Posted: 10/9/2009 10:18:24 PM EDT
|
I should've done this ages ago...
Working toward my goal of making good on my promise that every rifle of mine was going to wear a Vortex scope, I purchased a Strikefire for my homebuilt AR (CMMG lower, Delton upper). There was a little trouble actually securing the scope to the rifle - I ended up having to cut a new notch in the Aimpoint gooseneck mount - but with the removal of the caps, everything went together just fine. Took the rifle out to the range with a friend...it would've been middle of August I think. 50 yard range, perfect day, no wind. We make sure the irons are sighted in alright, and start dialing the scope in. By the way, I love the turrets. Pretty much any coin will work. We get the height cranked in, and start working on the horizontal. Have to shift the dot left, and the more we adjust (LOTS of clicks) the more "off" it seems. Eventually we figure out that when we try to click the dot to the left, it goes right. Weird defect, but we can compensate for it. We start adjusting the other way, and now we're getting somewhere. Groups are beginning to go where we want, but we just can't quite get it sighted in. We're firing 5 rounds groups off a rest, and 3-4 would group, 1-2 would be off somewhere else. After 60 rounds, we call it a day. It's probably 75% sighted in. Hit the range again in September with the intention of finishing the sighting in. Despite the mount and scope being tight together and tight with the gun, the scope seems to have "shaken" loose either in transport of just sitting in the safe. The dot has wandered off where last I left it. Keeping in mind the defective turret, I start sighting in again, and this time it's grouping much better. Took probably an hour of shooting and checking (both on foot and with the spotting scope) before we got the scope sighted in to the point where it was putting most of the shots into an orange sized bullseye at 50yards from a rest, using Wolf. Not the most impressive, but it's Russian ammo and I know I suck at sighting scopes in. All in all, I'm a little less impressed with this one than with the last one. I'll need to see if it's maintained it's zero when I'm at the range next. If so, that's what I want out of it and I'll leave it alone or try and get it shooting absolutely perfectly. If not, I KNOW the people at Vortex will make it right. They have outstanding customer service I've got 2 more uppers waiting for optics, and I'm still outfitting every rifle I own with a Vortex. You guys will be selling me 2 more Strikefires in the near future. |
|
Yeah, if it's not holding zero then something isn't right and we'll take care of it for you.
As far as the windage is concerned it is possible that it is working correctly, but it depends on your perspective. For example: You aim at the bullseye and shoot a round and it hits 2 inches right. Which way do you adjust? It all depends on your perspective. Most people think of it as moving the bullet impact in the direction you want to hit. With this perspective you would want to make an adjustment 2" to the "left". Since this is the most common perspective it's how most all turrets are marked (on any brand of any scope that I've seen). However, the other perspective is not that you need to move the bullet impact 2" left, but that you need to move the reticle 2" to the right. Then once the reticle is coinciding with the bullet impact, you move the rifle 2" back to the left so the reticle is now covering the bullseye. In reality, this is actually what is happening, despite the fact that most people think of it the opposite way. So, if your rifle is sitting on a rest and you are shooting a group, and then you look through the scope as you make your adjustments, you will notice that turning the turret "left" will actually move the reticle "right" towards the bullet impact. It's just that the turrets are marked from the perspective of moving the bullet impact, not the reticle. Maybe you know this already, but I just wanted to point it out in case that's what's happening in your scope. If it's not, then that would certainly be strange and we would replace the scope for that as well. Just let me know and we'll take care of whatever it is. Thanks for the review! -Sam |
|
After thinking about this review for a while, I thought I should add a couple constructive comments about the scope itself in addition to the mounting problems.
The scope covers are a lot easier to use on this one than on my first Strikefire. Even though I had to take them off to fit on the Aimpoint rail, when I had them on they were a lot easier to keep folded down. The on button clicks audibly and is a lot more sensitive than my first Strikefire. A little too sensitive perhaps, the slightest nudge turns it off. Definitely an improvement over the first generation though. The dot is extremely easy to see, even in broad daylight, in both green and red colors. And as always, it's great being able to shoot with both eyes open and have a clear field of view. Also, for those that are interested, it seems that an Aimpoint mount and the low Strikefire ring cowitness perfectly, if you cut a new notch in the mount, farther forward. It's a great solution for people with carry handles. |