Re: Vortex Viper HS 5-15x44 Mil-Dot
Ok, the review I planned has proven to require more time than I have, so no pics. I have compared it side by side with a nikon prostaff 3-9 ($150), a leupold vx-II 6-18 ($450), a SS 5-20 ($1200), and most recently a hawke 6-24 sf ($270).
Glass- SS (by a long way), Leupold, hawke (blew me away! Close call between it & the loopy) vortex, Nikon
Turrets/ adjustments- SS, vortex (both flawless, but the ss has much more travel), Leupold (much better since its trip to Oregon), hawke (haven't done much testing with it yet), Nikon (hated)
Eye box- SS, Leupold, hawke, Nikon, vortex (kinda tricky at full power & while shooting into the sun)
Eye relief- SS, vortex, Leupold, hawke, Nikon
The SS is at least 3x's the scope. It's not even fair to put it in this group.
The leupold amazes me, maybe I got lucky wih this one. It's had a rough 8 years on my elk gun. The turrets crapped out last fall, but they fixed it up & put a new reticle in it & now it tracks just fine. I've spent hundreds of hours looking through it & never had a hint of eye fatigue. It's a keeper.
The nikon- threw it in because it was handy.... Now it's gone- sold. I don't miss it.
The hawke- the glass blows me away. Less overall eye relief, but more clarity, better color, and no fatigue so far (it's still pretty new though). I still need to put many rounds downrange to give any valuable info about it, but so far I'm diggin it.
The vortex- tracks great, easy to set up, great eye relief, but I'm not in love with the glass. I guess after all the I've read & heard about these I may have had overly high expectations. It's not bad at all, but I thought it would be better. Shooting into the morning sun was difficult- glare & chromatics. At our last dawn range session my buddy's falcon was easier to spot through. I suspect I'll be selling it & ordering another SS.
Disclaimer- I'm no optics expert! This is all just my opinion. I shoot a lot, and most of it is rimfire from 50-400 yards. When I get the center fires out I usually shoot at 700+ yards, so I'm picky about glass & tracking. The only shooting I do at 100 is for zeroing & load development. None of my equipment gets babied.