SOPMOD 254 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) I recently purchased a promising new optic called a Vortex Strikefire and while in the past I have been an optics snob this sight according to it's importer has covered all of my concerns(housing robustness,shock isolated circuitry,battery life and night vision compatibility) and the last issue will be will it pass a weekend of rapid fire,multiple target,fast reloading,fire and maneuver on SOPMOD's rifle and also will it live and then an additional test to see if it will withstand high heat use on an Ultimak M1B gas tube sight rail. (This is the Ultimak from a Yugo M92 Krink project I was working on and a new full length unit is en route for my testing) I will expend 500rds withe both 30rd magazines and 4 75rd drum magazines on a course of fire(not just bumping and blasting as fast as I can) with fire and maneuver in and around structures and barricades without regard for protecting the weapon system or weapon sight(I have killed 3 "good enough" type optics this way) and post my findings in this thread for all to see and the head of Vortex has assured me that he will honor their lifetime warranty if I manage to kill the site (other than impact damage). I expect it to hold up just fine on the siderail scope mount it seems like a very rugged unit so the majority of my testing will revolve around it's use on the Ultimak(especially with the occasional drum). I may test if for G shock on my S308 as well just for GPs Comments Please Edited March 10, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I've been somewhat following this sight since it came out, on Vortex's Industry page on Arfcom. I'm really interested in getting one. The only thing that has held me back was the numerous reports of some kind of "reflection" that you can see while looking through the sight. But I haven't seen any pictures of the reflection. Just read a bunch of people bitching about it. Have you had this problem? If so, is it a real problem, or are the people making a bigger deal out of it than need be? The owner of Vortex replied that they have darkened whatever it is inside the optic that causes the reflection, to lessen it, but that's pretty much the last I read on it. Looking forward to your test results. Other than the reflection (which wasn't even reported by everyone), I've seen a ton of positive reviews on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) I've been somewhat following this sight since it came out, on Vortex's Industry page on Arfcom. I'm really interested in getting one. The only thing that has held me back was the numerous reports of some kind of "reflection" that you can see while looking through the sight. But I haven't seen any pictures of the reflection. Just read a bunch of people bitching about it. Have you had this problem? If so, is it a real problem, or are the people making a bigger deal out of it than need be? The owner of Vortex replied that they have darkened whatever it is inside the optic that causes the reflection, to lessen it, but that's pretty much the last I read on it. Looking forward to your test results. Other than the reflection (which wasn't even reported by everyone), I've seen a ton of positive reviews on it. The people who bitch about that reflection must be some dandy little dainties as far as I can tell. I started using an Armson OEG back in the 1980s(can't see through it at all,just a dot emitter) and I used the Bindon Aiming Concept sights and I keep both eyes open and use my primary eye to keep track of the dot and the weak eye does all of the situational awareness with the dominant eye only adding peripheral input other than tracking the aiming reticle.Hell I have run an Aimpoint with the front cover closed when operating around strong flood lights that washed out my dot. The reflection isn't that bad and from the looks of it it is from the Heavy Duty anchoring system for the light emitting diodes(where most dot sight just glue it inside the housing,LOL) put your finger 2-4 inches in front of your dominant eye with both eyes open and look at something in the distance,you will appear to see through you finger you have been shooting properly with both eyes open for very long. Even for all of that the reflection only shows up when you are in perfect conditions and it looks like faint gold tint over a fraction of the optic's surface and if Aimpoint would sell me a model with this same kind of defect for $300 less I would buy 11 of them and mount them on every gun I own.As it is I am making a choice between buying THREE more Aimpoints or NINE more of these Vortex Strikefires if they hold up to my testing! If this thing will hold zero after being beat around for a weekend and doesn't fry when I do a continuous course of fire on some gongs with my 4 drum magazines then it will be adequate for my purposes. I mean come on,the Aimpoint is 25 year old technology it isn't rocket science and someone needs to be able to make a robust dot sight that doesn't cost as a major home appliance,LOL Edited March 10, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loki0629 55 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 This looks intriguing and that price point looks pretty good. How often will you be checking zero? And where did you get that wood on your .308? