Vortex Viper PST Reticle Wear

[Arbogb06]

After shooting 200 or so rounds out of my Savage 110 .338 Lapua the Vortex Viper PST is showing some signs of wear. The gun has always been braked and the aftermarket brake performs much better then the factory one taming the recoil to a non-braked .308 recoil.

Second shot made Sunday at the range resulted in the below pictures. At first I thought it was dust or dirt but after wiping the scope down and it not going away I then adjusted my power and the inclusion got bigger and smaller with the power setting. In the upper left quadrant around the 2mil up and 2 mil left is where the inclusion is. Guessing it is a piece of the reticle. Hopefully Vortex's customer service and warranty is easy and quick.

Would have never thought this would have happened to a scope just under $1,000.00.

 

[new shooter]

I have the same scope it has the same stuf floting around as yours . My sets on a 300 ultra after about 300 rounds it also has a muzzle brake. I realy hate to take it off and send it back it would have to be all level again. Joe

 

[scsims]

Is this a common problem with the PST? I'm having one put on my new Edge.

 

[SavageShtr]

My guess is that it is a piece of dirt or somting and not your reticle!! If it still shoots good and works properly leave it alone. If it bothers you send it in and they will either repair it or send you a new one!! Give them a call and see what they have to say first. Most if not all higher end scopes use etched reticles that is why I dought that is the cause!!

 

[mtnwrunner]

After shooting 200 or so rounds out of my Savage 110 .338 Lapua the Vortex Viper PST is showing some signs of wear. The gun has always been braked and the aftermarket brake performs much better then the factory one taming the recoil to a non-braked .308 recoil.

Second shot made Sunday at the range resulted in the below pictures. At first I thought it was dust or dirt but after wiping the scope down and it not going away I then adjusted my power and the inclusion got bigger and smaller with the power setting. In the upper left quadrant around the 2mil up and 2 mil left is where the inclusion is. Guessing it is a piece of the reticle. Hopefully Vortex's customer service and warranty is easy and quick.

Would have never thought this would have happened to a scope just under $1,000.00.

View attachment 18634

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Funny you mention this topic. I have a Zeiss 6.5 x 20 that has the exact same kind of spot in it and it is NOT dirt--it is internal. I know that I can send the glass back but it doesn't bother anything so I have not sent it back. And it came that way from the factory.

Randy

 

[westcliffe01]

Many internal optical elements and surfaces are blacked out. I suspect that a little of the "blackout medium" has come free on an element in that general vicinity.

 

[Joe King]

Remember that your shooting a caliber that is a recoil monster. As far as your scope is concerned, it gets the full effect of the recoil before you ever feel it, then as soon as the bullet exits the muzzle all that gas hit those partitions on the brake and your rifle effectively reverses direction, it's a violent change of direction. Scopes are made to take the first part (until you get to 1k or more worth of quality) but its the second part that breaks scopes. That said if it doesn't affect the function at all, just an annoyance, I wouldn't mess with it myself.

 

[Browninglover1]

A USO scope is a helluva lot more money than a Viper PST. Here's what they have to say (scroll to the bottom of the page)....

U.S. OPTICS - FAQ

I've never actually had a scope that had this problem, I'm sure it would bug me bad enough to send it back in and Vortex will definitely take care of you. However, it sounds like you might be able to eliminate the speck yourself by driving down a bumpy dirt road. haha

 

[orkan]

Yup, that's just a spec of dust/junk on the lens the reticle is etched into. FFP reticles show this much more than SFP reticles.

Sadly, Vortex FFP's have it happen pretty frequently.

Your only two options:
1) Live with it, and hope it goes away.
2) Send your scope in.

 

[joseph floerke]

i have the razor and love it so fare its awesome.

 

[gun_rat82]

There is an easy solution to the spec on the inner lens. Take a bag of sand or shot and put it on a solid surface(work bench/table) now with the scope in you hand strike the sand/shot bag with the objective in a hammer swing style. The object will dislodge and stick to the inner tube walls(most scope manufacturers coat the inner tubes with adhesive for this exact reason. Obviously don't get carried away but this is how optics companies remedy the problem.
Cheers

 

[fmajor]

Thanks for posting this.

I would send it back ASAP.

I don't much care if it's generally considered "normal" for a product - it shouldn't be there. To me, if i found out this was not unheard of i'd return/exchange it and let it be someone else's problem.

This is an ~$1,000 optical device and should be from defects like this. If the internal coating is chunking off now, whats to say more won't come loose?

I wouldn't tolerate defects like this in my camera lenses or my bino's and certainly wouldn't tolerate it with my scope.