Just ordered my Viper HD 15-45-60mm!

[ohhiitznik]

Just ordered my new scope from Elknut. Great guy to deal with and any of you looking into vortex optics give him a shout he'll walk you through all the pros and cons and just an all around nice guy to deal with. Can't wait to get it in the mail and give her a test run!

 

[dotman]

Exciting, did you decide on a tripod?

 

[ohhiitznik]

Haven't picked out the tripod yet. I'm looking hard at that Velbon mentioned in the articles though!

 

[Matt Cashell]

Awesome.

I look forward to your thoughts on it.

 

[dotman]

I still can't decide, save for the viper or get the minox 50. Guess I'm saving while deciding

 

[ohhiitznik]

Its about 300 more for a 65mm HD viper model. And I won't have to upgrade it later for more precise spotting. That's what made my decision. I figured if I got the viper I can use that as my scope for everything including muleys and elk and for even scoring them at far distances. The viper is also small enough to pack for my bivy hunts. The midget has its place for lightweight backpacking, I mulled over the minox midget as well dotman.

 

[ohhiitznik]

Ok, got the viper scope in today. Still waiting on the Velbon tripod I ordered yesterday. First impressions of the scope are it is very well built. The scope came with a soft skin and a 2 sets of lens covers. Very nice bonus as the skin will keep it completely protected and I can pack it on the outside of my pack. The scope also has an extendable sunshade that doesn't feel cheap and is a nice feature. This scope is clear all the way to the edges and the images are very bright and crisp. I compared it to my buddies Leica Televid 77 APO scope and this thing is very very close to the Leica. If the leica gets a 10 out of 10 this scope gets a 9 out of 10. You will not be underglassed if you go with the vortex. Especially if you don't want to count the fuzzies on a muleys velvet at 3 miles. The leica was a little bit brighter and a little bit clearer but if you're not a birdwatcher you will not know the difference. And for the price you will definitely not know the difference. If you cannot spring 3 grand for some new alpha glass look into the vortex stuff. Its a great bang for your buck item in my opinion. Weighs right in at 3.4 lbs as advertised with the skin and all the lens covers on it. The scope also has a nice feature where you can flip the eyepiece and turn it sideways for different angles so you dont have to look straight down. Very nice feature in my opinion.