Vortex viper hs-t 4-16x44

So many options in a saturated scope market. If you can swing it go with the viper. I’ve often bought more scope in terms of features and quality than I need. I have never regretted it.

Vortex glass isn’t good enough to use regularly at 24X magnification. And mirage get so bad above 20x most of the time in Texas it’s unusable.


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Mike_from_Texas said:

Vortex glass isn’t good enough to use regularly at 24X magnification. And mirage get so bad above 20x most of the time in Texas it’s unusable.


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The Vortex Viper is pretty good glass for it's price range, tell me what is better under $1000. Certainly there is better at higher prices, but I have a hard time wanting to pay for something that I can put into a nice firearm instead, and who says you need to buy a scope to use at it's highest power at all times?

Mike_from_Texas said:

Vortex glass isn’t good enough to use regularly at 24X magnification. And mirage get so bad above 20x most of the time in Texas it’s unusable.


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My Gen 1 PST has wonderful glass. I put it up there with the Gen 1 Razor.

They are hard to beat now that they are going for ~$600. They were a deal at $1,000.

I agree with the mirage though but a turn of the magnification adjuster helps with that.

^agree with almost all of the above, but with a few qualifiers...

1. Vortex makes a damn fine scope for the money, as others have said. What makes them really nice is that they have options across just about the entire price range, and they ALL hold that same relative value. (fwiw, I'm a fan of and run several manufacturers, but VO is a mainstay)

2. I consider the PST line as the "high-end of the low-end". The PST Gen2 is about on par with the Razor HD Gen1 in many ways, and it looks like the new DB Tactical may be about on par with the PST Gen1's (at this point, RazorHD/PST Gen1's and below have gone on to new homes).

3. Usability at the high-end of the magnification range is one of the things which separates great glass from just good glass, at least as far as variable-power optics go. For the most part, you have to get over $1k before you even start approaching "great" glass where this isn't a problem (especially for high-magnification). Below that and it will vary, which is why fixed-power optics may be a great option for some. Once you get into the high-range there are a good number of options, but even then most are higher than the Vortex equivalents (some way higher) and without the lifetime warranty...

- Just as an example, in most cases a Vortex Razor HD AMG or HD Gen2 is usable at the far end of the magnification range even at the edge of dawn/dusk, and cost way less than an equivalent top-end NF/S&B/etc. (Also, the AMG is waaaay lighter than many in its peer-group.)

4. Mirage - Depending on environmental conditions and distance, you may never be able to get completely away from Mirage; you can only chase that so far... Minimizing it is good, but important to learn to work with it and read the Mirage as well. (properly managing parallax is also important, but this post is getting too damn long already)

- What's bad is Mirage "up-close", which is where various build characteristics and heat shielding come into play (e.g. barrel profile, etc., and something like a RiflesOnly HAD is almost a must if shooting supressed).

Due to my age and eyes, I really like quality glass. I usually only buy scopes when I can get them on close out. I've got a Gen 1 Razor 5-20x FFP at a great price point a couple of years ago. I can see a difference in the glass compared to my Gen 1 PST. But I paid a lot more for it. The Gen 1 PST at the discounted prices are hard to beat for the money. But I'm waiting for a Razor Gen 2 go on close out. I will buy one if heavily discounted.

About the only negative to Vortex scopes in the mounting. You got to be careful with how much you crank down on the mounting screws since you can damage the scope. But Vortex's warranty will fix it free of charge.

ed308 said:

About the only negative to Vortex scopes in the mounting. You got to be careful with how much you crank down on the mounting screws since you can damage the scope. But Vortex's warranty will fix it free of charge.

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They tell you right off, 18 inch pounds if I remember rightly. If you can lap it, torque it and blue locktite it, and you're good to go.

I've had problems getting the mounts to hold at 18. And that's with a Vortex mount too. Sometimes I have to go higher, like 20 or 22. I don't lap my mounts. But I do use a torque wrench and use Blue Loctite.

easy rider said:

The Vortex Viper is pretty good glass for it's price range, tell me what is better under $1000. Certainly there is better at higher prices, but I have a hard time wanting to pay for something that I can put into a nice firearm instead, and who says you need to buy a scope to use at it's highest power at all times?

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Better glass? That’s easy. Leupold VX5HD destroys it.

It don’t have the fancy turrets or FFP but I’ll take better glass over bells & whistles any day.

I’ve run every Vortex scope made except the Razor. Always been disappointed.


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ed308 said:

I've had problems getting the mounts to hold at 18. And that's with a Vortex mount too. Sometimes I have to go higher, like 20 or 22. I don't lap my mounts. But I do use a torque wrench and use Blue Loctite.

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Same experiences here.


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ed308 said:

I've had problems getting the mounts to hold at 18. And that's with a Vortex mount too. Sometimes I have to go higher, like 20 or 22. I don't lap my mounts. But I do use a torque wrench and use Blue Loctite.

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Just a suggestion, not saying you need to, but for around $70 you can buy a 1" & 30mm lapping set (comes with lapping compound). Your scopes will fit so much better and also keep from marring.

Mike_from_Texas said:

Better glass? That’s easy. Leupold VX5HD destroys it. It don’t have the fancy turrets or FFP but I’ll take better glass over bells & whistles any day. I’ve run every Vortex scope made except the Razor. Always been disappointed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Leupold's VX glass is good stuff. In the higher magnification ranges like 6-24X, more expensive than Vortex PST line. I like Leupold scopes. I think they are more durable compared to Vortex's scopes. I use a Leupold 3-9x with Fire Dot for my hunting AR. That red dot is nice at dusk too.