Finally, a representative of Vortex's new line of optical sights -Viper PST Gen-II 1-6x24, came to our review. The sight refers to the so-called "rabbit scope", and is intended, first of all, for shooting at short and medium distances and for a rimfire where at 1x zoom is low enough to keep both eyes open when shooting runners.
This type of optics was originally created for hunting, but due to their unique properties they are ideal for practical shooting and tactical tasks. The sight absorbed all the best from the previous Viper 1-6 model of the first generation, and is the undisputed leader among the sights of this class presented in the market in terms of price-quality ratio.
Traditionally, let's start with the requirements for this type of optics:
The "rabit scope" is a kind of optical sight, for multiple hunting scenarios where in most cases target appears at a distance from almost point-blank up to 300 meters, the zoom for which scopes should begin with 1x, this was tested not by one hunter in practice, since on this kind of hunting, the beast can appear at 3-5 meters from the shooter. At such a close distance with 2-3x zoom - You can’t see anything except for the paws or eyes, especially if we are talking about such a beast as a boar, which must be accurately hit in the place. Scopes with small zooming range is very convenient, and at any distance you can hit the target. So the first requirement for such type of scope is the zooming range of 1-4, or 1-6. If the zoom is 1-6, then 200 and more meters is not a difficult task for a shooter, not to mention the multiplicity of 1-8. In this case, the ability to quickly change the scope zoom during hunting is a fundamental factor.
The diameter of the objective lens basically has a small value, usually it is not more than 24mm. A small lens allows you to reduce the weight and dimensions of the scope, which affects the best forest area passing by the hunter.
Another requirement, since you still have to get to the hunting object, usually on your own two, while multiple branches blows on the scope are possible. It should also pay attention to the lenses fogging elimination, which is extremely susceptible to open collimator sights.
In such scopes, the possibility of ballistic drop compensation on the reticle is extremely desirable, since, despite the possibility of a rapid zoom change, you do not always have enough time for this - especially with the sudden animal appearance, there remains shooting with the scope ballistic grid.
Since the target can merge with foliage, grass and branches mark or grid illumination is extremely desirable. The need for shooting at the place, further complicates the task for the shooter - that's why the work of the backlight, even at its minimum values, will greatly reduce the time of capture and hit of the target.
Scopes with such qualities are certainly expensive, but for responsible hunting, when other hunters are close to you, time and type of the ammunition are not playing in your favor, and the target can appear at any time and at any distance – this scope are your confidence in prize!
Let’s proceed to the hero of our review - Viper PST Gen-II 1-6 × 24 scope.
The scope comes in a box with a brand design from Vortex, made in strict black and white colors. The quality of packaging, perfect as always.
Vortex optics has added to its box a lot of useful information about its product, which continues the company's traditional focus on its consumer.
There is an image of the reticle and the scope model on the side of the package.
Under the barcode image, there is an inscription that this scope is made in the Philippines, which is standard for the Viper series. Cheaper Strike Eagle series are made in China.
The contents of the box, standard for Viper series optical sights, and includes:
The scope itself.
Battery (CR1032 standard battery).
A cloth made of microfiber for optics cleaning.
Mounting tool.
Scope manual.
Lens blend for optics.
Protective caps.
Sticker with company logo.
The scope is quite compact, but rather heavy (the weight of the sight is 644 grams), which is due to the requirements for scope survivability, including magnum-caliber (up to .338) shooting. The sight is made of a single piece of aviation aluminum alloy, while it is quite ergonomic, does not have obvious protruding parts, which excludes clings to elements of clothing or equipment.
The scope content includes protective caps for protect the optics during transport. In principle, they do their job well, but they are completely inconvenient for hunting - that's why we recommend replacing them with the more suitable ones: Defender ™ Flip Cap (models: O-24 and FC-5) from Vortex optics.
On the bottom surface there is an image of the Vortex logo, model name, serial number, and information about the scope origin (Philippines).
The scope is hermetically sealed, filled with argon gas - this eliminates the lenses fogging due to sudden temperature fluctuations, there are also caps on it that protect the adjustments turrets in hikes or during transportation. In addition, the scope lenses are an enlightened multi-layer with the proprietary protective "ArmorTek" coating.
Glass processing uses the technology of multi-layer anti-reflective coating, patented by the manufacturer, and allows to achieve maximum light transmission and image clarity. The images clearly show the excellent quality of the glass, as well as a protective coating, which is cast in green tones.
The objective lens is recessed into the body - this is done in order to exclude its damage during hiking or hunting. In addition, this solution allows you to virtually eliminate glare from the optics during the shooting, which makes the use of the blend from the kit almost unnecessary.
Controls consist of a turret turning on the grid lighting, vertical and horizontal adjustments turrets, as well as zoom control ring and dioptric adjustment ring. Parallax adjustment is absent, the sight is calibrated at a distance of 100 yards (about 92 meters), which is enough for most situations.
