Have you recently noticed......

A Friend of mine had one of those on an Iver Johnson Bold action 50BMG, was either a 12x or 20x don't recall, it shot great with that big boomer.

Those Reticles are ok for Long range work like Varmint rifles but for a squirrel rifle I personally don't care for it. I guess I am just picky. I have 3 scopes that have 2 extra Lines/dots and just don't really care for them. I find it distracting.

I know where there is a used Vortex Diamondback HP 3x12x42 with Plex Reticle and Side Focus. It is listed as 1.5" Long, 18oz, and has 4.0 Eye relief. So the same weight as the SWAF SS but about 2" shorter. It was listed for $230 but I was planning to pass on it, due to weight and thought they might be wanting a little too much, but a used Leupold Vari XII 4x12 is running about $175 more. Then again I have never looked though a Vortex so don't know much about them.

Diamondback HP is a great scope. Same glass as the next step up (Viper) from Vortex. Made in the same plant too if my info is correct. Much better scope IMO than the standard Diamondbacks.

I agree on the large objectives and high magnification scopes. It is also catering to the long range game that is getting so popular. Every year for the last few years I see more and more social media posts from folks talking about the "trophy" they shot...at 842 yards. Call me old fashioned but my main interest in hunting is getting as close to them as I can. It is very rewarding to me to fool an animal with their senses that spend 100% of their time trying to avoid being killed and eaten by a predator. I love commenting on the above type posts and telling them that I shot my elk at 16 yards with an arrow.
I'll be hanging on to my old scopes.

ShawnT - I agree 100 percent. I haven't had to buy a scope for years. When I decided I wanted to replace my fixed power Leupold with a variable, I was almost sorry I even began to look. It seems like a quality plain Jane scope with a duplex reticle is almost extinct anymore.

Best bang for the buck are the Nikon scopes...I have no less than 9 and even one on my ML..Never an issue and Warranty top notch

Be Aware!
From Nikon:

We wanted to make you aware of a change that will take place regarding Nikon Inc.’s Sport Optics product warranty program. After review, we have decided to make some program adjustments that will require changes to in-store, online and other marketing materials.

PROGRAM CHANGE: Nikon Inc.’s product warranty is changing from the current product warranty to the following:
Lifetime limited warranty for the optical system of Binoculars, Fieldscopes and Riflescopes;
Seven-year limited warranty for non-optical system components of Binoculars, Fieldscopes and Riflescopes;
One-year limited warranty for electrical components of Binoculars, Fieldscopes and Riflescopes.

The Five-year limited warranty on all components for Rangefinder and Red Dot/Reflex sight products remains the same.

Please note that going forward we are ending our No-Fault Repair Policy. Therefore, the new warranty program will not apply to any SRO product that is subjected to misuse, alteration or accident or for damage caused from unauthorized replacement parts, will require consumer proof of purchase from an authorized dealer/reseller and will not be transferable from one consumer to another.

Where I hunt, the shots are usually over 200 yards, and the 3-9 scopes are popular. I had Leupolds on all of my rifles and love them, but I went cheap and purchased Nikon. I love their reticle and the Spot on Program that goes with it. But, the verticle reticle broke. That's when I found out the difference between Leupold and Nikon. No warranty for the second owner of a Nikon. I have heard that Leupold has a good warranty, but in 30 years, and 10 scopes, I've never needed it. OP, I think you'll love your scope.

Vortex has a great warranty but you may have to use it. Mostly on lower end offerings or on really hard kickers. Less bells and whistles you have the less can go wrong. Fixed power scopes in general are tough and handle abuse better.

I have an older Nikon Omega with the BDC. Not really a fan of all the circles in my reticle but otherwise its a fairly good scope for the money. I have 2 first year production Redfield Revolution 2x7x33s also. First year under the Leupold ownership. Both have taken quite the pounding on a couple light weight rifles. They were a bargain at $150 when i got them. Decent eye relief and same Leupold warranty. Made in Oregon but im pretty sure the glass is imported.

Still if i was in the market right now it would be on a new old stock DiamondBack HP. Its a ton of scope when you can get them for under $250.
$200 bucks here if you can handle the BDC version. Their BDC is far less "busy".
https://www.sportsmans.com/optics-electronics/scopes/vortex-diamondback-hp-scope/p/p30416

Hell with it, i just ordered one. Never was totally happy with the Omega and you wont see them around much longer.

I have seen that Hp at Sportsman's. It does look less busy than the Nikon's and some of the others. I never liked the circles that Nikon went with. I ended up moving a Leupold VariXII (older version) 4/12/40 AO to my Anschutz. The only problem I had was I had to go with a High Ring to mount it. They have a skinny action and not enough taper in the barrel to allow a Medium Ring.

