This Vortex Optics Crossfire 6–24×50 AO Scope is part of a larger project, developing an Urban Sniper rifle out of a Remington 788 in .243 Winchester. I am pleased the rifle is performing well, and will be the subject of another article. One frustration has been locating a reliable scope for little money. The Vortex Crossfire offered all the features I needed for long range rifle shooting at a desirable price.
The Vortex Optics Crossfire 6–24×50 AO Scope 1″ tube caught my interest first by word of mouth from others all abuzz with the Vortex products, then by researching the internet, and finally by the price and features of the scope. I purchased mine from SWFA for a price that fit my budget nicely, the $99.95 deal. When the scope arrived, it was nicely packaged, had outstanding fit and finish, and in all respects looked like a serious piece of gear for long range shooting.
The Crossfire is packaged with a four inch sunshade, lens cleaning cloth, allen wrenches, and bikini style lens covers. Unpacking the scope, the fit and finish is excellent; the sunshade screws in solidly and mates up perfectly with the objective.
The Crossfire is mounted on my Remington 788 using an EGW picatinny rail and 1″ rings. The scope is long, but appears balanced with my 18 inch barrel. With the sun shade mounted, it appears to be all scope.
 |
 |
 |
The scope features an adjustable eye focus, mil-dot reticle, tall capped turrets for windage and elevation, and parallax adjustment at the objective.
The glass is very clear and all the adjustments are easy to make. The issue I ran into with the Crossfire was the windage adjustments were moving under recoil. Which surprised me, I’m shooting a .243 Winchester and the load is not at the high end. Vortex Customer Service was very responsive, sent me a shipping label for the return and a week later a new Crossfire adorned my doorstep. This one also had excellent fit and finish, with very clear glass. Unfortunately, it would not hold zero. Again, Vortex Customer Service was very responsive, even after I started out the conversation saying this is my second Crossfire and I did wish to waste any more ammo on this model scope……how about we trade for a nice pair of binoculars?
They made me an offer for the Vortex Viper, 6.5-20×50 PA for a very reasonable price. I took the offer, and the results are the stuff for a future article.
Regarding the Crossfire, I’ve read great things on hunting forums regarding this scope, and for folks only shooting a few rounds a year, it could suffice. I run through an average of fifty rounds a weekend and the Crossfire could not keep up.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011
Oh boy,
I better get off my but and get to the range. I had the same thing happen to me with my Vortec 6 to 24 50 and they also sent me a new one. The problem is since then I sold the rifle that scope was on and I haven’t put it on another one yet. I was saving it for my DPMS SASS 308 build when it is finished but maybe I should throw it on one of my other ARs as it has a LaRue SPR QD mount on it. At least they are guarenteed for life but i just hope it will hold up. Great job SIDEFORCE