Rifle Scopes Vortex Strike Eagle vs Viper PST Gen II

[Gossamer]

Hello, I am just getting into this arena and am looking to pick up my first scope. I have been looking and currently I believe I have narrowed my selections down to either the Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 with EBR-7C or Viper PST Gen II 5-25x50 with EBR-2C reticle. The prices I have been able to find put the Viper PST at about $150 more than the Strike Eagle (~$800 vs $650) and I am trying too see if the jump to the Viper PST warrants the extra cost, or it it will just be money spent that I will not realize the return on?

Thanks for your help!

 

[hetzen]

Check out Liberty Optics. Just got my SE from them for less than $650.

So far, it seems like a solid optic but haven't compared it closely to my friend's PST Gen2. Initial impressions are the turrets on the SE have some decent slop in them in when unlocked. I reached out to Vortex and they said it's within spec based on video I gave them.

Personally not a fan of the 2c reticle, and prefer the 7c.

 

[st1650]

The SE is a 34mm tube and has more elevation than the PST Gen II (31vs20mil) for a 22lr trainer I’d go with the SE for that reason alone and also because I wouldn’t care about crystal clear glass within 400 yards.
The PST Gen II should have slightly better glass and I believe are made in Philippines vs China for the SE (some people care about that).
I also prefer the 7c reticle which is also available on the PST.

I wouldn’t pay minimum advertised price for either one, shop around and you should get a decent price.

 

[Packfan]

There is another thread out there looking at these same scopes. I have the PST Gen 2 and my buddy has the SE. He has already had turret issues and the scope is in for repair. My PST Gen 2 has been solid. In looking through and shooting both extensively, the glass on the PST Gen 2 is better, especially at longer ranges. The turrets are also much more defined. That said, the eye box on the SE's 34mm tube is wider and easier to find the sweet spot.

I am moving the PST Gen 2 to another rifle and was going to buy an SE, but I think I might go with the Athlon Midas Tac instead. The 6-24x50 is about the same prices as the SE and the 5-25x56 is priced closer to the PST. You may want to check them out.

 

[flyfisher117]

Just a note. Everyone likes to brag that the strike eagle has more elevation adjustment. Which is true*

*true being it only has more elevation if you dont use the zero stop. If you plan on using the zero stop it somehow limits usable travel to that of the PST II.

 

[Packfan]

Just a note. Everyone likes to brag that the strike eagle has more elevation adjustment. Which is true*

*true being it only has more elevation if you dont use the zero stop. If you plan on using the zero stop it somehow limits usable travel to that of the PST II.

Interesting. I have heard some zero stops limit travel. I never picked up on this with the SE.

 

[flyfisher117]

Interesting. I have heard some zero stops limit travel. I never picked up on this with the SE.

Yeah I was ready to get a SE but ended up skipping it because of that.

No one really talks about it and Vortex only lists it in the PDF product manual on their website. Not on the main product page.

 

[Gossamer]

Thanks for the replies, I am looking for a scope that I will put on my .308 and based on the replies here the SE is out. I checked out the Athlon Midas as commented in here and saw a few scenarios where the reticle had rotated inside the scope, not sure if that is common with Athlon or not but wanted to mention it.

I have been shopping around and was able to find the EBR7C Viper PST Gen II for ~$900 to my door. Not sure if there are any supporting vendors on here that can beat that price?

 

[Jrb572]

Check out liberty optics. Add it to your cart to see your price.

 

[ToddM]

Yeah I was ready to get a SE but ended up skipping it because of that.

No one really talks about it and Vortex only lists it in the PDF product manual on their website. Not on the main product page.

Yep Vortex really go out of their way to hide the limitation, it's a little shady on their part. Probably because if people knew you had to give up the zero stop to get the stated elevation they make such a big deal about in their marketing, they'd buy something else. To me the exception would be that if you ran it on a .22 with a lot of MOA in the mount so you were say a 1/4-1/2 rev from bottoming the elevation that would "work" as a poor man's rev indicator to get back to zero. For me that's really it's only good use case, for anything else for almost the same price I'd rather have PST II.

 

[lash]

Maybe I’m not understanding you guys correctly, but every zero stop on every scope limits the available elevation adjustment. It’s a simple fact that once you find your zero and set your zero stop, you will only ever have the elevation that’s left after zeroing.

This is true of even your alpha scopes. The only way you can max out your available elevation adjustment is to use rails or other mechanical means to find your zero at the bottommost point.

 

[ToddM]

This is true, once you engage the zero stop you only have the elevation left from your zero point to the max elevation adjustment. So in say a perfect world if you had say 30 mils of total elevation, if you could zero at 5 mils up from the bottom, set the zero stop you'd only have 25 mils left of elevation

However the SE zero stop is a big slotted spacer, you zero your scope, but once you install that spacer it limits the total travel, doesn't matter where you zero it, you now only get 18 mil total elevation from your zero point (or less). Without the spacer installed you get 31 mils, of course if you zero at 10mils up from the bottom of the adjustment you now only have 21 mils elevation adjustment left. I can only guess what the zero stop spacer is doing is limiting the amount of revolutions you can turn the knob, both up and down.

