Tag Archives: gen II

Ruger American Gen 2 versus Howa Mini: A Tale of Two ARC’s

July 22, 2026blog6 ARC, 6mm ARC, american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, howa, howa 1500, howa mini, legacy sports internations, m1500, mini action, ruger, ruger americancoldboremiracle

Purpose

As the popularity of the 6mm Advanced Rifle Cartridge (6 ARC) continues to grow, there are more and more firearms chambered in the cartridge. Two popular rifles that carry the 6 ARC chambering (among many others) are the Ruger American and the Howa Mini action rifles. Both are very popular and well built rifles, and today we will be putting the rifles side by side to see how they compare. These are the hard things I do for you, so that you can decide which one better suits your needs. Ruger American Gen 2 versus Howa Mini is a direct comparison of the two rifles, not just as 6 ARC rifles, but as platforms themselves. Both rifles are available in a huge variety of configurations and calibers, but since these two are almost direct comparisons it is a good place to take a look.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, YHM, Turbo 5.56, suppressor, turbo t2, Lucid Optics, MLX, Amend 2, shooting supported from tripod in the mountains, — most of my shooting with the Ruger American has bee using the **Banish Meateater suppressor**

Specifications

Lets start out with a direct comparison of some of the features. The Ruger is a newer design that incorporates many of the newest stylings and manufacturing techniques. While the Howa is a more traditional design, incorporating many of the best features learned from building rifles over the last fifty-years. Despite some of the differences they are still quite similar.

	Ruger American 6ARC	Howa Mini 6ARC
Barrel length	20-inch	20-Inch
Barrel Twist	1:7.7-inches	1:7.5-Inches
Capacity	10-Rounds (factory)	5-Rounds (factory)
Weight	6.5 Lbs	6.6 Lbs
Magazine System	AR-15 Style	Proprietary
Action Type	Three-lug Rotary bolt-action	Two-lug Rotary bolt-action
Extractor Type	Sliding Plate Extractor	M-16 Style Claw
Bolt Construction	One-piece Machined	One-piece Forged
Bolt Knob	5/16-24 interchangeable	Solid
Safety	3-position plus blade safety	3-position
Trigger	Adjustable single stage	Adjustable two-stage
Stock	Configurable Polymer	One-piece Polymer
Bedding System	Power Bedding V-block	Pillar-bedded
Muzzle Device	Radial Muzzle Brake ⅝-24	Thread Protector ⅝-24
Scope Mounting system	Proprietary Rail Included	2-Piece R700 Compatible
Overall Length	41.25-Inches	39.5-Inches
Length of Pull	12-13.75-inches	13.5-Inches
Finish	Cerakote	Matte Bluing

Howa Mini

The Howa Mini is a scaled down version of their popular M1500 short-action, the Mini version made to handle the smallest centerfire cartridge families. Basically cartridges that are made for an AR15 sized action like the .223 Remington, 300Blk, 350 Legend, the 6.5 Grendel and of course the 6 ARC seen here.

The Mini is fed from a proprietary magazine made by Howa, it is a polymer 5-round that hangs out the bottom of the stock. Releasing the magazine is done with a button at the front of the magwell, while capturing the magazine in your palm.

With its two-stage trigger, the Mini gives excellent control for the shooter when breaking the shot. Its three-position safety has a safe, safe load/unload, and a firing position. All this mounted via pillars in the hard molded stock.

Ruger American

The Ruger American also has some scaled down features, but its action remains the same as other short-action Americans. Ruger designed the American to be mass produced, using similar parts for as many models as possible. The magazine well of the stock is interchangeable, meaning you can simply swap it out for a different sized cartridge.

Additionally, the American stock incorporates the Power Bedding V-block system that directly mates with the action. And the stock can be configured depending on the shooter, with a separate removable spacer system to shorten length of pull. You can also order different comb-height spacers to get the best eye position behind the scope.

The American’s Marksman trigger is easily adjustable, and it also has a three-position safety just like the Howa. The difference is the American is tang mounted compared to the Howa’s right side of the tang location.