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 This looks intriguing and that price point looks pretty good. How often will you be checking zero? won't shooting the weapon and hitting the target verify zero? And where did you get that wood on your .308? It's all cast offs from other weapons that I stripped the finish off of.I eventually plan to stain it with some Minwax.I am thinking Veridian Green would look cool if I had the weapon reparkerized to charcoal gray but mahogany or some purplish exotic stain might look cool with the dark and light lamination variation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loki0629 55 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 How often will you be checking zero? won't shooting the weapon and hitting the target verify zero? LOL smartass! Yeah I guess it would be good enough for gub'mint work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) How often will you be checking zero? won't shooting the weapon and hitting the target verify zero? LOL smartass! Yeah I guess it would be good enough for gub'mint work! You like that one did ya Seriously I shoot at 8-12" pieces of structural steel from 50-200 and as long as I hear a "Thwack!" after every shot I consider it zeroed.I may put it on the the 308 and do some paper since it will turn in a group smaller than the size of the sights dot that will tell the tale quickly. Edited March 10, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I've been somewhat following this sight since it came out, on Vortex's Industry page on Arfcom. I'm really interested in getting one. The only thing that has held me back was the numerous reports of some kind of "reflection" that you can see while looking through the sight. But I haven't seen any pictures of the reflection. Just read a bunch of people bitching about it. Have you had this problem? If so, is it a real problem, or are the people making a bigger deal out of it than need be? The owner of Vortex replied that they have darkened whatever it is inside the optic that causes the reflection, to lessen it, but that's pretty much the last I read on it. Looking forward to your test results. Other than the reflection (which wasn't even reported by everyone), I've seen a ton of positive reviews on it. The people who bitch about that reflection must be some dandy little dainties as far as I can tell. I started using an Armson OEG back in the 1980s(can't see through it at all,just a dot emitter) and I used the Bindon Aiming Concept sights and I keep both eyes open and use my primary eye to keep track of the dot and the weak eye does all of the situational awareness with the dominant eye only adding peripheral input other than tracking the aiming reticle.Hell I have run an Aimpoint with the front cover closed when operating around strong flood lights that washed out my dot. The reflection isn't that bad and from the looks of it it is from the Heavy Duty anchoring system for the light emitting diodes(where most dot sight just glue it inside the housing,LOL) put your finger 2-4 inches in front of your dominant eye with both eyes open and look at something in the distance,you will appear to see through you finger you have been shooting properly with both eyes open for very long. Even for all of that the reflection only shows up when you are in perfect conditions and it looks like faint gold tint over a fraction of the optic's surface and if Aimpoint would sell me a model with this same kind of defect for $300 less I would buy 11 of them and mount them on every gun I own.As it is I am making a choice between buying THREE more Aimpoints or NINE more of these Vortex Strikefires if they hold up to my testing! If this thing will hold zero after being beat around for a weekend and doesn't fry when I do a continuous course of fire on some gongs with my 4 drum magazines then it will be adequate for my purposes. I mean come on,the Aimpoint is 25 year old technology it isn't rocket science and someone needs to be able to make a robust dot sight that doesn't cost as a major home appliance,LOL Sounds good. I figured it wasn't that big of an issue. Vortex's latest response was kind of a "Uhhh, it's not really a big deal, so we're not redesigning the sight to take care of a tiny bit of reflection" response. No one posted pictures of it, so I could only go on the complaining. Glad to hear the "problem" is mostly hype. I'll be following this thread. How do you like the 2x magnifier it comes with? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) I've been somewhat following this sight since it came out, on Vortex's Industry page on Arfcom. I'm really interested in getting one. The only thing that has held me back was the numerous reports of some kind of "reflection" that you can see while looking through the sight. But I haven't seen any pictures of the reflection. Just read a bunch of people bitching about it. Have you had this problem? If so, is it a real problem, or are the people making a bigger deal out of it than need be? The owner of Vortex replied that they have darkened whatever it is inside the optic that causes the reflection, to lessen it, but that's pretty much the last I read on it. Looking forward to your test results. Other than the reflection (which wasn't even reported by everyone), I've seen a ton of positive reviews on it. The people who bitch about that reflection must be some dandy little dainties as far as I can tell. I started using an Armson OEG back in the 1980s(can't see through it at all,just a dot emitter) and I used the Bindon Aiming Concept sights and I keep both eyes open and use my primary eye to keep track of the dot and the weak eye does all of the