my phone takes horrible pictures so the glass is actually multiple times better than it appears in the picture.I would say its pretty on par glass clarity wise with the bushnell elite 1-6.5 ,but with a much more forgiving eyebox.The one thing im sorta weary about is the fact its made in the Philippines which I was not expecting ,but should have probably guessed given the price point.

I have the Bushnell Elite 1-6.5x and the Vortex Gen II Razor 1-6x and agree that the eyebox is better on the Razor.  The glass on my Bushnell is very good though so if the Gen II PST is close to it then they really did improve the glass!

I had the bushnell for a while and its a great scope except for the illumination and eye box.Id say the glass clarity is very similar between the 2 with maybe a slight edge going to the bushnell.I'm planning on doing some 300 yard shooting saturday to get a little better idea how I feel about it.

Just got my 1-6 yesterday. Glass quality was amazing! I only have a Night Force SHV F1 to compare with and it's comparable. This scope is a beast: the tube is short and stout, nice turrets (beefy) with good tactile, good clicks, definitely daylight bright. I really like the shorter tube = wider FOV for a 24mm, compare to my PA 1-6. I'm very happy I got this instead of a Mark 4.

FedEx/USPS delivered my 1-6 today with an aero precision mount. I already have a vortex cantilever mount; the loser gets returned to OP. After the fam turns in tonight I can either work on leveling my STO AOY toon or bust open the optic and work on mounting it to my 14.5" upper. 

optic!!

Glass is great and red dot is bright, inside at night anyway.  Strangely, the cap over the battery seems like soft metal; it marked up pretty easily when replacing after inserting the battery with the proper sized screwdriver

Total crap pictures but it's the best I can dot the moment just to show something!

Unfortunately, my evening did not go according to plan. I ended up watching the Taboo season finale while the baby slept on my lap... My razor 3-18 came with a plastic tool for zeroing and swapping the battery without scratching that cover. Either a quarter or nickel fits the slot pretty well. 

I fondled led the scope a bit tonight. The color palette looked a little yellow but I will attribute that to the flourescent lights in my basement. It's a little lighter than my old Mk6, the eye box is pretty good and the FOv at 1x is large as well The knurling on the power ring could be a little more aggressive, it's a good thing I've got a throw ring on order. Also, the red dot is the same size on all power settings 

Hopefully I can mount the scope tomorrow night. I suspect the 3" offset vortex mount will be a better fit with the scope. 

Awesome!

Thanks for the little review and pics.

I'm also thinking of picking one of these up in the very very near future. I'm really digging my 3-15x44.

As far as the battery cover goes, I even tried it with a plastic tool and it still gouged the paint off of the metal in the slot. Kind of a bummer but the only flaw I can pretty much see so far.

I think I'm going to email vortex and see if they have any kind of tool that fits the slot just perfect so it does not get gouged anymore.

There's got to be some way that they install the battery cover at the factory without chipping up the paint job on it, unless they finish it with the cover already installed?

I can remember my razor 1-6 doing the same thing on its battery cover.

I used a quarter to install my battery and it did the same thing as you.I honestly like the optic so far but the finish on it had me considering selling it within 24 hours.Its like a textured gloss black that really makes it look cheap.I'm gonna give it a chance and hopefully some of the crazy shine tones down lol

3 by 03scgt, on Flickr

What mount is that?

KAC

Looks good!

more crappy photos.

Damn why such a glossy finish? 

Still looks great for the price. I'll try a 1-6 on my 11.5 soon

It would look cooler in a more matted color, maybe even a gray slate color or something.  Overall I like it though.  I haven't shot it yet but the glass is impressive.  I agree with you, think you get a lot for the money if you use the Razor for comparison which is almost significantly more spendy.

I received mine yesterday and actually expected it to be more glossy based on photos and feedback. It would be better in a matte color, yes, but it's not high shine. I'm sure ingenious owners will find the best way to tone it down.

Rattle can will take care of it pretty quick!

Is there any need for an extended mount for the 1-6?
Looking at the ADM Recon. No need for the Recon X is there?

For the guys that received theirs and gotten some time behind them, any updates on your thoughts?

I have one on pre-order and I'm anxious to hear some reviews. YouTube doesn't have much at the moment unfortunately.

I got the Larue LT104 and have it mounted pretty far forward - front of mount at front of upper receiver.  You might be able to see it in photos above in the thread.  It'll work fine but I'd consider the extended version if I had to do it over so I could mount it a little further back and keep the same eye relief.  The reason would be to help adjust the balance point a little.

Like most people say try both if you can the choose which one you like.  not always an easy option i know, thats why i just took a shot and bought it.

