Vortex Defender CCW Red Dot Optic Torture Test & Review 🔴

[@mikem6745]

I purchased the Vortex Defender CCW in May 2024 and can confirm the auto sleep timer was changed from 14 hours to 10 minutes. It states this on the packaging. The new version also has a better refresh rate. 👍🏼

[@rickw5024]

This makes HUGE sense, Now I can go buy a couple thanks for the update. 14 hours was a killer for me and made ZERO sense

[@tg2757]

Does this have an auto brightness adjustment?

[@mikem6745]

@@tg2757 No. Just auto shutoff.

[@John_439]

I recently got one because of this and love it.

[@KPad87]

I just bought one and they had 2 options . 14 hour shutoff demo and 10 minute shutoff

[@laptopdragon]

the redundant screws is something so small, inexpensive and yet incredibly important. Props for them on their foresight.

[@matthewshelton9573]

Nothing worse than waiting and waiting to finally recieve your red dot then realizing you now need to order new screws and wait another week.. *cough cough* holosun eps

[@Pinkskull69420]

​@@matthewshelton9573>he doesn't have a file

[@scaleworksRC]

You're a pillar of our community and I appreciate the "authentic" testing. The weight of the rounds alone makes a huge difference!

[@Tabrox5]

This is the only positive review I've seen so far. Several others say it's junk.

[@jamesless5394]

I've had one for over a year, still going strong. Lots of folks hate it bc the older ones now on sale for 210$ are the older 14hr shut offs. That and refresh rate. It was annoying to zero but it's held the zero fantastically.

[@HamboneS]

You get what you pay for. I am please with mine so far.

[@williambaker4417]

Would appreciate a comparison between the Vortex and the Holosun once you’ve completed testing both. I’ve always been very satisfied with Vortex products. Thanks for the review.

[@JNOSNOW]

Sure seems like a holosun for vortex people. Probably made by by the holosun peoples cousins down the road.

[@PkwyDrive13]

Holosun is better for sure

[@cowboyx9380]

@@PkwyDrive13Both made in the exact same factory in China….go figure

[@throttlerecon]

Both come from the same factory type

[@gonerydin4225]

I got mine yesterday. Digging it so far. It's a big step up from the old Viper/Venom red dots.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Indeed

[@nicks9541]

Somehow you managed to get a shirt more based than your regular ones. Fight like hell!

[@leadhead7338]

Great customer Service, my 35 Whelen recoil broke my Cross hairs in my scope, and they replaced it no questions!

[@Mrgunsngear]

nice

[@ckidphotography1318]

I've heard mixed reviews. This settles my decision. Having the lifetime warranty was catching my eye and with this drop test and torture test ik which one imma get for my p365. Thanks for a great review. You got a new follower 💪🏼🤘🏼

[@FrankCastle694]

Bro I’m so freaking stoked that your gonna be one mug club hopefully you won’t have to deal with the KZbin suppression crap anymore

[@AEtrane]

I was on the fence with this one, but I think Mike just pushed me with this video!

[@vladyakubets]

I’m glad that Vortex made rolling updates to shorten the auto shutoff time to ten minutes and to fix the refresh rate. Makes this red dot so much better of an option

[@MkArms1997]

Good to hear ! Will be picking one up for my hellcat pro comp now

[@chadblaha69]

Steven says try the Walther! 😂 I can’t wait to see what’s up coming with that collaboration.

[@2realink279]

Finally a new intro song. No shade. Love the content 🫶

[@vielumiereg9794]

The lower refresh rate is something I actually never even thought about until it was brought up tbh. I don't think that would bother me much in my personal opinion. Top loading battery is a big selling point for me. Having to re-zero after every time you change the battery never made sense to me.

[@frmtheden]

I had the EPS Carry and front screen got a crack after having it for about 800 Rounds or 2 months time of carrying and switched to the Defender CCW and so far the one glass just generally seems more durable and love the texture on the front of the sight!

[@Aonghuis]

Looks promising. Those two drops on a steel plate were impressive.

[@tauruslove86]

I’m looking forward to you and Steven Crowder’s collaboration. Been following both you guys for a long time now.

[@leonmorgan7338]

same here, very excited.

[@RA652]

I wonder if they'll shoot some Walthers

[@DevonReclaimed]

Crowder is a clown who wears dresses 💃

[@JLC87420]

😂😂😂

[@chiefro7]

Whaaat?! When is this happening?!

[@TacticalConsiderations]

Awesome man. Congrats on the New gig with Crowder.

[@thelocalpizzaguy2180]

Louder with Crowder YEAH BUDDY!

