Vortex Razor HD Gen III 6-36x56 Riflescope Review

[OSU Fisher]

I keep waiting for them to come in stock on guidefitter or expertvoice and think I will pull the trigger on one for a heavy ish truck/canyon 338. I think it’s as good or better then the 7-35 atacr for a good amount less $ wise.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I keep waiting for them to come in stock on guidefitter or expertvoice and think I will pull the trigger on one for a heavy ish truck/canyon 338. I think it’s as good or better then the 7-35 atacr for a good amount less $ wise.

It just hasn't proven to be as reliable yet.

 

[OSU Fisher]

It just hasn't proven to be as reliable yet.

That may be true but I really havent seen any major reliability issues. If it keeps up with the gen 2 I’m sure it will be fine. There are A LOT of razors in the world. And I am absolutely not a vortex fanboy. In fact I swore them off years ago. So I can’t believe I’m considering picking one up….

 

[Justin Crossley]

My review is complete and available below. Check it out and let me know if I can answer any questions.

Vortex Razor HD Gen III 6-36x56 FFP Riflescope Review

 

[KHNC]

Shame to have issues with a 3999.00 retail scope. I really figured this one would prove to be flawless. Wrong again i see.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Shame to have issues with a 3999.00 retail scope. I really figured this one would prove to be flawless. Wrong again i see.

I thought it would be good to go as well. We'll see if it was an isolated issue after I have more use on the replacement scope. It's been great so far.

 

[robby denning]

good honest review Justin! Keep us posted on that replacement.

 

[Jamesj669]

Great! Looking forward to hearing any additional praises or concerns.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Great! Looking forward to hearing any additional praises or concerns.

I shot another comp with the Razor on Saturday. The scope worked flawlessly and I ended up taking 3rd place. Was leading the match until I fell apart on the "Cattle Gate Of Hate" stage.

 

[ukiyo]

Just shot my fourth match with the Razor this weekend and my review should be finished shortly.

View attachment 391264

Justin - Excellent review on the Razor. Btw, that is great looking rifle. What kind and caliber is it?

 

[Justin Crossley]

Justin - Excellent review on the Razor. Btw, that is great looking rifle. What kind and caliber is it?

Thank you. It's a Tikka action with a Bartlien barrel and TiPro muzzle brake. The chassis is an XLR Element 4.0 and the caliber is 6.5-06 Ackley Improved.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Another competition in the books last weekend and the Razor continues to perform. I'm not having any issues with this one holding zero and my confidence in it is growing. I ended up taking 3rd place behind a couple of pro shooters so I was happy with my shooting and gear.

 

[Cactus kid]

Good review. I have been interested in this line for a while. It is reassuring to see it passed the "hammer test." I do think you should do a drop test with the scope. After all it is a premium full feature scope that is intended to be placed atop 20lb plus rifles. We drop entire rifles, not just the scopes. I understand the hesitation, but why not? after all their warranty program is legendary.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Two more competitions in the books over the last two weekends. These were NRL Hunter matches. The first I've shot and they were a blast. Targets ranged from about 300 yards to just over 1000 yards.



Here's the timeline for the last two weekends.

Friday, 5/27
Check-in and velocity verification for the match at Blue Ridge in Eastern WA. I fired 16 rounds to check speeds, and my zero. No adjustments were needed and I verified to just over 1000 yards.

Saturday, 5/28
I put the rifle in the soft scabbard in the back of the SxS and drove about 3 miles through rough farmland. Throughout the course of the day, I fired 55 rounds and the scope performed perfectly.



Sunday, 5/29
Was basically a repeat of day one with 52 rounds fired and the rifle and scope continuing to perform perfectly. I ended up 20th place out of about 75 shooters (not sure exactly the total but that is what I was told). I definitely should have shot better but this was new to me and I made plenty of mistakes. Very satisfied with how the scope performed throughout.

As soon as the match was finished I headed to Idaho for four days of bear hunting before the match the following weekend. I didn't shoot the rifle during the week but it bounced around in my camper the whole trip in a soft case.

Friday, 6/3
Back in eastern WA for another NRL Hunter match at Rock Lake Rifle Range. I fired 12 rounds for another velocity check and a few at some long-range targets for fun. The rifle was still zeroed and verified to 1000 yards.



Saturday, 6/4
I put the rifle in the back of the SxS and headed out for the match. I fired 65 rounds over 12 different stages with perfect scope performance.



Sunday, 6/5
We only had six stages and I fired 33 rounds. Again, the scope was perfectly zeroed and dialed perfectly. I ended up in 35th place overall out of about 128 shooters. Would have liked to do better but I saw some improvement over the match before so I was happy about that.



After not having to adjust my zero before or throughout both matches, I'm satisfied that this scope is very reliable and will continue using it. The only real complaint I have at this point is that it's heavier than most scopes which hurts in the NRL Hunter matches due to weight limits, and I still think it should have come with quality, flip-up scope caps.

 

[XLR]

Thanks for sharing and updating everyone with your continued experience with the scope Justin! That rain picture is so cool! Would have been super cool if there was some muzzle blast happening at the same time so next time... make sure you time that

 

[OSU Fisher]

I just received one yesterday. It will be going on a all up 12-13lbs 338 lapua imp I’m putting together. It was over 1000 bucks cheaper then the atacr and for me it just wasn’t justifiable. Atleast on paper.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I just received one yesterday. It will be going on a all up 12-13lbs 338 lapua imp I’m putting together. It was over 1000 bucks cheaper then the atacr and for me it just wasn’t justifiable. Atleast on paper.

Let us know how you like it after some use.

 

[Macintosh]

Could someone who has used both razor g2 and G3 a bunch provide some detailed comments on comparing the two scopes? Function (diff turrets, adjustment and locking?), feel (diff clicks?), glass quality, etc?