Received mine today - it’s the 1-4x24 MOA version. So far nothing to complain about. Glass is really bright and clear.
I mounted it in a Bobro Extended I bought for this scope and will use SPRish rifle /w 18" Noveske for some testing. I removed a NF 2.5-10x32 (Larue mount) from this rifle - QD mounts are nice to have. I’m sure I’ll be doing mental comparisons with the NF,which won’t really be fair. The NF at 10X is really a precision / long range optic. The PST is geared more for CQB to mid-range.
Early observations on the PST:
Field of view at 1x is outstanding! From 27’ I can completely cover my 8’ sliding glass door.
1x appears to be a true 1x - not the same as a RD, but no magnification past a few feet out.
At 1x the front BUIS is very visible - fuzzy and somewhat below the reticle’s center, but for me not a good choice for a standard FSB. No issues at 4x.
I took it outside in the bright NM sun to check the illuminated reticle. It’s daylight visible in bright sun unless the background is light colored (my cinder block fence) and directly catching the sun. Here the reticle washes out, but I don’t see this as a problem:
Using non-illimunated, the heavy and very black circle and/or the center dot gives excellent contrast in bright sun. Also, the heavy circle should work great for IPSC head shots and larger at close range (1x).
The MOA Subtentions appear very fine to my eye. I’m used to using the NF (NP-R2) at 10x so I’m clearly biased. Only some range time will determine if these will be sutible for quick “come-ups” or if the turret adjustment will be the better solution going to long range. SWAG is setting the turret for a middle range and adjusting with holdovers will be the 3 Gun way - with the option to dial in for 400 Yds or more. But I ramble…
Couple of quick pics below. I shoot almost NTCH - and some people will not mount the scope as far forward. Eye relief seems to be non-critical and fairly forgiving, so a big plus there.
I’ll may add some additional thoughts after a range trip or two. I “hope” to take it out tomorrow or Friday.
Thanks for posting the quick review. I’ve been waiting patiently for these to ship, and I’m quite pleased to hear they are living up to the high expectations so far.
I’ve been looking for a low power variable optic with acceptable illumination for while, without dropping $1500+. Since you mentioned you’ve used NF scopes, how much of a gap is there in quality? Any experience with the Trijicon TR24 series? Just looking for a comparison without being able to handle one myself.
At this point comparing the quality to other scopes would be premature. I’m a big believer in you get what you pay for and the NF is well known for having really good glass and tough as hell internals. Love mine and the PST was not meant to replace it. I’m just hoping the PST will be prove to be a good value for it’s price point (1/3rd the NF). Only time will tell.
No experience with the TR24 and no one shoots one locally that I know of. People who have them seem to like them a lot. The lack of target turrets or BDC was a drawback for me. We shoot in some wide open spaces - the local 3 Gun matches often run out to 450 yards.
If the PST will put 77 gr SMKs on steel at 500 Meters (545 Yds) as well as my ACOG, and maybe as well as a Mk 4 MR/T I’ve used; I’ll be tickled pink.
I had a case of cabin fever and a new scope to play with so I made a quick range trip this morning.
Range conditions:
Temp 29
High thin clouds, but enough sun to cast shadows.
Wind 10+ from behind, switching from left to right.
Range faces South meaning at this time of year the targets are showing the shaded side and there is some glare. The sun stays well to the south at this latitude in January, which is a major pain. Not optimal, but a good test for the PST.
A brief check and the Illum was visible. The one MOA center dot was somewhat more visible on my freshly painted black gongs, but all shooting was done with no Illum. Actually the illumination did not want to stay on and I did not have the time to pull the battery or find out why.
The 1 moa (not illuminated) center dot was not visible on the black (shaded) gongs past 100M, but was visible and very precise on anything else viewed - including a small 8" (yellow) gong at 600 Meters (656 Yds). No problem here - centering the cross hairs worked as expected. (See my “Molon moment” comment on the 500 Meter gong - pic to be posted in the next post.)
I got a quick sight in on our 100 Meter gong and moved to a 10" plate at 200 Meters. Some tweaking there and I proceeded to check the turret at distances ranging from 300M to 500M against the known (Nightforce 2.5-10x32) come-ups for this rifle and ammo.
Using the turret at distance proved it matches up very well with the known trajectory settings on the Nightforce. Easily within 1 click (1/2 MOA) or so.
The range on a bleak January morning: But any day spent shooting…
All my fancy shooting gear: (I shoot from an Atlas bi-pod - no sand bag on the rear.) Note the long shadows, and this was at 11:00 AM!
Ammo was a reload using Sierra’s excellent 77 gr SMK and (with me on the trigger) the Noveske SPR barrel will sometimes print 5 shot groups in the 1 MOA +/- range - but not always. But that is with the Nightforce at 10x. After spending some time on the 300 and 400 Meter steel (with no issues other than doping the wind), I ran three shots (only) on the 18" gong at 500 Meters and then looked in the spotting scope. The wind was directly (and briefly) behind me at this time. Liking what I saw this was the only shots fired at 500M.
After the 500 I played a little with the small 8" gong at 600 Meters the precision guys have set up. Someone left it painted yellow and the PST’s 1 MOA dot was very usable, i.e. precise, here. It did not substend the width of the gong. Some left to right wind was back, but by holding just off the left edge of the target I was able to get a few rounds on steel (a few drifted just off the right side as well).
This all matches up very favorably - from a precision standpoint, with a borrowed Mk 4 MR/T (1.5-5) I had mounted on this gun last spring. For a 1-4 CQB to Mid-Range optic my early impressions are good.
No pic, but 5 shots on the 300M gong ran 5.0"+/- (as close as I could measure center to center of the outside hits). This more or less equals what I see using the NF at 10X
500 Meter gong: To paraphrase Molon : For you armchair commandos - this three shot 500M group measured 2 3/4 Inches. That’s 0.5 MOA.
Now you know why I quit at three shots.
Coming back from the 600M setting of 15.5 MOA on the turret to +0 MOA to check my original 200M zero:
The first shot was the high one and blew the 5 group to 3 1/2" (1.6 MOA) - per my trusty tape measure. 200M 8" Plate:
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.
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…?
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.
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.
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.