If you want to go to an aftermarket trigger, Rifle Basics makes one for the MIni and there are several options for the Ruger including a Timney and Jard Triggers.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, magazine, magwell, magazine adaptor, disassembly, — the Ruger uses an **AR15 style 6 ARC magazine**

Using a three-lug bolt on the American shortened the bolt lift for the rifle, making it fast to operate. The Ruger bolt is timed by its bolt-stop that also acts like a key, keeping the bolt stroking inline. As compared to the Mini that uses the bolt lugs against the bolt raceway for timing.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, action and trigger, boltface detail, — here you can see some of the inner workings of the American

The sliding Plate extractor of the Ruger snaps around rims of cartridges, and a plunger style ejector throws them out of the action when the bolt is opened. The M16 claw style extractor of the Mini has more leverage as it bites into the rim, but uses the same plunger style ejector.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, YHM, Turbo 5.56, suppressor, turbo t2, Lucid Optics, MLX, shooting from a tripod in the mountains, — Shooting the Ruger from my **Two Vets carbon fiber tripod**

On The Firing Line

I have shot both of these rifles extensively over the past few years, and both of them serve a great purpose in this caliber. Whether it be for hunting varmints or even lighter big game animals, both of these rifles would be an excellent choice. I have had the Howa Mini longer, so don’t be surprised that I have a little more insight on the rifle.

A fine selection of ammo from **Hornady**

Accuracy

On my first trip to the range with the rifles, I got a fairly similar result from both. I would shoot a couple of the production ammunition options from Hornady. The 105gr Black ammo, the 108gr Match ammo, as well as a few other handloaded options. Neither of them was super impressive with the factory ammunition choices, with the Howa averaging around MOA, and the Ruger as well. But once I switched over to my handloaded 105gr loads, things changed. Both of the rifles quickly tightened up with the new source, shooting well under MOA.

Feeding

Cycling the actions while on a bench at the range, I found out a lot about the magazine systems. The Ruger American uses AR15 magazines, which are metal. And though they feed fine, they are a little more sticky than the polymer lips of the Howa magazine. So both rifles fed without issue, but the Howa had a slightly smoother feel to it.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, YHM, Turbo 5.56, suppressor, turbo t2, Lucid Optics, MLX, bolt manipulation, — the Ruger American wears a **Lucid Optics 4.5-18×44 rifle scope**

Magazines

Conversely, the Howa magazine had its own detriments. For example, they aren’t particularly expensive and it shows. They work great but I’d be afraid that if I stepped on it they would break for sure. I’d love it if they were a bit more robust, and being as they are only five-round magazines, it seems like they should be shorter. Maybe not flush with the stock but at least less obtrusive than they are. Duramag makes a near flush fitting magazine specifically for the American you can see here.

the original setup for the Howa included the **Nikko Sterling scope** and **YHM R9 suppressor**

Triggers

Triggers on both rifles were great considering these rifles prices. I will readily admit that I did adjust both of them a little to improve the feel. But even in their stock configuration they feel fine. I love a good good 2-stage trigger, and the Mini’s 2-stage feels great to me.

If I had to pick, I like it a touch more than the American trigger. I also hate trigger blade safeties, I used to take them off my old Savage rifles back when I had them. Even so, the American trigger is perfectly fine. And after I adjusted it slightly I liked it even more, to the point I completely forgot about the the blade safety.

ruger, sturm ruger, ruger american, american rifle, gen 2, gen II, 6mm ARC, 6 ARC, YHM, Turbo 5.56, suppressor, turbo t2, Lucid Optics, MLX, Amend 2, — the mag release on the Ruger is a little bit of a reach for the trigger finger

Bolt Lift & Stroke

The shorter bolt-lift of the American seems preferable, and yet when doing most of my shooting I hardly noticed the difference. Its almost like you only notice it when you focus on it. This also depends on the rifle scope used with the rifle. If you put a large riflescope on either of these rifles, the shorter lift of the Ruger is less likely to cause occlusions with bolt or fingers when operating it. Whereas on the Howa, the bolt is much closer to the scope because of its longer lift.

