Vortex PST 1-4 In Hand

[dieselnut]

Thank you for your review, this is one of the scopes I'm considering. It sounds like it's a good buy, especially for the money. I'd be curious to hear other peoples' opinions as well.

[Fontaine]

Any reports on battery life of illumination?

[Blinking Dog]

The reticle on this seems a bit "busy" to me. Does it not distract, with all the lines and partial circles? Seems like one illuminated dot in the center would have been enough. I am not sure I understand what the outer partial circle thing is for...?

[shootist~]

The reticle on this seems a bit "busy" to me. Does it not distract, with all the lines and partial circles? Seems like one illuminated dot in the center would have been enough. I am not sure I understand what the outer partial circle thing is for...?

Just my limited $.02 so far -

Daylight & Distance Shooting:
The outer circle is not at all distracting (to me). Non Illuminated it's very eye friendly; somewhat helpful to quickly canter the reticle, but for the most part not a factor at all.

Daylight at CQB range:
It's really designed for quick/close shots and appears to work well there, but I don't have any CQ live fire experience with it as yet. I'm 99.95% sure it will be faster than a RD *for me*, but I'm left eye dominate and shoot right handed. [Unless I force myself not to, I instinctively squint my left eye - even on a RD.] The PST has about twice the "one-eyed" field of view as my ML3.

Plus the RD is a close range optic only - the PST works exceptionally well at mid range and even longer.

Low Light and Illuminated:
Possible problem with the outer circle being distracting in this area. There is a big jump in brightness between setting 5 and setting 6. Five is not bright enough for low light (especially if running a light). Setting Six is excellent with weapon light, but w/o the light the outer circle is distracting. My focus tends to go to the orange circle.

Each step down in intensity is very small going from setting 10 to 6, but there is that big jump from 6 to 5. Maybe there is some logic here for some applications, but *for me* it's a weakness (and about the only one so far).

I'm sure this issue could be solved, but probably not at the existing price point.

[MCS]

Great review. I have been considering a optic in that power range that would not break the bank, and I think this may fit the bill.

[Singlestack Wonder]

Thanks again for the great info!

[SA80Dan]

Nice review, thanks! Is that your bargain Amazon mount you have that in?

[shootist~]

Is that your bargain Amazon mount you have that in?

Yes sir!

[mpom]

Just received my PST 1X4.
Mounted in ADM Recon. Tip in manual, to use feeler gauges for leveling
was very helpful, as the crosshair does not extend to periphery of field of view, so my usual method, using a scope leveler, would not work well.
One observation on illumination: I see no illumination below setting #6. Will contact Vortex next week.
Optics seem clear and sharp, clicks seem very defined and build quallity good. Will test on range when able.

Mark

[shootist~]

Just received my PST 1X4.
Mounted in ADM Recon. Tip in manual, to use feeler gauges for leveling
was very helpful, as the crosshair does not extend to periphery of field of view, so my usual method, using a scope leveler, would not work well.
One observation on illumination: I see no illumination below setting #6. Will contact Vortex next week.
Optics seem clear and sharp, clicks seem very defined and build quallity good. Will test on range when able.

Mark

Similar situation here on illum. setting below #6 - except in very dim light. Also discussed in a prior long winded post.

I leveled the rifle in my cleaning cradle and then squared up the vertical crosshair to the exterior edge of a neighbor's house. (Did the same for the NF when it was mounted.)

Also pretty sure I solved why my illumination blinked off at the range on the first outing. The battery cap needed to be screwed completely down; not just snug against the gasket. Sample of one so I don't know if this is SOP or not.

One other thing I've come to realize (kind of a duh) - the center dot is 1 moa at 4x, which means it's 4 moa at 1x.