Gear Review: Vortex Viper PST 1-4x24mm rifle scope by Vortex Optics

Overview:  So it's been a few weeks since I tested the KonusPro 1.5-6x44mm scope and in that time, I hit the internet again in search for the ideal scope for my needs.  I just want a scope that has illuminated reticles, some sort of ranging capabilities, and variable power starting at 1X.   Well, the searching paid off because I came across a very well built scope.  The VORTEX VIPER PST 1-4X24MM scope.


First a little about the scope.  It has all the features I'm looking for plus the added benefit of being shock and waterproof.  Nitrogen purged, fully coated optics, a neat ranging scale reticle, and backed by what I've heard to be excellent customer service (hopefully I will never have to use it).

I picked up a set of these Leupold quick release rings along with the scope.  I know, some of you guru's are saying, that's not going to work.  Well, you're right, but more on that later.

The box.  Picked it up at a local store for $499.99.  A fair price.

Left side of the label shows the PST reticle.

The scope comes with (1) owner's manual, (1) MRAD user guide, (1) cleaning cloth, and (1) accessory pack containing a battery, brass shims, and allen key.

View as seen from the front.

It appears that Vortex now ships this scope with a bikini style lens cover.  I personally do not like this.  On a scope that costs $500, you would think they would throw in some nice flip-ups.

I'm not a machinist, but from what I can see, the machining is nice.  Notice the adjustments are in mils and clearly indicated on the turret heads.  I noticed that the windage dials do not have the red fiber optic indicator as the elevation dial does.

Elevation and windage dials DO move up and down as the scope is adjusted and is clearly marked, making it easy to see.  The MILLET DMS-1 does not have this feature which I like.  The elevation turret does have a red fiber optic indicator.  I suppose this is to help you get back to center.  Personally, I don't see this to be a critical feature. 

Left side of the elevation turret.

Right side view of the eye piece.  Notice the nice knurling on the magnification dial, which turns very nicely.  Not to easily, but consistently with a good amount of resistance. 

The illumination dial is variable from 1-10.  Intensity settings 1-4 must be for NVD's as it is not visible with the naked eye.  From 5 on, the four (4) quadrants of the reticle lights up nicely.  The dots between the numbers are off positions. 

Again, nice machining or casting on the power setting.  Various points of the magnification are marked by raised tabs on the magnification dial.

The label that has so many folks disturbed.  Yes, the scope clearly states "Made in Philippines." From what I see so far, the quality of the build (from what I tell without shooting it) is on par with my Leupold.   The turrets feels different on the Vortex than on my Leupold. Less of a click, but very positive still, on the Vortex (my Leupold is about twenty years old and still holding strong).

As for the reticle, it's alittle hard to see.  I have read elsewhere that if you have good vision it shouldn't be a problem.  Well, for me, the problem isn't that I can't see the reticle because I can.  I just find it extremely hard to read the scale because it's so fine!   The reticle is so fine that you can easily reference targets out to 800m or so, but you can forget about quick range estimation.  I prefer the mil-dots.


I have also read somewhere that the illuminated reticle is not visible in bright day light.  Could be true on a bright sunny day in the desert, but as you can see in the pictures below, it is visible (and very usable).

The reticle without illumination at approximately 10 meters.  The super fine scale is what I was referring to earlier (the backdrop in this picture is my DIY archery target).

The reticle with illumination turned on.  The scope is facing into the sun, pointed at the shaded side of a bush, approximately 8 meters away.

Pointing at a small palm tree in full sun.  As you can see, the reticle is clearly visible even against a reddish background.  Also, notice how bright the optics are.  There is really no discernible difference (in terms of darkening) between what you see with the naked eye vs what you see through the scope.  Great optical quality.

Conclusion:  I've had the scope for two days now and after milling things out around my neighborhood, I decided not to keep it.  The reticle was just too fine for my liking.  Even at 1x magnification, I found it slightly difficult to quickly get on target.  For me, if the reticle was just a hair thicker, this scope would definitely have been the clear winner.