situational awareness with the dominant eye only adding peripheral input other than tracking the aiming reticle.Hell I have run an Aimpoint with the front cover closed when operating around strong flood lights that washed out my dot. The reflection isn't that bad and from the looks of it it is from the Heavy Duty anchoring system for the light emitting diodes(where most dot sight just glue it inside the housing,LOL) put your finger 2-4 inches in front of your dominant eye with both eyes open and look at something in the distance,you will appear to see through you finger you have been shooting properly with both eyes open for very long. Even for all of that the reflection only shows up when you are in perfect conditions and it looks like faint gold tint over a fraction of the optic's surface and if Aimpoint would sell me a model with this same kind of defect for $300 less I would buy 11 of them and mount them on every gun I own.As it is I am making a choice between buying THREE more Aimpoints or NINE more of these Vortex Strikefires if they hold up to my testing! If this thing will hold zero after being beat around for a weekend and doesn't fry when I do a continuous course of fire on some gongs with my 4 drum magazines then it will be adequate for my purposes. I mean come on,the Aimpoint is 25 year old technology it isn't rocket science and someone needs to be able to make a robust dot sight that doesn't cost as a major home appliance,LOL Sounds good. I figured it wasn't that big of an issue. Vortex's latest response was kind of a "Uhhh, it's not really a big deal, so we're not redesigning the sight to take care of a tiny bit of reflection" response. No one posted pictures of it, so I could only go on the complaining. Glad to hear the "problem" is mostly hype. I'll be following this thread. How do you like the 2x magnifier it comes with? I don't have a lot of need for the 2x magnifier but the quality is high and it is clear and fairly bright when screwed onto the optic.I wish it was a 3x magnifier then I would probably like it well enough to bother toting it around with me when I go to shoot .While 2x just isn't quite enough magnification to be useful on an fighting rifle,it did come free with the sight and if this thing passes my testing I will also be slapping these things on pleasure shooting guns like a Ruger Charger 10-22 pistol where it might make a dandy little addition for casual plinking of unsuspecting vermin from the shop table in my buddy's barn Edited March 10, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 I've been somewhat following this sight since it came out, on Vortex's Industry page on Arfcom. I'm really interested in getting one. The only thing that has held me back was the numerous reports of some kind of "reflection" that you can see while looking through the sight. But I haven't seen any pictures of the reflection. Just read a bunch of people bitching about it. Have you had this problem? If so, is it a real problem, or are the people making a bigger deal out of it than need be? The owner of Vortex replied that they have darkened whatever it is inside the optic that causes the reflection, to lessen it, but that's pretty much the last I read on it. Looking forward to your test results. Other than the reflection (which wasn't even reported by everyone), I've seen a ton of positive reviews on it. The people who bitch about that reflection must be some dandy little dainties as far as I can tell. I started using an Armson OEG back in the 1980s(can't see through it at all,just a dot emitter) and I used the Bindon Aiming Concept sights and I keep both eyes open and use my primary eye to keep track of the dot and the weak eye does all of the situational awareness with the dominant eye only adding peripheral input other than tracking the aiming reticle.Hell I have run an Aimpoint with the front cover closed when operating around strong flood lights that washed out my dot. The reflection isn't that bad and from the looks of it it is from the Heavy Duty anchoring system for the light emitting diodes(where most dot sight just glue it inside the housing,LOL) put your finger 2-4 inches in front of your dominant eye with both eyes open and look at something in the distance,you will appear to see through you finger you have been shooting properly with both eyes open for very long. Even for all of that the reflection only shows up when you are in perfect conditions and it looks like faint gold tint over a fraction of the optic's surface and if Aimpoint would sell me a model with this same kind of defect for $300 less I would buy 11 of them and mount them on every gun I own.As it is I am making a choice between buying THREE more Aimpoints or NINE more of these Vortex Strikefires if they hold up to my testing! If this thing will hold zero after being beat around for a weekend and doesn't fry when I do a continuous course of fire on some gongs with my 4 drum magazines then it will be adequate for my purposes. I mean come on,the Aimpoint is 25 year old technology it isn't rocket science and someone needs to be able to make a robust dot sight that doesn't cost as a major home appliance,LOL Sounds good. I figured it wasn't that big of an issue. Vortex's latest response was kind of a "Uhhh, it's not really a big deal, so we're not redesigning the sight to take care of a tiny bit of reflection" response. No one posted pictures of it, so I could only go on the complaining. Glad to hear the "problem" is mostly hype. I'll be following this thread. How do you like the 2x magnifier it comes with? I don't have a lot of need for the 2x magnifier but the quality is high and it is clear and fairly bright when screwed onto the optic. Good to know. I was thinking of putting the Vortex on my 9mm AR, so the 2x would be good. Anything more would be over kill, for the distances I shoot it at. