Modern hunting with laser rangefinders makes the ability to dial for elevation in the field. Traditionally, exposed turrets were common on tactical style scopes while hunting scopes were lightweight capped-turret affairs. However, the prevalence of laser rangefinders has created a market for hybrid huntin/tactical scopes. Vortex is one of the main players in this regard and their Light Hunter Tactical (LHT) line is their premium option for this role. The Vortex Razor LHT is feature rich, but is it the right scope for your hunting? Read ahead to take a look at the specifications and in the ergonomics section learn how the optic actually works in the field.
Specifications
First off, the Vortex Razor LHT comes with some impressive specifications and features. This particular model is a second focal plane (SFP) optic with magnification from 3-15 power. The LHT line are 30mm tube optics. Contrary to popular belief, the larger tube does not affect low light performance. Instead, it provides a larger range of turret adjustments than a similar 1-inch design. The objective bell is 42mm. Vortex also manufactures a FFP version with 4.5-22 magnification. Personally, I prefer to hunting with optics with a minimum power of four or less so the SFP was a better fit for me.
The LHT has all the bells and whistles for a hunting optic. The elevation is a locking exposed dial with a capped windage. Additionally, the center dot of the reticle illuminates for low light shooting. The reticle is a hybrid tactical/hunting reticle that allows hunters to hold for wind without cluttering the sight picture. Lastly, the elevation turret has a zero stop for a quick return to zero.
Finally, the Vortex Razor LHT manages to stuff all these specifications into a reasonably trim package. The optic weighs in at just a hair over 19oz, which is quite trim for an illuminated exposed turret optic.
Reliability
Despite all the bells and whistles, a riflescope is useless if it doesn’t track and hold zero. Throughout my experience with the Vortex LHT it has tracked and returned to zero perfectly. However, I did have an incident where the rifle fell off of my chest freezer and landed on the concrete directly on the turret. When I checked my zero my elevation was correct but my windage was shooting 0.2 mils to the left. After adjusting the windage back to zero the optic continued to function with no further issues.
Other than that, sighting in is quick and easy. After verifying my velocity, I dialed out to 300 yards and groups were centered less than 0.03 Mils away from anticipated values. The rifle returned to zero as it should after a lot of turret dialing.
For the sake of transparency, I don’t perform drop or torture tests on my scopes. I use them normally, with the accompanying falls and knocks that occur in the field. The rifle and scope ride around in the box of my pickup on gravel roads and 4x4ing. However, I am not dragging them by a rope behind a truck as I don’t think this is a realistic use case.
Glass Quality
Next, optical quality was excellent. This comes as no surprise on an optic retailing for around $1700 CAD. On an overcast day, 7mm diameter holes in the target were visible past 300 yards. To my eyes the clarity was similar to the Tract Toric UHD line of riflescopes. The riflescope focused down to 20 yards as advertised with no issues. Optical quality is typically overvalued in hunting optics and the LHT provides more than enough optical horsepower for practical hunting.
Ergonomics
Turrets
Here we get to the meat and potatoes of the review. One can research the features and specifications of an optic, but what really matters is how the optic performs in real-world use. The locking system on the elevation dial works well and the clicks are adequate. They aren’t as crisp as the Tract Toric UHD or the Vortex Viper PST Gen 2. However, they are better than budget optics and tactile enough there is no risk of miscounting. The windage turret is a little mushy. However, it is also capped so in practice it rarely gets used. Finally, I would prefer that the zero stop stopped at zero instead of half a Mil below.
Image Sizing and Focusing
The fast focus locking eyepiece is fantastic. It is easy to adjust, simple to lock, and holds fast once fixed. Also, the parallax adjustment matches up incredible well with the number on the dial and adjusts smoothly. The magnification ring on the other hand could use some work. I can’t for the life of me puzzle out why Vortex made it so stiff. It is difficult to adjust quickly. For an optic in this price range a throw lever should be included for such a stiff magnification ring.
Illumination
The center dot illumination is clear and really does help in low light. There is no bleeding to other parts of the reticle and the push button is simple and easy to use under pressure. My only complaint with the illumination system is I would have liked a button with an audible click. While it has always turned on, I hate having to look in my optic to know that I pushed the button adequately.
Reticle
Finally, a quirk with SFP optics that have advanced reticles is that the hashmarks are only accurate at one magnification. Like most optics, the LHT is correct at maximum magnification. While I like 15 power for zeroing at the range, it is a bit much for actual hunting. Fortunately, at half of the max magnification, the hashmarks work if you double their value. This means that each half MRAD hashmark is worth 1 MRAD when the scope is at 7.5 power. In my estimation this power is almost perfect for longer shots on big game.
Competitive Options
The market is pretty lean as far as full feature dialable hunting scopes that stay below 20oz. You can get pretty close with some of the smaller Nightforce offerings. The Zeiss V4 is another lightweight option that is only a smidge over 21oz. For true lightweight hunting scopes the Leupold VX-5 is probably the closest comparison. Choosing between these scopes mostly comes down to reticle preferences, and if you’re willing to sacrifice some magnification for Nightforce’s legendary durability.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, the Vortex Razor HD LHT is a premium hunting scope for the hunter who wants to extend his range without sacrificing on weight or features. There is some minor room for improvement on some of the ergonomic details and impact durability. In spite of this, the optic tracks well, has solid execution of its features, and is very lightweight. For bush or stand hunting the LHT is overkill both in features and price. However for the discerning western mountain hunter where every ounce counts and shots can be long and unpredictable, the LHT is a difficult package to beat.