Don’t Buy Vortex Impact 4000 Before Reading This

Avoid buyers remorse. Here’s a list of problems you may encounter if you buy one.

Problem #1. Calibration challenges proving insurmountable for some
Just scan though the comments in this video and you’ll see many are unable to complete the time-consuming calibration process. Moreover, users report needing to re-calibrate upon moving to new locations. Calibration is an unnecessary step on most other rangefinders.

Problem #2. Excessively bright LCD display interferes with night shooting
When you range your target, a blindingly bright display lights up your rifle and your face, potentially alerting the target to your presence, and interfering with the low light vision of the hunter. Many reporting this problem.

This picture gives some sense of just how bright the display is:

The problem has many Vortex Impact 4000 buyers trying to jury-rig a solution, such as sticking window tint on the display to suppress the amount of light coming though, or turning off the backlight entirely and using a small external light source to read the display at night. The current LCD display lighting cannot be dimmed, it’s either on or off.

Problem #3. Troubles associated with the power button
“The amount of times I missed an opportunity on a coyote trying to find the power button and ranging it were unreal.” Many are reporting this problem and some are gluing rubber nipples on the Vortex Impact 4000 just to try and mitigate the issue:

Problem #4. Lack of stability when zeroing
“Upon zeroing, I found the visible aiming laser elevation adjustment jumps and wanders sporadically. I press the “settings” button to exit the zeroing function and the laser’s elevation moves higher and does not return to zero after the button had been pressed. I re-entered the zeroing process with the aiming laser to find that the elevation was off even further. I could do this any number of times and it would move.” Multiple people are reporting this problem in online forums, and Vortex support has acknowledged the problem, claiming it is “normal” for that to happen.

Problem #5. Divergence between visible aiming laser and IR ranging laser
Users reporting inability to zero because the visible laser diverges too far from the IR ranging laser.

Problem #6. Struggle to accurately range small targets and skyline targets
Infrared photos of the Vortex Impact 4000 IR laser shows a distinct lack of focus, and the dispersion causes increasing scatter as distance increases. This tranlates into trouble ranging small objects and objects on the skyline.

Problem #7. Problems ranging through openings in trees or behind shrubs/bushes
Perhaps related to problem #16. Multiple people reporting this problem.

Problem #8. Issues with the bluetooth remote
“I wish they would use a remote cable connection rather than bluetooth to connect the remote. Would of eliminated the “here I am” flashing red LED beacon, any possible connectivity issues, less battery drain for constant remote connection, and the need for another battery to need replacing. The first battery didn’t last long, and it’s not even cold out yet. Also unable to turn the unit on/off via remote. Want to turn unit off to preserve battery and not get blinded from the screen. But then it’s difficult to turn the device back on quickly because it’s a Bluetooth remote. It needs the signal first, so the only option is to to try and find the power button on the unit. I can’t find the power button with gloves, it’s not distinguishable enough from the other 4 buttons.”

Problem #9. Display slows down and can stop working in cold weather

Problem #10. Battery life is far shorter in cold weather
There’s multiple threads about cold weather, here’s one. “Recently I took the unit out for some training in winter conditions. 15 degrees F, light snow cover. Noticed almost immediately that battery life MAX was about 15 minutes, no backlight use. Also, when the laser was fired, the screen would go blank momentarily before turning back on and displaying the range. Once the Low Battery icon flashed the consistency/accuracy of the target ranges became very suspect and unreliable.”

In the same thread, another Sniper’s Hide member reports that of the approximately 30 shooters using Vortex Impact 4000’s at the Mammoth Sniper Challenge, nearly all experienced either total failure or major rangefinding issues due to cold weather.

Problem #11. Button presses and menu navigation slower in cold weather

Problem #12. Chews though expensive batteries
Uses the CR123A battery, which is about $4 each.

Problem #13. Makes rifle too tall to fit in rifle case

Problem #14. Trouble getting the bluetooth remote to connect
“The blinking red light is like being water boarded.”

Problem #15. Data collection and privacy concerns
The phone app will not work if you disable location services on your phone.

Problem #16. Requires an expensive scope ring replacement / scope ring diving board mount
Many Vortex Impact users are spending $500 on Spuhr rings with the special “diving board” mount which is a considerable investment in additional hardware. If nothing else, you can at least say the Vortex Impact strongly impacts your wallet.

Problem #17. Large front lens reflects sunlight and moonlight, putting shooter in spotlight
It’s such a problem for users that a 3rd party has introduced a plastic cover to suppress the glare.

Promoters of the ARD cover write “Introducing our new ARD cover for the Vortex Impact 4000. The Impact has a large front objective lens that attracts a lot of glare. If being spotted or glare is an issue for you, this is your solution.”

Let’s recall that another potential solution is just buying a different solution.

So what do we propose as an alternative?

An Alternative
Obviously there are other WMLRF options, but there’s also the option of buying a Sightlok RF-1 and using it to mount your existing rangefinder. In our case, that’s what we did. We replaced our Vortex Impact 4000 with a Sightlok RF-1 rangefinder mount paired with a Sig KILO BDX rangefinder. Looks something like this:

Benefits are integrated support for Kestrel windmeters, better accuracy, Applied Ballistics (Ultralite or Elite, depending on the rangefinder model), and a slew of other features that come with the Sig Sauer KILO BDX rangefinder. At about 1/5 the price. And although every solution has drawbacks, this one eliminates nearly all of the problems exhibited by the Vortex Impact 4000.

Concerned about recoil damaging your rangefinder?

Sightlok RF-1 clamps use a specialized anti-shock rubber that is specifically designed to help isolate and protect rangefinders from recoil-related damage. While we don’t guarantee every rangefinder will stand up to the recoil of every rifle, here’s a documented test of the mount with the Sig Sauer KILO1000BDX rangefinder versus .308 rifle recoil:

Here’s a test of the mount with the Sig Sauer KILO1000BDX rangefinder versus 6.5 Creedmoor:

If you don’t need a ballistics calculator, the Laserworks LE-032 is another low budget WMLRF that works with the Sightlok mount, cost is about $160 instead of $2000. The mount that comes with the Laserworks LE-032 is floppy and unusable, but the rangefinder itself is functional enough when combined with a Sightlok RF-1 mount, which stabilizes it. Looks like this:

To learn more about the Laserworks LE-032, click here.

To learn more about the Sightlok RF-1 mount, click here.

Or watch an independent, uncompensated review of the Sightlok RF-1 by the famous and brilliant long range shooter MarkandSam AfterWork here.

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