Vortex Venom vs. Strike Eagle

Thanks for the article reference, it was an interesting and informative read.

Got it - and if I was using a 50 yard min. parallax adjustment scope, doing these calcs might be a useful exercise. (And again, a 50yard min. would be A-OK for centerfire distances.) But if/when a closer target application is needed (i.e. rimfire) I'd rather just adjust out the parallax with a properly specified scope. I've shot with scopes with poor parallax correction, and it's very annoying and frustrating, not to mention inaccurate, the last thing you need in the "heat" of a timed stage of competition.

An adjustable parallax scope has fixed parallax when you don't change it, or hit the end of the adjustment.

As for how much, you can check it.

Set the scope up so it is steady and aimed at something at the desired range. Get behind the scope and move your head side to side and up and down and see how much the reticle appears to move.

And remember, with a good cheek weld, you should be pretty steady behind the scope.

Comparison

Just a follow-up to this thread . . .

I performed a side-by-side comparison the two very similar FFP low-to-mid cost range Vortex scopes in an attempt to determine relative optical clarity. The two scopes were Vortex’s Venom 5-25x56 (on sale $499) and the Strike Eagle 5-25x56 (on sale $699).



The Venom seems to be marketed as a lower cost alternative to the Strike Eagle (SE), without a couple of features that some shooters may not consider worth paying extra for. Note that these two scopes do NOT have the same glass (or at least the glass is not set-up the same) as the field of view is different between them. (see Vortex specs)

To do the comparison I installed 34mm rings on a rifle stock and action (no barrel) so that adjusting and viewing the two scopes would be easier. The scopes were mounted with pieces of paper around the tubes to prevent leaving marks. I then went outdoors and set up a portable table and aimed the scopes at an outbuilding about 300 yards distant, focusing in on the pattern of nails at the end of the roof line with one scope and then the other.







I then took both scopes to the local range and again focused on a target of five 6mm holes in a target at 300 yards.





I found it very difficult to determine any difference in the clarity of these scopes in the center portion of the scope picture. Both were able to resolve both the nail and bullet holes and patterns at 300 yards reasonably well (for this $ range of scope), and pretty much equally. While there might be an extremely small advantage to the SE, it might just be my own perception. There IS, however, a discernable difference in optical clarity as you view away from the center of the field of view, with the SE maintaining sharpness better than the Venom. It’s not that the Venom could be called “blurry” at the edges, but the image did get somewhat softer than the SE. Each shooter must decide if this is important in their performance-to-value considerations. I sent back the Venom and kept the SE, but I’m sure the Venom would function perfectly well.

A good start.

Bright sunny day does not highlight quality of glass.

You need to try them near dusk or dawn. Or at least a heavy overcast day.

Clarity out from center is not totally required, but having spent time over a microscope with standard and high end flat field lenses, you get eye fatigue from a optic that is not clear edge to edge.

For the price, I’m going Strike Eagle all day. The differences are not very noticeable