Re: How does a Vortex Viper compare to a NF or Leupold
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PLATOONS8</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am a noob. This is my first scope ever. I just put a 6.5-20x50 vortex viper on a rem 700 sps varmint with a bell and carlson A5 style stock and a harrison bipod. I love my Viper so far. It only cost me 500 dollars and it has a lifetime warranty. I have only looked through a couple other scopes and none of them were high-end. I have noticed that at 20x power the image is not quite as crisp as at 14x. My question is how much am I missing by not having a NF or a Mark 4 scope that cost 1-3000 dollars? I could not by one if I wanted to right now so I am just curious if I have a good bad or ugly scope. </div></div>
My $.02...
As a NOOB, you're starting out with a pretty darn good scope. Congrats on your choice. Don't let anybody bully you into thinking this is a naive or "stupid" question.
I know enough about scopes to be dangerous but I am certainly no optical engineer. I've owner IOR, Zeiss Conquest & Diavari, Kahles CL, various middle & premium end Leupolds, Falcon, Nikon Monarch X, etc., etc. To MY EYES the Viper series is every bit as good or better than any of sub $800 scopes. To do noticeably better than the 6.5x20 50mm Viper I own you are looking at the IOR, Conquest (6.5x20 50mm model), Diavari, NXS, etc but you're not spending the kind of cabbage needed to own one of these scopes. The Viper I have is mounted atop a bone stock Savage Model 11 in 22-250. I rarely go above 16x but I've never had any target that the scope couldn't adequately resolve in order for me to make an informed decision as to target determination, etc. The glass absolutely BLOWS AWAY what I had in the Falcon Menace and standard Nikon Monarch. Optically I think it compares very well with the Monarch X from Nikon and is better than that used in the 4200 & 6500 Bushnell lines. Maybe I just got very lucky and have an exceptional scope from the Viper line, maybe not, but regardless I'd say it is a great value for 98% of the applications used by shooters. If you're a police marksman or sniper in the sandbox then you should go with a scope that went through the military proving process. Other than that, tracking & reliability and QUALITY are more than adequate with the Viper series.
In the end, practice is going to be the great equalizer when it comes to shooting in tactical applications. Learn your rifle, your loads, your dope, and judging wind, and you're going to see that the Viper is more than adequate when it comes to friendly competition. The tracking is spot on and the optical quality is there to overcome all but the worst mirage, etc.
Sure, everybody would love to own a NXS, S&B or USO but you can step up to that level of scope AFTER you've developed the skills necessary to benefit from the optical improvement.