Vortex Golden Eagle

[sandsgunshop]

Good morning friends,

So as a little background for the question at hand - I'm trying to get into long range shooting, and if I get good at it I would like to one day enter into competitions. If I don't, it would still be fun to just get better at the skill of long range precision shooting.

I saw this scope from Vortex, with HD glass and a variable 15-60x magnification and I thought this is the most bada$$ thing I've ever seen! I'm a big Vortex fan as well so this scope is totally winning my heart. I have yet to see one in person, and reviews on YouTube are pretty much non-existent. The price is not really too much of a factor as I consider this an investment and I get a hefty military discount from them.

I don't know much about the intricacies of scopes and I know there's a lot to it that I'm going to learn as I use them. Just wondering if anyone had some information they wouldn't mind sharing with me before I end up buying it.

Here is the link to the scope itself: Vortex Optics - Golden Eagle HD 15-60x52 ECR-1 MOA

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[erslll]

My first concern with it is the limited reticle travel. 55 MOA is not very much elevation. The other concern is the higher magnification useable.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

x60???!! holy crap! its like having a spotting scope mounted on your rifle

 

[KeepnitReel]

Won't matter to much if you zero it in at 500 plus yards, add a 20 MOA base and your ready to go. Too bad no MIL, hard to go back to MOA when the MIL scale is so much easier to calculate.

My first concern with it is the limited reticle travel. 55 MOA is not very much elevation. The other concern is the higher magnification useable.

 

[Otter]

Go look on Accurate Shooter. Lots of reviews on that website, and most of them are positive. There are a few complaints about mushy turrets and some comments about critical eye box, but overall very positive.

I was considering one but after I looked through one at Sportsman Warehouse, I purchased the Sightron SIII 10-50X. Biggest reason was the GE is $1,500 and the Sightron was $900. I liked the GE ECR-1 reticle though, but didn't feel the scope offered any advantage over the Sightron for the extra $600.

 

[sandsgunshop]

Thank you! I would be buying it new from Vortex for about $1140 if I did get it. I've just never spent that much on an optic before probably mostly because I don't know much about them (I'm more of an AR guy, so I red dot it up haha). I really appreciate everyone's input and please keep it coming. I like reading the different opinions and reasons that I may have never thought about

 

[Otter]

Seems like there is a Sportsman Warehouse in Roseburg if I remember right. You should call and see if they have one in stock. I really suggest you look at this big of a scope in person before you buy one. They are huge. The turrets are as big as a shot glass. They look bad bubblegum and the tactical turrets are very cool looking, but unless you have a heavy rifle, a scope that big makes a very top heavy rifle. In my opinion they are only useful on a gun that will be shot off a heavy duty bi-pod or a rest of some sort.

If you can get one for that price, that is awesome. You could sell it used for more if you decided you don't like it. Use rings that don't mark it up like the Burris rings with inserts and resell value will remain high. Right now those scopes are in big time demand, new and used.

A lot of people wonder why the heck you would get a scope of such high magnification, and I wondered that too. But I now have two Sightron 8-32x scopes, a Sightron 10-50x scope and a NightForce 15-55x. For target shooting and long distance shooting at sage rats, those high magnifications are a welcome addition.

 

[Dan Adams]

I've narrowed my new long range scope down quite a bit. Looking for one under $2K, as some competition rules for newbies like me limit the MSRP of the rifle and scope to be under $2K each. (Using the MSRP means that I can't buy a used scope at a price less than $2K and use it legally in competition.) The Golden Eagle looked great until I saw the 55 MOA vertical limit. ... I wish Nightforce would reduce the MSRP of the NXS 8-32x56mm scope. It's currently $2125....

 

[Mygrainman]

If you are new to long range shooting and want some good info... check out this series of videos.. they cover everything from mounting, sighting in, how to use your reticle, mils vs moa, and techniques. I found it super helpful myself.
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLflj6x1a7no4xpgIssVNxm_dLak3HJpZq

 

[Dan Adams]

Thank you! Replies like that are why I support NWFA!

Truth be told, I've read, watched and absorbed about all I can handle about long range shooting. I did a fair amount of what was considered long range shooting some 50 years ago, terrorizing marmot towns in eastern Oregon. I've been shooting my Ruger Precision for a bit over a year now, and have come to realize my eyes could use a little extra reach when going beyond 500 yards. I have a Nightforce SHV 4-16x56 which works very well on my RPR .308. My comment about the Golden Eagle's limited elevation adjustment has more to do with the .308's ballistics, because sometimes 55 MOA, even on a 20 MOA rail, just wouldn't allow enough range to dial-in truly long shots.