting buddy has a couple of Vortex scopes and is really happy with them

 

[lew]

No experience with the Strike Eagle, but I believe the Viper PST Gen. 2- which I have on my 6.5 Creedmoor AR- is the best value scope out there, and Vortex is a fantastic company to deal with.

 

[XJThrottle]

How is the glass? That is I think the deciding factor on the Chinese made scopes.

ETA... You can do some evaluations at home.
Look at some objects at different distances (say 30 to 300yds) are they all clear/sharp once you focus the side AO?
Is the reticle also sharp (once you adjust the eyepiece to your eye)?
Are colors good, what you would expect and crisp not muddy?
Look again at those objects - is the image clear in the center ALL the way out to the EDGES?
Move the scope around while keeping an eye on the object- are there any squiggles or distortions?
Try to look at those distant objects during dawn or dusk- can you still see them pretty good?

When you get to the range and get it sighted in, try shooting a square (hole pattern on the target) by moving the POA Right-Down-Left-Up - does the last set of bullets impact the same place the first? now repeat it going backwards. (sometimes this is best done at 25-50 yds). After shooting for a while, and dropping your gun a couple times, does it hold zero? (jus kidding on dropping your gun but it does happen unexpectedly)

I live in a neighborhood, so I can only really range 100yds or so. But, of the distances I can see beyond that, it's good.

 

[Desert Rat]

I have been eyeing the Vortex scopes as well. From what I have heard, they seem to be a good value.
Now the problem is deciding on one.

 

[Harrier]

To help in your decision... I have 2 of their 8x42 binocs, a 4-16 Viper PS-T, a 1-4 Viper and one of the red-dots somewhere. All are very very good. The scopes have been excellent in use. Clear and repeatable turret settings. The HS-T has gotten a lot of use, rolled off bags onto the bench a few times and always seems to be on. I'd buy another before trying something else. We had to send one of the binocs back for a loose eye adjuster but that is the only problem. They fixed it quick and sent back. The binocs are much clearer to these old eyes than the Minolta, Nikon and Wingspan brands we have.

My understanding (from inet rumors I've heard repeated many times) is the Diamondback scope series is their low-end Chinese product, The Viper series is mid-range Philippine production and Razorback is made in Japan & assembled in the USA, but I'm not sure of that. . I'm also not sure if all of the current Strike Eagle lineup is completely made in China (at a grade above the Diamondback and equal to the Viper series). I've heard the 1-6 & 1-8 are (since they would be marked as such) so it seems reasonable the rest of that brand would be too.

As I said in a post that seems to have disappeared, the specs of the 4-24x50 Strike Eagle seem identical to the PST so something has to be different to drop the price $400 and if engineering is comparable then it has to be the quality of the glass. I think the Chinese are capable of making good glass, but like everything else it costs more. Given Vortex's good reputation and warranty, I tend to think if they can insure QC standards then this will be a price-point breakthrough for them.

Also notice it has a 6x variable erector- that is top tier tech that I don't think they are going to put in a lower end scope not have built with cheap corner-cutting manufacturing. I believe it will be a good scope but I want to hear from existing users before I plunk my hard earned entitlement down, else I will buy another HS-T.

Good luck with your search, there are a lot of good products out there competing for your $$ let us know what you end up with and how it works.

 

[Harrier]

Well today I decided to quit waiting because Midway has a special offer on the 6-24 PST (gen-1) so after much agonizing I ordered one for a couple hundred more than I planned on spending, but less than I could find one (MOA) anywhere else. (Europtics has the MRAD for about $50 cheaper but can't get the MOA version)

We had to go to Tucson and so we stopped in Sportsmans Warehouse...wouldn't you know it, they had a 4-24 StrikeEagle on display. Of course I had to look thru it briefly... they have a target and other poster on the far side of the store to give a pretty good in store view.

As far as I could tell the glass was clear edge to edge, colors good, it seemed as good as my HS-T. The parallax focus knob was a little stiff but I was holding it in one hand to my eye and trying to turn it at hi power. I don't think it would be a problem mounted and would loosen up with use The eyebox was generous at 24x even with all the wiggling around I was doing. I was really impressed with what I saw and think it is going to be a top seller. Time will tell how it holds up.

Had I not already ordered the PST I might have bought the SE on the spot, but OTOH, it is a SFP instead of FFP I decided upon, so maybe I wouldn't have bought it after all.

I did a comparison of the specs between the PST, StrikeEagle, the new Diamondback Tactical which is supposed to be very much like the PST (Illuminated, FFP) One of the main differences between all of them are the lens coatings applied. The DB has the fewest. They all use the HD low dispersion glass. I did read one post from a few years ago about an DB with a problem... but I also read the first ones did have a few issues. Being a $400 scope,Even with HD glass, I don't think it would compare to the PST. Other small differences like zero Stops and Off steps between brightness settings make the PST worth the extra money.