Vortex PST 1-4 In Hand

[rattlesnake]

Ah Darn. Thats Zia huh? I've never had the opportunity to shoot there or del norte. It looks very nice at zia. I'm litterally 20 minutes from zia, but have been shooting out by 66 for years. Thanks for the info. I didn't know zia was that nice.

[amac]

Shootist, why the PST and not the HS? They seem identical, but Vortex describes the HS's TMCQ reticle as "best suited for AR platforms". Just wondering. Thanks

Also, see my response to your input on other thread. Thanks.

[mpom]

Question: with illumination off, black center dot is a perfectly round, yet when illuminated, it appears to be a "dash". Thought it was my eyesight, so turned scope 90 degrees, now dash is vertical.
Wonder if its just me or my scope, or is this "normal" for the PST?
The higher the illum setting, the more pronounces the effect, to me.

Thanks,
Mark

[VortexSam]

Question: with illumination off, black center dot is a perfectly round, yet when illuminated, it appears to be a "dash". Thought it was my eyesight, so turned scope 90 degrees, now dash is vertical.
Wonder if its just me or my scope, or is this "normal" for the PST?
The higher the illum setting, the more pronounces the effect, to me.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark,

It should be round when illuminated. Can you photograph it? That would rule out whether or not it's something with your eyesight.

It definitely should be the same shape when illuminated though. If it is something wrong with the scope we will take care of it for you.

-Sam

[shootist~]

Mark,

It should be round when illuminated. Can you photograph it? That would rule out whether or not it's something with your eyesight.

It definitely should be the same shape when illuminated though. If it is something wrong with the scope we will take care of it for you.

-Sam

The Center Dot is round all the time for me as well.

[shootist~]

Shootist, why the PST and not the HS? They seem identical, but Vortex describes the HS's TMCQ reticle as "best suited for AR platforms". Just wondering. Thanks

Also, see my response to your input on other thread. Thanks.

Maybe Sam will jump in here and explain the differences. The HS was just recently announced so I'm not familiar with it. My PST was pre-ordered in Feb 2010.

On your other question - yes I use magnified optics a lot, but have spent considerable time with red dots as well.

We have wide open spaces and lots of extended ranges to shoot on out here. Red Dots simply wont work for longer ranges - you cannot shoot what you can't see. Our 3-Gun matches can have targets from 5 yards out to 450. A magnified optic preforms better in harsh light as well (sun somewhat in your face with targets in shadows).

The Red Dot's value (to me) is it's low light capability - despite my eye dominance issue they have worked pretty well at moderate distances. And until now, it's the only optic I've owned that was 1x.

Red Dots are lighter of course, but since I shoot my rifles a lot and carry them little, this has no bearing for me.

[mpom]

Thanks, Sam. Attached are some pictures of my illum reticle. Center dot is round when looking into bright background, but more like a dash when background is darker.
WRT to HS, seems that the turrets are covered, and not meant to be quickly adjusted, like the PST versions.

The upload button would not work, so I uploaded them to Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.com/files/443122787/IMG_2460.JPG
http://rapidshare.com/files/443122788/IMG_2454.JPG
http://rapidshare.com/files/443122789/IMG_2456.JPG

Mark

[BravoWhiskey]

PST VS Micro - 10 Yd Drills:

Third outing with the PST yesterday - all spent doing 1-5 drills (3 IPSC targets; 10 Yds; 15 rounds per run). Ran it on two rifles and alongside an Aimpoint Micro with my timer.

I'm not new to Aimpoints, but this is my first Micro. The Micro was sighted in the day before.

Caveat: I'm left eye dominate and shoot right handed.

Shooting two eyes open, the PST at 1x was the clear winner at CQB distances *for me*. Times were close to even using both the PST and the Micro on a 16" N4 Light Basic with BC Comp. With the PST, almost all hits stayed in the A zone - with the Micro I drifted a lot of shots left into the C zone. I had to go back to shooting one-eyed to get comparable hits with the Aimpoint.

I burned over 300 rounds (~1/3 with the Micro), and think I got a pretty good feel on how well the PST works using 1x at close range. From a 3-Gun view, I think the PST 1-4 is an excellent choice for entry to mid-level use - especially for an optic at this price point. I'm equally sure it won't match up to a $2,000+ Swarovski Z6i.

The PST's illumination was daylight visible at the max setting of 10 and the sun was bright. Also low enough to be in my face. (Range faces South and visibility is never optimal at this time of year.) I don't have a feel for how the illumination would work had the sun been from behind.

The reticle is very fast, (whether illuminated or not) with the heavy outer circle just larger than the width of the lower A Zone. For "upper A Zone" hits it's just a matter of putting the center dot (4 MOA at 1x; & 1 MOA at 4x) on the top edge of the head.

Shooting one-eyed (but who cares), both optics gave near equal results for times and hits in the drills.

Before i moved the PST to the N4 I ran a few 1-5 drills with the SPRish build with a Rainer Extreme Comp on the end. Best times of the day, by over a half second. Heavy barrels and dedicated comps still work.

Shootist,
1st Thanks for the detailed range report!

2nd What are your thoughts of the same Viper with the Mil reticle vrs. the MOA which you were using. From the web site details they appear almost the same. From a 3 gun point of veiw do you see one being better than the other or just go with what you are comfortable with?
TIA,
BW

[mpom]

The good folks at Vortex are running an internet special on the cat tails, also called "switchview throw levers". Normally $60, now $50.
They have also replaced my PST 1X4 due to a misshapen illum center dot.
Awesome customer service!!

Mark

[shootist~]

Shootist,
1st Thanks for the detailed range report!

2nd What are your thoughts of the same Viper with the Mil reticle vrs. the MOA which you were using. From the web site details they appear almost the same. From a 3 gun point of veiw do you see one being better than the other or just go with what you are comfortable with?
TIA,
BW

BW - To paraphrase the "Lindy", the senior guy at Snipers Hide, just go with what you are already used to - either Mil or MOA. They are simply different angular measurements - both work just fine.

In my case I know that 1 MOA moves my group 1" at 100 Yds, 2" at 200, etc., etc. I don't think in Mils. Plus since I shoot fairly long ranges and already have my dope setup for a MOA/MOA Nightforce (2.5-10x32), I just stayed with MOA for the PST.

For "ranging" (estimating distances), the math is cleaner for MIL, but trust me - you are not going do any serious ranging with a 4x scope. (Not that I'm an expert, but you need 10x minimum for judging distances with a reticle).

Visually, I doubt you will see any difference in the MIL vs MOA reticle, but I don't have a Mil version to compare. Either one should work fine.

mpom -

Awesome customer service.

Cool. I've heard that as well.