Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50

The Big Fella

Well lads I was looking at tactical long range scopes and I came across this. Anybody have one and how would you rate them? This one retails at $899 it looks like a nice lightweight scope that would sit nicely on top of a .223. Thanks

Feidhlim Dignan

dont know but the yanks are mad for them

session savage

I'm trying to save up for one of them myself. They are made in the Philippines and have a fantastic reputation for value for money.
Haven't seen one in the flesh though!

The Big Fella

Id like to look at one first as I wouldn't buy a pig in a bag.;)

poulo6.5

that is a nice looking scope. is there anywhere in ireland that a lad might get a look at one of them

session savage

poulo6.5 wrote: »

that is a nice looking scope. is there anywhere in ireland that a lad might get a look at one of them

I asked Paul O'Halloran and Stakelums if they could get one in and both said no. Ive decided on one anyway so ill be getting mine here
http://www.optics-trade.eu/shop/en/vortex-viper-pst-6-24x50-ffp.html

If I get one soon ye can have a gawk then.

Gonzor

I got one from euro-optics. I got absolutely fleeced at customs. If memory serves right I got caught for around the 200euro mark :eek: I was sickened.

I have looked through a lot of scopes since then and I honestly have to say its just OK. Theres nothing spectacular about it.

At the same time its not a bad scope either, I cant fault it. But just from looking at all the advertisements (I know ) and listening to people talking I was expecting a waaayy better scope. If I could go back in time I would have saved up another few hundred euro and just went for a nightforce or S&B and have done with it. I feel a bit ripped off to be honest.

EDIT: If anybody wants to view my vortex they are more than welcome- Im in the north east.

The Big Fella

Gonzor wrote: »

I got one from euro-optics. I got absolutely fleeced at customs. If memory serves right I got caught for around the 200euro mark :eek: I was sickened.

I have looked through a lot of scopes since then and I honestly have to say its just OK. Theres nothing spectacular about it.

At the same time its not a bad scope either, I cant fault it. But just from looking at all the advertisements (I know ) and listening to people talking I was expecting a waaayy better scope. If I could go back in time I would have saved up another few hundred euro and just went for a nightforce or S&B and have done with it. I feel a bit ripped off to be honest.

EDIT: If anybody wants to view my vortex they are more than welcome- Im in the north east.

I suppose a nightforce could be picked up for around the €1000 mark second hand. Are they a bit like a high end hawke scope?

session savage

But you get an awfull lot for your buck with these scopes IMO. The glass is meant to be very good and you also get target turrets with the option of turrets customised to your rifle and a FFP reticle all for under 800 euro!! you would be doing fair well to get even a second hand scope for that money here with them bells and whistles I reckon.

4200fps

Its a gamble id say.You may be lucky and happy with it or very unfortunate. I cant see a scope made in the Philippines being top notch,for example Simmons is is Chinese best are they are crap IMO and i think any country where labor is cheap products can be of bad quality. ''I could be wrong'',it could be an excellent sight. I'd stick with American or European brands. you need a clear scope,nice field of view and a scope which holds its zero. For long range shooting that be essential.You cant really judge any scope till its in use I think..At the end of the day God forbid me saying buying something online you didn't hear of online and giving good money for COULD be a disaster.As one of the lads said above you would buy a great 2nd hand Night force with that money and get your money back too in the future if you change it.

The Big Fella

I think I might go with a second hand nightforce this summer when I save a few pound first.;) At least the nightforce will hold its value and there a bullet proof scope at the end of the day.:D

4200fps

http://www.opticstalk.com/_topic24041.html
Have a look at this. Its a review on good and bad about that brand. Alot of bad i see.I didnt read as its time for the spuds now

4200fps

The Big Fella wrote: »

I think I might go with a second hand nightforce this summer when I save a few pound first.;) At least the nightforce will hold its value and there a bullet proof scope at the end of the day.:D

Very wise choice Your safer I think lad

4200fps

4200fps wrote: »

http://www.opticstalk.com/_topic24041.html
Have a look at this. Its a review on good and bad about that brand. Alot of bad i see.I didnt read as its time for the spuds now

The good is the pictures I see

The Big Fella

4200fps wrote: »

I didnt read as its time for the spuds now

Its a bit late in the day for the spuds.:D

4200fps

The Big Fella wrote: »

Its a bit late in the day for the spuds.:D

Oh no its never late for a spud lol, I ran out of boxty

Gonzor

session savage wrote: »

But you get an awfull lot for your buck with these scopes IMO. The glass is meant to be very good and you also get target turrets with the option of turrets customised to your rifle and a FFP reticle all for under 800 euro!! you would be doing fair well to get even a second hand scope for that money here with them bells and whistles I reckon.