howa, howa mini, 6 arc, 6mm arc, shooting prone — the Howa Mini has had the same **US Optics** scope on it for a few years now

Aftermarket

Support from the aftermarket is a big deal these days, and for that topic the Ruger wins. The American rifle has a host of aftermarket supporters making everything from triggers to bolt-knobs and chassis. While the Mini also has some support, it seems less prolific which makes sense. The Ruger American has been around longer, and Ruger is a massive stalwart in the industry. Howa is a lesser known brand, with perhaps a more traditional following that might be less likely to customize their rifle. That is of course changing nowadays.

Report Card

Instead of a typical pros and cons, I am choosing to give these two rifle a grade as compared to the other. To clarify, this report card is a direct comparison between only these two rifles. As they compare to each other, not against anything else which could be a big difference.

	Ruger American 6ARC	Howa Mini 6ARC
Accuracy	A-	A-
Shootability	A-	B+
Reliability	A	A
Ergonomics	A	B+
Value	B+	A-
Production Quality	A-	A-
Finish	A	B
Aftermarket Support	A	B+
Trigger Quality	A-	A
Action feel	B+	B+
Magazine System	B+	B+
Barrel Features	A	B+
Stock Configuration	A	B
Stock Feel	B+	A-
Average Grade	A-	B+

I was actually surprised myself when I looked at the report card between the two. Because I wouldn’t have thought there would be as much disparity even in my own findings. A great deal of the difference comes from the Ruger’s modularity and aftermarket support, which can be very subjective. As I mentioned I have more time with the Mini, and perhaps thats why I like it so much and defend its virtues.

howa, howa mini, 6 arc, 6mm ARC, deer hunting, mule deer, suppressed hunting, woman posing with a mule deer — the Howa Mini has been my wife’s hunting rifle for years now, you can read about it here

My Verdict

As you can tell by now, I like both of these rifles. I suggest that you go with whichever of the two you find more in line with your needs. For some it might just come down to brand preference. Both of them are capable of good accuracy, and both of them can be had in calibers other than 6 ARC as well. I myself suffer from terminal poly-gunism, and therefore cannot bring myself to eliminate a gun from my collection without at least a moderate disliking. Something neither of these rifles inspire in me.

Hopefully I have shed some additional light on these two rifles, enough to allow you to better choose one for yourself. Feel free to drop a comment or question, I’ll be happy to answer them.

-CBM

If you’d like to see both of these rifle reviewed individually, you can see them here:

Howa Mini 6 ARC

Ruger American 6 ARC

Inexpensive or Cheap? The DiscoveryOpt HD GEN II 5-30X56

April 8, 2026Optics, Product review5-30x56, discovery optics, discoveryOpt, gen II, hd, riflescope, scope, scope reviewcoldboremiracle

Preface

Today we are taking another look into riflescopes from DiscoveryOpt Optics. Our topic today is their DiscoveryOpt HD Gen II 5-30X56 Riflescope, not a new scope but it is to me. Having had a good experience with another similar scope from DiscoveryOpt, I was curious to see how this model compared. These optics are manufactured in China, which brings a bit of a double edged argument. On one hand, they are very affordable when compared to better known manufacturers. But they are affordable because they are made in China which some folks might find distasteful at best. I have been impressed at how Chinese made optics have improved even in the short time I have been paying attention to them, so let’s get into this scope and see if its worth your time and consideration.

The DiscoveryOpt HD Gen II 5-30X56 Rifle Scope

My very first impressions of the HD Gen II scope were not unsimilar to the last riflescope I reviewed from DiscoveryOpt. Good packaging accompanied the scope on its arrival, and some included accessories that would be very nice.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, unboxing, accessories,

In addition to the scope itself, I found they had included a set of 34mm scope ring (the rings are available at additional cost) As well as a 56mm sunshade, and some of the little things most scopes come with like lens cloth, tools and stickers. Also were some nice flip caps that look like a clone of the expensive kind from Tenebraex.