 

[lash]

Ah okay. I guess that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Birddog6424]

I have to admit. I'm surprised that Frank's scope tracking statistics don't get more air time..

He tested 9 Gen II PSTs. 6 of them didn't track properly. So 66%, 2 out of 3, however you want to slice it. But that's significant...

I had serious issues with both the PSTs I had. But thats water under the bridge and I still like Vortex stuff. I have some Razor products. But I wouldn't touch a PST. They are still the same unreliable optic they've always been.

 

[Awag1000]

I have to admit. I'm surprised that Frank's scope tracking statistics don't get more air time..

He tested 9 Gen II PSTs. 6 of them didn't track properly. So 66%, 2 out of 3, however you want to slice it. But that's significant...

I had serious issues with both the PSTs I had. But thats water under the bridge and I still like Vortex stuff. I have some Razor products. But I wouldn't touch a PST. They are still the same unreliable optic they've always been.

This is eye opening info. I was considering a PST for a build. How off was the tracking?

 

[Gossamer]

I have to admit. I'm surprised that Frank's scope tracking statistics don't get more air time..

He tested 9 Gen II PSTs. 6 of them didn't track properly. So 66%, 2 out of 3, however you want to slice it. But that's significant...

I had serious issues with both the PSTs I had. But thats water under the bridge and I still like Vortex stuff. I have some Razor products. But I wouldn't touch a PST. They are still the same unreliable optic they've always been.

Were yours Gen II? What types of issues did you have? Also, I am new to the forum, is there a post with the scope tracking stats that you are referring to? Id be interested to check it out so as not to go down the wrong path from the get go!

 

[flyfisher117]

I have to admit. I'm surprised that Frank's scope tracking statistics don't get more air time..

He tested 9 Gen II PSTs. 6 of them didn't track properly. So 66%, 2 out of 3, however you want to slice it. But that's significant...

I had serious issues with both the PSTs I had. But thats water under the bridge and I still like Vortex stuff. I have some Razor products. But I wouldn't touch a PST. They are still the same unreliable optic they've always been.

Frank also says anything within 2% of 100 is a pass. So only one fell outside of his 2%.

 

[flyfisher117]

Were yours Gen II? What types of issues did you have? Also, I am new to the forum, is there a post with the scope tracking stats that you are referring to? Id be interested to check it out so as not to go down the wrong path from the get go!

Scope Tracking Test Results 2020

Follow Sniper's Hide and pick up the latest information on all things precision rifle related. Sniper's Hide Training is for the serious tactical marksman.

www.snipershide.com

Be sure to read the whole article. There is a reason Frank didn't want to post the data. People don't read and understand and then try and use it as something its not.

 

[Birddog6424]

Frank also says anything within 2% of 100 is a pass. So only one fell outside of his 2%.

I agree, it makes that particular optic useable. But I think its a very big red flag for poor quality control. Its just that much more likely that you'll get one that doesn't track well.

I remember playing with a bunch of them at SHOT when they first came out. They had 6 or 7 of them mounted on stocks in the Vortex booth. The turrets on those optics ranged from everything from spinning in a stiff breeze, to needing a good grip and hard twist. And everything in between. My buddy called them the Goldilocks turrets. Some were too soft, some were too hard, some were just right.

Again, indicative of poor quality control.

 

[demolitionman]

I’ve played with both. Imo; the PST gen 2 is superior to the Strike Eagle. The pst has much more solid turret adjustments( clicks are very secure and reassuring compared the the SE) and the pst glass was better of the two. Imo I wouldn’t buy either scope but if I had to choose one of these PST hands down.

 

[Solidsnake85]

Yep Vortex really go out of their way to hide the limitation, it's a little shady on their part. Probably because if people knew you had to give up the zero stop to get the stated elevation they make such a big deal about in their marketing, they'd buy something else. To me the exception would be that if you ran it on a .22 with a lot of MOA in the mount so you were say a 1/4-1/2 rev from bottoming the elevation that would "work" as a poor man's rev indicator to get back to zero. For me that's really it's only good use case, for anything else for almost the same price I'd

Yep Vortex really go out of their way to hide the limitation, it's a little shady on their part. Probably because if people knew you had to give up the zero stop to get the stated elevation they make such a big deal about in their marketing, they'd buy something else. To me the exception would be that if you ran it on a .22 with a lot of MOA in the mount so you were say a 1/4-1/2 rev from bottoming the elevation that would "work" as a poor man's rev indicator to get back to zero. For me that's really it's only good use case, for anything else for almost the same price I'd rather have PST II.

