What Vortex failed and did you contact Vortex support? I have a 6-18x44 Crossfire 2 that's been great and Vortex support was excellent when I've contacted them. My most trustworthy scopes are a Leupold 3-9x33EFR and a Burris Timberline 4.5-14x32, both of which have served perfectly on my R9. I also have an Airmax 4-12x40 but it's on a gun I don't shoot much and I'm sure I'd like the smaller 2-7x32 Airmax better for an R9.I'd like to try an Athlon Talos 3-12x40 someday because they are springer rated and should have good warranty support if needed.The Optisan CP scopes are highly regarded in some of the British groups and might be another good option. Good luck!
Quote from: DanD on December 27, 2022, 10:07:06 PMWhat Vortex failed and did you contact Vortex support? I have a 6-18x44 Crossfire 2 that's been great and Vortex support was excellent when I've contacted them. My most trustworthy scopes are a Leupold 3-9x33EFR and a Burris Timberline 4.5-14x32, both of which have served perfectly on my R9. I also have an Airmax 4-12x40 but it's on a gun I don't shoot much and I'm sure I'd like the smaller 2-7x32 Airmax better for an R9.I'd like to try an Athlon Talos 3-12x40 someday because they are springer rated and should have good warranty support if needed.The Optisan CP scopes are highly regarded in some of the British groups and might be another good option. Good luck!I love the looks of the Mini Optisans, but they are now $100 more
A nice tune would probably be your best bet.
You probably have barrel droop and you're running your scopes elevation maxed out or closed to it. Many of the newer Hw95 family guns (which is your R9) have been coming through with barrel droop. This will cause you to run the scopes elevation maxed out or near it. Scopes lose zero and rattle them selves to death when run near maxed out. Secondly springers are notoriously tough on scopes. I was pulling my hair out with my Hw95 (without droop) which is the same as your R9. Accuracy was terrible and it broke four "Springer rated" UTG scopes. Convinced the accuracy was bad because of the gun, I sent it back to AoA. They tested it over two weeks and couldn't find anything wrong with it and recommended using a better scope. I put a Nikon EFR on it and the gun became a complete joy. Unfortunately Nikons are no longer made. The Hawke Airmax IMO is the most durable springer scope made and the cheaper Hawke Vantage still very good.Neither of those Hawkes or anything else for that matter will hold zero or live long if you have too much droop. Fix the droop and get a Hawke scope and you'll be fine. Happy New Year All!Ron
UTG bug buster is a 1" scope. Last I read, UTG only warrantied their "tru strength" (30 mm tube scopes) on springers. Any of the 3-12 or 4-16 30mm tubed models in a RWS lock down mount should last just fine. Loctite everything and torque to spec, don't ham fist the wrenches. 35 inch lbs on the base, and 15 inch lbs on the rings.