Sound decision or waste of money??

You should move this to the optics, scopes.... section. If Odoyle sees this he might be able to give you some feedback on your scope. He probably has 36 of them.

DO NOT WATCH CYCLOPS' VORTEX BASHING VIDEO!!!

I had 2 different models of Vortex scopes go bad on me recently. One a year old and another after 2 months both developed termite wing and fish scale looking defects inside their glass.

I can no longer recommend the brand no matter Lifetime Warranty.

My condolences. Might look good today but maybe not tomorrow or next year. You may be shuffling returns out of your own picket for shipping returns and insurance adding to cost of ownership a lot with the brand until they get their QC back on track now I'm talking 2 different tiers of glass I had issues with that were perfectly fine when brand new that developed artifacts in both their glass recently one in 2 months and another just about a year.

That is the scope I have been using on my Raw TM 1000 for field target shooting. Is it the best scope out there, no. Bur it is a very decent scope and has a great warranty. You can get them a little cheaper from DVOR but I think you got a good scope.

DONT WORRY! BECAUSE YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE! A LOT of people ask DID I DO GOOD?

AFTER THE FACT...

I'd be concerned about Cabelas as a company since they don't even honor warranty for their OWN house label scopes.

IIRC Odoyle likes these Aim Sports scopes for the money, which you can get from eBay for $230. Not FFP like your Vortex, but clear and pretty bright, and clarity remains at the upper magnification levels. Based on his recommendation I have a few and like them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aim-Sports-JA6HD452750MR-ALPHA-6-4-5-27X50-30MM-RIFLESCOPE-WITH-MR1-MRAD-RETICLE/203147411920?epid=11020040390&hash=item2f4c8781d0:g:9igAAOSwv9pfj3v3

For the money, the UTG scopes are actually quite good. There are many rebranded variants out there. I have a Centerpoint 8-32x56 on one of my pcp rifles. I’m not ashamed of it either.. it has given scopes twice the cost (~$500) a run for their money. The plus is that they are springer rated. 

Odoyle has been around the block and his advice can be blunt and perfunctory at times. But, he’s right about Chinese scopes being overpriced. What you are mostly paying for is warranty. It’s a numbers game when it comes to Chinese goods. The premiums for Chinese goods pay for the difference in warranty claims. It’s disposable junk mostly, until the moon is aligned with the heavens and you luck-out with a bonafide keeper.

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Hey save money!

Sign up first to get the 5% off if their promo is still good. You get rewards points towards your future orders too.

https://extreemtactical-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/extreemtactical.com/amp/aim-sports-ja6hd452750mr-alpha-6-4-5-27x50-30mm-riflescope-with-mr1-mrad-reticle/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHKAFQArABIA%3D%3D#aoh=16104982003424&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fextreemtactical.com%2Faim-sports-ja6hd452750mr-alpha-6-4-5-27x50-30mm-riflescope-with-mr1-mrad-reticle%2F



It's brighter and clearer than the Hawke Frontier 5-30x50 and 2.5-15x50 that I also own when doing side by side with both models A6 4.5-27x50 and 2.5-15x50 and also have superior eyebox friendliness and daytime visible illumination and 10 yard focus.

I have an incoming HAWKE FRONTIER 4-24x50 ($899 list price) I have yet to compare the A6s' to but am not holding my breath.

My advice is if you are happy and content paying way more than you should spending your hard earned money for Chinese made scopes then never ever look through an Alpha6 then you won't feel ripped off or stupid paying what you paid. I honestly feel really feel stupid paying $599 (on sale) for $1400+ (retail price) JAPAN MADE Bushnell TACs 4.5-30x50 after comparing the A6 4.5-27x50 to them. Feel even more More stupid I didnt return all of them b4 the return allowed date. Surprising a Chinese scope is nicer than Japan made in this case regardless of price. The A6 is also nicer than my $800-$950 Chinese made Bushnell Forge scopes. I am not gonna even go there to mention the Midas TAC and Ares BTR because nobody will believe me but those who already compared theirs know it.

A6's got a LEUPOLD LIKE BRIGHT WHITE image highly atypical (opposite of) Chinese yellow tinted glass.

I forgot to mention my 1:1 ratio rule regarding to airgun/scope price (quality). I started to shift to the mindset that a scope should cost about the same as the rifle it’s mounted to. It’s a general rule to establish a base.

Would you mount accessories from Autozone on your MB E350.. probably not.

I think we can arguably agree that the most important part of any airgun package is the barrel, scope, and projectile.

