Description
Last update on February 2, 2023 // Source: Amazon API
Rifle Scope Product Details
Vortex Optics 3-9×40 Viper Riflescope – Dead-Hold BDC Reticle
VPR-M-01BDC Features: -Riflescope. -Fully multi coated optics with 95 percent light transmission. -The glass smooth precision glide erector system. -Muzzleloader and slug shotgun. Magnification: -Medium (approx. 3X – 16X). Usage: -General Target/Plinking/Hunting/Tactical. Objective Lens Diameter: -31-40Mm. Tube Diameter: -1 Inch. Gun Type: -Air Rifle/Shotgun/Muzzleloader/Centerfire Rifle. Finish: -Black. Dimensions: Overall Product Weight: -0.88 Pounds.
Rifle Scope Product Features
About this item
Vortex
About the Vortex Manufacturer
Vortex is a premium maker for long gun scopes, optics, mounts, and other add-ons used for guns like rifles and long guns. They style and build their mounts, scopes, and related products choosing elements which are resilient and long lasting. This includes the Vortex Optics 3-9×40 Viper Riflescope – Dead-Hold BDC Reticle by Vortex. For more shooting products, visit their site.
What You Need to Know About Rifle Scopes
Rifle scopes enable you to specifically aim a rifle at various targets by lining up your eye with the target over a distance. They accomplish this through zoom by employing a series of lenses inside the scope. The scope’s positioning can be adjusted for consideration of various ecological considerations like wind and elevation increases or decreases to make up for bullet drop.
The scope’s purpose is to help shooters understand exactly where the bullet will hit based on the sight picture you are seeing via the scope as you line up the scope’s crosshair or reticle with the intended target. The majority of modern-day rifle optics have around 11 parts which are located internally and outside of the optic. These scope parts include the rifle scope’s body, lenses, elevation dials or turrets, objective focus rings, and other components. See all eleven parts of a rifle scope.
About Scope Styles
Rifle scopes can be either “first focal plane” or “second focal plane” type of scopes. The type of focal plane a scope has determines where the reticle or crosshair lies in connection with the optic’s zoom. It literally indicates the reticle is behind or ahead of the magnification lens of the scope. Choosing the most ideal style of rifle scope is dependent on what style of shooting you anticipate doing.
First Focal Plane Scope Info
Focal plane scopes (FFP) feature the reticle in front of the magnification lens. This induces the reticle to increase in size based upon the level of magnification being used. The benefit is that the reticle measurements are the same at the magnified range as they are at the non amplified distance. As an example, one tick on a mil-dot reticle at one hundred yards without any “zoom” is still the same tick at 100 yards with 5x “zoom”. These types of scopes are practical for:
- Quick acquisition, far away types of shooting
- Shooting situations where estimations are marginal
- Experienced shooters who have an idea for their aim point “hold over” and “lead” ratios for their long guns
- Shooters who don’t mind the reticle is bigger and requires more visual sight area than a SFP reticle
Second Focal Plane Glass
Second focal plane scopes (SFP) come with the reticle to the rear of the magnification lens. In the FFP example with the SFP scope, the 5x “zoom” 100 yard tick measurement would be 1/5th of the non “zoom” tick reticle measurement.
- Far away styles of shooting where shooters have more time to make ballistic calculations
- Shooting where most shots take place within shorter ranges and spaces
- Shooters who prefer a clearer optic sight picture without area taken up by the larger size FFP reticle
Zoom for Rifle Glass
The measure of scope magnification you need depends upon the style of shooting you want to do. Virtually every type of rifle glass delivers some degree of zoom. The amount of magnification a scope supplies is established by the dimension, density, and curvatures of the lens glass inside of the rifle optic. The magnification level of the optic is the “power” of the glass. This means what the shooter is looking at through the scope is magnified times the power factor of what can normally be seen by human eyes.
Single Power Lens Rifle Scope Facts
A single power rifle optic or scope uses a zoom number designator like 4×32. This means the zoom power of the scope is 4x power while the objective lens is 32mm. The zoom of this kind of scope can not adjust given that it is fixed.
Adjustable Power Lens Optic Info
Variable power rifle scopes have adjustable power. It will list the zoom amount in a format such as 2-10×32. These numbers mean the magnification of the scope could be changed in between 2x and 10x power. This always involves the power levels in-between 2 and 10. The power adaptation is achieved by working with the power ring component of the scope near the back of the scope by the eye bell piece.
The Power and Range Correlation of Rifle Glass
Here are some recommended scope power settings and the ranges where they can be effectively used. Bear in mind that higher power optics and scopes will not be as effective as lower magnification level optics and scopes since too much zoom can be a bad thing. The exact same concept relates to extended distances where the shooter needs to have sufficient power to see exactly where to properly aim the rifle at the target.