[@glx1620]

I have the Vortex Viper and Venom on some of my pistols and actually looking for one with a shake awake feature in which the two doesn't have. I'll get this one because of that feature and their excellent lifetime warranty.

[@Mrgunsngear]

🔴

[@transtubular]

It's not a refresh rate Mike, it's known in the industry as Pulse Width Modulation. It's cheap and easy to implement as there are many "off-the-shelf" drivers available and so the electronics can usually be had for pennies per board.

[@douglasm3310]

This is the correct answer vortex is well known for using PWM in their dots. One reason I really don’t like their red dots.

[@DarwinAllen]

​@@douglasm3310 same here. Holosun uses better tech for this in all of the optics of theirs that I own and this is the deciding factor for me over Vortex in the more budget friendly red dots.

[@MegadethTillDeth]

Oh that's really interesting I didn't know that. What are some of the major differences between the two that you're aware of?

[@transtubular]

@MegadethTillDeth If the pulse is slow enough, you will see it as a flicker when moving quickly, say when moving to shoot two separate targets in rapid succession. It appears as a strobing effect and can be really difficult to over come. Current controlled optics don't do this at all.

[@davidpyle7333]

The shim plate is actually a 1 degree slope, some optic cuts need it to allow zero'ing if there's not enough travel on the optic's adjustment screws. I needed one to get a Vortex Razor to work on a EAA Girsan MC1911.

[@gonerydin4225]

I see someone else read the manual! : )

[@David-nd2gf]

Heard the news on Crowder man congrats looking forward to the future segments Good luck and thank you for your service, Sacrifice.

[@rhinosauserous]

Good job on the video of Louder with Crowder that dropped today.

[@TC-ob9we]

Thanks brother glad your back!!

[@paulgrogan8032]

Being a big Vortex guy, b4 you even started dropping it,I went looking for prices. Absolutely delighted to find it for $249.00👏

[@gsxawd981]

My problem is battery life. This thing almost lasts as long as an Eotech.

[@ricks_life2046]

Mine will be here Thursday, got it for my P365 X Macro. My first red dot for a pistol.

[@Mrgunsngear]

nice

[@John_439]

Vortex fixed the defender. I love mine. The auto shutoff is now only 10min and the refresh rate problem is gone. And you get the vortex warranty.

[@nickjohnson8780]

I sent my viper in because the emitter got messed up. While their warranty is nice and replaced it for free, I would rather wait to get an enclosed optic rather than another slightly better open top for my other pistols. Wonder why they didn't...

[@Bedlam_6]

Louder with Crowder! Great video, thanks

[@chrisballestrazze8577]

"lets make sure we are zero'd"..proceeds to shoot mirror of his taco lol. great video!

[@jonathanparker2553]

Congratulations on partnering with Steven crowder I’m super pumped for you

[@dodgeit3014]

Just came to say I see you man. Good stuff going with Steven.

[@MrSpECIALn01]

I love the shirts. Louder With Crowder.

[@jameslonano5659]

I've seen some crying on the 14 hour shut off but its a non issue if you replace your batteries annually **like we all do anyway** its a non issue with this optic. 9500 hours is 395 days if left on full time. I just don't see the issue here. And with the top battery cap, there is no excuse!

[@nickgreer9771]

awesome test! Just a small aiming tip: your dropping your head every time you aim. Bring pistol sight up to eye level without dropping head

[@Agilepickleunite]

I noticed this too but don’t like giving criticism through comments I’m surprised 599 keyboard operators haven’t told you your wrong and it’s a special technique to dodge head shots

[@matthuber1333]

Props on the crowder shirt. Props to Crowder propping you in his latest interviews...

[@HamboneS]

Top notch review! Thanks

[@madeconomist458]

They definitely have a winner, now we just need a bigger one with an RMR footprint.

[@jasonsell8523]

Congrats on the new show!! Can't wait to see you on Crowder's network man God bless you!

[@John_439]

I wish their shake awake feature was shorter and better like holosun. Shake awake means you do not need 14hrs of constant on 3min is just fine and saves a lot of battery life.

[@patthis]

Just got this from one of your daily deal... thank you sir

[@Slking507]

Never realised you were a Taco guy. The best truck ever made. (In my opinion)

[@wildcat8598]

Never been a big fan of Vortex pistol optics but this one looks promising. They’ve done some great things with rifle red dots, LPVO’s and magnifiers. I like the Vortex Micro 3x flip magnifier. Had one for a few years and it’s held up well as I’ve beat the shit out of it lol

[@chrisduncan440]

I have the vortex micro magnifier. The eye relief is horrible.

