Re: Vortex Viper PST 4-16X50 FFP Initial Impressions
I've been meaning to update this thread as well. There really isn't much to add to the above--no surprises, the scope has just worked very well as expected.
I didn't keep an exact round count but it survived somewhere around 100 rounds from my light weight 300 RUM shooting 240's at just under 3K fps with no ill effects, so that's a pretty good recoil durability test. I did lots more shooting at long range with it, here's a pic at 1057 yds shooting an 18" gong (through some fog/clouds):
Tracking was very repeatable and reliable.
While I didn't take it on my pack in elk hunt, I did use it a fair amount hunting whitetails, including a lot of brush hunting on my lightweight 7-08. I did try it as is, but after only a few minutes into the first hunt the turrets had moved a couple times just from the way I was carrying it, so I taped them up:
Orange fuzz from my vest.... With the nice FFP reticle I was still ready for any long shot that may have been presented.
One of the better features in the thick stuff was the reticle. Many get concerned about using a FFP on low power in low light but the reticle is sized such that it would do OK without the illumination. Not great, but certainly OK.
But with the very good illumination, it goes from OK to excellent for such use. Here are a couple pics I took long ago to show how the reticle looks on 4X in low light:
Anyway, I assume my replacement should be here fairly shortly. I'll keep all of you updated on how they compare.