Trijicon Accupower 1-8 vs Vortex Razor: A 2022 Overview

Trying to decide between a Trijicon and Vortex scope for your rifle?

We’ve got detailed information about the two scopes along with their best uses. One is excellent for hunting or target shooting, while the other is a top tier competitive or high-powered rifle scope.

Let’s start by checking the specs.

Trijicon Accupower 1-8 Vs Vortex Razor

Relevant Specs:
Trijicon Accupower 1-8 Vs Vortex Razor HD Gen II 3-18

Weight: The weight of the scope is crucial as it affects the entire firearm. Lightweight scopes produce less of a strain on the user while traveling. Lightweight rifle scopes also tend to possess fewer features than heavier models.

Magnification: The magnification of a scope helps determine how far a shooter can see through it during regular use. High power scopes generally have a higher magnification than others. When searching for a rifle, the higher magnification requires a more extensive and heavier model but offers a higher potential range and accuracy.

Objective Lens: The objective lens is the foremost lens of the scope. The size of this lens determines the image clarity when looking through the scope. The objective lens determines the scope's usability during low or bright light conditions by finding the exit pupil. The exit pupil should be above 4mm when dividing the lens by magnification for low light.

Tube Diameter: The diameter of the scope tube affects the weight of the accessory. Higher diameter tubes provide better light management while being heavier. When looking to hike long periods with a rifle, smaller diameters are lighter but sacrifice light control. Balance tube diameter along with other specifications.

Field of View: Field of view determines the best use of the scope. A high FOV helps keep track of moving targets, making it useful for hunting. A small FOV allows the shooter to focus on smaller targets for greater accuracy and precision.

Eye Relief: Eye relief is the distance a shooter has to place their eye to see through the scope correctly. An extended eye relief length is better than a shorter one due to the recoil of firearms. Eye relief changes between magnifications of a scope, meaning you need to get closer to the accessory to fire longer distances.

Focal Plane: Focal plane refers to the proportional dimensions of the reticle when zooming in. First focal plane, or FFP, means that the scope’s reticle appears to change size when increasing magnification. FFP makes the reticle appear small when at low magnification but large when at high magnification.

Parallax/Windage/Elevation Adjustment Range: The range of adjustment in terms of parallax, windage, and elevation refers to the distance the scope can be adjusted via the turrets. For parallax, this means changing the distance between the rifle and the target. Windage and elevation adjust in terms of minutes of angles, or MOA.

Parallax/Windage/Elevation Adjustment Resolution: The resolution of a rifle scope is the details available to the shooter when looking through the sight after adjustment. This is a secondary concern, and as such, some scope manufacturers won’t include this information with the product. Typically, if a scope has a high resolution by default, it’ll continue to have it after adjustment.

Illumination Settings/Colors: The illumination settings of a scope determine the lighting one can add to the reticle. The different settings and colors make shooting during low-light conditions easier on the user. Some scopes offer colored illuminations to add more utility.

Reticle Type: There are a variety of types of reticles to be used in scopes. Simple crosshairs can be used for shooting average distances. However, experienced shooters will prefer to use scopes that feature rangefinding and additional capabilities. Rangefinding scopes come in a variety of versions, with the triangle shape being the most prevalent.

Battery Type: The type of battery used by the scopes determines how long the scope can remain in use while draining energy. Some scopes utilize projected sights such as red dots, which rely on the battery to make the scope work. Picking one with a long battery life can be a crucial decision.

Key Differences Between Trijicon Accupower and Vortex Razor

The Trijicon Accupower and Vortex Razor are top-of-the-line quality rifle scopes. The Trijicon Accupower 1-8 versus Vortex Razor is a difficult matchup. The Accupower is a lighter weight than the Vortex but suffers from lower magnification. The Vortex also takes up significantly more space than the Accupower.

The most significant difference between the two sights is the adjustability. The Trijicon Accupower features a massive advantage in terms of adjustability in both windage and elevation. However, it falls short of the Vortex Razor in parallax adjustment due to a fixed parallax.

In the category of field-of-view or FOV, the Accupower holds an advantage in certain situations. A larger FOV means the shooter can track moving targets or scout larger areas when searching for their prey. Conversely, a smaller FOV means the shooter can aim for a smaller target than a larger FOV. The Razor is better on this side for hitting a stationary target without distractions.

When looking through a rifle scope, the larger objective lens will provide a clearer image. The Accupower falls short of this goal due to the smaller size of the lens. With a 50 millimeter lens, the Vortex Razor provides the shooter with a significantly clearer image at long range.

The reticle of a scope helps the shooter fire a clean shot from a longer distance. Depending on the style of the reticle, a shooter will have an easier or harder time hitting the target at long range. In this regard, the EBR-7C reticle allows the shooter to compensate for range, holdover, windage, and moving targets with greater ease.

