What a turn of events!
After ordering the Vortex i found a Mueller on sale and ordered it with plans for putting it on my 17hmr. Then i got to thinking it may work on my 223...
So the Vortex came in and it was ok, but it wasnt as sharp and clear as i was hoping must admit i was a little disappointed... Then the Mueller came in and i was amazed at how much clearer (to me, my wife, and best friend) it was than the Vortex. I was surprised. So i ended up buying some 30mm rings for my Leupold base and put the Mueller on the 223. Took it to the range today and sighted it in. Man its nice. Its the All Purpose Tactical scope. Didnt spend any time at any range over 100 yards but its holding zero quite well!!
The Vortex was not a very "forgiving" scope as far as eye relief and positioning goes. It is the diamondback 4-12x40 without the AO. ive never been a fan of the adjustable objectives. In fact ive said on here its a waste of time fooling with them but this scope needs one. It is horribly out of focus at 100 yds and 12x. My friends Prostaff in 4-12 is great. I assumed all would be. Not the case here. I mounted the Vortex on my 7 mag and i couldnt get the scope to stay put at all. It was bouncing all over the place. (it was grouping with the VX2 i took off in favor of the Vortex)
I pulled it off and gave it to a friend for one of his 22s.
Im not writing off Vortex all together but i will say with confidence i wont own another one over 9x without an AO. and i dont imagine i'll own another model less than a Viper for anything besides the rimfires...