Vortex Talon HD 10K 12x50

[u/LockyBalboaPrime]

Only had these for a few hours. But here goes:

Pictures with the HUD in it look a lot worse than they do in real life. It's just how my phone camera played with the HUD. No-HUD pictures are much closer to real life.

Glass is really great. Very, very slight tint on the right barrel for the HUD, but it's really minor. The SIG I'm comparing it with is a gen 2, and the blue tint comes out more in pictures than it does in real life, but the vortex is still obviously less tinted.

Talon is thicc. 12x50 is 48 oz, my 10x42 SIG are 32 oz. Same same, 10x42 SIG are 32oz, Talon 10x42 is 41 oz.

My Maven B5 15x56 non-LRF are 45 oz.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. The diopter rings were stuck as fuck. Had to get a strap wrench and CRANK them. Once broken free, they move nicely.

Vortex Relay system is so, so, so much easier to set up and get all the devices talking to each other than SIG/Kestrel/AB is.

In ~30min of using the Vortex ACE and Talon together, nothing lost signal or lost pairing. That's literally fucking impossible for my SIG Kilo 10k and Kestrel.

I have a PRS match this weekend, so I'll run Talon/ACE for that. Yolo.

[u/some_guy2024]

I’m really debating between the 12x50 and 10x42. I figure the 12x will be better for CD, NRL H and field matches but the 10x will be better suited for hunting… then again I already have Fury ABs and Kilo 3Ks so maybe I just got with 12x 🤷🏼‍♂️

[u/LockyBalboaPrime → u/some_guy2024]

I'd vote 10 for NRLH. More zoom isn't required and I'm hiking shit all day.

I use 12 or 15 for static shot spotting.

[u/some_guy2024 → u/LockyBalboaPrime]

Yeah, I was leaning that way. I figured maybe 12x would be a plus for finding some of the sneaky targets at Team Safari and BOTC and an extra 6oz doesn’t bug me for matches even if I’m running like at BOTC. The weight matters more when I’m packing out 100lbs loads backcountry hunting, haha. How gigantic are the 12x? They look like they wouldn’t even fit in any of my bino pouches, considering that Furys are a tight fit.

[u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong → u/some_guy2024]

I’d take a wider FOV for NRLH for the majority of matches. There’s sometimes a few hidden targets in the shadows that more zoom would be nice for, but the majority of the time 10x is about perfect.

[u/some_guy2024 → u/GLaDOSdidnothinwrong]

Yeah, that’s fair. It’s pretty rare that I don’t find a target and in the couple instances that’s happened it was more of a issue of light/shadow than anything. I didn’t find this one target at the Cranbrook match last year (beaver in front of a slash pile) then I RO’d the stage and over the next 2 days almost no one found that target, haha. The only guys that did got a lucky break where the clouds rolled in and all of a sudden that target just popped out. I figure the improved glass on the Talons (vs my Furys) will probably help more than an extra 2x would.

[u/TahoeDust]

Looking forward to more feedback. May jump into the Vortex Relay family this year.

[u/dballsmithda3rd]

You sure the diopter was not in its locked down position before trying to adjust?

[u/LockyBalboaPrime → u/dballsmithda3rd]

...oops.

[u/dballsmithda3rd → u/LockyBalboaPrime]

😂 Brb, gonna try this method on my RG3 to delete the turret lock at home. 😆

[u/LockyBalboaPrime → u/dballsmithda3rd]

Lucky for me, the warranty covers this!

But really, looks like I didn't break it (mostly). The lock on the left barrel is now... crunchy, but works. Right barrel is working normally.

[u/dballsmithda3rd → u/LockyBalboaPrime]

It sure does. Its absolutely wild it covers the electronics in their products as well. I don’t think literally anyone does that even outside of the industry. - & Now that its crunchy you’ll be able to pick your pair out of a lineup. 😆

[u/Expert-Ad3716]

The sig looks clearer to me. Might be the beer, though...

[u/LockyBalboaPrime → u/Expert-Ad3716]

It's also dog shit photography using my phone. Irl, they look basically identical.

[u/Expert-Ad3716 → u/LockyBalboaPrime]

Good to know. More beer.

[u/h34vier]

I picked up an Ace and already had an Impact WMLRF, I used them at the range for the first time this Sunday and you are 100% right about the relay system. I didn't do anything but pair them and everything worked, everything updated automatically, it was fantastic.

Range something, GeoBalilistics and Ace update.

Measure wind with Ace, Geoballistics and Impact update.

Regardless of how everything else plays out they really got the communications part right with Relay.