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I have three of the Aztecs and although, I can see, they are not perfect I absolutely love them and they are good enough for me. Odoyle has a problem with them though. He is more of a scope connoisseur. I have found his experiences to be spot on on the scopes he has compared and commented on. He notices even minuscule differences that would be easy to overlook.

I just went through the big scope search thing. I also try to keep my scopes under $500. I just had an Athlon Argos Gen 2 6-24x50 delivered today. I have not had a chance to mount and shoot it yet but I could not find a bad word about them online. All the videos I watched talked them up pretty hard saying they punch above their weight when it comes to features, clarity and reliability. Plus I think they have a lifetime warranty. It is also first focal plane. I actually found a few places online comparing the Athlon to the same Vortex you bought and IIRC the consensus each time it came up was to get the Athlon over the Vortex. They are the same price, $399, new. I found one on Amazon that was in "used like new" condition for $335 and bought that one only because it shipped directly from Amazon and they have such an easy return policy if there are any issues with it. So far it looks perfect out of the box. 

Athlon still have their Gen 1 model available that you can buy. It is my understanding (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that it is identical to the GEN 2 except that people everywhere online complained that the turrets were "mushy" and did not have distinct, audible clicks. If you don't care about "mushy" turrets, you can get the same scope for $289, just last years model. Supposedly the GEN 2 is the same scope with upgraded, better turrets. 

Best of luck with whatever you choose. I'll try to report back on what I see through the Athlon tomorrow when it's light out again.

Cliff

I recently bought TWO Athlon Argos 6-24x50 FFP Gen 1.5 because for $180.00 and $200.00 shipped each was just too too hard for me to pass up and read many that had great warranty exchange's and even free upgrade to the newest more expensive latest one after theirs failed more than once.

OOP$ MY BAD they were $200 and S230 shipped.

The earlier Gen1 6-24x50 FFPs that weren't as clear were $180 and $200 shipped.

The Crimson Trace 5-25 at midway for 499.00 has got to be THE best scope for 500 or less. It is made in Japan and has a 34mm tube. It is heavy but if you can live with that it is amazing. It is FFP which is not my favorite but I keep it at 25x almost always anyway.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020619370?pid=223277

I have three of the Aztecs and although, I can see, they are not perfect I absolutely love them and they are good enough for me. Odoyle has a problem with them though. He is more of a scope connoisseur. I have found his experiences to be spot on on the scopes he has compared and commented on. He notices even minuscule differences that would be easy to overlook.

Click to expand...

How can you describe Aztec Emeralds having noticeable chromatic aberration throughout their entire minimum to maximum power zoom levels while the picture still remain relatively clear? The chromatic aberration isn't really offensive in the Aztecs case it's like looking through clear images through big soapy bubbles.

Try to LOOK through the bubbles...

https://youtu.be/3i-zYdOPG2k

https://youtu.be/Lw25wmif1SM

https://youtu.be/ryGMG06sd38

https://youtu.be/wdCiybJeP2w

Odoyle knows his glass! — And he knows where to get deals! ➔ Awesome.



I don't know which glass is good. All I know is what specs different scopes have, and have a Scope Specs Table to make easy comparisons.

▪About 60 scopes

▪Sorted by FFP and SFP

All with: 

▪Around $500 max.

▪10 yard side parallax

▪Holdoff reticle

▪Exposed turrets

▪Magnification 6x or lower on bottom end | 20x or higher on top end



Happy scope shopping!

Matthias



Attachment: Scope Specs Table

View attachment SCOPE SPECS TABLE. For 6-20x 6-24x, 5-20x, 5-30x Magnification. 118. 2020-11. TABLE.1610516449.pdf

I NOTICED THAT Reviewers (OF SCOPES GUNS COMPRESSORS AND WHATEVRS POSTED ON YOUTIBE) don't usually have long term follow through revisits for much needed reliability assessments.

Sure they MAY work perfect fresh out of their boxes... And at least Steve (AEAC) was honest about what he actually received DOA like the first Avenger he received.

They do their job and review new products.

Understand that they can't be TOTALLY honest about sponsored products they received for free otherwise REALISTICALLY no company will want to send them free scopes and guns and what not to review (ADVERTISE).

Reviewing items with no financial gain is fine to be totally honest and go BASH the company since the company didn't actually send the scope for review when a buddy loaned it.

Be thankful we don't live in the UK where everything being reviewed are all perfect. Should relocate Hollywood over there.