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunfixr 76 Posted March 11, 2009 Report Share Posted March 11, 2009 After watching the posts on Arfcom since June, I oredered on in December, and received it in early January. I planned on using it on my FAL, and if it worked well, getting another one. It's supposed to be rated to handle a 375 H&H Magnum. I was sorely disappointed. The dot blinks out for almost a full 3 seconds every time I fired the rifle. I was going to send it back, but didn't want to deal with the pain in the ass sending something you order back, and decided to try it on my Ruger 10/22 instead. It works on that fine. Seems a bit much for that rifle, but oh, well, it's done now. Just what happened for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 After watching the posts on Arfcom since June, I oredered on in December, and received it in early January. I planned on using it on my FAL, and if it worked well, getting another one. It's supposed to be rated to handle a 375 H&H Magnum. I was sorely disappointed. The dot blinks out for almost a full 3 seconds every time I fired the rifle. I was going to send it back, but didn't want to deal with the pain in the ass sending something you order back, and decided to try it on my Ruger 10/22 instead. It works on that fine. Seems a bit much for that rifle, but oh, well, it's done now. Just what happened for me. That's your battery compartment/spring/O-ring if it blinks only on recoil,hell with a lifetime warranty I would send it back just for GPs.I got the wrong ring(high when I wanted low) and they told me to send them the high ring and they swapped me free of charge with no charge for shipping the ring to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shryke300 3 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 i would be very interested in knowing if this is a good product. right now i only shoot a few hundred rounds a year, so it should be fine, but i graduate next year and, hopefully, will have a decent job and a better income to allow me to shoot more. It would be great to put on a cheaper red dot and have it work fine. BTW, is the paralax problem on some of these optics that big a deal? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 is the paralax problem on some of these optics that big a deal? It's parallax-free past 50 yards, according to their site. http://www.vortexoptics.com/riflescopes/vi...-dot-riflescope Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shryke300 3 Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 "It's parallax-free past 50 yards, according to their site. http://www.vortexoptics.com/riflescopes/vi...-dot-riflescope " i saw that, but ive never used one and didnt know how much of a problem it was under 50 yds. is it just that your bullet will be off a few inches? or a few feet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dftc 0 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 i saw that, but ive never used one and didnt know how much of a problem it was under 50 yds. is it just that your bullet will be off a few inches? or a few feet? First off, all red-dots, even the high end ones, have at least some parallax error no matter what their marketing says. However, your accuracy probably won't even be off a few inches during normal use. You might need to make sure the dot is more-or-less centered in the optic when you are under 50 feet, but even if it isn't perfect you most likely won't see a big difference in point of impact. I do a lot of fast shooting, shooting while moving, shooting from odd positions, etc. and I have never noticed any difference in my accuracy under 50 yards when using a red dot, even though I'm sure I'm not keeping the dot centered all the time. Basically, if you are going to take the time to be super accurate then you are probably correcting for parallax on your own without even thinking about it. If you are not taking the time to be super accurate then any small variations in accuracy caused by parallax error probably won't be noticeable anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shryke300 3 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 so this vortex sight, under 50 yrds, as long as the dot is on say, a 6 inch target, its gonna hit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 (edited) so this vortex sight, under 50 yrds, as long as the dot is on say, a 6 inch target, its gonna hit? Test your weapon at 25 yards with proper cheek weld,if your cheekweld is repeatable then parallax will not be a big issue. Edited March 13, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dftc 0 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 (edited) so this vortex sight, under 50 yrds, as long as the dot is on say, a 6 inch target, its gonna hit? Well, you have to do your part, as always, but yes. You should not be that far off even in the worst case scenario. If the sight is that far off then Vortex really screwed up. Parallax becomes an issue when the dot is off on the far edge of the sight picture. If you have a good cheek weld (like SOPMOD said) then you will almost certainly have the dot pretty centered