6.5-20X50 vortex viper VS BSA 6-24X44 review

T

timelinex

New member
Warning: This is a very long post and has many pictures. So if you don't actually care about either one of these scopes, you might as well move along to the next thread. I wished someone did a review like this on these scopes when I was buying both of them though, so here it is....Keep in mind that more testing needs to be done because the farthest I tested was 50 yards. I think that put the vortex at a disadvantage so I need to do more testing at 100+ yards.

I have had my BSA 6-24X44 for about 2 months now on my 22lr. It is a midway exclusive and is not sold anywhere else but here . This is a 250(on sale for 150) dollar scope that has features only 400-500+ dollar scopes start having. It has 58 MOA of elevation, Parallax adjuster, 6-24 magnification, comes with a free shade,Big turrets and zero reset. It holds zero, but on a 22 so I can't speak much for high recoil rifles. Lastly, while I haven't done 'official' tracking tests, It tracks correctly when I do adjustments at the range.

The Vortex Viper 6.5-20X50 I have just received and plan on putting it on a .308 for long range shooting. From all my research I have found that its agreed upon that its a 450 dollar scope that has glass as good as many 800 dollar scopes. It has the same features basically as the BSA but less magnification.

Now Ill compare the features...
Turrets: Both have nice size turrets. Both have audible clicks that feel solid. The vortex has slightly better feeling clicks though. The vortex turrets are enclosed while the BSA ones are exposed. Both have its advantages and disadvantages but its not a big deal either way. They both reset zero, but the vortex wins out considering you don't need a tool to reset them. You pull on it, spin and let go.
Winner: Vortex but on marginally important differences.

Parallax Adjuster: The vortex goes from 50 yrds to infinity. The BSA goes from 10 yards to infinity. This is a big win for the BSA if you are ever shooting under 50 yards. Looking through it at 20 yards, the vortex is still focused but I did see some parallax. So atleast the picture is clear at <50 yards. On the other hand concerning the actual adjuster, the vortex adjuster is MUCH smoother and feels like its much better quality. It doesn't work any better, but it feels alot better using it.
Winner:BSA on functionality, Vortex on quality

Magnification:
The bsa is 6-24 while the vortex is 6.5-20. The BSA obviously has a bigger range, but as we all know that doesn't always mean alot(if resolution isnt there). But for what its worth...
Winner: BSA

Warranty: They both have lifetime warranties. I have heard many people having no problems exchanging their BSA. BUT, that being said, vortex is known for their no questions asked customer service. Vortex customer service is considered on of the best in the business.
Winner: Vortex

Glass:
Finally onto the bread and butter. This is the part that really shocked and disappointed me. I tried to do this as fairly as possible and take the best pics I could with each scope. If anyone see's any flaw in my process please tell me. I used a nikon d300 and spent 2 hours to try and get these pics. I tried to be as thorough as possible, to squelch all doubt. I have the full pix, but cropped them down to just the scope image in most. If anyone wants the un-edit pic of any of these just ask.
After spending over 400 on the vortex I was really excited to see the clarity of the glass. I thought it was gonna blow away my BSA, b\c my scope is known for its amount of features for the $$ not the glass. Well you decide for yourself
I will always put the BSA picture first and then the Vortex.
20 YARDS:
6.5X The little bar below the the numbers is out of focus because its actually my balcony fence, so thats why its blurry. Not the scope, but rather they were focused on the farther object.
6.5.JPG
b6.5.JPG

10X
10.JPG

b10.JPG

12X
12.JPG

b12.JPG
 
14X
14.JPG

b14.JPG

18X
18.JPG

b18.JPG

20X
I have always read stories about people saying when they went back to their cheap scope it was like looking through a milk jug. I never knew exactly what they meant, because my BSA and other scopes never had this effect. Believe it or not, the first time I saw this is right now with the vortex. I don't know if its because its only 20 yards, but this is as good as it got. Looking through it with my eyes and not camera was not any better
20.JPG

b20.JPG
 
24X
JUST the BSA, so people can see the resolution at its highest
20.JPG


now 50 YARDS
Little blur spots are not because of the scope, but if you can see, its actually small branches from tree's before this one randomly creeping into the picture.
6.5X
a6.5.JPG
c6.5.JPG

12X
a12.JPG

c12.JPG
 
20X
a20.JPG

c20.JPG


NOW I did a resolution target at 18 yards.
14X
bsa14.JPG

vort14.JPG

20X
bsa20.JPG

vort20.JPG

Notice how the BSA is darker. These were taken when the sun was already setting. The BSA was not actually this much darker, but I could not get the camera to show the true difference. In reality it was only slightly darker than the vortex. This is expected as the 50mm objective really does it's job collecting light compared to 44mm. On the other hand, BSA dominates resolution comparison.
Winner: I am very sad to say that the BSA dominates the vortex is glass quality and clarity. I have always been the first to say that paying more money only gets you marginally better results and rooting for the underdog, but I never expected it to be this bad. I don't know if I got an exceptional piece of glass on just my BSA or if there is something wrong with my Vortex. Can anyone comment on their experience with this model vortex at higher magnifications. I bought the vortex, sacrificing on magnification, expecting that atleast it will be much more clear at the magnifications it does have. I was disappointed.

Conclusions: To wrap this up, Ill say that if I had to do it all over again, I would still buy the Vortex over the BSA. Why you ask? At this point simple economics. With the BSA if I ever wanted to sell it to get something new, because of BSA's name , I dont even know if it would sell. Maybe I could sell it for 50-75. On the other hand Vortex I can probably sell years later for almost the same price I bought it. They have an amazing warranty so their scopes 'fly off the shelves' whenever put up on these forums, and for almost brand new prices.

