I've read the threads on the vortex pst when they came out. Does anyone have long term thoughts now that they have been out a while? I notice they seem to b for sale in the classifieds a lot and was wondering why?
Rifle Scopes Long term review on the vortex viper pst
- Thread starter ghostwriter247
- Start date
That's cuz they suck. The Viper is another story. I've seen too much go wrong with the PST's if that's your budget then buy it. If you can afford more, I highly recommend it.
Good luck!!!
Good luck!!!
What? Isn't the PST a "Vortex Viper PST"? What has gone wrong with them? I was under the impression most were very pleased with them & rave about the CS?
PST is a Viper. I am assuming you are referring to the RAZOR.
Can you give facts on your opinion as to why the Viper PST sucks? The only thing I have read that is truly negative is they are not good on a braked Magnum. Not down playing this because it is a real drawback, but what other factual information do you have? "They Suck" Is a broad statement.
I will say from my actual experience and about 1200 rounds of 308 on one and 400 rounds of 6.5 Grendel on another, that the mechanics have been good. They scope can be run out top to bottom multiple times a day and the ones I have used always track true and come back to zero. I don't like the zero stop system as much as the more expensive scopes ie Razor, nightforce, but It does the job. It is a set of shims so it can be "mushy" feeling. The older FFP reticle is very wide at full magnification so it makes small targets at longer ranges harder to focus on. You can adjust your knobs to hold off a little, but If your target is center of the cross hair it makes it harder to see. I don't really like the "fast focus" eyepiece. If you don't make a mark on it somewhere, it is easy to knock out of focus and then you end up chasing the crosshair.
The biggest thing I noticed when comparing them to two different Nightforce scopes is glass clarity. You can still see everything with the PST, but you see a "fuzziness" to the image. A better explanation would be seeing a hit on a target at 1000 with the PST as a dark circle. With the Nightforce, seeing the same hit and the splash on the edges from the shrapnel.
All in all, I am happy with the scopes, considering the price point, but After seeing the clarity differences in them I have been debating buying a higher end scope for my 308. Clarity would be the only real gain in my opinion. I have never had to use their customer service.
Take it these are only my opinions, but followed by the factual knowledge I have gained from use of the product.
Can you give facts on your opinion as to why the Viper PST sucks? The only thing I have read that is truly negative is they are not good on a braked Magnum. Not down playing this because it is a real drawback, but what other factual information do you have? "They Suck" Is a broad statement.
I will say from my actual experience and about 1200 rounds of 308 on one and 400 rounds of 6.5 Grendel on another, that the mechanics have been good. They scope can be run out top to bottom multiple times a day and the ones I have used always track true and come back to zero. I don't like the zero stop system as much as the more expensive scopes ie Razor, nightforce, but It does the job. It is a set of shims so it can be "mushy" feeling. The older FFP reticle is very wide at full magnification so it makes small targets at longer ranges harder to focus on. You can adjust your knobs to hold off a little, but If your target is center of the cross hair it makes it harder to see. I don't really like the "fast focus" eyepiece. If you don't make a mark on it somewhere, it is easy to knock out of focus and then you end up chasing the crosshair.
The biggest thing I noticed when comparing them to two different Nightforce scopes is glass clarity. You can still see everything with the PST, but you see a "fuzziness" to the image. A better explanation would be seeing a hit on a target at 1000 with the PST as a dark circle. With the Nightforce, seeing the same hit and the splash on the edges from the shrapnel.
All in all, I am happy with the scopes, considering the price point, but After seeing the clarity differences in them I have been debating buying a higher end scope for my 308. Clarity would be the only real gain in my opinion. I have never had to use their customer service.
Take it these are only my opinions, but followed by the factual knowledge I have gained from use of the product.
I have had 2 VV PST FFP 4-16X50's for almost 2 years now and neither has given me any trouble at all. One is mounted on a H&K MR762 now Was on a POF 415. The other is on an Armalite AR10A4. Glass on both is crystal clear from 4X to 16X. Tracking is spot on and resolution is almost as good as my NightForce scopes. When you have a large number of rifles you scope sometimes you have to settle for less than a top tier scope. Are the VV PST FFP scope equal to my NightForce or USO scopes? No, but they are a lot of scope for the $$$ you spend.
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I've had a 4-16x50 FFP PST for about two years and a 2.5-10x44 PST for 1.5-2yrs.