Like the last DiscoveryOpt scope I got, this one has some very standout features like very large turrets. They also included a throw lever on the magnification ring which is nice, and it appears to be removable too. I didn’t remove it for reasons I’ll go into later. At 38 ounces, this beast is NOT lightweight. As soon as you lift it from the box you can tell it is heavy, which comes as no surprise when you come to terms with its physical size. These scopes are built big, bigger than the rest I would say. Every other 56mm scope I have easily fits inside the 56mm objective of this scope.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, unboxing, turrets, magnification ring, throw lever,

The large turrets are quite nice, moving 10 MRAD per rotation which I consider the minimum these days. The clicks are both audible and tactile, and the turret is easily zeroed loosening four tension screws around the top. Underneath the turret you will find the zero-stop lock ring. It is also secured by four tension screws that lock it to the hub of the turret. And the ring engages a machined in post on the housing base, it is easily set once the scope has been zeroed to the rifle.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, zero-stop, zero, turret hub, — here you can see the zero-stop lock ring, and the post it stops against

Specifications

Magnification– 5-30X

Focal Plane– FFP(First)

Objective– 56MM

Tube Diameter– 34MM

Iluminated– Red, 6 Brightness Settings

Length– 15.0in(380mm)

Weight– 38.1 oz(1080g)

Click Value– 0.1 MRAD | 0.25 MOA

Turrets Functions– ZERO-STOP

Elevation Adj. Range– 33 MRAD | 116 MOA

Windage Adj. Range– 17 MRAD | 60 MOA

FOV– 25FT(7.6m)~4.0FT(1.2m)/100YDS

Exit Pupil– 9.3-1.9MM

Eye Relief– 3.5 in(9.0cm)-3.4 in(8.6cm)

Parallax– 25-∞ YDS

Recoil Rating– .50 BMG

Fog Proof– Nitrogen Purged

Waterproof– IP67

Battery– CR2032

Inside the scope you will find the MRAD reticle, which uses the popular “Christmas tree” stylings. With great detail that allows you to measure and correct for all kinds of downrange eventualities. The reticle is illuminated using the control stacked on top of the parallax turret on the left side of the scope. Only the center 1-MRAD of the reticle illuminates, which I like, as well as the center dot of the reticle that I prefer. The parallax itself is adjustable down to 25 yards, which is handy for those who intend on using this scope that close.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, scope rings, 34mm, — A closer look at the DiscoveryOpt rings

Mounting and Zeroing

Before I even started mounting the scope, I did find a problem. It’s hard to say whether this damage occured before or during shipment but either way it’s not good. Either the packaging foam isn’t enough for a scope this heavy, or it happened prior to shipment. For full transparency, the box showed no signs of damage.

The damage itself became apparent while trying to thread on the sunshade. After an abnormally long effort to try and thread the sunshade onto the objective, I found that the scope bell had been slightly bent (from impact I assume), this out-of-round-ness made it near impossible to align the sunshade properly and engage the threads.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, damage, objective,

Mainly because I understand that things can happen, and I am hard on equipment, and also because my Saintly Mother didn’t raise any quitters; I chose to correct the issue myself. With a soft plastic hammer, I gave the objective a couple taps back in the right direction against a soft but solid surface. Once the circular geometry was reinstated, I threaded the sunshade on carefully.

I can totally understand why some folks wouldn’t have done this, and would have instead opted to send the scope back for a replacement. I guess I am a little less concerned with cosmetics and such. As long as it works as designed I am ok with making it work. Furthermore, it was quite apparent that the damage was only affecting the shade installation. As the damage didn’t even get close to the objective lens.

After correcting the issue, I decided to mount the scope to a host rifle. For that I chose one of my favorite rifles of all time. A custom Tikka T3 chambered in 25 creedmoor, and paired with a KRG Bravo chassis. You can read more about the rifle itself in the article: Operation Quarterlord.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, KRG, Bravo chassis, tikka, t3x,

The included rings that came with the scope looked perfectly good, with four cap-screws and two screws for the foot. I mounted them to the picatinny rail on the rifle, and settled the scope into place to level it and adjust for eye relief.

