Rifle Scopes Looking at an Razor HD 5-20x50 or Viper PST 6-24x50

[Absolution]

I'm looking for my best bang for my buck. I've been looking at optics for awhile now and I found these two which both seem reasonably priced.

I have an PSG-1 clone that I am building at the moment which from what I've talked to others who have a similar build list I will be expecting around 1/8 MOA@100 yard from a rest. The most I will ever try to shoot will be 1000 yards but will be around 100 to 500 most of the time. I like the Razor for it's elevation but the Viper for the price.

Do you all have any other suggestions for different optics. I would like MOA/MOA.

 

[Absolution]

No one really?

 

[dynamic research]

Either one is a great scope. If you are new to the game, go with a MIL/MIL scope. This will help you with holdoffs.

 

[Shoottothrill]

I agree with the above go MIL/MIL, just so easy. As far as the two scopes both great pieces of glass. Obviously the Razor is the better of the two. More elevation, better glass, larger objective lense, better light gathering. But ya have to weigh is it worth the extra thousand bucks. I kinda into the buy once cry once type of thinking, but you will not be disappointed in the PST either.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I am no pro by any means or anything like that, but I have a few friends who have the razor and it is one bad mother.. That is what I think I'm going to buy soon. There are alot of options on it for the money. I bet the pst is nice too. I have never looked through one. All I know is the razor is badass in my opinion. And right now it's driving me nuts not having a mil/mil ffp scope.. I hate doing cross calculations from min/mil.. Esp shooting with other buddies and they all have mil/mil scopes. I bet either one would be nice.. Vortex had a great warranty too.

 

[Rinky]

Vortex is a great company, the Razor HD is on a whole different level and I agree with the cry once buy once mentality however I cant afford to cry just once lol and you wont cry with either. The PST is well worth the money, I asked a thread similar only compared Leupold Mark 4s vs the PST and the PST held its own at 500$ less. Actually won in the poll results. Idk about mil/mil being easier since I learned MOA first and its so simple... 100 yds 1 moa is 1 inch. 200 is 2" etc etc. THAT is simple... However if ur buddies have mil/mil id probably go that route in that situation since they can teach u and call adjustments.

 

[Absolution]

I think I would head for the razor just due to the elevation. I made the mistake of learning moa awhile back mil just looks weird to me.

 

[ThreeFingerPete]

The glass on the PST will definitely leave you unimpressed if you've used other higher end (or decent lower magnification) optics. It's a rock solid scope from what I've seen, and enjoys a great reputation. I'd split the difference in cost and go for an SS 5-20, personally.

 

[blcouch]

Razor. Got one recently. Like it way better than the NF I had a few years back.

 

[coWSMasher]

I went with the pst. i compared it side by side with everything i could get my hands on before i bought one. the glass was better than a mark 4 any of your swarafski and ziesses and i thought it was up there close to the nightforce. I was not at all disapointed in any aspect of the scope. that being said i am sure the razor is better but you aren't going to have any issues out to a grand with the pst. If you get a 20 moa base you will have no issues getting out there i wouldn't think. Either way i am sure you will be very pleased. vortex is always a good way to go.

 

[coWSMasher]

oh and the razor has a real zero stop instead of shims.

 

[Capt Academy]

I have a Vortex PST FF 6-24x50 and it works fine and is a good scope. I also have several NF NSX's and Leupold Tactical scopes. For the money, the PST is a very good scope for what you want, it will work perfect. I also like the MOA reticle over the Mil. Just my humble opinion. I recently took it to NZ for a Tahr hunt and shot a Tahr at 500 yards with it, so it's accurate.

 

[reximus]

I had a chance to shoot with my buddy's Viper PST 6-24 next to my S&B 3-20 a couple weeks ago... If we were only comparing glass clarity, I would have cried for yours - that Vortex was almost as clear/bright/vibrant as my Schmitty at 1/3 the price!! Granted we were shooting in the late afternoon, with clear conditions, and no mirage - but still!!