[@ryangr100]

Mine arrived today. Now I have to wait for a mounting plate for my SigXFive. Until then I amp going to put it on my S&W Victory PC.22lr. Thanks for the review.

[@mike17912A]

Great review as always. I just picked up my mete mc9 and been debating on which optic to add to it. This may be the one.

[@fangoriously1]

Same, my mc9 is on order to the local gun shop. Can't wait. Need an optic. Let me know how ya like it.

[@elliottcapone2682]

Awesome to see the crowder merch. Guy is a true believer.

[@barttaylor9176]

Congrats on the crowder move!! Very exciting to see you over there🦅

[@mattstone6989]

I'm digging this from what I've seen. And the price seems really reasonable. Love your channel brother

[@mattstone6989]

F off and get a life🫡

[@jp2578]

Very helpful review because I was seriously considering one. Thanks.

[@Mrgunsngear]

You're welcome 👍🏽

[@KrishnaMusicc]

I'm really interested in seeing you do a torture test/review on the new Holosun EPS carry man. They've been flyinggggg off shelves.

[@Beastro777]

holosun is bombproof, other than the issues with some quality control

[@b0lobattali0n78]

Haven't had any issues with any of my holosuns. I have 3 rmrs and 9 holosuns. Started to prefer the 507cs and 507ks.

[@Osprey1994]

The EPSc has been great, I had to carry a dust bowl of an open emitter for a couple of days, and I don't think I would be able to deal with the build-up after a week. The EPSc is so easy to clean.

[@thomaskeshel3874]

My EPS carry died within two mags on my 48. 50+ days later I’m still waiting on a replacement and they said I “might” get allocated one from their shipment at the end of next week.

[@glenembry9041]

Thanks for the review!

[@anthonyfanella6523]

I can see why the commenters would get butthurt, but you're more likely to drop your gun fully loaded than you would without any rounds in there. Plus, its a good way to test that drop safety!

[@a10sim]

Ordered one today for my 43X. Thanks for your review.

[@chrissewell1608]

I know the cover photo was a close up shot, but I wanted to see more close up photos, during the film. Because I think this one has some knurling on the window frame, to allow for a good grip when table racking!

[@HawaiiFoodAndFun]

Looks good, but since PA came out with the RS-10 w the Autolive/7075 construction for under 200, it's hard to beat.

[@Three60Crusader]

I heard the refresh rate on that one is really bad.

[@HawaiiFoodAndFun]

@@Three60Crusader I've heard ups and down. Would like to test one.

[@Skipperdidit]

Gnarly video brother 🇺🇸🇺🇸🫡

[@lllllpdsllll]

Definitely looking foward to seeing you on mugclub

[@ungerjs90]

Looks good but when will they make a different full size pistol dot?

[@onelineshirtcompany9754]

U definitely put that to the test, I'm impressed

[@BiggHoss]

Happy to hear you're apart of mug club!

[@LordSStorm]

I appreciate the drop testing.

[@hansblitz7770]

Dude, you're going to be on Crowder? Freakin cool!

[@larrysalinas4507]

I have one coming for my Hellcat. Thanks for the review.

[@itszach6808]

Put one on mine. It’s a beast

[@M0nkeybomber]

As always a perfect review. I'm now considering it for my G 43

[@Bladen1000]

Glad your joining crowder buddy

[@A-Negative]

Expected that to be a louder with powder shirt hahaha

[@jigsawpulse1139]

He would be sued by that crossdressing grifter

[@wollsmoth69]

​@@jigsawpulse1139 parody falls under fair use

[@georgefloydsinhellwbreonna5330]

@@jigsawpulse1139 crowder isn’t a grifter ya daft boomer

[@terrellstandefer6646]

Same thing I thought, was waiting on the joke. Nope, it's actually the mug club shirt now here comes a no no for this channel.

[@truesf345]

I’m definitely gonna give it a try , great vid as usual thanks

[@isaiahharris4106]

Super excited to see you working with Steven! Let's go!

[@dangerdoberman]

I like the housing design on it, but I'll stick with Holosun for now.

[@hello-u2w]

I just purchased this red dot from my Benelli M4. hope its a good one

[@DavidJ-gh3fw]

Hey Mike, I really appreciate your reviews covering a multitude of weapons and accessories! You're always in-depth and honest with your comments. I recently purchased the Vortex Defender CCW and didn't think to check my slide on my Glock 19 gen 3 (non mos). Consequently, I have a mounting issue. My question is: Do you have any issues with using an adapter plate for mounting in the dovetail rear sight or would you just recommend purchasing a cut slide or have mine cut to the proper footprint? The videos I've seen on the adapter plates SEEM secure but I don't have any experience with said adapters so I don't know if they would move or stay put. Appreciate your input. Thanks Mike!

