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OPTICS : VORTEX
uncommonly cold 38 – 45 degree winter days while logging data . I traveled from large private property to well-known public ranges in Leesburg , St . Augustine and Jacksonville , FL to gather information and let others shoot this rifle set up and provide their cumulative thoughts for this article .
The optic features a very forgiving eye relief of 3 – 4 inches and eye box to keep the reticle appearing centered despite any offsetting gear that may keep the cheek weld off center . This allows a wider range of shooters to get comfortable on the same rifle with little to zero scope shadow . It should be noted , the left turret is for illumination adjustments only with no parallax adjustment . Although this is a 10x power optic , Vortex designed the Gen III Razor as basically a range enhanced red dot , NOT a sniper rifle . For the average warfighter , some believe the concept of parallax amid battle and constantly evolving data would only further complicate things as a disadvantage rather than an intended advantage . If parallax adjustment is that important to the shooter , Vortex offers a wide range of other optics for that .
By simply pulling the turret outward , the illuminated reticle is activated ON and OFF with every other brightness adjustment through the 11 brightness settings . This allows the optic to be quickly powered down and back up in the previous brightness setting ; pushing the dial back in locks the selected setting in . Typically , due to the stiffness of the knob to pull for adjustment , I usually leave it fully extended rather than pull it out each time . ( insert variant of “ I don ’ t pull out ” reference here , see existence of my kids as proof !)
Even against dark backdrops , the basic outline of black reticle alone stands out well at 1x power , just not as detailed and easy to find as when the magnification is zoomed in a bit more . With a twist of the illumination knob activates the crisp illuminated red dot surrounded by four small rectangles to life . The design of this illuminated portion of the reticle reminds me of a Simon Says electronic game I had as a kid . The center dot offers a pinpoint 1 MOA focal point , while the four segmented sections deliver a 3 MOA interior circle and 4 MOA outer dimension for faster spot-on shooting .
LPVO manufacturers across the market have always been challenged to create an optic with the daylight brightness of a true red dot . In my opinion , Vortex has clearly succeeded .
The crystal-clear brightness settings and impressive life span stemming from a single 2032 flat battery just bring a whole new dimension to shooting with this optic . Even in the bright Florida sunlight , the illuminated reticle is quickly visible . ( Fully bright day , 8 or 9 setting , low light , 3 or 4 setting ) Over the past year , I have regularly run this rifle and even accidently left the optic ON overnight . Twelve months later , the reticle is just as bright as the day I unboxed it . The optic ships with a 24 mm screw on sunshade for the objective lens and works well against unwanted reflection issues during times when you must shoot straight into the sunlight . I have also used it several times during training while running the rifle in rainy conditions . Kudos to Vortex for going the extra mile !
Transitions with the wide field of view are extremely fast from target to target laterally across the range as well as distances moving further outward . With the flick of the Switchview throw lever that ships with the Gen III Razor , I could easily use the awesome EBR-9 MOA reticle that comes into view as the variable power increases . Using the ballistic data in the reticle , it can quickly be used to determine my
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