The Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 costs less than $200, making it one of the most affordable long range rifle scopes on the market.
But is it any good?
By the end of this Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 review, you’ll know if this rifle scope is for you and more.
Let’s get started!
| Features | Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 |
|---|---|
| Brand | Vortex |
| Color | Black |
| Eye Relief | 3.4 inches |
| Magnification Range | 4-12x |
| Reticle Type | Dead Hold BDC reticle |
| Reticle Illumination | No |
| Weight | 1.4 pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.1 x 9.1 x 9.1 inches |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 42mm |
Here’s my Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 Review
I bought the Vortex Diamondback back in 2019 and it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I started using this rifle scope for all my shootings.
In fact, I recently came back from a deer hunting trip with the Diamondback on top of my rifle.
How has it held up?
Short answer: spot on. Long answer, keep on reading…
Glass Clarity & Reticle
I love hunting deer, coyotes and sheep.
So I need a good glass. I have tried a lot of rifle scopes in different price ranges and categories from the Leupold Rifleman 4-12×40 to the Vortex Viper HS 4-16×50. And I have to say, the Diamondback is a clear winner for me for its price tier.
The clarity is really good with a crisp image, even from wide range magnification.
Even from close range it’s not bad at all and it has a nice crisp image with nice colors and good clarity to last through any condition. The glass is also very clear and of high quality. In fact, I don’t have much difficulty getting the best shot my eyes can give me with this rifle scope.
This vortex scope uses a dead hold BDC reticle which automatically calculates wind drift and range estimation for you.
Eye Relief & Eye Box
On top of the high quality glass, the eye relief is also quite good (around 3.4 inches).
And the eye box is fairly large. I can use my left eye to get a better view, which is to say the field of view is quite wide.
Durability
Given the quality of glass and fairly large eye box, the Vortex Diamondback is quite durable.
I used to use this rifle scope on my AR15 rifle, but I recently switched to another model for my hunting rifle.
And I still keep the same Diamondback on my hunting rifle. Why? Because it’s very durable and can take any kind of condition. It doesn’t get hot or foggy at all even after continuous use of 3 hours per day for a whole week, just like the Crossfire.
Speaking of which, I wrote an in-depth comparison between the Vortex Crossfire and Diamondback.
It weighs around 1.4 pounds, making it not too big nor too small, just perfect really.
Elevation & Windage Knobs
The elevation and windage knobs are quite quick to adjust.
They are easy to turn with the finger, even for those who have big hands or have had hand issues.
The clicks are also crisp with no up or down play which some other rifle scopes have had problems with.
The elevation knob counts up to 100 MOA adjustment, which is nice for long range shooting.
And the windage knob counts 64 MOA adjustment at 90 degrees on the vertical axis. They also make very fine adjustments! The diamondback has 10+ markings on both of its axis, so you can do more detailed adjustments on each click if you need to.
Parallax & Magnification
The parallax is also quite good for this price range.
At 10x, the image is reasonably clear and crisp enough to handle fine work such as spotting coyotes or evaluating your target. There’s still plenty of room for dialing in for improved ridges and shadows.
But overall, it’s pretty darn good. With 4-12x magnification, you’ll be able to hit short-to-long range targets.
If you need a red dot for short to medium range shooting, I recommend the Vortex Sparc 2 and Strikefire 2.
Mounting & Rings
It’s very easy to mount the Diamondback on your rifle. It has a 1 inch tube which makes it compatible with almost every rifle scope ring out there easily.
In fact, I have it mounted on my bolt action rifle using 1 inch Medium Vortex Optics Hunter Rifle scope Rings.
I also bought a Tactical Rifle Bipod that costs less than $30 and after putting over 200 rounds through it, it has held up just fine.
- Coming with Picatinny adapter, the bipod can be quickly attached or detached by using the swivel stud.
- Adjustable leg length (5 settings) with return Springs, you could adjust the length to meet different needs when hunting.
- Made of hardened steel and aluminum, non-rust black anodized finish, the bipod is duty and light weight.
Price
The Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 costs around $200, making it one of the most affordable and budget-friendly long range scopes on the market.
- The Diamondback 4-12x40 riflescope is one of multiple configurations in the Diamondback lineup and is ideal for big game, predator/varmint, muzzleloader, slug shotgun, and long range applications....
- Dead-Hold BDC reticle is good for any hunting or shooting at varying ranges where estimating hold-over would be a concern
- Lenses are fully multi-coated for crystal clear, bright images from dawn till dusk The fast focus eyepiece allows for quick and easy reticle focusing
Is the Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 for you?
Vortex is one of the best optic companies that manufacture some of the most reliable optics on the market.
And the Diamondback is no exception. If you’re on a tight budget or looking for a starter hunting rifle scope, I highly recommend getting the Vortex Diamondback.
