Vortex Viper Gen II scope reliability?

[TheCougar]

I was in the market a couple of years ago for scopes, and I ended up getting NF SHV and a Bushnell LRHS over any Vortex scopes over reviews and concerns with turret durability and consistency. I am in the market again and I was wondering if the “Gen II” scopes are any better and are worth the price point. The other alternatives are another SHV, LRHS, or maybe SWFA. I get the vortex military discount which helps, but I would rather spend an extra $300 than save the money and regret it in the long run. I am specifically looking at the Viper line, not the Razors. Thanks.

 

[PowellSixO]

I've had my Gen 2 5-25x50 ffp mrad for about 100 rounds so far, and it holds it's zero great so far. As far as durability, only time will tell. I can say that it appears to be twice the scope, compared to the Gen 1 Viper PST's I have. Another good scope to look at might be the Burris XTR II 5-25x50 ffp mrad or moa. I have one as well, and would say it's a direct comparison to the Gen 2 pst. It seems a little more robust than the PST, but I still prefer the PST reticle.

 

[peez3006]

I hope that the PST Gen 2 is a good scope. I just did a side by side comparison between the PST and the Burris XTR II. I liked different things about both scopes, and originally thought that the XTR was the scope that I wanted. But the PST was the winner. To my eyes, the PST glass was superior. And I liked the reticle better.
I felt the XTR was more robust. And I liked the turret "feel" better.
The XTR has a proven track record. I decided to take a chance on the PST. Reports are mostly positive so far. Time will tell. Honestly, I think I would have been happy with either scope.

Don Pezer

 

[Formidilosus]

I was in the market a couple of years ago for scopes, and I ended up getting NF SHV and a Bushnell LRHS over any Vortex scopes over reviews and concerns with turret durability and consistency. I am in the market again and I was wondering if the “Gen II” scopes are any better and are worth the price point. The other alternatives are another SHV, LRHS, or maybe SWFA. I get the vortex military discount which helps, but I would rather spend an extra $300 than save the money and regret it in the long run. I am specifically looking at the Viper line, not the Razors. Thanks.

They have problems just just like the originals. Cosmetically they are better, and maybe even a bit better mechanically, but they still aren’t reliable.







To all-


Holding a scope does not tell you whether it’s “robust” or “durable”. It might tell you if it’s cheaply made, but it can’t tell you if it works. Stop going off of feel, looks, or weight. Only shooting heavily (and no, a couple of hundred rounds isn’t heavy), working the adjustments and checking function and zero retention will let you know how a scope works. Even with that samples of one don’t really mean anything.




Scipe that have have proven to work correctly with an extremely low failure rate-


Nightforce Military scope and SHV’s.

SWFA fixed powers and HD’s.

Bushnell LRHS (the early ones were great, have seen and and heard from known people issues with the newer ones).

 

[Tld]

I have a pst gen 2 5-25 ffp on a 6.5 creed with about 600 rounds on it. Its a hunting/long range target rifle and spends alot of time getting “dialed”. Tracking has always been dead on. No complaints

 

[Jpr778]

I've had my Gen 2 5-25x50 ffp mrad for about 100 rounds so far, and it holds it's zero great so far. As far as durability, only time will tell. I can say that it appears to be twice the scope, compared to the Gen 1 Viper PST's I have. Another good scope to look at might be the Burris XTR II 5-25x50 ffp mrad or moa. I have one as well, and would say it's a direct comparison to the Gen 2 pst. It seems a little more robust than the PST, but I still prefer the PST reticle.


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Don’t mean to bring back an old thread here, but how did the Gen 2 hold up for you? Thinking about getting one for a rifle I’m putting together.

 

[Macintosh]

They have been ubiquitous for years, they are a known entity at this point. I have one still, and my experience matches what my shooting friends have found--if you are OK with frequent re-zeroing and would be OK having to send it back for warranty service at some point, they work fine for a casual PRS-type scope. If you expect it to hold zero with foot-hunting type handling, pick a different scope.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Don’t mean to bring back an old thread here, but how did the Gen 2 hold up for you? Thinking about getting one for a rifle I’m putting together.

There appears to be chatter about Vortex announcing the Gen 3 Viper line of scopes soon.

 

[Beetroot]

Don’t mean to bring back an old thread here, but how did the Gen 2 hold up for you? Thinking about getting one for a rifle I’m putting together.

I've had a few different models, including a 3-15 that I've now owned since 2019 and have used a lot.
I rate the PST G2 line pretty highly, they've gone up in price a bit recently but used to easily offer the best bang for the buck. I still think they are a good option but there are some competitors out there now.

If the 3-15x44 had capped windage and a thicker reticle (the same size as the older EBR-2c) then I'd say they were almost perfect, considering the price.

 

[Beetroot]

There appears to be chatter about Vortex announcing the Gen 3 Viper line of scopes soon.

There's some new Vortex scopes being released this week according to the thread on the snipershide, but sounds like it's not a PST Gen3.

 

[JohnJohnson]

There's some new Vortex scopes being released this week according to the thread on the snipershide, but sounds like it's not a PST Gen3.

Yeah now that a little more info is out it almost seems like they're going for something similar to the AMG. Glass is supposedly about the same as the LHT line though so not sure on pricepoint.

 

[Beetroot]

Yeah now that a little more info is out it almost seems like they're going for something similar to the AMG. Glass is supposedly about the same as the LHT line though so not sure on pricepoint.

Looks like release will be tomorrow, there are some models now on the Vortex website but nothing FFP.

It's a Viper HD line which looks to be a lightweight version of the PST G2.
If they don't mess up the reticles this could be a sweet scope.