A few months ago I was searching for the perfect optic to outfit my new LWRC SPR platform. I was having a hard time finding an optic that would fit the demands of everything I wanted to be able to do with the rifle. When I decide to purchase or have a rifle built I usually have a distinct purpose for the rifle in mind and that makes outfitting it very easy. This however was not the case in the situation. I wanted this rifle to be an all around gun fighting tool capable of performing a number of different roles.
Parameters – The roles that I wanted the rifle to be able to perform.
• CQB – (Low Power Optic 0-1X Magnification)
• Medium Range Precision fire – (4X Magnification Minimum)
• The ability to dial Windage and Elevation – (Adjustable Turrets)
• The ability to use holdovers to engage targets – (MOA or MIL reticle)
• The ability to use Night Vision – (Illumintaed Reticle/ Long Eye Relief)
It might not seem like a hard bill to fill but I can assure you that it wasn’t an easy search for me. After a long hard search I found only a couple of different options to choose from. I finally settled on the Vortex Viper PST. I’m not going to lie and say that there aren’t other options out there because there are. What I will say is there aren’t any out there besides the Vortex that have such an attractive price point. The Viper PST retails for around 600.00 and it’s worth every penny.
I have been running the Viper Pst for a few months now and I am thoroughly impressed with its capabilities and ruggedness. My weapons are not safe queens. They are used for their intended purpose and they do see some unintentional abuse from time to time. So ruggedness is an important quality when it comes to tool that I’m going to use. I have had no issues with the optic loosing it’s zero in the time I have been training with it.
The turret adjustments are exact and correct. The MOA reticle is also correct as advertised. The optic also comes with a zero stop, which comes in handy when I forget what dope I had dialed on my rifle. It is also very nice when used in low light situations for dialing up from zero without the use of a white or red light.
The glass itself is clear and crisp. This is something I was concerned about initially because of the optics attractive price tag. I do not normally purchase low-end glass for this reason. I was however willing to sacrifice a little considering it was only going to be used for what I consider short range rifle fire. I knew I didn’t need anything to impressive because it was a 4x optic. I will say I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the glass. It was far better than I expected.
I have also employed the Viper PST at night under low visibility conditions. With the generous 4’ eye relief I was able to mount my ANPVS 14 behind the PST. It mated up perfectly and I was able to engage man size targets with the PST set at 4x out to 400 yards with little effort. The image was good and the optic gathered plenty of light for the task at hand.
Viper PST 1-4x Specs
Magnification 1-4 x
Objective Lens Diameter 24 mm
Eye Relief 4 inches
Field of View 98-27.5 feet/100 yards
Tube Size 30 mm
Turret Style Tall Uncapped – CRS Zero Stop
Adjustment Graduation 1/2 MOA
Travel per Rotation 24 MOA
Max Elevation Adjustment 220 MOA
Max Windage Adjustment 220 MOA
Parallax Setting 100 yards
Length 9.7 inches
Weight 16 ounces
I am very happy with the quality of the Viper PST 1-4x. It has allowed me the ability to have a “one man gun” and that is very attractive for the type of work and training I do. I highly recommend any of you that are in the market for a multi purpose optic to check out the Vortex Viper PST 1-4x.
Semper Fi
Dennis DeChant