Scope Lens Finish
All contemporary rifle scope and optic lenses are covered in special coatings. There are various types and qualities of lens coatings. When researching high end rifle optics and scope setups, Lens coating can be a critical element of defining the rifle’s capability. The glass lenses are among the most important parts of the optic considering that they are what your eye looks through while sighting a rifle in on the target. The coating on the lenses protects the lens surface area and also improves anti glare capabilities from refracted direct sunlight and color discernibility.
HD Versus ED Rifle Scope Lens Coatings
Some rifle glass suppliers even use “HD” or high-def glass coverings that use various procedures, rare earth compounds, components, and polarizations to draw out a wide range of colors and viewable target definition through lenses. This HD coating is commonly used with greater density lens glass which lowers light’s opportunity to refract through the lens glass. Some scope corporations use “HD” to refer to “ED” implying extra-low dispersion glass. ED handles how colors are presented on the chromatic spectrum and the chromatic aberration which is also called color distortion or fringing. Chromatic aberration is often obvious over items with hard edges and shapes as light hits the object from certain angles.
Single Finish Versus Multi-Coating
Different optic lenses can likewise have different coverings used to them. All lenses usually have at least some type of treatment or coating applied to them prior to being used in a rifle scope or optic.
Single coated lenses have a treatment applied to them which is generally a protective and boosting multi-purpose treatment. This lens treatment can shield the lens from scratches while decreasing glare and other less advantageous things experienced in the shooting environment while sighting in with the scope. The quality of a single layered lens depends on the scope maker and the amount you spent paying for it. Both are indicators of the lens quality.
Some scope makers likewise make it a point to specify if their optic lenses are covered or “multi” covered. This suggests the lens has numerous treatments applied to the surfaces. If a lens receives multiple treatments, it can prove that a producer is taking numerous steps to fight different environmental factors like an anti-glare coating, a scratch resistant anti-abrasion covering, followed by a hydrophilic coating. This additionally doesn’t always indicate the multi-coated lens will perform better than a single coated lens. Being “better” depends on the maker’s lens treatment technology and the quality of products used in constructing the rifle glass.
Hydrophobic Lens Coatings
Water on a lens does not help with maintaining a clear sight picture through a scope at all. Many top of the line and military grade optic makers will coat their lenses with a hydrophilic or hydrophobic finishing.
Options for Mounting Rifle Glass on Firearms
Mounting approaches for scopes are available in a few options. There are the basic scope rings which are separately installed to the scope and one-piece scope mounts which cradle the scope. These various kinds of mounts also normally are made in quick release variations which use throw levers which allow rifle operators to quickly mount and dismount the optics.
Hex Key Rifle Optic Ring Mounts
Standard, clamp design mounting scope rings use hex head screws to install to the flattop design Picatinny scope mount rails on the tops of rifles. These forms of scope mounts use two independent rings to support the scope, and are normally constructed from 7075 T6 billet aluminum which are designed for far away accuracy shooting. This kind of scope mount is ideal for rifles which require a resilient, hard use mount which will not move regardless of how much the scope is moved about or jarring the rifle takes. These are the design of mounts you want for a specialized optics setup on a far away scouting or competition long gun that will rarely need to be altered or adjusted. Blue 242 Loctite threadlocker can additionally be used to keep the hex screw threads from wiggling out after they are mounted tightly in place. An example of these rings are the 30mm type from the Vortex Optics company. The set usually costs around $200 USD
Quick-Release Cantilever Glass Ring Mounting Solutions
These kinds of quick-release rifle scope mounts can be used to rapidly connect and remove a scope from a rifle. Multiple scopes can also be switched out if they all use a similar designed mount. The quick detach design is CNC machined from anodized 6061 T6 aluminum and the mounting levers connect nicely to a flat top type Picatinny rail. This enables the scope to be sighted in while on the rifle, taken off of the rifle, and remounted while keeping the original sighting settings. These kinds of mounts are useful and beneficial for rifles which are transferred between vehicles a lot, to remove the glass from the rifle for protection, or for sight systems which are employed in between several rifles. An example of this mount type is the 30mm mount from Vortex Optics. It usually costs around $250 USD
Rifle Glass Tube Sealing and Gas Purging
Wetness inside your rifle optic can ruin a day of shooting and your pricey optic by triggering fogging and creating residue inside of the scope tube. Many scopes prevent moisture from going into the scope tube with a system of sealing O-rings which are water resistant.
Gas Purged Rifle Optic Tubes
Another part of preventing the buildup of wetness within the rifle scope tube is filling the tube with a gas like nitrogen. Because this area is currently occupied by the gas, the glass is less influenced by temperature shifts and pressure variations from the external environment which could possibly enable water vapor to seep in around the seals to fill the vacuum which would otherwise be there. These are good qualities of a decent rifle scope to look for.