I'm sorry I didn't take pictures but last weekend a I went shooting with a friend and shot these three scopes side by side. I had my GAP SCLE rifle with a Bushnell HDMR with G2 reticle from the SH GAP Group Buy and my AIAW with a S&B 4-16x42 with P4F reticle. My friend had a Short Action Customs rifle with a Vortex Viper PST. We started by shooting sighting shots at 100 on a .1mil grid sight in target and then moving to steel targets at ranges between 200 and 885 yards. Here's what we observed:
All three scopes had accurate and repeatable adjustments. We had known dope on this range and these rifles from previous shooting and all scopes adjustments were repeatable. The HDMR scope had just been mounted on the GAP rifle and the known dope matched my observed results for this day.
The Vortex optics were OK. The brightness and resolution were good enough to spot target hits and misses at 885 yards. But when compared on the .1 mil grid target at 100 the resolution was a little fuzzy and the brightness was noticeably worse than the HDMR and S&B. The HDMR had bright optics and resolution was pretty sharp but not as good as the S&B. The S&B's optics were noticeably better than either the PST or the HDMR, but then again it costs a lot more. Also, the S&B exhibited tunneling from about 6x and lower which was worse than the PST or HDMR. The turret clicks were a little mushy (compared to the HDMR and S&B) on the PST, and the Bushnell and S&B turret clicks were very distinct and easy to use. I really liked the G2 reticle on the HDMR it's very easy to use for holdovers.
What we came away with was the Viper Vortex PST will get the job done and it's price at around $800 is an excellent value. It's performance was more than acceptable for our .308 rifles and for the price, it delivers a lot. The Bushnell HDMR was an excellent scope and an excellent value for the money. The S&B was technically superior in most aspects to the other two, but for a $3000 scope it should be.
All three scopes had accurate and repeatable adjustments. We had known dope on this range and these rifles from previous shooting and all scopes adjustments were repeatable. The HDMR scope had just been mounted on the GAP rifle and the known dope matched my observed results for this day.
The Vortex optics were OK. The brightness and resolution were good enough to spot target hits and misses at 885 yards. But when compared on the .1 mil grid target at 100 the resolution was a little fuzzy and the brightness was noticeably worse than the HDMR and S&B. The HDMR had bright optics and resolution was pretty sharp but not as good as the S&B. The S&B's optics were noticeably better than either the PST or the HDMR, but then again it costs a lot more. Also, the S&B exhibited tunneling from about 6x and lower which was worse than the PST or HDMR. The turret clicks were a little mushy (compared to the HDMR and S&B) on the PST, and the Bushnell and S&B turret clicks were very distinct and easy to use. I really liked the G2 reticle on the HDMR it's very easy to use for holdovers.
What we came away with was the Viper Vortex PST will get the job done and it's price at around $800 is an excellent value. It's performance was more than acceptable for our .308 rifles and for the price, it delivers a lot. The Bushnell HDMR was an excellent scope and an excellent value for the money. The S&B was technically superior in most aspects to the other two, but for a $3000 scope it should be.
