Vortex viper HS vs HS-T

[grundy53]

Question for anyone who is familiar with either of these scopes. What are the differences between the to other then the hash marks? Is the HS-T worth the extra coin? This scope would be for hunting not bench shooting (other then practice/staying sharp of course). Thanks for any info!
sent from my typewriter

[b23]

I believe the HS-T and the HS LR have exposed adjustable turrets and the standard HS does not.  My dad just put an HS-T on his VSSF .223 and he likes it a lot.

With regard to Vortex optics, I think they put a lot of quality in their mid level price point products because I often struggle to see, optically speaking, much difference in many of their mid level products when I compare them to their upper mid level products.  Optically, I can't see much, if any, difference between their Viper HS line and the Viper PST.  Their binos are another mystery to me because I think their Viper HD's are as good as their Razor HD's and they cost nearly double.

[grundy53]

Thank you for the info!

sent from my typewriter

[elkslayer069]

For west side hunt grundy get the HS it doesn't have exposed turrets to rotate getting in and out of the truck or hunting the timber. i would recommend getting the 4-16x50 I've have two of them and considering getting another.

[grundy53]

For west side hunt grundy get the HS it doesn't have exposed turrets to rotate getting in and out of the truck or hunting the timber. i would recommend getting the 4-16x50 I've have two of them and considering getting another.

Thank you. the 4-16x50 is the magnification I want. Just wasn't sure which model. You have a great point with the turrets. If someone has two and wants a third that's a good enough endorsement for me .

sent from my typewriter

[JJB11B]

I believe the HS-T and the HS LR have exposed adjustable turrets and the standard HS does not.  My dad just put an HS-T on his VSSF .223 and he likes it a lot.

With regard to Vortex optics, I think they put a lot of quality in their mid level price point products because I often struggle to see, optically speaking, much difference in many of their mid level products when I compare them to their upper mid level products.  Optically, I can't see much, if any, difference between their Viper HS line and the Viper PST.  Their binos are another mystery to me because I think their Viper HD's are as good as their Razor HD's and they cost nearly double.

The turrets in the Viper PST are different

[b23]

grundy53, fwiw, I believe the HS-T has zero stops so even if the turrets get bumped, turned or whatever, you can always come back to your zero very quickly.  Hold over shooting is certainly faster than dial up shooting but if you ever started playing around with shooting distances of 500+ yards you would quickly see the benefit to having externally adjustable turrets.  Regardless of which scope you decide on, IMO, any of the Viper HS scopes are at the top of the list for scopes in the price range.

JJB11B, I was aware the turrets are different on the PST, I was comparing them optically though.  For scopes or binos in the $5-600 range Vortex's optics is hard to beat.

[huntandjeep]

The HS- LR also has a zero stop. I just put one on my 7mm in 4-16×50 and its very nice having had a chance to play with the turret very much but I will next week or so.

[grundy53]

Once again, thanks guys. Very helpful information.

sent from my typewriter

[Alan K]

I personally prefer the exposed turrets.  I'm worried that I'd lose the caps in the 'heat of the moment' if I had to remove the caps and for whatever reason have to reposition or something.  I've been running the Vortex scopes for two years now (PST & HS-T) and have never had the turret incidentally dial. If you're really concerned about the turret inadvertently being dialed, I'd highly recommend going and checking one out in person at Cabelas or something and test the dials for yourself.  In my opinion you're really have to rake the thing on something to get it to turn.

One other thing to consider between the two is the max adjustment range. On the HS-T 75 MOA, and 50 MOA on the HS. Assuming that the scope will theoretically zero right in the middle of the adjustment range, you might only have 25 MOA to dial up. That will be plenty for any hunting situation really, but for plinking fun beyond 1000 you might find yourself wanting more (though you'd probably want more magnification in that case too).

The one thing that kills me with the HS-LR's is the 1/2 MOA elevation clicks. For being touted a 'long range' scope, you'd think they'd have at least industry standard adjustments, if not finer.   

EDIT: And yes, you'll want the zero stop.  Especially when dialing up multiple revolutions.

[yorketransport]

I have an HS-LR. It has a lot of good features for the price. The clicks feel good and the adjustments so far are spot on. I'm switching it out for a little more magnification though.

Andrew