Rifleman's Blog

I picked up an Accuracy International MKII so I needed a new piece of glass. I usually don’t have trouble picking out a scope, but with all of the great tactical scopes on the market, this one was a tough decision. I’m not one to stick with a particular scope manufacturer…… so everyone has a fair shot at getting my money. With all of the great things that I am hearing about Vortex Optics, I decided to give the Vortex Razor 5-20 with the EBR2-B reticle a shot.

First a little intro to the Razor line of scopes for those not familiar:

Vortex Optics offers two different tiers in their tactical line of scopes. The Razor is their upper tier Japanese made scope and is offered in either Mil or MOA reticle designs (turrets will match the reticle):

1. The EBR-1 and EBR-2B are offered in MOA. These scopes will have either 15 or 25 MOA worth adjustment per revolution depending on the scope model.
2. The EBR2-B and EBR-3 are offered in MIL. These scopes will have 5 or 10 Mil worth of adjustment per revolution depending on the model .

I wound up with an EBR2-B in Mil. I don’t really get caught up in the “which is better Mil or MOA argument”. As long as my turret matches the reticle, I’ll work in either system. I find that more of my friends are shooting Mil so I tend to go that route too. It’s just easier when I’m spotting for them to be able to make adjustments if the reticles match and you don’t have to do any conversions (although there would be ways around that by calling out distances in relation to the target….like …..you were half a thickness left or something like that).

Anyway…..moving on……

Scope Specs:

What’s in the Box?
The scope came loaded with extras…..here’s what I got:

Voretx Razor HD 5-20X50

1. The scope itself
2. Removable 3″ sunshade
3. Flip up “bushwacker” scope caps (basically upgraded Butler Creeks)
4. Anti-Reflective Device (ARD) that fits in the scope cap
5. Vortex scope mounted bubble level
6. Lens Cleaning Cloth

I was pretty excited about the extra goodies. My Schmidt Bender came in a box with a cardboard wrapper. They want $100 for their sunshade.

Initial Impressions of the scope:
Taking the scope out of the box the first thing I noticed was that  the scope is hefty.  Off the bat, it feels heavier than my Nightforce, which at 35 or so ounces I guess it should feel heavier……duh!

The clicks on the adjustments are nice. Deep detents but not too deep that they might take a lot of finger dexterity to move them. To compare, they feel like the turrets on the Nightforce. I like the fact that the newer Mil-turret version is now 10 Mil per revolution -vs- 5 Mil. The Elevation turret seems like it is taller than it needs to be. I see the purpose of having a fat gnarled turret for making changes with a gloved hand, but don’t see a need for the turret being as tall as it is.

The high-viz tube on the top of the turret could prove useful in low light conditions  I guess. I’ll have to see once I get to shoot with it.

The clarity of the glass is what I would expect from a scope of this price point. Edge to edge clarity is nice. There is no tunneling when cranking from 5x up to 20x. Nice wide field of view and eye relief stays constant through out the power range. However, the scope is a little touchy once you get behind it. I loose my site picture pretty easily.

This is my first venture into a “Hours” style reticle. I don’t think that the reticle will be too thick at 20x to shoot long distance with. I like that the reticle is open in the center.

The illumination control has nice positive clicks and the adjustment range of the illumination is sufficient. I like that there are off positions between each setting.

The power ring turns smoothly however I am considered that it has a rubber covering over it. Hope that I don’t have an issue with that rubber stretching and coming off in the future. I kind of wish that the whole eyepiece would rotate similar to the Nightforce instead of having to grab the power ring. The way that I have the scope mounted to achieve proper eye relief, it’s difficult to change magnification. I might try adding a switch view to it.

What I’ve learned shooting it:
The scope feels like it as a really long eye relief. When it’s cranked up to 20x, I find that it’s a little difficult to get a good sight picture. Once you get it, you better not move much. It’s not very forgiving in my opinion.

Zeroing the scope is a little different than most. You have to remove the turret and then loosen the second set of turret screws. At this point the scope no longer clicks, but instead feels like the friction turrets of older scopes. Once you zero the scope you then lock the screws back in place to set the zero stop and then replace the turret cap.

I really like the E2-B reticle. Nice balance of thickness on the reticle. It’s thin, but thick enough to pop against a dark background. I don’t find the reticle to be cluttered at all once you get it to the field. I though it was going to be an issue when I was mounting the scope, but that was only looking the scope indoors when I was mounting it. I really like the Open center of the reticle. It makes holding on the “x” ring  or on the center of my diamond targets a breeze.

I’ll be shooting it at a Precision Rifle Class at K&M in January. I’m anxious to see how the scope will preform.

Vortex EBR2-B Reticle (click to enlarge)

So there is the down and dirty on the Vortex Razor. All in all it’s a quality optic and I’m really pleased with it. I think that it was a purchase well worth the money for someone looking for a FFP rifle scope and trying to stay under 2k. I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking about picking one up.

If there is something that I didn’t cover in my review, let me know and I’ll add it. Also if you guys have any questions, let me know.