up. Even if your dot isn't centered up you are unlikely to be off by 6 inches. I've heard of sights being up to 3 inches off at worst, but my guess is that Vortex did a pretty good job of compensating for parallax so the Strikefire won't even be that much off. Vortex has been in the optics game for a long time so they should know how to compensate for parallax error better that some other budget optic companies. This topic has got me kind of curious now. Next time I'm at the range I'm going to do some shooting from sandbags at 25 yards and see how far off I can get the point of impact. I've never really given it much thought before. I always treat shooting situations under 50 yards as fast and dirty scenarios where center-mass is good enough. Edited March 13, 2009 by dftc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shryke300 3 Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 thanks for the replys, still realy interested in how this vortex will work out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U.S. Pratorean 1,234 Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I looked at these also and had a few questions if you might be able to clear these up. Is the dot 2 or 4 MOA. I have read the box says 2 but it is really 4.?? I would prefer 2. There were complaints about dot brightness and that it is not bright enough in sunlight.?? How many levels of brightness are there? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Twinsen 86 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I am very interested in the results of your test. I can't afford to optic up everything I want to because everybody wants an unreasonable amount of money for their optics or make terrible quality ones. With scopes, the issue is clarity, with red dots, it's usually reliability. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SCBOWLES 0 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I can not in recomond this sight I had one mounted on a 7.62x39 blinked out with every shot. I then moved it to a M1 carbine still blinks out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dftc 0 Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I can not in recomond this sight I had one mounted on a 7.62x39 blinked out with every shot. I then moved it to a M1 carbine still blinks out. The spring on the battery compartment on many Strikefires is a bit loose. This allows the battery to move around due to recoil and the sight will blink out. The easy fix is to stretch out the spring a little so it holds tighter against the battery. You can also call Vortex and ask them about it. Their customer service is very responsive and will usually ship you replacement parts in a very timely manner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Genocide 0 Posted April 5, 2009 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Twist some steel wool in the spring, and whammo fixola! This method has solved blink-outs on many of my Russian optics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cynical 8 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 Does the 2x magnifier change how you use the sight? Can you still shoot with both eyes open, relatively parallax-free? Or do you need to shoot with one eye like a standard scope with the magnifier attached? I'm very interested in this sight, and am eager to see what real testing (not marketing fluff) shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Finally! My New Ultimak was on backorder for almost a month but it finally came in yesterday!! Now if it will just stop pissing down rain long enough for me to get this rifle and a camera out on the range we can commence to torture testing this little dot sight and see how it holds up.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SOPMOD 254 Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) Does the 2x magnifier change how you use the sight? Can you still shoot with both eyes open, relatively parallax-free? Or do you need to shoot with one eye like a standard scope with the magnifier attached? I'm very interested in this sight, and am eager to see what real testing (not marketing fluff) shows. I put the 2x magnifier on it and mounted it on the 308 and it was about like using a magnified Trijicon scope with BAC.if you can hold your finger tip in front of your right eye,look at a target some distance away and it appears that you are looking through your finger at the target then with the 2x adapter on that is what you will get with both eyes open.close the weak eye and take advantage of the magnification,open it and train your brain to ignore the magnification and pick up the reticule. http://www.trijicon-inc.com/pdfs/BINDEN.swf Edited April 21, 2009 by SOPMOD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
22_Shooter 1,560 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Finally! My New Ultimak was on backorder for almost a month but it finally came in yesterday!! Now if it will just stop pissing down rain long enough for me to get this rifle and a camera out on the range we can commence to torture testing this little dot sight and see how it holds up.. Bump. Any updates on the torture test? I'm specifically waiting on you to put this thing through it's paces, before I buy one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vultite 57 Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 yea, where is that test at?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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