With that done, I carefully torqued down all the fasteners, keeping an eye on the level and equal closure.

Zeroing

Later, in the field I zeroed the scope to the rifle by first bore-sighting the scope to get close, followed by making a few adjustments. Using the reticle, I measured the distance between where my first shot impacted and my point of aim. With that correction in mind, I turned the turrets a commensurate amount to bring the point of impact and aimpoint together. I fired a couple additional shots to confirm a good zero.

Shooting in the Field

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, KRG, Bravo chassis, tikka, t3x, tripod, two vets tripod, cole tac, suppressor, suppressed, mountains with snowy background, — shooting supported from the **Two Vets Carbon Fiber tripod**

My first trip into the field with the DiscoveryOpt HD Gen II was a visit to one of my favorite deer hunting spots. A place where this rifle and scope combination would be a perfect tool for taking a Mule deer. Ranges varied from as close as 100-yards, and as far as I dared shoot. I ended up shooting a variety of different scenarios out to around 920-yards.

As is typical for me this time of year, much of my shooting involves small white naturally occurring quarts stones. Contrasting brightly against the wet dark mountain soil as snow melts around it. The wet soil is great for spotting misses, and impacts are clear when the puff of white dust comes from the target, or it is obliterated entirely.

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, krg bravo chassis, tikka t3, 25 creedmoor, shooting supported from bipod across a snowy alpine canyon, — another trip into the mountains, this time sporting the **Banish Buck 30 suppressor**

Shooting different directions and angles gave plenty of opportunity to test this scope out. Dialing different corrections for different ranges, as well as adjusting focus and parallax for the conditions allowed.

Optical Quality

discoveryopt, discoveryopt optics, HD, Gen II, Gen 2, 5-30-x56, riflescope, ffp, long-range, precision, rifle scope, — A Mule deer doe seen through the scope

With big lenses like this, I expected the view to be quite sharp. And while it was certainly serviceable, I found it to have just enough aberration to irritate me. Mainly at the higher power settings like 25x plus, it seemed there was a slight fuzziness of the image. Almost like part of the image was focused and part of it wasn’t.

This phenomenon was only slightly irritating, and it was less noticeable when it wasn’t zoomed in. While I’m sure that scope snobs who are used to high end Japanese and German optics would find it unacceptable, I am less concerned. Mainly because this scope retails for $270, and at that price I think it isn’t as big a deal.

The color and image otherwise seen through the scope are above average at this price point. Like other scopes in this ballpark, it could also do a little better in twilight. But again, using this scope for normal daytime shooting at anything other than maximum power is still fine.

Usability

Using the controls on the HD Gen II were simple and intuitive. The larger turrets are easy to grip, and you can both feel and hear clicks when adjusted. The sweep of the magnification ring is pretty broad since this is a 5-30 power scope. But the added throw lever makes short work of adjusting the zoom.

I did find that the parallax adjustment was a bit touchy. You can focus as close as twenty-five yards, it then goes up to fifty, then one and two hundred. The final increments are 500 and infinity, but there is very little adjustment between even the two-hundred and infinity. This makes the parallax adjustment very short across the range of adjustment where you need it most.

I like the reticle, it has enough subtensions to be very useful without overcrowding the scope making it hard to see. The illumination only lights up the center MRAD, which is a nice touch. A couple other features that are icing on the cake, are the zero-stop, flip caps, and the included scope rings.

Reliability

Testing the values of this scope were easily done with this rifle, and its well known predictability. Measuring the movement of the reticle against the turret values proved to be accurate enough for long-range shooting. Using data from previous engagements gave good accurate hits.

