That Vortex Crossfire II 3-12x56 that I liked so much (at first) will not hold zero. It is and will be my very last Vortex scope. Sending it back to Amazon on Monday.

All those loads I was spraying on targets during load work ups made me think the rifle would not shoot well with 4064 or H335. I began to get a glimmer of suspicion that maybe it was the scope, so I swapped it out with a trusted scope and worked up that good load with BL-C(2). Once I had the load, and tested it quite a bit as being very accurate, I swapped scopes again and put the Crossfire back on the AR. Shot a few 3” groups, some high left, some low and right, and some all over. Never Vortex again. Never.....Grrrrrrr...

Now what to buy? No, not a NF.

Same reason I got away from vortex... good customer service but got tired of having problems. Ive had really good luck with athlon great glass for the money imo.

Athlon, Leupold, Hawke, Meopta all offer great options under $500.00

You bought a known POS scope. All lower end vortex lack something and sometimes it’s glass and tracking

Vortex scopes are poo. I do have a some Viper Binos made in Japan that are nice.

Ok, I bought a known POS scope...I have no defense. It met all of my wants. If only it had worked properly. Now...what scope to buy? 30 mm tube, SFP, 12 power or more at max magnification, illuminated reticle and preferably illuminated dot. Let the research begin...

Burris did have a 4-12 ish. FF E1 Illuminated. The dot in it is very similar to the firedot which I really like. I’m not sure if they can be found anymore, they were on close out last year. Worth looking into.

Looks like they were 4.5-14 and are discontinued. No help from me!

Gonna buy a Leupold VX Freedom 4-12x40 CDS with Firedot.

I didn’t know they offered the freedom with the firedot. That’s a good place in the market for them.

Reply to the title of the thread:

No chit.

All I can do is laugh and try another scope. I hated to spend the big bucks on a scope for what’s basically my truck/UTV gun, so I went low end and look where it got me.

I'll never own another Chinese scope from any manufacturer. I've had a Chinese Nikon and Bushnell fail too.

If you need one to hold zero, track if you're dialing, and have decent glass, it's going to cost some money. You know that. And truck/UTV gun means it's going to get knocked around. All the more reason to buy a durable scope. If that's the rifle beside you most of the time, I don't understand why not putting a high quality scope on it.

China bad.

Honestly the Vortex PST 2 3x15x44 would be a good one

Have had 2-3 crossfires and same results. Won’t buy another one.

I bet a 12 pack of DR Pepper that will be a fail as well

How about the Burris Four X 3-12x56mm Long Range - 4 Illuminated on sale for $349.99

Four X
Step into legendary Burris performance with a scope that steps up your game. Our reliable, high-quality glass is glare-ressistant and superbly capable in low light, with a shockproof design that gives you the most for your dollar and more.

Series Features
High grade optical glass provides excellent brightness, clarity and lasting durability
Quality precision-ground lenses are larger than those of comparable scopes, for better light collection
Index-matched, Hi-Lume multicoating aids in lowlight performance and glare reduction, increasing your success rate
Finger-adjustable windage and elevation turrets create a sleek profile; indications always reflect a change in the point of impact for pinpoint accuracy
Simple, rugged reticles have holdovers for precise shots at extended ranges
The long range specialist with precise elevation adjustement for each caliber by 5 ballistic caps.

I seen troubles with all brands of scopes; many expensive. Good luck.

He has a great point and he's a reputable dealer of them too. Call Doug.

After all the research, I decided to try an Athlon 2.5-15 HMR with an illuminated reticle. If it works as well as reviews suggest, it’ll be exactly what I want. I like the lower and upper ranges of magnification.

I still have one Vortex scope, and it’s working fine. I just can’t say if I’ll ever have another one. Their upper end product seems popular and reliable, but at what $ expenditure level does reliability begin? The Crossfire II that failed to perform was $300. Some folks think that’s a lot of money, and others will say that it’s a negligible sum for a scope. Well, what I think is that for $300 a fellow should be able to buy a scope that will function properly. Except for the wandering zero, I really did like that scope. And, just to say it, I am not hard on scopes. If the Crossfire II didn’t work for me, just imagine The short life it would have had in the hands of Fireman.

Next we try the Athlon HMR. Stay tuned. I will tell you what I think.

Same here but I've come to the conclusion that at that magnification rate and price point, you are better off with capped turrets and a good reticle with hold overs. A FFP mil dot would great. Unfortunately, the new trend is dialing so that is what everyone wants, so you get unreliable scopes at the lower price point.

One notable exception to the $300 price is the SWFA Fixed scopes but you are giving up the flexibility of a variable.

Sorry to hear you had an issue...

Hmmm... I have that same scope on my 357 rifle. The groups on that rifle have opened up considerably, which I thought was due to fouling. I do have a burris fullfield sitting on the shelf. Maybe I need to do a scope swap and see if I have a broken piece of junk on that rifle or a not yet broken piece of junk on that rifle...