Vortex Viper PST?

Not bad for a new gen1. But is it ffp? Im waiting for a good deal on vortex hst. same as pst with no illumination, same turrets, and reticle. They go for around 400.
 
PST is a serviceable scope and should serve you well as they have served many many people, including me well. After many years of continuously upgrading scopes I stopped buying scopes just to fill a hole then to replace/upgrade it later. So, I no longer buy vortex magnified optics as I always found myself wanting to upgrade eventually. So I just save up and buy better glass to begin with if I don’t initially have the money rather than settling for what I can afford at the time.
 
Unfortunately no, it is not FFP. In my case would it be necessary if distance is known? I was actually on youtube to get explanation between ffp and sfp. I did see if spf if trying to determine distance, once has to be at maxed zoom to do so?

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Unfortunately, that is the reason why I couldn't go over $500. At the moment, don't see in "upgrading" my scopes. So I say this now, lol.

What scope would fall under a good one and not needed to be upgraded? Thanks.
 
ninosdemente said:
Unfortunately no, it is not FFP. In my case would it be necessary if distance is known? I was actually on youtube to get explanation between ffp and sfp. I did see if spf if trying to determine distance, once has to be at maxed zoom to do so?
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On my 4-16 PST, the reticle is correct at 16x. It also has detents on the power ring at 8 and 5.3. They make the reticle correct if you use a factor of 2 at 8 power, and 3 at 5.3 power. You can also use a factor of 4 at 4 power. It's not as simple as a FFP scope, but it's not as bad as some would have you believe.
 
Yes, with my pst and shootin long distance I rarely backed it down off max. And to use the reticle on a sfp scope is gotta be on max. So I had no trouble with using sfp. Plus the price is right. If I did comp. Id go with a ffp scope. Yout can still calculate with the sfp reticle with a little math added.
 
Burris Veracity ffp. I love my 5-20x and picked it over the viper pst as the glass looked better to my eyes.

I think these can be had for around $800 now.
 
The Viper PST is a very good scope( 1st or 2nd. gen). The second focal plane will have an advantage in long range shooting. Vortex also makes the standard Viper 20x variable with 50mm obj. that is a great scope.
 
Thanks for the reply BeeShooter, have seen people knock on Vortex. But then again, everyone has their own preference/likes/dislikes. I don't know much but learning as I go, so I am not knocking on anyone. Luckily it was on sale, so I took advantage of it. So far for me, that is the "expensive" scope I have.

Do you mind if I ask how a sfp scope is a plus in long range vs a ffp? At the moment, I am not going any further than 200yds. Limited in distance at the range and I am not ready to go past 200yds. Thanks again.
 
Depending on how fine your reticle is--in a ffp scope it will scale up proportionately (hopefully) but this also means the lines will get thicker as the magnification goes up--some people prefer sfp on higher power scopes for that reason. By the same token, ffp scopes that have "super fine" reticles (I've heard that "charge" leveled at vortex scopes before, though I personally feel they are a good value for what you get, though I don't have one myself) can make the reticle hard to see in lower light/lower magnifications. Since you're not anticipating shooting beyond 200 yds--I would instead invest your money in getting a low to moderate magnification scope with wide field of view and excellent glass and light transmission characteristics; most of your common rifle cartridges will be within or close to point blank ranging so the need for something like a ffp scope is almost irrelevant. Just my opinions ;)
 
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What would be your recommendation?

I am looking to get a 223 left bolt action rifle for my son. Still not sure what to get as I haven't seen much options at the stores near me, but guess a little google search would sure yield some good results. Eventually when it does go through, will put a Vortex Tactical Diamondback off an existing rifle and will need to get a new one eventually.
 
That's highly subjective, and my 5.56. weapons are AR's so I would lean towards a (at most) 4x tactical style scope for the advantages of quick-acquire--even an unmagnified red dot is appropriate unless your quest is for sub .5 MOA (it is for me, so in some instances it does pay to have higher magnification, but I intend to push my rifles to maximum ranges and 95% of my shooting is paper-punching). Leupold for example in their moderate to top tier scopes have outstanding glass clarity and light transmission characteristics to name just one.
 
It's a good scope. I have one with the mil holdover reticle.
I suggest you get the first focal plane version, however.
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Agree on FFP. I have three of the PST scopes. But mine are the Mil/Mil variants.

It's easier to range and calculate hold-overs with a 'pure' Mil/Mil system than the hybrid Mil/MOA set-ups you find on most 'tactical' LR scopes, where the reticle you're looking at is in Mils, but your dails are MOA-based.

Whether it's a range toy or for LR competitions, most serious shooters are choosing quality optics set up in Mil/Mil.
 
How much difficult is the Mil/Moa set up? Would it make a big difference if the range is known such as a range? This won't be used for hunting just bench rest range.

That is something I will have to pay attention next time I buy a scope. Thanks for the reply.
 
How much difficult is the Mil/Moa set up? Would it make a big difference if the range is known such as a range? This won't be used for hunting just bench rest range.
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For an hour or so at the range on a lazy Sunday afternoon, just banging away at bullseyes at the known range of 100yds, it doesn't matter.

However, if you're going to practice (or in competitions need to use) range estimations and/or hold-overs, a 'Mil is a Mil,' as they say.

The Mil/MOA hybrid optics require you to 'translate' the Mils (the measurement unit(s) you see on the reticle) into MOA 'clicks' on the dails - for dialing up or down, left or right. That's especially important as the ranges increases - 400yds, 600yds, and further out.

The Mil/Mil optics simplify 'range est' into either a quick holder-over shot, or if you have time to dail up/down, then no translation is needed between different units of measurements. What you 'see' in Mils is what you dial. Again, a Mil is a Mil.

Sunday afternoon 'snipers' who don't know any better, and the deer-camp Fuddley-types who don't really care, will just point and shoot, ... and at longer distances they'll miss.

Again, for what might be called 'simple plinking' at 100-yds, the Mil/Mil versus Mil/MOA difference doesn't matter.

For serious shooters, to include real-world military snipers laying it on the line in bad places, it does.
 
I found this years ago which helped me understand the differences and how they work:

Mil/Mil or MOA/MOA
1. So I fire, see my miss went 4MIL/MOA low
2. I reach up dial in 4MIL/MOA elevation
3. Hold center on target and it is a hit.

Now if your scope was MIL/MOA there would have to be some conversion done in there some place to get your adjustment.

MOA/MIL

1. Fire see miss measured at 4mil in scope reticle
2. Convert MIL to MOA to find the needed correction.
3. Hope my math was right and dial in correction
4. Hold center on target and hit.
 
* * * Now if your scope was MIL/MOA there would have to be some conversion done in there some place to get your adjustment.
MOA/MIL:
1. Fire see miss measured at 4mil in scope reticle
2.Convert MIL to MOA to find the needed correction.
3. Hope my math was right and dial in correction
4. Hold center on target and hit.
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Exactly.

The Mil to MOA conversion isn't less accurate (unless your 'head-math' screws it up, #2 & #3 above), but it is slower to use under field conditions than Mil/Mil.
 
As was said - the SFP scope doesn't increase its reticle size with an increase of power. MOA scopes are a bit easier to sight-in more accurately(cross-hair to impact) due to the number units available. Example- One click(1/10th mil) on a Mil scope will move the bullet impact or cross-hair about a 1/3rd of an inch. Where as, generally, one click of windage on a MOA scope will move 1/4 in.(all at 100 yards)
 
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