Vortex Venom 5-25×56 Review

Last updated on March 7th, 2024

Getting time behind a Vortex Venom 5-25×56, I took the opportunity to see why its so popular in the budget category. In the line up of optics on offer from Vortex, the Venom sits between the Diamondback Tactical and the Strike Eagle.

Vortex Venom 5-25×56

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The Venom retails for $699 USD and the Strike Eagle 5-25×56 at $799 USD. Although you can usually find these for a few hundred less on special. I’m familiar with the Strike Eagle from a previous review, and wanted to know what impact the $100 less price tag has on the Venom. We will go into depth on all the differences, however the major standouts are no illumination, no locking turrets and slightly less quality glass.

With those features shaved off, you still get some long distance shooting must haves such as a zero stop, throw lever, the awesome EBR-7C reticle and huge turret travel.

Construction

For a budget minded optic, the overall fit and finish is nice and the Venom does have a good overall build quality. The bigger 34mm tube is made of aircraft grade aluminum which Vortex state is shockproof. Much like the Strike Eagle series, the Venom has been released for almost two years now and it’s received outstanding feedback from the shooting community. It’s use on heavy hitting magnum cartridges in the long distance community proves it can stand up to punishment and live upto being shockproof. 

For hunting situations where you might be out in harsh weather making shots, the Venom is waterproof and nitrogen purged, making it fog and water proof. 

The robust 34mm tube and huge magnification range come at cost of weight with the Vortex Venom weighing in at 35oz/992g. This isn’t a bad weight overall considering its competitors outlined in the table below.

I find most magnification rings harder to turn in cooler weather which makes purchasing a throw lever a priority with a new scope. However to make magnification adjustments quicker and easier Vortex have included a throw-lever with the Venom and it will surly benefit you if you are doing any competition shooting.

Another extra thrown in is the 3″ sunshade. Sunshades are useful shooting in bright conditions and helps to limit the amount of glare within the optic.

Glass

At this price point you want the glass to be good enough to identify targets beyond 500 meters and see steel at 1000. Luckily the lenses in the Vortex Venom are fully multi-coated, which means they are made for that job in mind.

The contrast and colour through the lens look good for the price point and stand up to the challenge of long distance shooting. This is helped by the huge 56mm objective lens on the Venom, which allows extra light in, providing a brighter image.  

The huge magnification range of 5-25 is the gold standard of long distance optics which on the low power setting gives you a wide field of view to locate your target and on the high 25x power plenty of magnification to make shots at distance. There is a generous 3.6 inches of eye relief, providing plenty of room to find a comfortable spot behind the scope, especially if you wear glasses.

Reticle

The EBR-7C from Vortex is a versatile reticle. The significant hash marks in the reticle are aimed at supporting the long-distance shooter make shots quickly by using holdovers.

Available in both MOA and MRAD variants, the first focal plane EBR-7C is a big draw-card for the Venom. Unlike the Vortex Strike Eagle, the reticle is not illuminated. I rarely use the illumination feature on my optics so it isn’t a deal breaker.

Turrets

Clear and easily readable numbers on the turrets make reading your dialed setting easy from behind the scope. Vortex include a zero stop which they call ‘Revstop’ on the Venom. This is to help returning your rifles zeroed distance after dialing up. A handy feature for competition shooting and a must have for me.

The large exposed tactical style turrets are easy to grip and provide positive clicks when dialing. The total elevation range is 25 MRAD and also 25 MRAD for windage. This provides a great range to test your chosen caliber out.

Conclusion

If you are new to long distance shooting, one of the main things you want it repeatability. Vortex have brought that with the Venom. The feature packed and budget minded Venom comes with the must have’s for long distance shooting. This setup makes it more affordable to get you behind a rifle and start sending rounds down range.

Vortex Venom 5-25×56

Check Price at EuroOptic

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Specifications