RE scope mounts:  Well, the mount does allow the scope to be fitted onto the AR nicely, however, I have the MagPul flip up rear sights and with this particular mount, the scope sits too low.  Infact, about 15% of the view through the scope is blacked out. 

Gear Review: KonusPro M30 1.5-6x44 rifle scope by Konus

One of the last steps in completing my bugout rifle is to top it off with some sort of close to medium range sights.  My two basic choices were either an electronic red dot type sight or a variable power optic sight.  After much thought, I decided on getting traditional optics with variable power.  Basically, I wanted a scope that could be used for close quarters, but have some magnification to aid in target identification at longer ranges.

     After much internet research, I decided the next step was to check out Scope City, a local optics vendor.  Mike at Scope City was very helpful.  He showed me several of the scopes he carried, mainly the Konus scopes.  Up until I had spoken to Mike, I had never heard of Konus so I was alittle skeptical about its quality.  Then the unexpected happened.  Mike offered to let me "try out" the scope.  Yes, you read correctly.  He let me take the scope home, mount it, take it out to the desert and test it out 'til my heart was content.  Great, I thought...  I'll try the KonusPro M30 1.5-6x44.  He even threw in the mounts.  Thanks Mike!

What's in the box:  

•  scope

•  lens tissue

•  flip up lens caps (not the best)

•  allen keys for the turrets

•  warranty card

Here are some closeups of the KonusPro M30:

KonusPro M30 on the Konus mounts.

I really like the 1/2 minute elevation and windage on a scope covering this range.  One of the features I really like about this scope is that when you change the elevation or windage, the stadia lines on the dial moves up and down.  Although this would seem normal, the MILLET DMS-1 scopes does not move up or down.  It just spins in place, making it really hard to know how far from zero you are after radical changes.

The illumination controls, located on the left side of the scope, offers both RED and BLUE dots with an intensity range of 1-6.  See below for intensity variations.

30mm main tube with brand and model nicely printed on the front end.

The power setting indicator is just a small white dot, although this doesn't seem like a deal-breaker for me.  The dial turned very smoothly from 1.5-6 with no binding at all.

The extra lever (or knob, whatever you want to call it) on top of the turrets are locks.  Turn it in the direction indicated and the turrets lock in place, preventing accidental turning of the turrets.

Spinning the turrets seemed nice enough.  The elevation turret was nice and crisp with distinct audible clicks.  Oddly, the windage turret was alittle less pleasing.  Turns felt alittle spongy and the clicks could be felt, but not heard.

After inspecting the scope's exterior, I took it inside to test the reticle illumination.  Konus calls their reticle the 30/30 shown below.

Konus laser etched 30/30 illuminated reticle (illumination turned off).

In the next six pictures you will see both the red and blue dots.  The flaring you see in the picture was not seen with the naked eye, but managed to show up in the photos. The picture was taken inside a well lit living room during daylight hours.

Intensity level:  6

Intensity level: 3

Intensity level:  1

Intensity level:  6

Intensity level:  3

Intensity level:  1

Inside the house or at night, the illumination worked well enough.  However, outside in daylight, the illumination was useless.  If daylight illumination is a must for you, then this scope is out.

I mounted the scope onto my 16" AR15 and took it out to the desert for a day of shooting.  Zeroing wasn't too bad, but after several hours of (not lightly) handling the rifle and firing approximately 400 rounds through it, the zero was definitely off.  Performing a modified box test showed the reticle wasn't tracking properly.  For example, at a 100m I would dial in 8 minutes up, fire, then dial back down 8 minutes.  Theoretically,  I should be at my zero, but I was shooting about two minutes high.  However, in the scope's defense it could have been the rifle, the ammo, or me.

Conclusion:  if you plan on just plinking, this scope might be the ticket.  It offers a tactical look and is totally functional at a relatively low price.  And although the reticle tracking is off a bit, you can always confirm zero before a day of shooting. 

If you need precision reticle tracking, then you might want to consider a scope of higher quality.  As for me, I'll keep looking.