Vortex Razor Red Dot 6 MOA
http://www.vortexoptics.com/
It has been a long time since I have used a non-EO Tech hooded red dot sight. My last go around wasnt a pleasant experience, outside of the non covered emitter, the flimsy hood broke the glass when it was hit off a door frame. It was not a hard hit at all, but it did end up cracking things to the point where it was near impossible to see through it. However, I figured it was time to give a different brand a try which is why I picked up a Vortex Razor Red Dot.
Pro’s
-Reinforced hood
-Removable battery tray
Con’s
-Brightness controls are too close to the glass
-Elevation and windage controls could click a bit stronger
Overview
The first thing I noticed when the Vortex Razor Red Dot was first announced was the removable battery tray. The last hooded red dot I had needed to be removed from the rifle before the battery could be swapped, requiring it to be re-zeroed when it was replaced on the rifle. I got to play around with the Razor during the Toronto Sportsman Show at the Vortex Canada booth a couple of years ago and I was certainly impressed with the build of the unit. They had it mounted on a few blue guns so that you could get the feel for it. I tried it with both a shotgun and a rifle and I was happy with how quickly I was able to pick up the junction box on the wall; however, the pistol took a tiny bit of getting used to as I was not accustomed to such a high point of aim. Because the sight was attached to the slide of the pistol using the Vortex pistol rear sight mount instead of milling the slide out and mounting the red dot to it, the sight sat up a bit higher on the slide. The reasoning for this was that the adapter in the rear dovetailed and then the sight screwed into it. I would recommend for long term use of this setup on a pistol that the slide simply get sent off for machining.
The battery compartment is a really useful feature that has only recently started to appear on mini red dot sights like this. If you have a small enough fingernail then you can grip the tab on the battery tray and pop it out, though it was demonstrated to me that just about anything small enough, works including a knife. The tray is sealed with an O-Ring giving it some moisture proofing as well. The only real downside to the battery tray is that it causes the sight to be a bit taller than the other ones without a tray. So unless you’re looking for the absolute shortest sight for some form of co-witness with your irons, this sight should be good to go. I must also give them props for going with the industry standard of a CR2032 battery in the Razor instead of the CR2354 of the SPARC.
The plastic cover for the sight snaps on and holds relatively firm, every time I have opened my gun bags it has been still attached to the sight. The cover has a spot on the back that will allow it to be attached to the sight by cordage of some sort if you’re really worried about misplacing it. I tried this feature out, but wasn’t a fan of how it flapped around as I was shooting.
The Razor is adjusted for aim by three set screws, the first of which is the locking screw in the back which stops the other ones from adjusting. In theory this should keep your sights on target even with heavy recoil. I haven’t noticed any point of impact shifts from my time using the Razor, so I can only assume this works well. The elevation and windage are both adjusted by the same size screw, both of which have very faint clicks as they adjust the dot. I would have preferred the clicks to be a bit more noticeable, however, unlike a scope these aren’t something you will be fooling around with all the time so I will give it a pass.
My only other real issue with this sight, and almost all of the other ones of its size, is the buttons being so damn close to the glass. I don’t have small fingers which makes it hard to hit the buttons without leaving distracting smudges on the glass. However, the placement does not allow for the accidental pressing of any buttons during operation which was an issue that I had with my Vortex SPARC and its night vision button.
One thing I always worry about when it comes to red dots is the brightness settings. In order to be useful it needs to be able to work well in low light as well as during the brightest part of the day. The Vortex has enough levels to allow for the avoidance of blooms when the sun drops, the reticule remains a crisp dot even when it’s bright out. I picked up the 6 MOA dot model because neither of the guns it was being mounted to were accurate enough to warrant the 3 MOA model, I just needed to be able to pick up the dot quickly.
I have not needed to use the warranty on this sight, but I have no doubt that if I ever had to Vortex would sort it out at mach speed, they consistently have the best warranty department in the business.
Conclusion
This sight has found a home on two of my guns and those of a few of my friends. It has seen well over 1000 rounds of 12 gauge at this point and another 600 rounds of 5.56mm with me. I do like the compact form factor of the Vortex Razor Red Dot quite a bit. It’s currently riding on top of my VZ-58 on the Vortex Low Mount and I am very happy with the way the sight rides on my rifle. I may even get my upper rail milled out to sit it a bit lower if I think I can get it to co-witness with the irons. While the Vortex Razor Red Dot may not be the cheapest with an MSRP of $599 (though you can find it for much lower) it is certainly worth it for its performance, I might even pick up the new model of SPARC to toss on one of my .22’s as well.