I've had to send the 4-16x50 back twice- once for the reticle rotating when turning the power up/down and the illumination would turn on when it was supposed to be off (e.g. the knob would be between 1 and 2 yet the reticle would be lit up as if on the 10 setting). Both times I had the scope back within a week. CS is top notch at Vortex. I haven't had any issues with the 2.5-10x44.
Glass is good on the 4-16x50 and decent on the 2.5-10x44. If you're interested in the 2.5-10, I strongly suggest going with the 2.5-10x32. Supposedly the x32 has much better glass than the x44. That being said, I've never missed a shot due to the glass quality.
Both scopes track well after spending time on various rifles from a 10/22, CZ452, AR15, and DTA SRS (took the 2.5-10x44 to Africa). And I've done some cranking on them getting from a 50yd 22lr zero out to 200yds and back.
Turrets are good, not great. The clicks are distinct but a little mushy. I really wish they had a high-speed version as the 12moa per turn thing can get a bit old. I haven't felt any other scopes in the PST price range with any better clicks. Honestly though I think my bitching about this is based on my being spoiled with NF and S&B turrets.
I use the EBR-1 reticles and honestly would prefer them to be a bit thinner. This is personal preference, but with the 4-16x50 on high, the reticle covers up too much of the target for my tastes. For comparison the 4-16x50 PST reticle is .21moa thick. The P4F is ~.13moa. I definitely prefer the S&B thickness.
The PST line offers a good set of features (reticle choices, illumination, side parallax control, zero stop-via shims, exposed turrets, etc.) for a very good price. It's an excellent option to get familiar with ranging, holds, etc. before bumping up as budget allows. If you can swing a NF, I'd suggest it, but to get a comparable set of features, you're going to be looking at 1.5x-2x the cost.
I've had to send the 4-16x50 back twice- once for the reticle rotating when turning the power up/down and the illumination would turn on when it was supposed to be off (e.g. the knob would be between 1 and 2 yet the reticle would be lit up as if on the 10 setting). Both times I had the scope back within a week. CS is top notch at Vortex. I haven't had any issues with the 2.5-10x44.
Glass is good on the 4-16x50 and decent on the 2.5-10x44. If you're interested in the 2.5-10, I strongly suggest going with the 2.5-10x32. Supposedly the x32 has much better glass than the x44. That being said, I've never missed a shot due to the glass quality.
Both scopes track well after spending time on various rifles from a 10/22, CZ452, AR15, and DTA SRS (took the 2.5-10x44 to Africa). And I've done some cranking on them getting from a 50yd 22lr zero out to 200yds and back.
Turrets are good, not great. The clicks are distinct but a little mushy. I really wish they had a high-speed version as the 12moa per turn thing can get a bit old. I haven't felt any other scopes in the PST price range with any better clicks. Honestly though I think my bitching about this is based on my being spoiled with NF and S&B turrets.
I use the EBR-1 reticles and honestly would prefer them to be a bit thinner. This is personal preference, but with the 4-16x50 on high, the reticle covers up too much of the target for my tastes. For comparison the 4-16x50 PST reticle is .21moa thick. The P4F is ~.13moa. I definitely prefer the S&B thickness.
The PST line offers a good set of features (reticle choices, illumination, side parallax control, zero stop-via shims, exposed turrets, etc.) for a very good price. It's an excellent option to get familiar with ranging, holds, etc. before bumping up as budget allows. If you can swing a NF, I'd suggest it, but to get a comparable set of features, you're going to be looking at 1.5x-2x the cost.
I am running three Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 SFPs on top of a .223 Tikka T3 bolt gun, a JP-15 .223 semi auto and a custom 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun, all or Mil/Mil. Plus I have a Vortex Viper 6.5-20-x44 mildot atop a CZ .223 bolt gun. All have heavy barrels and little recoil. After more than a year I am very satisfied with the optical clarity and operation of all of them. The PSTs are all second-focal plane so I have no problems with reticle thickness, indeed they are thinner than the reticle I had on my NF ATACR which I sold. Like another poster said, when you have to scope a lot of rifles, cost becomes an issue. At $750, they add up quick. Oh, yeah, and I have a Vortex 4-12x40 Diamondback AO on my custom 10/22. It also should be said I rarely shoot over 300 yards and no farther than 500. I highly recommend them and have never yet had to deal with customer service. I am easy on equipment.
