Vortex Viper

[woodnut]

That video was very telling. I haven't bought a Leupold in years for other reasons; but in the video, I see another really good reason: it didn't track! For LR shooting, you definitely want it to go where you dialed. That's PD shooting. For most of my years of shooting, I didn't dial. Heck, didn't know how! "Zero stops" were not available then and now, only a few top end scopes have it. I now LOVE dialing with my NF scopes and they have zero stops. Very, very accurate movements and great glass, plus being built like the proverbial tank! I bough most of mine right here , "previously owned". All have been like brand new with good pricing. In a PD town, targets are tiny, there's lots of action, short and long. You need a scope you can count on. Vortex is fine, but NF is better, IMHO.

 

[Hookdown]

Vortex makes a wide range of scopes at different price points. But people seem to want to lump them all together when they speak of them. I own 2 NF NXS's. They do the job I need them to do. Rugged and excellent tracking. But my Vortex Gen 2 Razor and AMG are significantly better scopes in almost every respect, IMHO.

 

[woodnut]

One more thing. On a scope with 1/4 MOA adjustments, 4 "clicks" equals 1 MOA. But, if you look at the dial, most good scopes have markings, hash lines, at the 1 MOA that's easy to see. Then, if you look again, you may see numbers at those points going around the dial. Last number is, say 20. That means the scope has 20 MOA of adjustments in one revolution. Then you dial another full turn, that's 40. Etc. till it stops turning. Having a zero stop when you have dialed up , say 34 MOA, and now you find a PD at 100 yards , or less, you simply run the dial back down til it stops...at 100 yds ( where you should zero it). Without zero stops, you can easily "get lost" as to how many turns and/or clicks you dialed down and where you were at 100. Does the word screwed come to mind? Hum, especially at my age! Hope this helps.

 

[skipglo]

well I asked this question in another topics area and it was either such a dumb question or nobody knew so here we go. I have started praire dog shooting. My ideal shooting would be to range a dog and dial up the "dope" to drop it. I have my scope zeroed at 100 and that is where my stop is set. IF I have my BC,S bullet weight and FPS all entered correctly in my ballistics app. my thinking is that I could enter 400 yrd zero, look at impact at 100 and dial in with that info. My app says zeroed at 400 I should be 7.11 inches high at 100. So if I'm zeroed at 100 I could put in 28 clicks and be on at 400?

well I asked this question in another topics area and it was either such a dumb question or nobody knew so here we go. I have started praire dog shooting. My ideal shooting would be to range a dog and dial up the "dope" to drop it. I have my scope zeroed at 100 and that is where my stop is set. IF I have my BC,S bullet weight and FPS all entered correctly in my ballistics app. my thinking is that I could enter 400 yrd zero, look at impact at 100 and dial in with that info. My app says zeroed at 400 I should be 7.11 inches high at 100. So if I'm zeroed at 100 I could put in 28 clicks and be on at 400?

well I asked this question in another topics area and it was either such a dumb question or nobody knew so here we go. I have started praire dog shooting. My ideal shooting would be to range a dog and dial up the "dope" to drop it. I have my scope zeroed at 100 and that is where my stop is set. IF I have my BC,S bullet weight and FPS all entered correctly in my ballistics app. my thinking is that I could enter 400 yrd zero, look at impact at 100 and dial in with that info. My app says zeroed at 400 I should be 7.11 inches high at 100. So if I'm zeroed at 100 I could put in 28 clicks and be on at 400?

Like Jasent said...once in moa stay thinking MOA....but I do have a thought here or a question for you...read up a bit on your ballistic app. I'm not sure you are using it correctly. Once you enter your "0" range and that number can be whatever you choose at the distance you have shot your gun and have your grouping...100 is easier for math going forward if you are using pen and paper or calculator. However your app takes your zero into account. You shouldn't ever plug your shooting range into the zero box and then work backwards. Their should be a distance and calculate area so your zero stays 0. Work forwards

 

[Old Rooster]

With my viper I just dial to 400 and shoot.
If you are off just contact Vortex and they will make a turrent for your bullet,velocity and they ask for elevation.With the new turrent you just dial to 400 and shoot.
Mine is dead on at 400 with my 6.5 Grendel

 

[FIGJAM]

HAHA sorry, didn't realize I was an OP. I have velocity, BC, and a pretty good ballistics calculater. What I see is 7.11 high at 100 if zero is 400. It is just a matter of shooting at 100 and dialing up 7 clicks and see what happens at 400. I just wondered if people trusted turning thier scopes up and down and if my thinking was correct. You folks are very helpful and it's good just to read all the replies and see what others think. Thank you

I have a few different viper models - PST, HS-T, HSLR. All of them track very well. You shouldn't have an issue going out to 400 yards with it. Zero stop or not, you shouldn't have multiple revolutions of the turret at 400 yards, so it should be pretty easy to keep track of.

 

[FIGJAM]

One more thing. On a scope with 1/4 MOA adjustments, 4 "clicks" equals 1 MOA. But, if you look at the dial, most good scopes have markings, hash lines, at the 1 MOA that's easy to see. Then, if you look again, you may see numbers at those points going around the dial. Last number is, say 20. That means the scope has 20 MOA of adjustments in one revolution. Then you dial another full turn, that's 40. Etc. till it stops turning. Having a zero stop when you have dialed up , say 34 MOA, and now you find a PD at 100 yards , or less, you simply run the dial back down til it stops...at 100 yds ( where you should zero it). Without zero stops, you can easily "get lost" as to how many turns and/or clicks you dialed down and where you were at 100. Does the word screwed come to mind? Hum, especially at my age! Hope this helps.

Most ballistic apps allow you the option to create a little dope/field chart. I print mine off really small in 25 yd or 50 yd increments and tape it to my scope or buttstock. Then it is easy to reference and I am not messing with any calculations in the field.

 

[AD5GB]

I'm just weighing in on the Vortex. I own 4 Vipers. I am thrilled with all of them. I put a Leupold Vari-X3 on my 270 nearly 30 years ago... cost more than the rifle did. The Vipers make the Leupold look pale by comparison.

 

[mrmolar119]

It's very easy to loose track of where you are, when dialing up & down on your turrets, when you don't don't have some sort of "Zero-Stop" for you to have a finite place to stop at. Just my $0.02 worth....... Idaho-5R

That scope has a zero stop.

 

[mrmolar119]

I've been prairie dog hunting 5 times in South Dakota.
It's very hard to range sometimes because the land is flat.
Also if it has rained the night before and the dog is in grass, the bullet disappears. I would really urge you to take a partner and take turns spotting.

 

[jebel]

My app says zeroed at 400 I should be 7.11 inches high at 100. So if I'm zeroed at 100 I could put in 28 clicks and be on at 400?

In a word, yes. Though I'm not sure why you'd take the trouble to adjust your app to a 400 yard zero in the first place, as having it set at a 100 yard zero (as your rifle), it will tell you the same thing. It will tell you at 400 to increase elevation 28 clicks (your language). Of course, as others have mentioned, confirm theory with real-world results.

Is this a question about how to interpret or use your app? If yes, some apps have a feature where you can adjust the "click" size. You could test and adjust this to your actual click size, if you want it to tell you clicks. Or you could test and adjust it to what your scope does for every 4 clicks (should be 1 MOA, but scope tracking may not be exact).