[@NotoriousTIG22]

CONGRATS ON JOINING MUG CLUB!!!!

[@ilyar5868]

GNARLY… Word of the day…

[@Three60Crusader]

Very nice optic for 250. I got one coming for my shield plus.

[@Honda1k]

How do you like it. I'm thinking of this dot or the Crimson Trace RAD Micro Pro for my shield

[@jasonmcclish2580]

Nice looks like I will be buying a vortex for the first time. Great video ..

[@hopewilliams6705]

I think I just found my a replacement for my Swampfox sentinel

[@M9A1MAN]

Great video bro. Can you do a video on how you zero a pistol red dot? I'm kinda old school and just now getting into installing a redot on my M&P9.

[@dang2045]

It’s about time Vortex came out with an RMSc footprint, not maybe they’ll upgrade their dated Viper and Venom.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Inshallah

[@eatsshootsandleavestactica8068]

forget the comments section! Test the guns with a loaded magazine or equivalent weight in them! If my gun drops off a tailgate at the outdoor range or gets torn out of my holster defending myself from an ambush (or in some sort of Shivworks-style training I'd like to take in the future) I want to know if the optic I'm running is gonna hold up if the full loaded weight hits the ground. Why would people think the only time they have to worry about when their gun could take an impact is when it's unloaded?

[@atranimecs]

You could also say how often is a gun dropped on a hard metal surface vs dirt?

[@michaelgomez0807]

Can you review the cyelee cat pro optic?

[@MegadethTillDeth]

Was super stoked to see you on Crowders video a few hours ago. Gonna be great for his audience, great for the gun community, great for America, and I imagine you're gonna finally get that 1m button because that YT suppression ain't gonna work when they look you up manually. Stoked for you man

[@robriner3144]

I added a defender CCW to my mete mc9 and it is fine for my small CCW.

[@fiddycashflowpi]

Hi I just bought me this defender ccw for my canik mete mc9 and it doesn't sit flush do I have to slam it in? And if so what screws did you use I'm so confused 😕.

[@albertmedalla3941]

Love the top loading battery vs tray

[@generalsworkshop]

First of all, great video. Really appreciated the content. Now that you had eight months to sit with it, is your opinion still that it’s a great site? I’ve got a Glock 17 that I’m looking at adding it to. Thanks again for all your content.

[@ronhunt9396]

Great test , great video

[@chiefro7]

“You guys dont like authentic testing” lmfao Gettem buddy!

[@jamesboston3910]

Louder with Crowder!

[@SaltNBattery]

I know it's not but during that intro I kept thinking how funny it would have been if you panned the camera and there was just an 8 foot steel plate 5 yards in front of you.

[@cameronbeall1797]

I just picked up my Canik mc9 too !

[@Wade-1]

Nice to see Vortex is still 10 years behind on pistol dots. No shake awake, no 50k battery life. Wth are they doing?

[@guardiangibbs2663]

Surprised/not surprised to see you working with Steven Crowder. I look forward to your contributions.

[@FrankCastle694]

Sage dynamics smiling as he seeing proper testing

[@patthis]

Great review, I bet Vortex was shitting their pants when you were racking that hard 😂

[@jimmybigtime]

Enjoyed the optic test but...I need know more about those pants. What camo pattern is that?

[@soggycracker5934]

This costs more than the Canik was when it came out... What part of chinastan is it made in?

[@AP383BB]

I'm assuming the glass didn't crack from the two drops? He never shows it. Pretty impressive if it held up to those drops with that big of a window.

[@Three60Crusader]

it was perfectly fine and maintained zero. Hopefully the haters can stfu now.

[@mcouture8169]

@@Three60Crusader Who are the haters?

[@AP383BB]

@Three60Crusader how do you know it was perfectly fine? Plenty of optics crack the lense but still hold zero. Nobody is hating, people just want to know if an optic is reliable enough for duty use. Most optics on the market aren't.

[@euphoric-infidel]

Thanks for the awesome content 👏

[@Mrgunsngear]

You're welcome 👍🏽

[@Butterchunks]

I should make a test machine for simulating the slide movement from shooting. Like it reciprocates pneumatically, slams into a stop at each end, and does so at around a 1000 times a minute. Then we will see who the best really is.

[@Latinos4Trump]

Beam me up scotty 😂