Adter that experience, I have NOTHING bad to say about the Vortex Viper PST. It is FFP MIL/MIL and had a great reticle! I was VERY impressed! We didn't test tracking or anything like that, but I'm sure those things track just fine. You won't be unhappy with the PST.

 

[cruzie27]

I got one of the Razor's when they were still pretty new. I originally got it to ride on top of my M82 because of the Vortex warranty, when I sold that gun and bought a house I put the scope on my Remy 700 in .300 Win. Mag. I have zero complaints or issues with that scope I do everything with that gun from shooting 1K to dragging it up the mountain for rifle season. Mine has the EBR-2 in it and depending on the ammo I can use the "Christmas tree" for hold overs without touching my elevation knob.

I have not looked at any of the PST scopes yet,. but I plan on checking them out when I get back stateside. I can fully recommend the Razor though. save the extra coin and buy once bro.

 

[Absolution]

Thank you all for your replies, I went out today to take a look at in stores after I ate breakfast I went by Gander and Cabelas to take a look though them but I wasn't surprised at all that they were closed. I think I'm going to go for the razor for the elevation.

I had a chance to shoot with my buddy's Viper PST 6-24 next to my S&B 3-20 a couple weeks ago... If we were only comparing glass clarity, I would have cried for yours - that Vortex was almost as clear/bright/vibrant as my Schmitty at 1/3 the price!! Granted we were shooting in the late afternoon, with clear conditions, and no mirage - but still!!

Adter that experience, I have NOTHING bad to say about the Vortex Viper PST. It is FFP MIL/MIL and had a great reticle! I was VERY impressed! We didn't test tracking or anything like that, but I'm sure those things track just fine. You won't be unhappy with the PST.

I was dreaming about an S&B but I saw no point after buying this scope then getting another one unless I build another rifle after this one.

 

[RobG]

I have had 3 PST's and now run a Razor. The PST is a great scope for the money but, the Razor is better is every way. Clarity, resolution, reticle (preference of course), zero stop, and elevation. If elevation is important to you, the Razor has the PST beat by a long shot. On a 20 moa base I have about 25 mils of elevation plus whatever I can get on the reticle. The PST's I ran would end up with about 12-13 mils.

 

[JB02]

I have two PSTs and a Razor. The Razor is in a different league. If you can afford it, buy it.

 

[NBly]

To get 1/8 MOA from your PSG-1 clone I would get the Razor

 

[righttobeararms8]

I have a Razor, great scope. Never used a PST, but from what I hear they're pretty decent. But if you can drop the extra cash on a Razor I highly recommend it.

 

[Absolution]

Lots of lawns.... Lots of lawns lol

 

[AtOne]

Listen to Rob, everything he says sums it up.
The bad thing about the Razor if you want to change out your other PST's for them, not because the PST's are bad but because the Razor does it all better.

I have had 3 PST's and now run a Razor. The PST is a great scope for the money but, the Razor is better is every way. Clarity, resolution, reticle (preference of course), zero stop, and elevation. If elevation is important to you, the Razor has the PST beat by a long shot. On a 20 moa base I have about 25 mils of elevation plus whatever I can get on the reticle. The PST's I ran would end up with about 12-13 mils.

 

[trophy8]

just an honest review from me, the pst is NOWHERE near what a mark 4 or anything comparible is, as far as clarity and glass quality. ive compared them side by side in the feild, and its not even close. the pst is a very solid scope. i own one, but its not a mark 4 and its for sure not an s&b. but its nowhere near the cost of the above mentioned....

i also own a razor hd, and you cant compare it to the pst either, and at over double the price, they shouldnt be compared. the turrets on both are great, obviously the razor is superior by far. and so far, the razor has much better glass. the glass on the pst is lacking when compared to even my vxiii lr scopes.

the pst is great for the money, and the ebr-1 moa reticle is nice. i just prefer leupold. everyone has an opinion, and thats my take on it. the pst is far from a bad scope. and well worth the 750-850 (sfp) but id suggest saving a bit more and buying a leupold with m1 turrets, but the reticle options would be the downside there. i only use MOA, so i have zero input on anything with a mil system

 

[pinkhair]

I'd go with the razor in your situation, it's an upgrade to the PST in pretty much all possible ways.