Vortex made a youtube video talking about it and explaining it, but the strike eagle should still get like 18 mil up with the stop. Ittle still reach out pretty far. With a 6.5 creed using 140 eld match you should get around 1500 yard. according to hornady ballistic data

 

[Gossamer]

I’ve played with both. Imo; the PST gen 2 is superior to the Strike Eagle. The pst has much more solid turret adjustments( clicks are very secure and reassuring compared the the SE) and the pst glass was better of the two. Imo I wouldn’t buy either scope but if I had to choose one of these PST hands down.

What would you recommend for the 850-900 price range?

 

[Solidsnake85]

What would you recommend for the 850-900 price range?

If i was choosing, i would get the pst gen 2. Thats my choice under 1000, or save a little more money. optics planet has the burris xtr 2 4-20/50 for a grand. just a suggestion. When i got my scope i went the buy once cry once way and got a razor gen 2. I havnt looked thru the burris

 

[Solidsnake85]

Scope Tracking Test Results 2020

Follow Sniper's Hide and pick up the latest information on all things precision rifle related. Sniper's Hide Training is for the serious tactical marksman.

www.snipershide.com

Be sure to read the whole article. There is a reason Frank didn't want to post the data. People don't read and understand and then try and use it as something its not.

This is 2021 and a new president so those results dont matter now. I heard through the grapevine frank is liking the Valdada and Quigley fords now. Zcomp and Nightforce better watch out this year.

 

[Rob01]

I agree, it makes that particular optic useable. But I think its a very big red flag for poor quality control. Its just that much more likely that you'll get one that doesn't track well.

I remember playing with a bunch of them at SHOT when they first came out. They had 6 or 7 of them mounted on stocks in the Vortex booth. The turrets on those optics ranged from everything from spinning in a stiff breeze, to needing a good grip and hard twist. And everything in between. My buddy called them the Goldilocks turrets. Some were too soft, some were too hard, some were just right.

Again, indicative of poor quality control.

LOL nice assumption. Any idea how many people picked up and twisted the knobs at SHOT or even how many people had handled any of the scopes being used at other shows prior or if they were used for a year prior in testing? Again assumptions.

 

[Rob01]

Thanks for the replies, I am looking for a scope that I will put on my .308 and based on the replies here the SE is out. I checked out the Athlon Midas as commented in here and saw a few scenarios where the reticle had rotated inside the scope, not sure if that is common with Athlon or not but wanted to mention it.

I have been shopping around and was able to find the EBR7C Viper PST Gen II for ~$900 to my door. Not sure if there are any supporting vendors on here that can beat that price?

As to the zero stop on the SE, yes it limits to 18 mils but if you look at most optics in the range and even the PST Gen II which has a TOTAL of 20 mils, if you put a PST on a 20 MOA base you end up with about 16 mils so you actually get more in the SE even with the zero stop installed. It's a subject people do not think about fully or do the math on. Also 18 mils on a center fire, even a .308 will get more people well past where they will be shooting. On a rimfire you should set the SE up so that the zero stop isn't even needed. On a 40 MOA base you do not have a full revolution below the zero so no need for the stop. You can do the same on a centerfire too.

To the PST vs the SE, comes down to use. On a Rimfire I would get the SE and on a centerfire I would get the PST. The PST has more tactile clicks on the knobs, plenty of elevation and good glass. Also it has the clickless zeroing which I like to get a perfect zero.

 

[st1650]

Or even better
A Cronus for Centerfire and a Midas Tac for RF

 

[flyfisher117]

As to the zero stop on the SE, yes it limits to 18 mils but if you look at most optics in the range and even the PST Gen II which has a TOTAL of 20 mils, if you put a PST on a 20 MOA base you end up with about 16 mils so you actually get more in the SE even with the zero stop installed. It's a subject people do not think about fully or do the math on.

What math makes it so that a scope with 18mil of travel ends up having more adjustment than a scope with 20 mil of travel?

 

[beetroot]

What math makes it so that a scope with 18mil of travel ends up having more adjustment than a scope with 20 mil of travel?

Because the likelihood of zeroing the PST such that you have 18 usable Mils is unlikely.

Even if you did get the perfect amount of cant in your rail/rings you are best not to be zeroed in the extreme limits of the scopes elevation range.

 

[Rob01]

What math makes it so that a scope with 18mil of travel ends up having more adjustment than a scope with 20 mil of travel?

Read it again. On a 20 moa base you get 18 with the SE and about 16 with the PST.

 

[flyfisher117]

Because the likelihood of zeroing the PST such that you have 18 usable Mils is unlikely.

Even if you did get the perfect amount of cant in your rail/rings you are best not to be zeroed in the extreme limits of the scopes elevation range.

Read it again. On a 20 moa base you get 18 with the SE and about 16 with the PST.

Mine must be broke. I'm getting 17.9 mils. ☹ edit my PST II on a 20 moa base.

 

[Rob01]

Mine must be broke. I'm getting 17.9 mils. ☹

Your what? PST?

And if you want to get picky just throw the SE on a 40-60 moa base and you will have about 26-31 mils of travel and no need for a zero stop.