Just my opinion here but the Recon-X or LT139 is a must for the Razor 1-6 and most other 1-x scopes ..... The LT104 and Recon didn't give me enough forward placement .... I had to run my stock fully extended

This is primarily because I crowd the charging handle when I shoot .... But still it gives more room for error

This is very useful info!  I was planning on going with another ADM Recon (which is what I use on my Accupower 1-4x).  Am glad I saw this prior to making the purchase

Stop being a bunch of pussies and complaining about 4 oz of weight.
Jesus guys. Cmon.

That finish does bother me, looks like a scope from the 90's. I was planning on getting one for my 18" hunting Grendel but we'll see. Need to take some steel wool to it or something

I'm not super thrilled with how glossy the finish on the scope is ,but to be honest it seems to be fairly durable on the body and has no ring marks when I pulled it out of the mount.I have to say id rather have it glossy than have the finish flake off like some other gun related items.Mine should arrive back at vortex tomorrow so hopefully ill be able to get back out to the range next week and get some more shots with it.

What was the issue with it?

illumination started turning off/dimming out during recoil within 200 rounds.If you touched the illumination knob in anyway it would turn off the illumination as well.Seems like the knob worked loose or there was a loose connection in it somewhere.Scope still functioned fine ,but 50% of the reason I bought it was because of the illumination lol

make sure the battery cap is tight.

way ahead of you on that,  

It was bottomed out and multiple batteries were tried before I even contacted them.You could turn the illumination knob to a number and it wouldn't be on unless you went a bit passed it and fiddled with it and you had to hope the recoil didn't move it at that point.It just would not stay on without flickering or dimming out under recoil or touching of the knob

Oh, you might have just saved me here.  Is there anyway you can put a picture up of your set up?  Thanks in advance.

Any word when the 5-25 FFP will ship? In another thread someone said 4 months, I'm wanting to try this scope but I don't want to wait that long.

From what I recall, those should have been shipped to distributors by now.  My back of the bus order will show up around June, so regular customers should have them long before then.

A little off topic but here I go. I was considering this optic for my M1a Bush rifle in a Bassett mount. Do you all think this setup would work?

Not my rifle but it's setup essentially the same .... That is an LT139

Not my rifle but it's setup essentially the same .... That is an LT139



Here Is a strike eagle in a ADM Recon-X

So I've had my PST GEN II 1-6 for 3 days and it already shit the bed.  Got it Friday, Zeroed it on Saturday with no problems.  Had a 3 gun match today and the dot went out on the 3rd shot. Collectively it has had 60 rounds through it and it's already busted.  I took out the battery, put it back in a made sure the cap was tight and put on proper and it still wouldn't stay illuminated.  I'd turn it to an on position, it would flicker on for a moment and then nothing.  No Dot.  It sucks because it's a great scope otherwise, but I definitely see where they cut some of the cost.

That blows. At least they will fix it.

The boss will be on this thread soon and take care of it for you...sure as the rising of the sun tomorrow...Vortex will be there for you.  

ehhh this is exactly what happened to me but I atleast got 200 rounds on my sr25 before it did it.If it makes you feel better I called vortex and within 5 minutes I had a prepaid return slip in my email.I sent it out last thursday(9th) and they got it tuesday(14th) and I got my replacement scope yesterday (saturday 19th).The completely replaced it and im very satisfied with how they handled the situation.

I wont get a chance to get out and try the new one until this coming weekend most likely.If it breaks again ill be salty to say the least lol

I'm really hoping this doesn't happen to me.  I went through a battery already which seemed odd - guess I left it on setting 3 for about 2 days but couldn't have been more than that.  I'll just keep an eye on it.

So I guess I'm going to have to call Vortex.  I replaced the battery the night I last posted, six days ago.  I confirmed the red dot was working then I turned it off.  Got to the range today and it was dead.  Put in the third battery at the range and it works again but I suspect it'll be dead again in a couple days.  Seems like it's still drawing power even when off.  Ugh.

I'm anxious to see if the 3-15 and 5-25 FFP scopes have issues like some of the 1-6's in this thread. I've been waiting to purchase a 5-25 but I think I'll wait until I hear some user reviews before I purchase one.

I have had 2 3-15x44 SFP's for a couple of weeks with no drainage so far.

That's good to hear, maybe it's just the 1-6 scopes that are having issues.

