Ray, I've used every Spotting Scope Vortex offers & have used them in hunting conditions. The Viper HD 15-45X65 is a very nice piece of glass, it's better in the color & detail dept. over the non-HD Viper! I used this Spotter all last year on several deer & elk hunts & it performed excellent, zero issues & spotted tons of game with it in the 1 mile to 2 1/2 mile range!
Vortex offers a variety of Spotters to suit different needs & budgets, not everyone can afford top of the line so there are other models available to keep everyone happy & glassing! The less expensive models such as Diamond Back Spotting Scope & the non-HD Viper will still get the job done with little issues. Of course there are better models & a higher price like anything else in this world! The Viper HD is better than the average Spotter because it has HD/ED Glass. The best is the Razor HD line. Vortex has 3 different Spotters in the Razor HD category now, they are the best of the best. Some for better packing & some better for near the road use. The Razor HD will come in 11-33X50MM at 25oz -- 16-48X65MM at 48oz -- 20-60X85MM ar 65oz -- I used the Razor HD 20-60X85 this whole year for our deer & elk hunts, it is an awesome piece of glass but is the most expensive & heaviest one! (grin) The larger unit is incredible under any situation & I used it for hours in glassing like you would use your binos! At 3/4 mile plus it's very easy to get comfortable & glass great distances as you grid an area & take it apart looking for critters, we had no eye fatigue in doing this day after day! It did great, the Viper HD would do this as well.
If interested in some great prices on any of this line let me know through a PM or email me at elknut@elknut.com
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ElkNut1