I have standard Warnes 2 piece bases, med Warnes rings on it now. Probably change over to my 1 piece rail and Warnes low rings. The rail base is taller than the Warnes 2 piece and i think it will fit ok with low rings. I got a brand new set of them. The Omegas long eye relief makes it hard to get comfortable with that setup. If i got to take it off might as well upgrade to a scope i like better.

BTW those scopes were $200 and free shipping. Plus caps and a 4" sun shade according to the Vortex part# they list.

Vortex has no problem honoring their warranty.

Had a buddy put one on his new CVA muzzleloader 2 years ago, Crossfire 2 I believe. I went with him to get it sighted in and the scope did not last 3 shots. Vortex had him a new scope in 2 weeks. Not repaired ... new. Packing slip/invoice said his scope was irreparable and was replaced.

My only gripe has been that there is no reticle app to calculate Vortex's BDC hash marks to your load. Seems Vortex had one at one time because it was referenced in the owner's manual, but it cannot be found anymore on their website.

LRBC icon at the top of their website. Kinda hard to see actually.
https://lrbc.vortexoptics.com/#!/

Instructions.
https://vortexoptics.com/media/uploads/web_manual_reticle_bdc-sfp-13a.pdf

I would have bought the regular duplex but i could not find one cheap. If im spending much more i would just get one of the newer first focal plane models. Main thing i wanted was the XD glass. You dont get that with the regular Diamondbacks and the Tacticals start around $350. A few Vipers were on sale for around $250 but those are 30mm tubes. So i would have to spend another chunk of change on rings.

Mine shipped from Sportmans. Should be here the 4th. It in Colorado now.

Always wanted to try out one of these HPs. Ive also wanted a good reason to switch out my Warnes bases to my 1 piece rail. The Warnes steel bases are fine but dont offer any room to move rings. Sure wish someone made a rear base that used all 3 holes and a extra slot or 2 for the Knights.

I've looked at the Vortex DB HP you are getting, Actually have looked several times. I think Sportsmans has it in stock in Morgantown WV. I have not seen that reticle in person so am a bit apprehensive to order one. The cost is good (even though the scope is a little heavy per the specs) but if it turned out to be too busy for my taste, I just would not be happy with it. I missed one of them on GB that had a Plex Reticle just due to Dragging my feet too long not able to make up my mind. Not sure if it really sold or seller just did not relist it. I had deleted the "Watched" emails so could not go back and ask the seller if he still had it.

All the dots, circles and lines don't really interest me, I am so used to just a plain Duplex style reticle that they just "feel" cluttered and sometimes distracting to me. I am also so used to just doping (holding off) for longer shots that I tend to ignore them anyway when a shot presents itself, just a habit. Samething for a MPBR zero, I missed a real big Doe once as I forgot ahd held off out of habit and shot right over her. So I don't do that anymore. As previously mentioned I did get a couple Weavers for less then $100 each and one has lines the other has dots. I would like both much better if they were just a Duplex. We all have our likes and dislikes.

I do have one Leupold VX2 3x9x40 that has the Leupold Long Range Reticle (just 2 extra dots). Its not too bad since the dots are not real big. When I got my Ultra Lite it was all I could get and was on sale so I got it. I switched it this spring from the Ul to my Ruger Ra 450BM to see if the dots would work with that caliber. I have only sighted it in so far and need to play with it out to 200yrds to see how it will work with that rifle/caliber.

The one option I am steadily warming up to though is the Leupold CDS. I think that would work for me much better than all the other things added to the reticle.

When you get that Vortex do you think you could get a pic of what the reticle really looks like? I don't have a good enough camera (or skill with one) for that myself.

You done made me look again. Not sure how good Sportsmans pic is,looks a tad blurry. If it really does look like this, with those tiny dots, that would probably be ok.

This is actually what it looks like. I can deal with the small hash lines.

ShawnT said:

..............All the dots, circles and lines don't really interest me, I am so used to just a plain Duplex style reticle that they just "feel" cluttered and sometimes distracting to me...………...

Click to expand...

They call that "task saturation" LOL

Dang I was always the same exact way, with the same exact opinion. Then...……….

I can see those that Nightforce uses as a benefit in Long Range Varmint hunting but not for my style hunting Especially on a Squirrel rifle.

Thanks for that Pic!

That is not too bad since those hash marks are as small as they are. Be easier to ignore them. Man now I got to think hard on this one, moneys a bit tight but that is a good deal. The one thing that would be nice is the side focus would be easier to reach over the old style AO.