Rifle Scopes Hits out past 500 with PST 4-16?

[Ultraman550]

Question for you guys. Are any of you guys making hits past 500 yards with the Vortex PST 4-16 and not suffering from optical clarity loss? I guess a part of the equation is one's own eye sight but I'm wearing glasses so that's not a problem. I'm only using an AR, 1:7 twist with the 69 smk so I'm not expecting to go past 600 or 700. Probably going to load up some 75's, 77's and 80's to try them out at the further distances though. If the clarity is just too blurred I was thinking of stepping it up to the
6-24 for the extra power but didn't know if this was overkill especially If I'm not going to use the 24 magnification to its absolute potential by staying under 600 or 700 yards. I was also thinking about finding a used NF 3.5-15 instead of the 6-24 PST because I know some folks here are stretching their bolt actions out to 1000 yards with the 3-15 but in a better optics set up. I mean, for the money, especially a used PST is a magnificent buy in what you're actually getting but bigger isn't always better to me, I prefer clarity.

 

[BoilerUP]

I've used a Viper HST 4-16x (same glass as the PST 4-16x) out to 1100yd and didn't have any issues with clarity. Hitting the damn target that far out yes, clarity no.

It very much ain't no Schmidt & Bender or even a HDMR...but despite the superiority of those and other optics, I didn't personally feel 'handicapped' with the HST.

 

[JSTARSZ]

I have a 4-16 PST and have shot it out to 600 yards quite often. I guess this all depends on what you are shooting at too. I am shooting at a man-sized torso steel target and have no issues seeing that far with a 4-16...heck, a 2.5x 10 works OK too at those ranges. Clearly, pun intended, a Nightforce will give you better clarity; however, a PST is run by considerable people on this Forum and I have seen some issues but not that many. May be you need to talk to Vortex about your issues it may be an issue with the optic.

 

[Ultraman550]

Thanks for the responses guys. JSTARSZ, no issues with the scope bud, I just wanted to know if there were any hinderances but it appears there are none, unless there is something wrong with the scope obviously. Good, now I don't need to spend any money.

 

[E. Bryant]

I guess a part of the equation is one's own eye sight but I'm wearing glasses so that's not a problem.

Don't be so certain! I wear a fairly aggressive prescription for nearsightedness (about -7.00 diopter, with about -1.00 of astigmatism correction). If I attempt to look through the "corner" of my eyeglass lens, there is a significant amount of distortion - the image gets fuzzy, the reticle lines appear bent, etc. In order to get a clear sight picture, I must position my head as to look through approximately the center of the corrective lens.

I'm not sure what size target you are attempting to resolve at 500 yards, but for something along the lines of a half-IPSC target at that distance, my eyes would not perceive any significant differences between a NXS 3.5-15 and a PST 4-16 in bright daylight (and yes, I've owned both). Position of the viewing axis through my corrective lenses would have a far greater impact on my ability to properly resolve the image.

Also consider the possible effects of mirage on the image clarity; given your listed location, it may very well be a significant factor.

BTW, this all assumes that the ocular focus and parallax adjustment have been set properly. I'd like to claim that I've never created a problem via mis-use of these adjustments, but, uh, that would not be factual

 

[BCP]

It'll be fine there are tons of people shooting 600 yard F class with scopes like the 16X super sniper and doing fine.

 

[BigTex]

I have the 6-24 PST but most of my shooting is done in the 12-15 power range. I was making repetitive hits on a 12" gong at 825yds on 12 power last weekend. I like the 6-24 better because it gives a finer reticle in the 15x range than the 4-16x, but 16x is plenty for out to 1k.

 

[DeadNoise]

I agree with above, i have a nightforce 5-22 and i rarely run on 22 mostly between 12-16 and shoot too 1000, alot of times out here if your running bigger scopes all you get is tons of mirage in your picture.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Magnification has more to do with clarity than distance. The higher you crank the magnification the darker it's going to get one even the highest end scopes. If you can see a 1/2MOA target at one distance you'll be able to see it at another. If you wear glasses I would buy the best glass you can afford, and IMO the glass on the PST is marginal. A basic NXS will have much better glass as does the Bushnell elites.

 

[Ultraman550]

Yeah, I'm thinking get a used NF 3-15 and not get a PST 6-24 because of the glass. My scopes are mounted a bit higher, somewhere around 2 inches so I can get a direct line of sight behind them and not have my glasses pushed up on my cheek. I'm glad to know though that the PST 4-16 doesn't hinder anybody's sight of the target at 600, 700 etc.. because of sub par glass though. Thank you guys for the info, this was all very helpful except now I have spend money.