61 Minute of Angle Zero Shift with Vortex Viper Red Dot Sight
Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2023 5:04 pm
I decided to get a RDS for my Glock 19 a couple years ago, but didn't really put many rounds through it since it wasn't my every day carry gun. Other than using it for the DPS' First Responders Course, it was basically just used to familiarize myself with RDS'.
Last October I began training with it in earnest to prep for one-handed shooting in anticipation of support-side shoulder surgery in January, as I'd be in a sling for 6 weeks and a bit gimpy while doing physical therapy for the next couple months.
One of the downsides of the design of the Vortex Viper RDS is that you have to remove the sight to change batteries, but that critique isn't unique to this one, as the Trijicon RMR has the same design. I had anticipated a slight zero shift when remounting to the gun, but the three or four times I changed the battery the zero was still on the mark.
I assisted another instructor at his range in April, & we were doing a little shooting before his students arrived. His steel targets are set up at 25 yds, & I was missing by a wide margin low & right. The Viper RDS was zeroed at 36 yds, & I was accustomed to knocking down 6" plates at that distance. After I looked intently thru the sight, I could tell that the red dot was nowhere near aligned with the iron sights, so the RDS came off, & I've gone back to iron sights till it's replaced by something other than a Viper RDS.
That was in April, & I put off returning it to Vortex till now. I did a quick video last week to document how far off the zero had shifted, so I could clearly articulate the issue when filling out the return form. At 36 yds, the rounds weren't hitting the target backer; at 25 yds I was able to measure the shift from Point of Aim to Point of Impact as 16" to the 4 o'clock. That's a shift of a little over 61 MOA, and was a bit eye opening. According to a couple gun forums, mine isn't the only Vortex Viper RDS to lose its zero, but the other didn't specify how much theirs had drifted.
I'm quite certain Vortex will make good on it, but just a fair warning to anyone using ia Viper RDS as part of their EDC. It would be catastrophic to have to use it for self defense, and if beyond contact distance potentially miss your threat & put an innocent third party at risk.
Last October I began training with it in earnest to prep for one-handed shooting in anticipation of support-side shoulder surgery in January, as I'd be in a sling for 6 weeks and a bit gimpy while doing physical therapy for the next couple months.
One of the downsides of the design of the Vortex Viper RDS is that you have to remove the sight to change batteries, but that critique isn't unique to this one, as the Trijicon RMR has the same design. I had anticipated a slight zero shift when remounting to the gun, but the three or four times I changed the battery the zero was still on the mark.
I assisted another instructor at his range in April, & we were doing a little shooting before his students arrived. His steel targets are set up at 25 yds, & I was missing by a wide margin low & right. The Viper RDS was zeroed at 36 yds, & I was accustomed to knocking down 6" plates at that distance. After I looked intently thru the sight, I could tell that the red dot was nowhere near aligned with the iron sights, so the RDS came off, & I've gone back to iron sights till it's replaced by something other than a Viper RDS.
That was in April, & I put off returning it to Vortex till now. I did a quick video last week to document how far off the zero had shifted, so I could clearly articulate the issue when filling out the return form. At 36 yds, the rounds weren't hitting the target backer; at 25 yds I was able to measure the shift from Point of Aim to Point of Impact as 16" to the 4 o'clock. That's a shift of a little over 61 MOA, and was a bit eye opening. According to a couple gun forums, mine isn't the only Vortex Viper RDS to lose its zero, but the other didn't specify how much theirs had drifted.
I'm quite certain Vortex will make good on it, but just a fair warning to anyone using ia Viper RDS as part of their EDC. It would be catastrophic to have to use it for self defense, and if beyond contact distance potentially miss your threat & put an innocent third party at risk.