If you’ve always wanted a Vortex Razor, now might be your chance to have one.
The Razor HD LHT series can now be found as a scope under $1000.
The LHT stands for Light Hunter Tactical, and it’s in every way a scope best for deer hunting with some tactical flair and is deceivingly lightweight.
Vortex says it’s a scope to rule them all.
With multiple features, Razor HD glass, and Vortex quality, it might just be the one scope to rule them all.
Quick Overview...
What We Like: Excellent glass
What We Don’t Like: Push button illumination
Best Uses: Big Game Hunting, Small Game Hunting, Varmint Hunting, Target Shooting, Scouting, Tactical Use, Close to Long-Range, Light to Heavy Caliber Rifles, Parallax Adjustments, Illuminated Reticle
- Magnification: 3-15x
- Objective Diameter: 42mm
- Coatings: FMC
- FOV: 35.3-7 ft/100 yds
- Eye Relief: 3.8”
- Adjustments: ¼ MOA
- Dimensions: 13.3”/19.1 oz
Our Verdict: Vortex is a favorite brand not because we’re biased, but because they have proven products that perform. While the Razor series of scopes are high-end and expensive, they’ve always been worth it. The Razor HD LHT series encompasses every high-end feature you need from a long-range, hunting, and low-light scope.
Who is the Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15X42 Best Suited to?
Hunters. The Razor HD LHT is a scope made for deer hunting, and while it really shines out in the open fields, it’s still lightweight and low-powered enough to get away with using it for treestand hunts and in dense forest.
If you’re considering looking into long-range scopes, the Razor is up to the task. If you’re looking to get to 1000 yards plus some on man-size targets, you have some turret work cut out for you, and with the HSR-5i reticle, you may just impress yourself when you hear bullet hit steel.
How Does the Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15X42 Perform?
When you’re paying for top dollar scopes from Vortex, expectations tend to be high. True to form, Vortex doesn’t disappoint, and the Razor HD LHT will meet and likely exceed your expectations.
Like many long-range scopes that tout about being long-range scopes, this Razor really provides long-range performance. It has a broad magnification range that is ideal for Western and open-plain hunting and has the add-on features that are needed to make far-off shots.
A side focus comes in for acquiring sharp views regardless of the distance and to correct for parallax if that becomes an issue. It also has a very clean, accurate, and proven to track reticle that has an illuminated center dot, referenced hashmarks along both the windage and elevation crosshairs, and 32 MOA of bullet drop.
To provide all of this and still only hit a 13.3” length and 19.1 oz weight with a 30 mm tube is impressive. It’s short enough to mount close and maintain your cheekweld throughout the power range and light enough to take scouting and hike the mountain tops.
The Razor HD LHT scope is said to be a scope to rule them all. Its performance proves this statement right.
Features & Benefits
Excellent Glass
As is expected of Vortex, the glass is excellent. For a scope that costs about a grand, you mustn’t expect anything but the best and they sure do deliver. The 3-15x42 model provides a good balance between size and heft, and with that comes affordability and the extra perks expected with the optical system.
The glass has seen everything Vortex can deliver starting with their XR Plus FMC coatings to provide ultimate light transmission and anti-reflective glare properties. It also has Vortex’s HD Optical System that includes extra glass elements. While not identified, we suspect it’s ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) glass that eliminates chromatic aberration, improves edge-to-edge sharpness and resolution, and provides excellent color fidelity.
Impressively, the glass treatment doesn’t end there. You also have the APO System and Optically Indexed Lenses which gives your scope that ultra high-end glass quality. Image quality does not degrade over the magnification range and sharpness remains consistent from edge to edge of the FOV.
Long-Range
The Razor HD LHT may not be first to come to mind when thinking of long-range shooting, but it is a legitimate scope that can get it done. You have short-range and practical shooting scenarios with lower power, but you also have extreme magnification for getting extra sight at distance.
Not only that but the 30mm tube allows for huge 80 MOA travel in both elevation and windage. Hitting distance with your favorite long-range caliber is now at the top of your hobby list.
If you’re out for Western mule deer, you’ll know you need a broad magnification range that the Razor HD LHT certainly has. But you also have the ability to dial in for precision for those long-range deer situations you may often find yourself in.
Scope Features
The Razor HD LHT is packed to the brim with all sorts of awesome scope features. For a scope at its price point, it’s excellent to see that it has large turrets with the perks.
The windage turret is capped while the elevation turret is exposed and ready to work. Often times, when the windage turret is capped, so is the elevation turret. Especially important with exposed turrets is having the ability to lock them. Vortex has installed a patent pending locking mechanism (push/pull) for the elevation turret – accuracy guaranteed, and confidence covered.
The elevation turret also has the RevStop Zero System for a fast, convenient, and rock-solid return to your zero.
To keep the scope working through the harshest conditions and abuses, the exterior lens is treated with ArmorTek for dust, oil, and scratch-free protection. It’s waterproof with O-ring seals, shockproof and recoilproof, and fog-proof with Argon gas instead of Nitrogen to prevent internal condensation.
HSR-5i Reticle
The HSR-5i reticle is available in MOA and MRAD which provides buyers with options. It provides the most important features of a reticle in a clean but precise and effective layout.
It’s in the second focal plane (SFP) which many hunters prefer, but it does mean having to be at max power to make accurate holdovers, ranging, etc. There is no option yet for an FFP Razor HD LHT, but with the center dot at a size of .35 MOA, it fits with the SFP needs for many types of shooting scenarios.
The center dot is illuminated which is perfect for a fast aiming point that draws your eye to the center and is especially appreciated in low-light conditions. Remind you of a red dot, anyone? The elevation crosshair has 32 MOA in 2 MOA increments while the windage crosshair has 13 MOA on each side of the center dot.
Limitations
It’s hard to find a flaw with the Razor HD LHT, and other than the fact that there isn’t an FFP model, we’re going to pick on the new push button style for reticle illumination.
It’s not so much that the new design is bad as it does cut some weight off the entire scope, but it’s just different. It may take some getting used to as a turret dial is simplistic and almost second nature for most users. The button will require you to push it each time to cycle through 10 brightness settings and requires a 4-second hold to turn off. Again, not bad, just different.
Popular Questions
This is a coupon good for use with Kenton Industries to acquire a customized elevation turret that matches the ballistics of your chosen caliber. Apparently, this was a demand Vortex buyers wanted to see and kudos to Vortex for delivering it.
The Razor HD LHT 3-15x42 scope comes with lens covers, sunshade, lens cloth, CR2032 battery, and a coupon for a custom ballistic turret from Kenton Industries.
The Vortex Razor HD LHT (Light Hunter Tactical) rifle scope is made in Japan. It’s covered by the Vortex VIP Lifetime Warranty.
The Vortex Razor HD LHT comes with a zero stop ring dubbed the RevStop Zero System. Once you have your zero, remove the turret knob and center screw. Install the zero stop ring until it secures firmly in place. Rotate the zero stop ring clockwise until it comes to a stop. Replace the turret and line the 0 with the dot on the scope body. Reinstall the center screw.
Conclusion
The Razor HD LHT lives up to Razor standards of quality and performance. While extremely versatile, it’s a deer hunting performer in all conditions and for many hunting styles.
The quality of the rifle scope far exceeds that of its price point. With extra features, a customizable turret coupon, and a 42mm aperture and 30mm tube in a lightweight platform, it’s a scope that’s made to outperform its competition.
It’s fair enough to say that this Razor HD LHT is a scope that can rule them all.
Further Reading