My 1-6x has been sitting with a battery in it for almost 2 weeks now and is just as bright as when I put it in.  I'll actually shoot it this weekend for the first time.  Initial impressions are good.  Optical quality seems good from my limited viewing, illumination is plenty bright for daylight use (consistent with Vortex's rep that it was the same illumination as the Razor Gen II).  Small complaints are the illumination control dial is kinda mushy, the turret caps are HUGE, I'm not wild about the glossy finish though I think the complaints about it have been overblown, the magnification ring is very stiff, and the reticle lines are a little heavy for my taste (likely to make the reticle faster, which IMO is already provided by the illuminated center dot).  I bought it as a potential replacement for my Meopta ZD 1-4x as I wanted something that offered a little more precision - I do think the Vortex offers more precision, but I'm not sure yet if I like it enough to unseat the Meopta, which IMO is a really nice 1-4x for non-precision purposes.  I may look at the Steiner P4xi as well.  1-6x would be nice, just not convinced the extra 2x zoom is worth the 6-8 oz of extra weight you typically get from a 1-6x on an otherwise very lightweight rifle.

I don't mind the turrets since I have huge hands but the dial IS mushy and the ring is tight and the diopter adjust is very tight.  I'm sure they'll loosen a bit over time but each was actually difficult to move at first.  Love the glass and the reticle lines though.

I've heard great things about that Steiner but never got to handle one.

Shot the Viper PST and the Steiner back to back this weekend - the Viper is mine and the P4xi is my buddy's.  Funny enough, I liked the Steiner better and he preferred the Vortex.  The intended use for both is 3-gun.

A few observations that we mostly agreed upon:

-  The illumination on both is definitely daylight "bright" (just not visible) but the Steiner is meaningfully brighter.  The Viper PST under midday Texas sun will have a dot that is clearly red in the middle, but the Steiner has a dot that is glowing red like an RDS, if that makes sense.  Supposedly the Viper PST is the same brightness as the Razor Gen II, which I've never looked through, and I was just using the battery that came with the scope so YMMV.
-  Glass is very similar quality, but I think the Steiner has maybe a bit touch more edge-to-edge clarity and the Viper PST maybe a touch more resolution.  Neither of us feel qualified to comment on glass quality beyond obviously crappy glass since neither of us has really handled anything in the $1000+ range - but both of these looked like quality optics to us.  I've handled a Kahles k16i and own a Meopta ZD Tactical and while I think each of those scopes have better glass, it's not night and day to my untrained eye.
-  Eyebox on the Viper PST is pretty tight at 1-6x, which you'd expect, but usable.  At 4x the eyebox on each scope was similar.
-  The reticle on the Viper PST is fairly thick - good for speed but I like a little bit finer reticle.  The Steiner starts thick on the edges then tapers gently to the aiming point.  While the subtension charts for each reticle indicate the crosshairs are the same thickness, the Viper appeared significantly heavier to each of us - which my buddy preferred and I did not.  To me the Steiner's combination of brighter illumination for speed but finer reticle for precision is the ideal balance.
-  The zoom ring on the Viper PST is pretty stiff (all my Vortex scopes have been like that actually), I'd guess it will ease up over time but even with the throw lever I couldn't change zoom without some effort.  The Steiner was a little easier though my buddy's cheap MGM switchview kept coming off.  Both were smooth.  I didn't play with the turrets on the Steiner.  Like I said before the illumination turret is pretty mushy on the Viper PST, but the turrets had very nice clicks, some of the best I've ever felt actually.

Ultimately, I preferred the Steiner because (a) I preferred the thinner, cleaner reticle, and I slightly prefer BDC over regular hash marks for 3 gun, (b) brighter illumination, (c) the Steiner is 5-6 ounces lighter, and (d) the Steiner is about $120 less on Brownells.

For what it's worth, we also used these side by side with my Meopta ZD Tactical 1-4x, which is a really awesome scope for 3-gun and very well regarded.  But since I don't get to 3 gun much anymore since I just had my first kid, I'm trying to get a more general purpose scope with a more precise aiming point that I can also use for plinking and hunting (the central dot on the Meopta is 2MOA at 4x) and looking to maybe save some money in the process, which is why I'm looking at the Steiner and Viper PST.  The Meopta's illumination was maybe a bit brighter than even the Steiner's despite lighting up a much larger amount of reticle, I'd give it a small edge in glass over the other scopes, it's a bit shorter and lighter, and the zoom ring was much smoother on the Meopta, but the Steiner and Viper could definitely hang with it.  I think the Steiner is going to be a step down from the Meopta, but a pretty small step that is worth it for the more general purpose scope and (hopefully, if I find a buyer) cost savings.

I sold my vortex 1-6 and went back to the steiner for a lot of those reasons.After my 1-6 broke so quickly it really kinda killed my confidence in it.I might pick one up in a few months when they have had some more time to get things tested and on track.