It has pretty clear glass throughout all magnifications, good clarity and color, and fine adjustment knobs.
I’ve used this rifle scope several times on my deer and elk hunting trips, and it has never let me down. Give it a shot, I’m sure you’ll like it.
- The Diamondback 4-12x40 riflescope is one of multiple configurations in the Diamondback lineup and is ideal for big game, predator/varmint, muzzleloader, slug shotgun, and long range applications....
- Dead-Hold BDC reticle is good for any hunting or shooting at varying ranges where estimating hold-over would be a concern
- Lenses are fully multi-coated for crystal clear, bright images from dawn till dusk The fast focus eyepiece allows for quick and easy reticle focusing
Now It’s Your Turn
I hope you enjoyed my Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 review.
Now I want to turn it over to you:
What do you think about the Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 rifle scope? Or perhaps you already bought it and would like to share your thoughts.
Either way, let me know by leaving a quick comment down below. Also, check out my comparison review of the Vortex Sparc and Sparc II.
I bought a 3.5-10X50 diamondback wouldn’t zero I sent it back the replacement scope went bad after over a year went to a Burris fullfield IV cross hairs wouldn’t track I even took the rifle to a sporting goods store they worked for over a hour trying to get the cross hairs to move I was told by Burris I needed their scope rings the scope went into the dumpster they lost a scope ring and rifle scope customer I’m going to purchase the diamondback 4-12X40
I did purchase the Vortex Diamondback
4-12X40 I’m very pleased with this rifle scope
I haven’t shot the rifle sence I sighted the rifle in at 100 yards
I have two Vortex Diamondback 4-12×40 scopes and I can say I like the weight, the clarity, the ease of use for the money. The scope is easy to use, adjust, turrets are decent for the price range but the eye relief is horrible. perhaps on a small caliber rifle its not a big deal but on a .30 caliber the eye relief is not very good. I have numerous Burris scopes and I must say the glass on them is better, eye relief easily better, price is relatively the same but the Burris typically weigh a little bit more. They are built like a tank with as good a warranty.
I shot tasco scopes growing up never a problem change to a Simmons aetec after an accident broke a turret off Bushnell had since bought Simmons they replaced at no charge with a China made Aetec it worked fine for a few years then went south I’ve we moved to nikon for lots of yrs they stopped rifle scopes so now I’m all vortex viper 2.5-10-44 perfectly great for now not one trouble all does as it should
I bought this product for my AR15. I am a blackbelt, demi-god, ninja class, pretend sniper of highest hubris and rank. I normally shoot 0.0000001” groups at 500,000,000,000 yards, under water with my AR15 while doing no handed pushups. I reload, and I use top secret sniper powder and infinitely dense bullets that were spun, not cast in a black hole just prior to Hawking radiation emission. My muzzle velocities are 4.3C or 4.3 times the speed of light. I am far cooler than any paltry mortal reading this article and far more skilled at both entropy and hubris. I am an AR15 expert of highest degree.
Prior to buying this scope, my stock scope from pretend demi-god sniper school had an objective of 3.6 meter (3600mm) OD and a tube diameter of 1.2 meters (1200mm). It balanced well though, because I have 95” pythons and I’m just so damned cool. You may have heard my stories on how I tune my trigger to a 0.000001 pound break so as not to compromise my accuracy. You may further have heard my stories on my groups and never seen them. I’m sorry, I can’t show you any prints as they are classified as double cosmic top secret. I do have some redacted ones that I can show you, but I will show them so fast it will be as though you never saw them. I highly recommend this scope for your AR15. If you put it on, perhaps with fine tools like a pipe wrench and an 80 ounce mallet, you too will be able to shoot 0.0000001” groups like me, but you will never be as cool as me. The payment terms for the scope were most amenable. I am royalty in my country and I must pay for everything with a $1,000,000,000,000 check and then get the recipients bank account number and take my own change. The seller embraced this modality and everything went great, as they were born both at night and last night. Good luck and may your AR15 always be your compass. (At demi-god pretend sniper school, the focus groups were divided by python diameter. The larger ones all decided that reading a real compass was just too damned hard, so we use our AR15s).
Turbo ASS RANGERS 🤨😜😝😝😝😝
fucking awesome, you sir have left a entertaining read, thanks for putting a smile on my dismal mortal face!
I just bought a vortex Diamondback 4x13x40, put it on a muzzleloader, was looking through it across the field at dusk and couldn’t get the power up over 6x without the FOV turning solid white, turn it back down and you can see again, something isn’t right!
never had a problem with vortec scopes 25 yrs
I have diamond back on my 270 and a 3 x 9 Vortex on my 22 mag. I use 270 for groundhogs out to 300 yds and my 22 mag for fox squirrels and groundhogs out to 100 yards. I just turned 80, these are the two sweetest scopes I have ever been blessed with.