I have had my PST 4-16 over a year and have used it for 800+ rounds of 308. It has gone hunting, been banged around (I was climbing up a steep hill when my home made sling gave and my rifle took a dump on the ground), been rained on, snowed on, etc and it has never once fogged or shifted zero. Not a bit. It meets all my criteria I was looking for- FFP/MOA-MOA/Zero-Stop/LightWeight/Illumination/Clarity/Spot on Tracking/Consistent Zero
Buy with confidence.
Buy with confidence.
Sounds like they are holding up well. The dollar thing is what had me thinking. I have a couple that need good scopes and was debating between a nf competition and switch it between rifles or go with a vortex for one and a nf bench rest for the other. I think I'm leaning more towards just getting the competition fr now and getting the second later
My 4-16x50 Viper PST FFP is awesome. Love it. Do I wish I had a Razor HD gen II, or a Nightforce F1? Of course, but I'm a college student and can only afford so much. The PST gives you essential features, quality glass, and is at a decent price point. The glass won't stack up to an F1 or Razor, but its definitely of great quality. Their customer service is out of this world by the way. I have had to use them (not on a PST), all I will say is they went above and WAY WAY WAY beyond my expectations to make sure everything was right.
IMO, due to the high feature level for the moderate price, there are a LOT of them out there.
And so you do hear of some issues. But Vortex steps up and fixes or replaces. And the more there are out there, the more likely people will be selling them.
But they are a good value. They are not as good as some $2000 and up range scopes, but then they don't sell for that much.
But due to the lifetime, transferable, no questions asked warranty, buying a used scope is not a bad idea.
I like my Viper PST 6-24x FFP scope.
And so you do hear of some issues. But Vortex steps up and fixes or replaces. And the more there are out there, the more likely people will be selling them.
But they are a good value. They are not as good as some $2000 and up range scopes, but then they don't sell for that much.
But due to the lifetime, transferable, no questions asked warranty, buying a used scope is not a bad idea.
I like my Viper PST 6-24x FFP scope.
I've had a PST 4-16 FFP for almost two years on a 308 and I've been very happy with it as well as Vortex customer service. I think the turrets are pretty awesome and not mushy at all. My only complaint is similar to Early Cuyler in that I really wish they were bigger with more adjustment per turn like the high speed turrets on NF or the 25MOA/10MIL per rev turrets on the Razors. The reticle is a little thick, but for 16 power it's not too bad. If you get the 6-24 it could be an issue at full power but I've never looked through one past 16x.
My only experience with Vortex c/s was pleasant and fast. I had some black specks that would appear around the reticle so I called to ask and they told me to send it in for cleaning. I shipped on a Tuesday, they received it on Friday and I had it back the following Tuesday so exactly a week. Not bad!!
I think for the price they are a great option, especially for your first tactical scope. The glass could be better but it's more than sufficient and for the features you get, the price is right. You also may want to check out the Viper HS FFP 4-16. It has very similar features to the PST but with no illumination, capped windage knob and 1/2 MOA clicks on the elevation knob as opposed to 1/4 MOA on the PST. The XLR reticle is fantastic. It has the "Christmas Tree" windage holds on the bottom half that I really love, open center with a small dot and is much thinner than the EBR-1 reticle. The 1/2 MOA clicks actually give you 24 MOA of adjustment per turn on the same size turret as the PST.
If you don't need illumination, I would probably go with the HS. I love mine!
Vortex Optics - Viper HS LR 4-16x50 FFP XLR (MOA)
My only experience with Vortex c/s was pleasant and fast. I had some black specks that would appear around the reticle so I called to ask and they told me to send it in for cleaning. I shipped on a Tuesday, they received it on Friday and I had it back the following Tuesday so exactly a week. Not bad!!
I think for the price they are a great option, especially for your first tactical scope. The glass could be better but it's more than sufficient and for the features you get, the price is right. You also may want to check out the Viper HS FFP 4-16. It has very similar features to the PST but with no illumination, capped windage knob and 1/2 MOA clicks on the elevation knob as opposed to 1/4 MOA on the PST. The XLR reticle is fantastic. It has the "Christmas Tree" windage holds on the bottom half that I really love, open center with a small dot and is much thinner than the EBR-1 reticle. The 1/2 MOA clicks actually give you 24 MOA of adjustment per turn on the same size turret as the PST.
If you don't need illumination, I would probably go with the HS. I love mine!
Vortex Optics - Viper HS LR 4-16x50 FFP XLR (MOA)
