Despite their advantages, there are a couple of downsides to using a 3x magnifier. First is the price. Magnifiers offered by big name companies such as EOTech can set you back $500 or more. Couple that expense with the cost of the red dot sight itself and now you’re touching $1k for a sighting system.

I’ve been using a new VMX-3T magnifier from Vortex Optics for a few weeks now, and it’s certainly a high quality piece of equipment. Not only is it well made and offers crystal clear optics, but it’s also available for $229 from our friends at 3 Rivers Precision. This price includes the flip-aside mount which makes the price even more attractive.

The VMX-3T isn’t Vortex’s first entry into magnifier market. The original VMX3 (now discontinued) was a decent quality optic however it featured a large protective rubber sleeve that covered 1/2 of the body and made using a fold-down rear back-up sight nearly impossible. The new VMX-3T does away with this unsightly hunk of rubber and thus gives ample room for a back-up sight to sit comfortably in the folded position below it.

The VMX-3T works great with an EOTech sight which features a fine 1MOA center dot. When looking through the magnifier the EOTech’s reticle looks sharp and easily contrasts against most targets. The same is true with a RDS such as the Aimpoint Comp M2 or T1-Micro, however the dots aren’t as fine or sharp as the EOTech’s. Of course the magnifier will also work with Vortex RDS’s like the StrikeFire or SPARC. To assure a clear sight picture, the VMX-3T has a focus ring on the ocular lens for fine adjustment to the users vision.

Video

The included flip mount allows you to quickly and easily flip the magnifier to the side so you can use the red dot sight without magnification. To accomplish this, all that’s required is to press a large button with your thumb and push it aside. The downside to the mounts design is that it leaves the magnifier sitting off to the side of the rifle in something of a precarious position.

If you’re a right handed shooter the location of the flipped-aside magnifier will block your peripheral vision which is what I find most troublesome. You could reverse the mount so that the magnifier flipped to the right, however this would place the release button in front of the sight which isn’t an ideal location for easy use.

While the VMX-3T has a standard 30mm tube, it has an integrated mount that doesn’t use a conventional 30mm ring to attach it the base. This may be a concern for some users who might want to use a 3rd party mount vs. the factory supplied mount.

The magnifier works very well with the EOTech 512 red dot sight. The reticle is sharp, clear and works well for shots at extended ranges.