The only thing left to see as far as durability, is how this scope stands up to weather, use and abuse. I intend on giving it a great workout during this spring and summer. So check back later as I will update this story in the future.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Very affordable price point
large objective for good image gathering
10 MRAD Turrets
Zero-stop feature
included accessories (caps, rings, shade, throw lever)

Cons

Heavy construction and bulky size
Very tight parallax adjustment
Optical aberrations (particularly at high power)

My Conclusion

All in all, I think the DiscoveryOpt HD Gen II is a good scope. I have certainly had much worse over the years, and paid more money for them as well. Its truly hard to believe you can get a scope like this for so little. While there are some deterring things about the scope, I think they are comepletly subjective to the end user. For some folks the drawbacks I mentioned might not even be a concern, especially considering the price for this scope. While I do like this model, I think I prefer the other DiscoveryOpt scope I have, its only a little more, and worth it in my opinion.

-CBM

If you are looking for great inexpensive riflescopes, click here to see more.

Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II 1-6 LPVO

February 8, 2026Optics, Product review1-6x24, gen II, lpvo, razor, razor HD, Vortex, vortex opticscoldboremiracle

Introduction

If you’ve followed me for very long, you know I have a soft spot for low power variable optics (LPVO). I use them quite a bit, and have dug deep into the subject many times. Part of the allure for me with great LPVO’s is the ability for rapid close engagement with carbine sized rifles. Without giving up the accuracy these same guns can use at greater distances. So, as I continue my quest to play with all the good LPVO’s out there, I bring you today’s subject; the Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II 1-6 riflescope.

The Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few decades, you know who Vortex O p tics is. The company has become a dominant force in the optics industry, well known for excellent customer service and listening to what shooters want. I guess its fair to say Vortex offers a lot of inexpensive products as well (like I said, they listen to their customers). But in my experience the higher end products like the Razor line are fantastic professional grade optics. So it was with anticipation that I opened the box of the Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6.

vortex optics, razor, 1-6x24, lpvo, riflescope,

As is typical with Vortex products, the scope came in nice packaging and included the typical stickers, manual and tools. Because I had it handy, I decide to mount the scope in a 34mm Primary Arms cantilever scope mount for testing. This would allow proper eye relief on a variety of host rifles.

Specifications

Magnification	1-6x
Objective Lens Diameter	24 mm
Focal Plane	Second Focal Plane
Reticle	VMR-2 (MRAD)
Eye Relief	4.0″
Field of View	115.2′ – 20.5′ @ 100 yds
Turret Style	Capped
Tube Size	30mm
Adjustment Graduation	.2 MRAD
Travel Per Rotation	20 MRAD
Max Elevation Adjustment	43 MRAD
Max Windage Adjustment	43 MRAD
Parallax Setting	100 yds.
Length	10.1″
Weight	21.5 oz

My initial handling of the scope was quick. It wasn’t as heavy as I’d expected, like other Razors I’d handled before. The finish and textures were perfect, so I lifted it to my eye to get that first look. As I expected, the Razor has an immaculate image. Sharp detail and contrast is what makes these Razor HD scopes so desirable.

huxwrx, flow, flow 5.56, flow 7.62, huxwrx safety company, ar15, quattro, vortex razor, razor hd, razor 1-6,

Controls

A cursory investigation of the controls felt good, the power ring being easy to adjust quickly between one and six-power. I was slightly surprised that Vortex hadn’t incorporated a throw lever attachment, but they do offer an attachable Switchview throw -lever you can add. The illumination control is also a little fancier than others. The rheostat knob must be pulled out slightly to allow it to turn and ignite the reticle inside. Pulling the knob out also exposes the white background of numeration labels for various power settings.

Vortex optics, razor HD, 1-6, vortex razor, illumination, illuminated reticle, desert tech, MDRX, WLVRN,

The 20 MRAD turrets certainly give plenty of travel should you choose to use them such. Inside the scope, the second focal plane VMR-2 reticle gives some fairly course MRAD subtensions. This is fine in my opinion as it gives you all you’ll likely need for the effective range of a carbine. Whole MRAD marks are shown with only the very center of the reticle illuminated, and the marks are accurate when used at the full six-power.