No, I dont agree, the glass isnt *very* good. It is good glass alright, but I wouldnt think there is anything "great" or "very good" about the glass.

The target turrets... meh... a good lot of scopes these days come with target turrets. Its hardly a unique feature.

As for the custom turrets, IRC, cost an additional 200quid and is only good for 1 round.... or in other words... you need a custom set of turrets for every round you use... or in other words... if you get your turrets made for american eagle fmj's because thats your favourite round and then next year you decide you prefer v-max well you need a new set of turrets (another 200quid) and in the mean time if you change your rifle you'll need new turrets again. Even if the custom turrets were free I still wouldnt touch them. Far too much messing with them.

FFP... yeh its a nice feature. But Ive yet to use it really. Im too fond of my range finder and then once you have your dope you just range the target and dial in and away you go. Think of it this way. THe scope you have at the minute... is it mildot? Do you use the mildot all the time? Is the fact its SFP a pain in the ass...???


Look Im not trying to put you off this scope. And if you have your heart set on it then by all means go for it. Like I said, its not a bad scope. But its not a great one either. I dont know why (well I blame advertisments to be honest) but its waayyyy over-rated.

In my own personal opinion I regret not saving up for another month or two longer and getting a nightforce.... which is a much much better scope.

session savage

Gonzor wrote: »

No, I dont agree, the glass isnt *very* good. It is good glass alright, but I wouldnt think there is anything "great" or "very good" about the glass.

The target turrets... meh... a good lot of scopes these days come with target turrets. Its hardly a unique feature.

As for the custom turrets, IRC, cost an additional 200quid and is only good for 1 round.... or in other words... you need a custom set of turrets for every round you use... or in other words... if you get your turrets made for american eagle fmj's because thats your favourite round and then next year you decide you prefer v-max well you need a new set of turrets (another 200quid) and in the mean time if you change your rifle you'll need new turrets again. Even if the custom turrets were free I still wouldnt touch them. Far too much messing with them.

FFP... yeh its a nice feature. But Ive yet to use it really. Im too fond of my range finder and then once you have your dope you just range the target and dial in and away you go. Think of it this way. THe scope you have at the minute... is it mildot? Do you use the mildot all the time? Is the fact its SFP a pain in the ass...???

I have no intention of getting custom turrets but the main feature I like is the FFP reticle cause I onlyuse mil dots (or in this scopes case mil lines whatever) to range. So for me having adjustable mag on a scope with SFP is useless. Would love to be able to zoom right in and still read a true mil reading and have a much better look at my target.
Any FFP scopes I saw around here, even 2nd hand were too much dough for me.

declan1980

The Big Fella wrote: »

I think I might go with a second hand nightforce this summer when I save a few pound first.;) At least the nightforce will hold its value and there a bullet proof scope at the end of the day.:D

Go with a nightforce lad, I think there are a couple on here for reasonable money. You won't regret buying one if you do.

Gonzor

Its your choice session savage... Im just telling you the stuff I wish someone told me before I went and bought mine

BTW: THere are a ton of scopes (and I dont mean second hand) cheaper then the VIper that have FFP. But its your choice. Best of luck with whatever you get.

lefthooker

I don't know about the PST but I got a Viper HS 4-16x50 from optics-trade.eu for my HMR and think it suits it perfectly. The glass is very good IMO. The PST is supposedly another step up but you're getting into higher end territory. But then again its not the price of an S&B or Nightforce.

You could also send a msg to DeTomaso, he owns the site and has a good knowledge of scopes and I found him very helpful when I bought my scope.

session savage

Gonzor wrote: »

Its your choice session savage... Im just telling you the stuff I wish someone told me before I went and bought mine

BTW: THere are a ton of scopes (and I dont mean second hand) cheaper then the VIper that have FFP. But its your choice. Best of luck with whatever you get.

Thanks for the advice gonzor, i appreciate it. At the moment I'm only decided on this scope because it has milrad markings, FFP and target turrets, and its not meant to be ****. And I could afford it. Any of the scopes I saw with similar features were either **** you woulndt put on an airsoft firle or were too expensive.
And advice or recommendations is great. I dont care what make a scope is i just want the best scope I can afford.


never know, i could win the euro millions and we can all have S&B scopes :cool:

clivej

For less money you can get the Ziess Duralyt and having seen these in action they are very good.

