Took a spill with a Viper PST...

Ar180shooter

Ar180shooter

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Was out Coyote hunting this afternoon, on the way back to the Jeep, took a hard spill on some ice and dropped my rifle. I'm relatively unharmed (sprained my finger, lol), but my Vortex Viper PST didn't fare so well...

PST_zpsbgri11e5.jpg


Windage turret is clearly bent, thought it might just be the cover so I took it off, and the entire assembly is bent... I know this is technically my fault, but I would have hoped the scope could survive a 2 foot fall on to some ice/snow (I was holding the rifle at my side when I slipped, there are no visible marks on the scope indicating it hit something hard like a rock). I've been satisfied with my Vortex scopes so far, but this has me seriously questioning the durability of their scopes. I also highly doubt my Leupold Mark 4 would have broken in the same situation...

So, I'll be sending it out tomorrow and we'll see how quickly it is repaired/replaced.
 
Send it back, if they stick to their warranty, you will have a new scope back before long. Hope you feel better, I take at least one good tumble every year while hunting, usually I come out of it ok, but last year my rifle got a nice gouge in the wood, and ruined the scope when it landed on a rock.
 
Ooh, that sucks Magellann... What kind of scope was it?

As for the Viper, I'm sure Vortex will repair it, I'm just kind of disappointed it broke so easily. Maybe I shouldn't be so demanding... It has a combination of features not found in many other scopes under $2000, and has performed satisfactorily until today.
 
Sorry to hear about that boss, although that is one price to be paid for having clickers vs capped turrets. Good luck on the warranty... I'm pretty sure it should be covered -Vortex had lots of money; we don't.
 
Fair point redmeat on the advantage of capped turrets vs. exposed turrets. In all honesty, I'd never thought of it that way before. I mostly saw it as a low vs. high profile thing, and ensuring the turrets don't get moved accidentally.
 
That's crummy. I wiped out on rock with my old Vari-X II this winter, figured it was toast. To my surprise it was fine, just a tiny mark on a turret cap. I wonder if new Leupolds are still that durable? I'm sure vortex will fix your scope.
 
No questions asked warranty means they should be grateful you're sending back more than just one piece :)

Just keep an eye on the elapsed time, from what I'm reading on other posts.
 
I'm sure their warranty will cover you, the other variable is its pretty hard to know just how hard the scope hit the ground. You were carrying it at your side...any chance that turret broke some of the fall for you? Even from 2' a full grown adult coming down on the windage turret would definitely cause some damage. I love all my Vortex stuff.
 
I didn't land on the scope, it went in the other direction to where I fell. I kind of wish I had kept the scope for a little while and function tested it, I'd be interested in seeing if it kept zero (probably not), if it was mechanically sound after the fall (still adjusted and tracked well), etc. Maybe I missed an interesting opportunity here...
 
Shoulda bought a Nightforce. Those PST junk aren't gonna be under 2k for much longer. Last I saw they were already creeping up to $1500. For that much you are much better off looking at the Burris XTR II line.
No more Vortex for me ever. Sightron, Burris, Nightforce.
 
Brand new PST 6-24x50 is $1049 where I buy all my gear...depending on if you prefer SFP or FFP i suppose...but thats a long shot from $1500...you are talking about near 50% more.
 
TLSpeed said:
Brand new PST 6-24x50 is $1049 where I buy all my gear...depending on if you prefer SFP or FFP i suppose...but thats a long shot from $1500...you are talking about near 50% more.
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Wholesale Sports. Pretty much bang on. Wherever you are buying them is a pretty good deal or it has been a couple months since you looked. You do know the dollar has taken a little bit of a hit eh?



SFRC. Same price on FFP, little cheaper on the SFP. Still pretty pricey for Vortex junk.
 
TLSpeed said:
To each his own opinion I suppose, hard to beat the best warranty in the business. $1049 for SFP and $1249 for FFP...hard to beat
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Everyone always says they have the best warranty in the business. Why is that? Because everyone has to use it? Burris has a lifetime warranty. Nightforce has a lifetime warranty that goes with the scope. No transferring and you never actually have to test it. Lots of manufacturers have excellent warranties that you never have to deal with. I would rather that.

And where do you find those prices? SFRC has generally been one of the best priced Vortex dealers.
 
So I got the scope back today. All seems to be fine, they replaced the turret and purged/re-sealed the scope. Very happy with the service I received on them fixing a scope I broke.
 
Schecter 81 said:
Everyone always says they have the best warranty in the business. Why is that? Because everyone has to use it? Burris has a lifetime warranty. Nightforce has a lifetime warranty that goes with the scope. No transferring and you never actually have to test it. Lots of manufacturers have excellent warranties that you never have to deal with. I would rather that.

And where do you find those prices? SFRC has generally been one of the best priced Vortex dealers.
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Why do you care so much ? The thread is about this fellows Vortex scope not you standing on your soapbox preaching Nightforce or whatever you use.

To the OP,,,Ive had a spill myself and had some Razor Binos break on ice..they fixed them real fast, excellent warranty.
 
I've looked at Nightforce. You hit $3K FAST. Dropping an 8 pound rifle on the edge on 1 turret on a hard surface is brutal. I would expect a $3K scope to suffer also.
 
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