Overall the Vortex has an edge in quality. There isn't anything wrong with the quality of this BSA, but the vortex does feel more solid. I just can't believe the resolution results. Ill have to see how it does at the range with farther distances maybe.
 
Try a box test at 100-200yds. See if the BSA and Vortex adjust consistently and repeatedly.

For further resolution, try looking at bullet holes at a distance (a long distance-200-300yds at least). Your charts and numbers are sort of close in for testing. .30 holes should look like the periods in this email at that distance. Another set of tests: Move the glass around- is the edge as clear as the center? Do you find any places where the image bobbles around as you move the scope? When you look at those branches in bright light, do you see colored edging on them (chromatic aberration). This is more a test for your eyes. The photos are limited more by the small camera lens than by either scope.

My experience with BSA is limited to a 3-9x 40mm .22 scope. It was very bright and reasonably clear, and adjusted fairly well,but not very consistently. It did the job. My general experience with lower vs higher grade scopes is that the difference lies not in the brightness, but in the small defects in the glass, and most importantly in the consistency and longevity of the adjustments and the reticle. Whether that's worth it is a matter of opinion for everyone to judge for themselves.
 
Even though I would never buy a BSA, I would have possibly bought a Vortex had I not seen your pictures. Seeing how the crosshairs on the Vortex disappear into a blur means that I won't be buying Vortex either. I'll stick with my Leupolds and higher-end Bushnells.
 
While I can't see the pictures at work, doing this kind of test at less than 50 yards doesn't really tell the clarity of the glass... Do this at 100 or 200 yards if you want true results of the differences in the scopes...

I will take pics through my Vortex and my Leupold some time to show the clarity of each...
 
Doyle, I wouldn't be too discouraged just yet. Stay tuned for when I update with further results. I do believe the vortex is gonna shine in further distances. Take a look at the 50 yards test. Notice how its not milky and actually more clear than the BSA. So I think the vortex is just set up to be a much longer range scope. Still disappointing that the versatility of it is cut down, but I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to everything.

I will be receiving my rifle for this scope next week and planting the vortex on it. Then I can do the box test and such as well.
 
I believe the vortex will win in all catagories at 200 plus yards. The only other comment I have is that the darker images in the BSA through the camera are a better judge of the light gathering ability than your eyes. The camera has only one diameter pupil, your eye adjusts its pupil to match the conditions to allow for darker images to appear brighter. I look forward to reading about the testing at longer ranges. Thank you for posting this.
 
It isn't surprising that BSA did well at short ranges. BSA made a real name for themselves with the air rifle crowd and scopes for air rifles require the ability to focus down to very short ranges.

Jimro
 
looks to me like your vortex was just out of focus
Click to expand...

That's what it looks like to me as well. If the reticle on one scope is all sharp but blurry on the other one.... one of them needs to be focused!

And if the Vortex is only able to adjust down to 50 yards, then it doesn't say much to examine it closer than that.

Gregg
 
And if the Vortex is only able to adjust down to 50 yards, then it doesn't say much to examine it closer than that.
Click to expand...

Bingo. All tests under 50yds are moot because the Vortex doesn't claim (via adjustment settings) anything under 50yds. However, since the BSA does, it wins in the < 50yds tests by default, not because of better quality.
 
I don't think the Viper adjusts very low for parallax, and even if it did, it may not be able to keep that focus for highest magnification...

Anyway I wouldn't go for the Vortex Viper lineup unless you were going to go all in for the PST.

Diamondback is better bang for the buck.
 
i guess what some are missing is that paralex ajustment doesnt have much to do with reticles being blurry. that is controled by the focus on the rear of the scope and the same goes the other way. The rear focus adustment doesnt have much to do with anything but redicule focus.
 
I think judgment should wait till results are in from longer ranges. I wish it was easier to do for me, but I have to wait till I'm at the range to do that...
 
What he said...

The Viper is a far superior scope. I don't know what may be wrong with your certain scope, but they do come with no questions lifetime warranties. Send it back. As Vortex becomes increasingly more popular, they will have the occassional "bad egg". From my personal experience, I think you might have gotten hold of a BSA that is actually half-way decent!!! Do you realize how often that happens? I'm sure you could wreck it all though by putting that BSA on a large centerfire. Lol! My point is, give Vortex a chance to correct it.
 
got to agree. My experience with vortex is there products are a bargin at the price they ask for them. BSA may be a bargin but in the bargin bin at walmart.
 
Just went to the range again, and the vortex blows the BSA out of the water at 100+ yards. It was a hot but cloudy day today and there was alot of miraging, which really let the difference between the two shine. At 200 yards, the BSA still did a decent job but it didn't have too good of resolution. It was almost like I needed to adjust the parallax another notch, but it was in fact adjusted right. On the other hand the vortex was very clear, miraging made the bullseye dance around a little, but other than that it was still clear. At 20X it's still bright but definitely loses a little bit of resolution. So I feel like this scope would do excellent in low light conditions because of the big 50mm OBJ(relatively big). On the other hand half the time I ended up using 14x just because I couldn't get over the crispness of the image at 14x.


I wish I could edit the first post just so I can put in bold that this test was at <50 yards and below. Which exposes the weakness of the vortex, but doesn't fairly pair it against the BSA when it comes to longer ranges.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top