A Rifleman’s Optics

While the firearm industry’s very best riflescopes are a thing of wonder, it does occasionally occur to me while conducting these reviews (with optics on loan) that I could no sooner afford to purchase most of them than buy a second home with lakefront property. Just like everything else, high-end optics have become alarmingly expensive in the times we live in. Like with new trucks, much of this cost comes from advanced features and the latest technologies –particularly in relation to scopes designed to feed the long-range craze. 

Yet, in the big picture, how much scope does the average deer hunter really need?

That was the question I asked myself when a press release detailing the new Vortex Optics Crossfire HD appeared in my email. I own a decent number of Vortex scopes. All exchanged for sales points while I was working in the gun department of a regional sporting goods store some years back. I own everything from a $2,799.99 15-60x 52mm Golden Eagle HD to a pair of $1,449.99 6-24x 50mm Viper PSTs to a budget-priced $259.99 4-12x 50mm Crossfire II purchased with the very last of my sales points on my way out the door. All are mounted on varmint rifles that I use hard and regularly and I have never experienced a single problem with any of these scopes after years of intense shooting but if I did, Vortex products carry an unconditional, no-questions-asked, transferable replacement policy.

The Crossfire HD model under discussion here is the 13.9-inch-long,

23.2 ounce, 6-18x 50mm. I chose this model because it seemed an appropriate fit for the Tikka T3x Ace Game,chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, that I was shooting for a LoadData.com project at the time. The Crossfire HD is an upgrade of the popular Crossfire II line, but it still hits a solid budget-friendly price point most blue-collar shooters can easily afford.      

Despite its affordable price tag, the Crossfire HD provides an impressive number of useful features and surprising optical quality. 

Vortex Crossfire HD riflescopes are based on milled-aluminum tubes with a matte-black anodized finish, 30mm in the case of the 6-18x 50mm example tested. They are equipped with a new high-definition optical system that provides enhanced viewing and improved resolution. All lenses are fully multi-coated with an anti-reflective treatment to improve overall light transmission in low-light conditions when game generally moves best. So, while the Crossfire HD 6-18x 50mm includes an MSRP a penny short of $430, the new HD Optical System provides resolution, clarity and color fidelity on par with riflescopes costing two to three times more, even at the highest magnification. 

The Crossfire HD doesn’t include all the bells and whistles of Vortex’s top-tier Razor or Viper series scopes, but they certainly have what is needed for the vast majority of shooting and hunting most of us enjoy. That said, the Crossfire HD is also free of the complexity and weight that come with many higher-priced riflescopes. 

The Crossfire HD includes capped windage and elevation turrets with 1⁄4-MOA clicks, instead of exposed turrets. Again, this isn’t exactly a Greek tragedy for the average American deer hunter. Sight it in, and you’re good to go at 98 percent of the ranges that most of us take big game. That said, uncap those turrets and they provide 15 MOA of movement per full rotation, with 70 MOA of total elevation and windage adjustment available – meaning you could conceivably use them in the same

manner as an exposed system. A top-slotted screw allows for the removal and zeroing of each turret. The erector body includes UP and RIGHT indicators with arrows to guide in making quick corrections.

Shooters willing to invest the time required to fully understand the ballistics of a favorite cartridge and ammunition combination also have an uncluttered Dead-Hold 2A ballistic reticle with MOA subtensions to lean on. Being a second-focal-plane (SFP) scope, you’ll need to twist to maximum magnification to enjoy the full potential of the bullet drop compensating (BDC) reticle and its calibrated hold-over marks. 

The Crossfire HD 6-18x 50mm option includes adjustable reticle illumination, providing six brightness options for full sunshine versus dusk/dawn. Detent off positions are found between each intensity setting to save battery life while also keeping a desired brightness level instantly available. Each click of this system proved positive. Also, on a positive note, the illumination adjustment wheel is sandwiched atop the parallax knob and is prominent enough to allow easy manipulation while wearing gloves. From a negative perspective, it seems a little ungainly on an otherwise streamlined scope. The parallax focuses as close as 10 yards, which would make this scope a viable rimfire option. Parallax, magnification and diopter ring movements were neither too tight nor too loose, though both parallax and magnification numbers seemed a bit tiny for aging eyes.  

The 6-18x 50mm version provides a very generous 3.8 inches of eye relief, and a field of view from 18.7 feet at 100 yards at 6 power, to 6 inches at 18x at the same range. My overall impression is that it includes rock-solid construction free of plastic parts. The Crossfire HD is fogproof, shockproof and waterproof to withstand hard use, a wide range of temperatures and magnum recoil. Provided accessories include a neoprene protective cover, a 3-inch sunshade, a turret tool, a lens cloth and a CR2032 battery.

Like the Vortex scopes I already own, I can find very little to nitpick about with this affordably-priced hunting scope (other than its Chinese origins, which I guess is essentially unavoidable today). The fact that it paired so well with a highly accurate and well-made rifle such as a Tikka T3x Ace Game tells you all you need to know. I never felt I was sacrificing any potential; in fact, it helped that rifle assemble some pretty impressive groups. I could see mounting this scope on a high-end 22 LR, or even on a favorite do-it-all big-game rifle used to collect an annual supply of venison. This is what I have come to expect from Vortex Optics.

Learn more at VortexOptics.com.