Vortex Viper HS-T 4-16 or 6-24

[logan197]

I have been trying to decide between the Viper HS-T 4-16x44 or 6-24x50. It will be going on my Rem. 700 270 wsm. I don't have any place close to compare the two. My main concern is I occaionally have shot opportunities under 50 yrds but shots are also common out to 600 yrds (my comfort range for now). So the 4 power would be nice as well as the 24 power for long range. Plus I have never looked through a 24 power scope at extended ranges. My question is would the 6-24 power be needed more for long range or will the 4-16 be enough out to 700-800 yrds on deer size game knowing I have the 4 power for up close and personal. Any and all opinions are welcome.

 

[22-250hunter]

Imo for just hunting i think the 4-16 would be plenty i just have a 3-9 on my hunting rifle and can shoot effectivly at 200 on just normal pistol targets hope this helps

 

[embork]

Imo the 4x16 would work. I have pst & hst in 6x24. during past doe season could not get 6x24 on doe at 95 yards. it was my target rifle so it was heavy. so I put a pst 2.5x 10 on hunting rifle. the 4x16 will have 75 moa. the 6x24 has 65moa. in case you wanted to go farther

 

[KyScott]

4x16 is what sets on my 270WSM. 4 power is nice if you sometimes sit in the woods and I would think 16 is plenty to get you out to 800 providing youre shooting is up to snuff. lol What kinda lead are you running through youre WSM?

 

[logan197]

Embork, that is exactly what I was hoping to find out. I have 2 questions for you. 1) can you tell the difference between the glass quality on the pst and hst. 2) can you tell that much difference between light gathering of the 50 mm pst objective and the 44 mm hst objective. Thanks for the info.


KyScott, am shooting 140 gr. Berger VLD, 69 gr Retumbo, Fed215, Win. brass running 3050 fps. Got up to 71 gr. without pressure signs but 69 gr was the sweet spot.

 

[Ol'Gator]

Getting on game (deer) with either 4 power or 6 would be a non-issue when making comparisons. If hunting in heavy timber or anywhere close shots, under 100 yards, would cause me to look at less magnification than either of these scopes. Typical distance for me is beyond 100 yards. I have both 4-16x50 and 6-24x50 and have zero difficulty with either.

 

[RonS]

Getting on game (deer) with either 4 power or 6 would be a non-issue when making comparisons. If hunting in heavy timber or anywhere close shots, under 100 yards, would cause me to look at less magnification than either of these scopes. Typical distance for me is beyond 100 yards. I have both 4-16x50 and 6-24x50 and have zero difficulty with either.

I'll echo this but add that I'd go for the 6-24x50. And I'd go for the Vortex PST or the Sightron SIII. You get the etched reticles and you get easily accessible turrets which allow you to rapidly dial the elevations for the significant variability in distances you are shooting at. Further, I'd go with a Front Focal Plane for hunting since you don't need to worry about an X or 10 ring being obscured at higher power and the FFP will make the reticle offsets accurate at all powers. I run 1-4 power on brush rifles and much higher power at distance. I'm thinking about trading one of my 6-24x50 PST's for a Sightron 8-50x60. As far as concern about higher power at closer distances, I run a fixed 24 power at 25 yards on a 22 I've got and I have no problem finding the target.

 

[embork]

Embork, that is exactly what I was hoping to find out. I have 2 questions for you. 1) can you tell the difference between the glass quality on the pst and hst. 2) can you tell that much difference between light gathering of the 50 mm pst objective and the 44 mm hst objective. Thanks for the info.


KyScott, am shooting 140 gr. Berger VLD, 69 gr Retumbo, Fed215, Win. brass running 3050 fps. Got up to 71 gr. without pressure signs but 69 gr was the sweet spot.

I can not see any difference between the two.thats just me I think vortex says they r the same except illuminated reticle & sfp or ffp on PST. sfp on HST & not illuminated

 

[RonS]

I can not see any difference between the two.thats just me I think vortex says they r the same except illuminated reticle & sfp or ffp on PST. sfp on HST & not illuminated

Also the HST has the wire reticle where the PST has the etched.

 

[Janno05]

I have an HST 6-24 on a Savage .223 that is used for target and varmint shooting. I very rarely put it on more than 18x as the eye box becomes very sensitive on 24x. I have had no problems shooting at 50 yard at rabbits or prairie dogs at 50 yards, but if I was trying to fill an elk tag and only had one opportunity for the shot I would feel better with a 3x.

 

[jrock]

I would go with the 4-16. I had the 6-24 and powers over 18x it would loose clarity fast and wasn't worth it. The 4-26x44 is a good combo for close in coyotes and popped a ground squirrel at 450 yards on 16x and still could see it well. If you can get your hands on them, check the clarity at high power. If not, go with the 4-16 and I'm sure it will work well.

 

[RonS]

I have an HST 6-24 on a Savage .223 that is used for target and varmint shooting. I very rarely put it on more than 18x as the eye box becomes very sensitive on 24x. I have had no problems shooting at 50 yard at rabbits or prairie dogs at 50 yards, but if I was trying to fill an elk tag and only had one opportunity for the shot I would feel better with a 3x.

I would go with the 4-16. I had the 6-24 and powers over 18x it would loose clarity fast and wasn't worth it. The 4-26x44 is a good combo for close in coyotes and popped a ground squirrel at 450 yards on 16x and still could see it well. If you can get your hands on them, check the clarity at high power. If not, go with the 4-16 and I'm sure it will work well.

As a counterpoint I'll say that I run two 6-24x50's on a 223 and a 6.5 and I never take them off 24 power save for one time when the mirage was so bad that the target was jumping around in the scope and it was hard to resolve the lines on the target. I'm actually thinking about upgrading to an 8-32 or 10-50. Won't be able to use all the power all the time but for those days when you can it is very nice to have.

 

[jrock]

That is why I advise to try them out in person. I don't know if I got a lemon or not but sold it and bought a Zeiss because I've always wanted one. Vortex have great scopes for the price and are a real bang for your buck. I recommend them first for all lower power scope options.