nakneker
Gold $$ Contributor
I go back and forth. I probably won’t pull the trigger in the end.
Vortex Viper PST GEN II
- Thread starter KTM525
- Start date
What do you plan on using it for?
The Gen 1 PST is a very light weight scope, and I wonder now in hindsight if it was ever up to the job.
I had three of them, before I eventually gave up on them.
The Vortex warranty is great, and the people involved are all very pleasant – but ultimately, if the scope isn't up to the job in the first place, then all you can look forward to is a replacement scope which, also, isn't up to the job. The 'job' in my case, was shooting .308WIN loads with a moderator attached.
Also, there seems to be a misconception that if your scope breaks, you'll receive a brand new replacement scope under the VIP warranty. In fact, you receive a refurbished/repaired scope. Whilst you will get FFP for FFP, and SFP for SFP – there's no guarantee that you'll get the same reticle. I originally purchased an EBR-1 scope, which went back to Vortex without a single mark on it, and the replacement I received was an EBR-2C with ring marks on it.
So yes, you will receive a fully functioning scope, but there may be slight differences in spec. – or a lengthy wait if you absolutely have to have something very specific.
All in all, the Vortex warranty is great if you're careless. If you drop your rifle or reverse your car over it then the VIP warranty is like a get out of jail free card. The warranty isn't so great if you look after your kit and expect it to be replaced like-for-like if something goes wrong.
The Gen 2 PST is considerably heavier than the Gen 1 (another third in weight) and I hope that as a result it will be a little beefier internally. Certainly, I can't see the revised glass and turrets alone, adding that much weight.
Now that I've subsequently had the chance to run top-of-line apochromatically-corrected HD/ED/Schott scopes from the likes of Vortex and Valdada, I'd certainly be interested in putting a Gen 2 PST through its paces to see how it compares to the Gen 1. Like I say, for a lot of people, the Gen 2 PST might be all the scope they ever need?
I had three of them, before I eventually gave up on them.
The Vortex warranty is great, and the people involved are all very pleasant – but ultimately, if the scope isn't up to the job in the first place, then all you can look forward to is a replacement scope which, also, isn't up to the job. The 'job' in my case, was shooting .308WIN loads with a moderator attached.
Also, there seems to be a misconception that if your scope breaks, you'll receive a brand new replacement scope under the VIP warranty. In fact, you receive a refurbished/repaired scope. Whilst you will get FFP for FFP, and SFP for SFP – there's no guarantee that you'll get the same reticle. I originally purchased an EBR-1 scope, which went back to Vortex without a single mark on it, and the replacement I received was an EBR-2C with ring marks on it.
So yes, you will receive a fully functioning scope, but there may be slight differences in spec. – or a lengthy wait if you absolutely have to have something very specific.
All in all, the Vortex warranty is great if you're careless. If you drop your rifle or reverse your car over it then the VIP warranty is like a get out of jail free card. The warranty isn't so great if you look after your kit and expect it to be replaced like-for-like if something goes wrong.
The Gen 2 PST is considerably heavier than the Gen 1 (another third in weight) and I hope that as a result it will be a little beefier internally. Certainly, I can't see the revised glass and turrets alone, adding that much weight.
Now that I've subsequently had the chance to run top-of-line apochromatically-corrected HD/ED/Schott scopes from the likes of Vortex and Valdada, I'd certainly be interested in putting a Gen 2 PST through its paces to see how it compares to the Gen 1. Like I say, for a lot of people, the Gen 2 PST might be all the scope they ever need?
What I've found, is that you can't tell from holding a scope in a shop (or from YouTube/internet forums) how it will hold up reliability-wise over any given period of time.
The price tag, is the sum of the physical components AND the QC that has gone in to building the final scope.
Leupold are very open about the fact that they will order their glass from anybody, but they spend a lot of effort making sure that the glass is up to their specification. In theory, it shouldn't matter who is supplying the glass, as long as it meets their desired spec. Checking the glass against the spec. obviously costs money in terms of man hours etc. Likewise, I believe that Nightforce spend a great deal of time and effort hand finishing an individual scope and making sure that it meets their very tight specifications.
The question in my mind, is whether you're better buying:
• £2,000 scope, that has £1,500 worth of unknown glass and £500 worth of QC
• £2,000 scope that has £1,995 worth of Schott glass and £5 of QC
Personally, every Leupold or Nightforce owners that I've met are delighted with their purchase – so I'm thinking that spending the money on the QC is the way to go?
What do you think?
I have Viper PST Gen 2, 5-25 X 50, FFP, MOA on order from Vortex. Today the Vortex rep advised me that the Gen II might be a 5 to 6 month wait due to demand and production times. Kinda bummed me out, but working at Cabela's we had a program that if you sold a Vortex you got Vortex bucks. Well selling over $15k I get the scope for free. I guess I can wait. It is a excellent scope for Long range shooting.
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