We Tested Vortex’s New Budget Rifle Scope, The Crossfire HD

Vortex today is releasing an updated version of its popular Crossfire II scopes, a feature-packed entry-level scope line called the Crossfire HD.

These scopes have versatile magnification ranges, extremely useful second-plane reticles, and decent capped turrets tuned to ¼ MOA clicks. They’re also built on 1-inch tubes, include threaded sunshades, some have illuminated reticles, and are covered by Vortex’s legendary lifetime transferable warranty. And they will sell for well under $200.

That price point puts the new Crossfire HD line on par with other brands’ entry-level scopes, including Bushnell’s R3 and Banner lines, Burris’s Fullfield, and Leupold’s VX-Freedom line. I’d argue that, with this year’s introduction of both the Fullfield and the Crossfire HD lines, there’s never been more selection for hunters looking for a quality scope at a fair price.

While Vortex has, or will have, 10 configurations of the Crossfire HD line, ranging from 1-4×24 LPVOs to a sexy 1.5-5.5×32 Scout Rifle scope to straight-wall cartridge models to a big 6-18×50 model.

I field tested a trio of mid-sized scopes this summer and in our Outdoor Life optics test. Here’s a look at a subset of the Vortex Crossfire HD models that will show up on retailers’ shelves starting in just a week or two.

Crossfire HD 2-7×32 with Illuminated Dead-Hold 2A BDC reticle

The kid brother of the new line, this very handy 2-7×32 has a number of attributes that make it an excellent rimfire, plinking, or mid-range deer-rifle scope.

Like its siblings, it’s built on a 1-inch tube, a second-plane reticle, and has capped turrets tuned to ¼ MOA click values. But it has a couple of very useful distinctive features, starting with a 6-step red illumination of the floating center aiming point. The illumination doesn’t get especially bright, but it’s enough to give the eyes a distinctive aiming point on a black or dark target.

The reticle is Vortex’s versatile Dead-Hold 2A BDC reticle, which is designed to align references with the ballistic drop of popular center-fire cartridges at determined distances. What does that mean in reality? For what Vortex calls “Class A” cartridges, including the .30-06, .308, .270, and 6.5 Creedmoor with the center dot zeroed at 100 yards, the top of the center post represents a 205-yard hold, the first hash is a 305-yard hold, the second hash is 410 yards, and the top of the duplex is 515 yards.

Holds for other cartridges are similar, and detailed in the reticle’s map, which ships with the scope.

Shooters can align the ballistic drop of custom loads or for cartridges not listed by Vortex by using Vortex’s Long Range Ballistic Calculator.

The Dead-Hold 2A reticle also has windage references, with hashes extending out to 8 MOA on either side of the center dot that generally conform to holds for 5 and 10 mph right-angle winds.

That’s a lot of utility for a scope that retails for $159.

Other notable features include easily rezeroable turret caps, a grippy magnification dial and fast-focus eyepiece, and directional indexing on the turrets.

There are a few things the China-sourced 2-7×32 Crossfire HD doesn’t have. It doesn’t have a manual focus; its parallax is fixed at 100 yards. It doesn’t have a zero stop, but that’s to be expected at this price point. The turret indexing is maddeningly small and hard to read. And it doesn’t have great glass. It’s adequate, but Vortex clearly settled for okay glass in exchange for useful features.

Those features are smart, useful, and make this little marvel a raging bargain. While it gravitates to rabbit and squirrel rifles, I would have no qualms about using this 2-7 on a straight-wall cartridge carbine or just about any deer rifle for a beginning hunter.

Crossfire HD 3-9×40 with Non-Illuminated Dead-Hold BDC reticle

The mid-sized model in the new line, this one is clearly targeted at deer hunters. Its 40mm objective lens creates a slightly larger exit pupil, and consequently a slightly brighter image, than the 32mm version.

This scope, which retails for $179, doesn’t have either reticle illumination or manual parallax control. In my range testing, I experienced a fair amount of parallax shift with this scope, a condition that probably won’t bother hunters, but may frustrate shooters who are looking for precision out of this otherwise very useful reticle.

Vortex is using its second-plane Dead-Hold BDC MOA reticle in the 3-9. Configured similarly to the 2A version of the Dead-Hold, the MOA version has a standard crosshair with elevation drops that are tuned to the ballistics of standard calibers. With a 100-yard zero, the first hash represents a 200-yard hold for .30-06-class cartridges, the second hash is a 300-yard hold, the third hash a 400-yard hold, and the top of the bottom post a 500-yard hold. Each of those references can be described in MOA. The first hash is 1.5 MOA, second is 4.5 MOA, third is 7.5 MOA, and the final hold is 11 MOA below the zero.

Windage hashes are similar to those in the 2A version of the reticle, described above.

Other features of the 3-9×40 are similar to the 2-7×32, with rezeroable turret caps, a grippy power-changing dial, and 1-inch tube. It shares the same indistinct turret indexing and forgettable glass.

The China-sourced 3-9 is extremely light, tipping the scales at just 17 ounces. That makes it a great companion for lightweight rifles, rimfires, and just about any platform that benefits from a simple, honest, and workmanlike scope.

Crossfire HD 4-12×44 with Illuminated Dead-Hold 2A BDC reticle

This remarkable scope, which retails for an astonishing $169, is to my mind the best representation of the new Crossfire HD line. It has a little bit of everything: a very useful BDC reticle in the second plane, side parallax that riffs from 15 yards to infinity, a 6-step illumination that lights up the floating center dot, plus all the other features of the product line.

The addition of both parallax focus and illumination gives the 4-12×44 a good deal more versatility than its siblings. The illumination makes the center dot pop against dark backgrounds, and the focus gives it a level of precision, whether in rimfire matches or dropping deer at distance, that is hard to find on scopes at this price.

The scope also feels and looks a little more like a grown-up scope, with a 14-inch length (without the sunshade) that provides ample mounting dimensions, and a 21.5-ounce build that gives it a bit of welcome heft.

In terms of use cases, I wouldn’t hesitate to put this scope on any rifle, from a precision rimfire to a hard-recoiling elk rifle.

Final Thoughts on the Vortex Crossfire HD Line

In all, this update of the otherwise very good Crossfire II line is a quantum leap in terms of features and utility. Designers clearly poured a number of very useful hunting-forward attributes in this line, and it’s a mystery to me how they accomplish that at the retail price of these scopes.

I intend to mount the surprisingly nimble 2-7×32 on my everyday .22, and the 4-12×44 will find itself on a 6.5 Creedmoor in the deer woods this fall. As I noted, I’m less fond of that 3-9, but that’s more a matter of my taste than anything dreadful in the scope or its configuration.

With the Crossfire HD line, Vortex has set the bar high for competitors looking to serve beginning hunters and shooters. It’s an important market, though, not only for the sale of single scopes but for bringing in brand devotees who will trade up their good experiences with the Crossfire HD line for more premium Vortex optics as they grow in experience and income.