Vortex optics, razor HD, 1-6, vortex razor, reticle, illumination, VMR-2, vmr2 reticle, — as always, images through the scope are far better than pictures can show

Shooting with the Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6

For testing purposes, I used the Razor HD on two different carbines. The first one is my OG Desert Tech MDRX chambered in 308 Winchester, and the other is an AR15 I put together using various parts (read about that here). The Razor made an excellent scope choice for both of these rifles, as they are both accurate enough to take advantage of the scopes range. Shooting these two rifles both on and off the range would give a good feel for how well the Razor HD is for engaging different targets.

Vortex optics, razor HD, 1-6, vortex razor, eye protection, glasses, eye pro, desert tech, MDRX, WLVRN, Huxwrx, flow, 7.62,

It was quick to zero the Razor HD using the turrets for a perfect zero at about 75 yards. From there we switched it up, shooting various different targets at differing ranges.

Optical Clarity

As I mentioned, the Razor HD lenses offer a fantastic viewing experience. Both in the open country of the mountains and on the range I found the image to be above average quality. At 1X the Razor gave a broad field of view, making it very fast for moving between close targets. And zoomed in to 6X it gave more than adequate presentation for making sharp shots at distances well beyond six-hundred yards.

huxwrx, flow, flow 5.56, flow 7.62, huxwrx safety company, ar15, quattro, vortex razor, — my **Quattro-15** AR with the Razor and **Huxwrx Flow 5.56**

The parallax adjustment allowed excellent focus of the reticle against targets, leaving me with a sharp holdover for distance. And the bright dot in the center was fantastic for use like a red dot at low power.

Mechanical Function

I definitely need to get the throw lever for this scope, as I want something to grab onto to switch magnification. I do like the level of resistance on the mag-ring, it is frustrating when they are too stiff to turn quickly. The locking function of the illumination is great to prevent accidental rotation of the knob. Nothing worse than turning on your reticle only to find a dead battery. It’s also easy to keep it in the off-position between two brightness settings so you don’t have to search for the one you want.

The turrets on the Razor HD are capped which makes it easy to not worry about them while maneuvering. Underneath the caps the low-profile turrets are easy to turn with just fingers, and their audible click of .2 MRAD can be both felt and heard. I am used to .1 MRAD clicks, but for a scope like this I get why they went with .2. The courser scale is fast to make adjustments, and scopes like this are less likely to be used in a precision shooting scenario. Where a 1/4 of an inch on target one way or another is not a big deal.

Durability

Vortex Razors have a pretty good history of standing up to abuse, much more abuse in fact than I like to give. I love packing my guns all over these mountains, where the worst abuse they usually get is lots of turret twisting. But a scope like this one I am far less likely to adjust the turrets often. Far more likely it will get slung and rubbed against a pack while hiking, maybe smacked on a rock in a hasty pursuit. I have every confidence this scope is prepared for far harsher abuse than what myself or typical gun owners will sustain. And the famous warranty that Vortex owners love to to tout, is always there for you. A warranty that likely had a large influence on the entire industry to follow.

Pros and Cons

As long as you have the understanding of the scope’s application, I don’t think theres anything wrong with this scope. Or at least anything you can knit-pick on it. I like FFP scopes, but I totally get why this one isn’t, and it works just the way it is.

It has an excellent optical quality, robust construction with great features. There is very little about this scope I would change but for personal preferences and reticle details. All these features do come at some cost however, as none of the Razors come cheap. With a current street price around $1300, the Razor is roughly double many other good LPVO options. I only bring this up because I have several other 1-6 scopes that I quite like that are significantly less.

Vortex optics, razor HD, 1-6, vortex razor, illumination, illuminated reticle, desert tech, MDRX, WLVRN, Huxwrx, flow 7.62, — My Desert Tech MDRX with the Razor and the **Huxwrx Flow 7.62 suppressor**

Final Verdict

I have never picked up a Vortex Razor and thought “this won’t do”. On the contrary I feel like every Vortex Razor I’ve ever used has been great, and at best all I could complain about was a reticle option or cursed MOA turrets or something like that. The Vortex Razor HD 1-6 is another great option for those looking for a quality LPVO. If you are considering dropping some serious money on an LPVO, make sure to at least look at one of these.