 

[JoeGrine]

I've got the viper pst on a 0 moa base on a savage 10 ba and run out of elevation around 800 yards.... that wont happen with SS.

 

[42769vette]

I've got the viper pst on a 0 moa base on a savage 10 ba and run out of elevation around 800 yards.... that wont happen with SS.

It wont happen either if you use the right base for your purpose. You really should be running a 20ish moa base if for no other reason it helps you stay closer to the optical center.

 

[s002wjh]

is the razor much better or just some improvement over pst?

 

[bluto77]

I have both, and the Razor is twice the scope the PST is. I'm relatively new to long range shooting, so I've been buying and trying plenty of stuff the last 6 months. For optics I've owned/tried the SWFA SS HD 5-20, Vortex Viper PST 6-24, Vortex Razor 5-20, and US Optic 5-25. I like the Vortex Razor best out of them all. I actually just bought another one, and I'm going to sell everything else. Some may argue that it's not "better" than the US Optic, and I would engage them in that debate, but for the money, it is definitely better (in my opinion). Razor all the way! FYI, the Viper PST is at the bottom of that list.

 

[-Nick-]

You need to also remember that with the Razor you get the ARD, caps, and a bubble level included. And if you go the Razor route you can have the EBR 2B reticle which is GREAT for hold-offs and match shooting.

 

[-Nick-]

I have both, and the Razor is twice the scope the PST is. I'm relatively new to long range shooting, so I've been buying and trying plenty of stuff the last 6 months. For optics I've owned/tried the SWFA SS HD 5-20, Vortex Viper PST 6-24, Vortex Razor 5-20, and US Optic 5-25. I like the Vortex Razor best out of them all. I actually just bought another one, and I'm going to sell everything else. Some may argue that it's not "better" than the US Optic, and I would engage them in that debate, but for the money, it is definitely better (in my opinion). Razor all the way! FYI, the Viper PST is at the bottom of that list.

That's extremely debatable. The EREK knob and M40 knob is far better IMO. USO also has the internal bubble level which is the best feature of any scope I've encountered. You also can't get an objective less than 50mm over 10x magnification from Vortex, and you can't get the EBR-2B or the XLR reticle in the PST. Both are great scopes in their own right though.

 

[hewlett260]

Not to stir up a shit storm here and not to say brand "X" is better than Vortex, but here are my observations: Let me start by saying that I do like the PST, features and value for money on it are hard to beat. Two of my shooting buddies have the 6-24's one has the mil/mil(ffp) version and the other has the MOA/MOA(sfp) version. The one with the mil/mil also has the 2.5-10 on a varmint AR and the 1-4 on a carbine. They both swear by these scopes, or did til they looked through my 8 year old Mark 4 and my NF NXS. Once again this is not a comparison, just observation. For the price both of the 6-24's are great values. However, compared to the Mark 4 and NXS, optically they aren't even close. On a clear day the difference is not as noticeable. Once conditions begin to get humid or hot to the point where mirage gets out of hand they just don't have it. When I turn down from 22x to 16x on my NXS, both of them are on 12x to get rid of the mirage just enough to take a shot. My Leupy's are a 4.5- 14x and a fixed 10x and I've never had to turn down the 14x. Once again I do think the PST is great for the money. As for the Razor HD, as stated above, "It's one Bad Mother". My experiences though limited were impressive to say the least. Basically, if Nightforce didn't exist I would have a Razor. When someone says that the Razor they looked through looked as clear as an S&B, I believe it. But when they say that a PST was as nice as an S&B, I gotta call BS.

