The optics of today are significantly better than those of twenty years ago. Long range shooters now have value priced options with all of the features of more expensive optics. The Vortex Venom line is full of value priced optics that don’t sacrifice on their feature sets. After being impressed by the Vortex Venom 1-6×24 I picked up a Venom 5-25×56 for review.
Specifications
First off, the Venom 5-25 is a large optic. The 34mm tube allows for more travel than smaller optics, and the objective lens is 56mm. This leads to a relatively heavy optic at 35oz. However, for the long range shooting this riflescope is designed for, more weight is typically a benefit, not a drawback.
The Venom has 10 MIL per rotation turrets and the elevation turret has a zero stop. Unlike the Vortex PST Gen II, the Venom’s zero stop is simple and easy to set. The zero stop allows you to dial 0.5 MIL under your 0, which isn’t my preference but also is not a deal-breaker. The 10 MIL per rotation turrets are quick and easy to use, especially because I tested this scope on a rimfire PRS rig where dialing over 10 MILS is common.
The reticle is the EBR-7C that Vortex includes in their premium full-size tactical scopes. The EBR-7C is an excellent reticle with the ability to hold half MILS on the bottom of the crosshairs and 0.2 MIL increments on the top half. The reticle is not illuminated which makes the FFP Christmas tree reticle difficult to use at minimum power in low light.
First Impressions and Field Use
When I first unboxed the optic I was impressed with the number of accessories that Vortex had included. There was a throw lever, a turret adjustment tool, and a lens cloth all included. Candidly, the turret clicks aren’t super positive. However, they are tactile enough that you can count them without looking at the turret. Additionally, the dials were well dampened and the numbers on the parallax knob were reasonably close to their corresponding distances.
Frankly, a 35oz optic is simply too heavy for most hunting applications that I do. To test this optic I put it on my NRL 22 rifle. This gave me the opportunity to see how it handled being knocked around on props and driven long distances from match to match. Additionally, rimfire PRS involves a ton of dialing to test repeatability.
Taking this optic to several matches really helped to test its capabilities. Dialing was very repeatable with no loss of zero over hundreds of MILS dialed. Glass quality was sufficient to see mirage downrange, locate shot out targets against muted backgrounds, and spot misses. Spotting misses can be a challenge with a long range 22lr as they don’t throw very much splash on misses. Unsurprisingly, after comparing side by side with an NF NX8 4-32 and a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18, the Vortex Venom 5-25 does not have the colour contrast or clarity of those higher dollar optics. This is to be expected as you can buy four Venom 5-25s for the cost of an NX8. However, the glass in the Vortex Venom 5-25 outperformed the Athlon Talos 10×42 by a significant margin.
Philosophy of Use
This raises the question, who is this optic good for? Naturally, there are a few use cases where this optic will shine. First of all, the Venom 5-25 makes for a solid competition scope for rimfire PRS. Because these rimfire matches only go out to 300 yards or so, the glass is not a significant detriment.
Another appropriate use for the Vortex Venom 5-25×56 is for casual long range shooting. Perhaps competition is not your thing, but you enjoy shooting out to 800-1000 yards on the weekend. The Venom 5-25×56 is perfectly capable of making those shots.
Finally, for a ground blind hunter targeting open fields where there is decent lighting and long shots are possible, the Venom 5-25×56 is a good fit. The 56mm objective gathers light well, and if shots are far enough that shooting on 7-10 power is appropriate, the lack of illumination is a non-issue. Also, these open clearings tend to be better lit than the dense timber.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, the Vortex Venom 5-25×56 is a solid budget long range riflescope with no glaring issues. Notably, the Venom pairs a useful magnification range, a great reticle, and ‘good enough’ glass in an affordable package. The weight and lack of illumination rule this out as a backpack hunting rifle for me; It is at home on the range. A ground blind hunter, casual long range shooter, or rimfire PRS competitor will find the Venom 5-25×56 is a high value option as long as weight is not a chief concern.