The adjustments turrets are closed by protective caps, which prevents their accidental rotation, during a hike, for example. The battery compartment is integrated in the backlight control turret, located on the left side. The cover of the battery compartment has the coin slot, with which you can tighten it. However, there are no steel ropes that prevent the loss of protective caps. Whether this is a drawback, is you decide, however, given the fact that the sight will be adjusted once then zeroing at the range, there is no need to untwist this caps in the field.
The locking screws necessary for zeroing after final adjustments are clearly visible.
It is necessary to remove the protective cap on the adjustment turret.
Turn the turret to the side needed for correction. One click of the tower moves the hit point to 2MRAD at a distance of 100 yards (approximately 2 cm at 100 meters). There is a version with a grid in the MOA, in which one click of the tower shifts the hit point to 0.5MOA at a distance of 100 yards (about 1.5 cm at 100 meters).
The click is well noticeable, however it has a weak audible click that will be indistinguishable in noisy conditions.
The adjustment margin in the MRAD version of the scope is medium, and is 46MRAD for both vertical and horizontal corrections (about half a meter at 100 meters), or an impressive 160MOA for the MOA version.
The possibility of zeroing is realized after the scope adjustment, for which it is necessary to unscrew the locking screw, gently lift the control turret upwards, and combine the mark on the turret with a mark of 0 on the sight, then tighten the locking screw back.
In addition, at the rear of the scope, there is a focus adjustment ring necessary for adjusting to the individual features of the sight of the shooter, including for people with impaired vision.
The scope is equipped with a proprietary VMR-2 reticle. This reticle is located in the second focal plane and is etched directly on the glass of the optical element. It also possible to illuminate the reticle central element for shooting at dusk and at night or another low light conditions. In total, the backlight levels are 10, while the mechanism for turning off the backlight in the intermediate position between different levels is realized. This feature saves time, as it prevents the disk from spinning until the backlight is turned off. With the minimum brightness parameters, it is possible to use this scope together with a night vision device.
The figure clearly shows the central element of the grid (marked in red), equipped with a lighting mechanism, when turned on, only it is illuminated.
The sight was mounted on a CZ 550 Medium Lux rifle, 300 caliber. The shooting was made from a distance of 10 to 300 meters, zeroing was made at 100 meters. The. 300WM Norma 13 Oryx 17676 cartridges was used, with a half-shell 13 grams (200gr) bullet. As a target, we used the front body armor plate, made from a sheet of armored steel measuring approximately 25x30 cm. The target was hit at all distances. Despite the relatively low weight of the rifle (3.3 kg without optics), the use of 300-caliber cartridges, with a heavy bullet, and the absence of a muzzle braking compensator on the rifle - the midpoint of the hit was not displaced, the hits were assured, the shooting was from small to fast tempo, total 20 cartridges was shoot.
We decided to supplement the review with photos taken directly through the eyepiece of the scope, in order to give you the opportunity to verify the quality of the picture, seen by the shooter himself in different conditions and at different shooting distances.
Day, the distance to the target is 378 meters. 1x - zoom.
Difficult visibility conditions (fog), the distance to the target is 378 meters. 1x-zoom. Enlightened optics works as it should!
Day, the distance to the target is 378 meters. 3x-zoom.
Difficult visibility conditions (fog), the distance to the target is 378 meters. 3x-zoom.
Day, the distance to the target is 378 meters. 6x zoom.
Despite the fact that this sight is intended for shooting at short and medium distances, it is quite comfortable to use it for long-range and even ultra-long-range shooting. In the following pictures, the target is located at a distance of 730 meters from the shooter!
Relatively inexpensive and reliable scope for multiple scenarios hunting, as well as for practical shooting, tactical tasks and assault operations. It has variable multiplicity from 1 to 6 - ideal for this kind of scopes.
The scope is equipped with VMR-2 reticle with the possibility of shooting offhand, with the use of grid corrections. Possesses the ability to quickly capture and track targets, including moving ones. In the scope of the opportunity to use weapons in the twilight and at night.
The scope has small dimensions, is ergonomic there are no clearly protruding parts.
The sight can be used by people with impaired vision, since they have a dioptric adjustment.
Lenses with an antireflective multilayer coating are used in the scope transfer an excellent bright and juicy picture with a large field of view.
The scope allows you to easily find and hit a target of approximately the size of an A4 sheet (gong from the bulletproof vest plate) from a distance of 10 up to 300 meters or even more.
Ideal for mounting on carbines based on AR platform, sport carbines based on Kalashnikov assault rifles of any caliber. And also carbines and rifles of large calibers (.300 Winchester magnum, .338 Lapua Magnum).
The scope is ideal for close range hunting and will be an excellent solution for practical shooting or tactical tasks and assault operations.
Large weight (644 grams), compared to other competitors of this type of scope.
The absence of steel ropes on the protective caps of the adjustment turrets, which can lead to their loss.
The sight adjustment turrets rotate with great effort
A rather complicated zeroing procedure.
• The adjustment audio click is not enough expressed and in noisy conditions one has to rely on tactile sensations, which is impossible then shooting with gloves.