I have all Bushnell scopes but if I had the money it would be all Ziess scopes sitting atop my rifles.

session savage

clivej wrote: »

For less money you can get the Ziess Duralyt and having seen these in action they are very good.

I have all Bushnell scopes but if I had the money it would be all Ziess scopes sitting atop my rifles.

Good scopes but the duralyt has its reticle on the 2nd focal plane and I dont think they come with mil dot reticles, and as far as I can make out on thier site they dont have parallax adjustment. (i could be wrong though)

As far as I have researched the vortex 'seems' to be the best bang for buck scope with the features I need.

jeez i'm a fussy hoor

De_Tomaso

If you are looking for FFP reticule, tactical turrets, illuminated reticule and decent glass than Viper PST is a great value for money and best choice under 1000€. Anything similar from EU will be much much more expensive. On the other hand it is also true that the glass quality is on pair with Nikon Monarch 3 and little under Elite 4200 and this means that it is not really on pair with premium EU manufacturers. This does not change the fact that it is still very good value for money.


The first step higher in quality, with price still under 1500€ mark, but with the same features (Kaps unfortunately in different magnifications) are IOR Tactical scopes and Kaps Tactical scopes. All others like NF, Kahles, Zeiss, S&B, Premier... are much more expensive.

session savage

De_Tomaso wrote: »

The first step higher in quality, with price still under 1500€ mark, but with the same features (Kaps unfortunately in different magnifications) are IOR Tactical scopes and Kaps Tactical scopes. All others like NF, Kahles, Zeiss, S&B, Premier... are much more expensive.

Yeah that was my understanding of it alright

Gonzor

De_Tomaso wrote: »

If you are looking for FFP reticule, tactical turrets, illuminated reticule and decent glass than Viper PST is a great value for money and best choice under 1000€. Anything similar from EU will be much much more expensive.

Thats a very bold statement... :rolleyes: I can think of plenty of scopes that are "similar" in the EU for way less than a €1000

The cheapest that I can think of is my best mates Falcon Optic M4

(heres a review)

http://www.snipercentral.com/menace4.htm

Falcon Optics are a UK company, so next day delievery and no worries about customs. I think my mate paid £380 for his M4. The only difference between it and the viper is the illuminated reticle... but its about half the price of the Viper. And tHe glass is similar to the Viper aswell.

My mate *loves* his M4, he had planned on getting a Viper until I got mine and he saw them in person then he got the M4 instead. Hes had the M4 for over a year now and has since bought one for all of his rifles. So make of that what you will.

De_Tomaso

I have to admit that I have seen only one FFP Falcon scope in person until now and if they all have the same build quality like the example I saw, then I would not want to compare them to Vipers PST. The build quality of that scope was just not on the same level.


I would honestly like to hear about other scopes with this features and similar quality and a price lower than 1000€? I am always interested in products I am not familiar with and will be grateful for any information.

De_Tomaso

Now when I have read the review about Falcon scopes you can see that even the review ends with a word about warranty claims, mechanical fails and other problems. It is hard to expect from a Chinese scope for 400€ everything what you get from better scopes.

Gonzor

De_Tomaso wrote: »

Now when I have read the review about Falcon scopes you can see that even the review ends with a word about warranty claims, mechanical fails and other problems. It is hard to expect from a Chinese scope for 400€ everything what you get from better scopes.

That was a pre-production scope in that review so its not too suprising if there are one or two issues- but you will also have noted that the author was very happy with the companys response and his replacement (more than can be said for Vortex).

Besides are Philipine scopes much of a step above Chinese- I had issues with my viper, and someone posted a link in the last page where some guy had serious mechanical issues with his viper. Cheap scopes are liable to cause trouble.

I just want to highlight here that Im not promoting/defending cheap scopes. My opinion is that the vortex viper is a cheap scope in a fancy wrapper. If I was going to buy a cheap scope well then I'd rather not spend a load of money on it. I said a few times I think that session savage should just save up an extra few hundred and get something decent.

Gonzor

Im not going to drag this out. We could argue all night about who makes the best scopes.

Im just going to end it by saying, session savage (or anybody else) is more than welcome to come and inspect my viper and they can make up their own minds.

browning 12 bore

i have a swift with mil dots in it very very handy i must say 300 yards out and only 1 mildot down very handy indeed