Advantages of Trijicon Accupower 1-8

• Lightweight build weighing less than 2 pounds
• High adjustability for windage and elevation
• High FOV for moving targets and scouting

Advantages of Vortex Razor

• Low FOV for stationary targets
• Large objective lens provides a clear image
• Rangefinding EBR-7C reticle compensates for external forces

Use Case Comparison: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 Vs Vortex Razor

When choosing a scope, the first question you should ask is always your purpose. A scope well suited for hunting will feature a wide field of vision, while target and competition shooters will feature the opposite. Similarly, the variable ranges that a hunter or competition shooter fires at could require a scope with versatile ranging.

Hunting

When choosing a scope for hunting, you want a simple but versatile scope. In general, the scope should be easy to use and fit your hunting preference. If your hunt requires long hikes, small, lighter models of scopes will be more useful. Conversely, if your hunting involves being stationary and firing at long distances, size and weight can be neglected.

The average hunter won’t be using a scope to hunt from distances farther than 500 yards in a typical case. For these hunters, sustainability is best, as well as control and adjustments. Shooters that have hunted for years know what they like in their firearms.

On the other side of the conversation, long range hunters who fire at distances of 500 yards and longer regularly value clarity. The goal of a long range shooter is to hit their target without being in the same zip code. This style of hunting values higher powered scopes with large lenses and magnification.

Whatever the style of hunting, the scope is the hunter’s best friend. A scope with easy adjustment at a large range works better due to the uncontrollable conditions while hunting.

Competitions

Competition shooting requires adaptability, precision, and clarity. The scope a competition shooter chooses has to reflect these needs. The three factors can be broken down easily based on how a scope applies to them. Besides the previously mentioned, there’s a fourth-factor scope to rely on, reticles.

When referring to a scope’s adaptability, it means how quickly and easily the user can change settings. Turrets set for both windage and elevation are a requirement with ranges of around and over 20 MOA between shots. A scope’s turrets need to be able to adjust quickly and strongly between targets and ranges.

Precise rifle shooting means having a very close firing pattern for each shot. Accomplishing this is a tandem requirement between the rifle, scope, and the marksman. Assuming the rifle and shooter can fire in a perfect pattern, the scope must be able to keep the rifle at zero. This means that it must be able to adjust to changes in windage, elevation, holdover, and other factors.

Reticles and clarity are simple but also extremely necessary to get right. A reticle with rangefinding capabilities combined with a large objective lens makes shooting easiest.

Target Shooting

On average, the same scope that can be used for competition shooting can be used to great lengths in target shooting but may be too much for a casual shooter. Target shooting has much the same qualities to it as shooting competitively. In both cases, you’ll be aiming to hit a target precisely and accurately over variable distances.

To choose a scope for target shooting, first, decide how far you intend to shoot. Long range target shooting should use a high powered scope with a low field of vision. Conversely, short or medium range target shooting can use either a high or low power scope.

Some target shooters will choose to use moving targets. In the case of moving targets, a wide field of vision will serve the task best. Similarly, a lower-powered rifle scope can make hitting these moving targets easier as well.

Because of the variety of targets available, the best scope will be both affordable and versatile. Target shooting is inherently less complex than competition shooting.

High Powered Rifles

Shooting with a high powered rifle is a different experience from the average rifle. These rifles fire farther ranges with higher recoil. This means that special consideration must be taken when dealing with them.

A shooter with a high powered rifle will want a scope with a magnification that can complement the firepower of the weapon. High magnification must be balanced out with eye relief to prevent injury due to recoil.

The high recoil of these rifles puts users in more danger when making use of high power scopes. This is due to high magnification requiring a closer eye relief than usual. It’s important to balance out magnification and eye relief when firing.

Lastly, a shooter should be sure of what they’re aiming at with a high powered rifle. This means being able to see and aim for their target without wasting ammo or endangering others. For this purpose, a large objective lens and rangefinding reticle is the best option.

Final Thoughts: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 Vs Vortex Razor

Hunting: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 | Vortex Razor

Competitions: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 | Vortex Razor

Target Shooting: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 | Vortex Razor

High Powered Rifles: Trijicon Accupower 1-8 | Vortex Razor

When comparing two rifles such as the Trijicon Accupower 1-8 vs Vortex Razor, it all comes down to personal preference. 

Being more resilient and durable, we recommend using the Trijicon in hunting and high caliber applications that may put the Razor out of commission sooner than expected.

The Vortex Razor is an excellent scope though, and it's much cheaper price would make it suitable for range use and competitions where it may get abused quite a bit.

If you're on a budget and the Trijicon is out of reach, that makes the choice obvious!