 

[-Nick-]

Not to stir up a shit storm here and not to say brand "X" is better than Vortex, but here are my observations: Let me start by saying that I do like the PST, features and value for money on it are hard to beat. Two of my shooting buddies have the 6-24's one has the mil/mil(ffp) version and the other has the MOA/MOA(sfp) version. The one with the mil/mil also has the 2.5-10 on a varmint AR and the 1-4 on a carbine. They both swear by these scopes, or did til they looked through my 8 year old Mark 4 and my NF NXS. Once again this is not a comparison, just observation. For the price both of the 6-24's are great values. However, compared to the Mark 4 and NXS, optically they aren't even close. On a clear day the difference is not as noticeable. Once conditions begin to get humid or hot to the point where mirage gets out of hand they just don't have it. When I turn down from 22x to 16x on my NXS, both of them are on 12x to get rid of the mirage just enough to take a shot. My Leupy's are a 4.5- 14x and a fixed 10x and I've never had to turn down the 14x. Once again I do think the PST is great for the money. As for the Razor HD, as stated above, "It's one Bad Mother". My experiences though limited were impressive to say the least. Basically, if Nightforce didn't exist I would have a Razor. When someone says that the Razor they looked through looked as clear as an S&B, I believe it. But when they say that a PST was as nice as an S&B, I gotta call BS.

There's a big difference between the Leupold from 8 years ago and whats out there now. And find me a Nightforce 22x in FFP...

 

[AC Power]

Opinions are free and worth every penny... here's mine.
I've had two Viper PSTs (FFP) and now shoot a Razor. You can't really compare the two. The PST is half the price of the Razor. The Razor is a much better scope in every way as you would expect, but the PST has all the function and same warrantee as the Razor. How much do you want to spend? My suggestion, buy the PST and run it for a while. If you like it, keep it. If it doesn't do the job, sell it for a small loss and pick up a used Razor here on the hide.

 

[Jedi]

You need to also remember that with the Razor you get the ARD, caps, and a bubble level included. And if you go the Razor route you can have the EBR 2B reticle which is GREAT for hold-offs and match shooting.

True
however they are crap, the caps and ARD are about worthless
The scope is very good, they destroy the pleasure of opening the box and handling such a good scope with crap accessories
I went with the 5 mil turrets, as i think the 10 mil ones are a lil crowded
Shoot me a PM if you want like new used scope with RAZOR rings (seekins)
save yourself couple hundred over new

 

[-Nick-]

True
however they are crap, the caps and ARD are about worthless
The scope is very good, they destroy the pleasure of opening the box and handling such a good scope with crap accessories
I went with the 5 mil turrets, as i think the 10 mil ones are a lil crowded
Shoot me a PM if you want like new used scope with RAZOR rings (seekins)
save yourself couple hundred over new

Yes the caps are crap, but the bubble level and ARD are not IMO. The 10 mil are not for those whose eyes are not great, but I like not having to make multiple revolutions with a turret. As you've demonstrated though every user has different preferences and it's best to get hands on with them prior to purchase in order to see what one likes best.

 

[bunsen27]

Comparing a PST to a Razor is like comparing a Honda to a BMW. Both are very good for their respective price points, but not in the same league. I have no experience with the Razor line, but have heard nothing but positive comments about it. I own several of the PST models and couldn't be happier with their performance. If you do decide to go MOA/MOA and don't feel you need illumination I'd highly recommend you check out the Viper HS LR with XLR reticule. It's the sleeper of the HS line.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...ortex-viper-hs-lr-ffp-scopes-xlr-reticle.html

 

[JB02]

Lots of lawns.... Lots of lawns lol

Well if you're interested in a Razor, I can probably sell you one of mine. It's mil/mil w/ the EBR-3 reticle. Steel rings would be included.

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Betweem Razor or PST, Razor for sure. Now 5-20x50 Razor vs 4.5-30x50 Bushnell XRS or any FFP under $2K, Bushy.

 

[chasedeer]

The Razor is Better but the PST is best scope for money

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Have you considered the Athlon Cronus BTR 4.5-29x56? Your SH price would be less than a Razor 5-20x50 and it's more on par with the Razor Gen II
Just a thought

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