With the prevalence and affordability of laser rangefinders people are shooting farther than ever before. The ability to range precisely eliminates a lot of the guesswork in longer shots. In order to leverage this information, exposed turret scopes are becoming more popular on hunting rifles. The Vortex Diamondback Tactical is a tactical-style optic for a relatively low price tag.
Diamondback Line
Vortex keeps four series of product lines across all of their products. This is a really helpful system because it lets the consumer get an idea of the relative price and quality of a product without any research. In my experience the Diamondback line is a no frills line that is simple but gets the job done. Since most tactical style optics are expensive high end affairs, I was curious to see if the Diamondback tactical would perform.
Specifications
The Vortex Diamondback Tactical is a first focal plane optic with a 30mm main tube. For those new to the tactical scope market, first focal plane scopes have a reticle that scales with the magnification. The reticle will appear very small when zoomed all the way out and much larger at high magnification. This is beneficial when using the reticle to hold for wind or drop at a variety of distances.
The Diamondback Tactical has 25 MRAD of adjustment, which is 85 MOA for the MOA crowd. Mounted on my Bergara B14 there is 19 MRAD of useable adjustment. This will get a 6.5 Creedmoor out to around 1400 yards. Quite frankly, If you are shooting beyond that you probably will want a higher end optic.
There are a few different configurations but we tested the 4-16 magnification range with a 44mm objective. Parallax is adjustable down to 20 yards. The reticle is the EBR-2C reticle which Vortex uses in a ton of their tactical optics. The reticle is a well designed christmas tree style reticle and I found it very easy to use. The turrets can be reindexed for your rifles zero with a quarter or flathead screwdriver.
Reliability
Like all optics it is important that tactical style optics hold zero. However, in order to be a reliable and effective tool tactical optics also need to track reliably. In order to hit targets at extended range tactical optics need to dial for elevation and then return to zero every time.
During use the Diamondback Tactical was very reliable. The optic was used on a custom Ruger 10/22 in CRPS style precision 22LR competition shooting. This involves engaging targets with a 22 rimfire from 10 to 350 yards. This means tons of dialing for elevation and windage, which the Diamondback Tactical did admirably and consistently.
The Diamondback has also held zero without any issues. Candidly, it has seen the bulk of its use on a 22LR and a 6.5 Creedmoor and hasn’t been subjected to a heavy recoiling cartridge. However, running it on barricades, hunting, and packing it into the mountain have had no effect on its zero.
Glass Quality
Next, the glass quality on the Diamondback Tactical is great for the price point. The scope has shot out to 1030 yards and there were no issues clearly seeing the target. Extra glass quality would make spotting mirage for wind calls at extended range easier. However, the glass quality is clear and mirage can still be spotted if it is a warm day. There is a slight noticeable decrease in image quality at maximum magnification, but nothing significant enough to have a practical effect.
Drawbacks
As we have already covered, the Diamondback Tactical performs where it counts. That said, there are some drawbacks that come with a first focal plane tactical rifle scope at the 500 CAD price point. First of all, the turrets are fairly mushy and don’t index perfectly. There is still enough tactile feedback to count clicks but shooters may find they need to go slightly slower than they would with a higher end optic.
Second, the reticle is very fine on the lowest magnification. This is a common problem with FFP optics because the reticle can become hard to see in low light or against dark targets. A common solution is to have an illuminated reticle, which is something that is not found on the Diamondback Tactical.
Finally, the turret system is very simple. There is no zero stop or zero lock. This means you need to keep an eye on your turrets in the field to make sure they aren’t knocked off of adjustment. On one outing to the mountains I did notice the elevation dial had been knocked a few clicks off while the rifle was strapped to my pack. This was the only time I have had an issue with it, but it is something to be aware of.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, the Vortex Diamondback Tactical offers a ton of value for the money. I have successfully shot out to 400 yards with a 22LR as well as taken it out past 1000 yards on a centerfire. There are very few optics in the 500 CAD price range that have the capability to do so.
There is a lot to like with the Diamondback Tactical. The turrets, parallax, and reticle are simple and easy to use and the optic is very lightweight for the type. Glass quality is very good for the price and first focal plane is almost a neccessity for practical long range shooting. One must keep in mind that it is less than half the price of most optics in this category and as such isn’t as feature rich as its more expensive counterparts. For those willing to give up a few convenience features in order to save some money, the Vortex Diamondback Tactical is a really excellent optic.