Vortex optics are not top-of-the-line optics in the arena of price, but they are every bit a contender when it comes to performance.
Unlike Hunting’s Editor, Lee Hoots, I love gear--can’t get enough of it. I love to tinker and try something new or different. At times it is a handicap when you are not working with a piece of equipment that you are intimately familiar with, but for the most part I like to think of myself as on the leading edge of trends. At the very least, I’ll find out what I don’t like by giving it a try.
This fall I had a chance to hunt in Texas with Trijicon’s Accupoint 3-9x40 riflescope. Due to a last-minute switch in guns, I had to sight-in the rifle in Texas, which proved a bit difficult--mainly due to the sighting system. The Accupoint reticle had a center post that was topped by a dual-illuminated triangle. The tip of the triangle is the aimpoint. A sleeve determines the amount of light to the fiber optic cable controlling the amount of illumination. As a backup, or for extreme low-light conditions, a small stick of tritium feeds the fiber optic; no batteries--ever.
At the range the post design was not popular with many of the shooters who tried it, most having problems grouping. Wayne van Zwoll asked to give it a try and from a prone position with a sling immediately banged out a one-inch group. The problem was not actually with the reticle but with our perception of something other than the standard crosshair to which we’d all become accustomed.
After a bit of practice, and an open mind, the groups came together and I took my biggest whitetail to date, a hog and javelina (all with single shots) over the next few days. Either way, it’s a moot point. Trijicon is introducing this innovative illumination system in a crosshair reticle that will be on the market by the time you read this. The post system does offer the advantage of the Bindon Aiming System that Dick Metcalf wrote about in a “Tech Corner” article last fall. I shoot right-handed, and I am right-eye dominant. With both eyes open, my left eye tracks game and the surrounding terrain, then my right eye automatically takes over and focuses through the scope. With practice, this is a fantastic aiming system. The problem is getting people to take the time to try something new. You may have to take a step back for a short time, but you’ll take two forward if you stick with it.
Trijicon, Inc.; (800) 338-0563
Vortex Razor
I’ve sat around more than one campfire and listened to heated debates about whether certain optics are worth the money. The simple answer is yes…and no. I have a great pair of binos that cost $1,000 almost ten years ago. They have served me well for countless hours of hard scouting, but are they worth the money? If you can afford them, high-end optics are great for long hours spent behind glass searching for game and will save fruitless trips that will only soften boot leather before realizing quarry isn’t the standard you believed.
On the other hand, if you’re hunting hardwoods and only have to inspect a buck across a goldenrod field or discern that a buck is legal through brush, top-of-the-line glass is not a necessity. I still wouldn’t recommend going for a $50 pair from a discount warehouse--likely you’ll never be able to tell what’s behind the brush, particularly in lowlight.
