Someone sent me a private text asking a few questions about the MTC VIper Pro. I would like to share the questions and my reply, just to make sure I did not talk out of my a$$, ha ha. "Hello,I’m wondering if you might help to set me straight on the MTC Viper Pro scope?What I don’t understand is that if you make a turret tape in which your gun is sighted in at 25 meters, and the scope magnification was set to 20x, what happens to the tape markings if you change magnification to 16x?I haven’t used SFP scopes, but it is my understanding that, when you change magnifications, you need to mathematically (mentally or on paper) make aim point corrections?Aside from using 3rd party software, am I able to print off turret tapes in meters instead of yards?I appreciate any help with clearing up my confused brain!Cheers!"
Here my reply:
"Hi,I am more than happy to [try] to answer any questions you might have… : )1. You should always Zero a scope at the distance it is ”calibrated” at, or what they might call ”True”. The MTC Viper Pro is ”True” at 10 x magnification. What that means is, 10x IS 10x. However, when you turn it to e.g. 30x, it might be more like 30.4x, or even 30.7x, who knows?! That might be one of the reasons your app and Point of Impact might not be matching. That is why you should always Zero a scope at the magnification it is ”True” at.2. You are ’somewhat’ correct. Let me see if I can put my thoughts in to words… : )First Focal Plane Scopes do not change the size of the Reticle. 5x or 30x, the reticle stays the same relative to the target. Second Focal Plane Scopes will change the size of the Reticle with the change of magnification. The reticle will shrink, or grow, when using different magnifications. However, please keep in mind that the reticle shrinking, or growing, won’t change the POI (Point of Impact), or POA, IF you are shooting at the distance your scope was Zeroed at!For Example:You Zeroed your scope at 20 meters on 10x. When you now shoot, your POA (point of aim), AND POI (point of impact) will be the ”center” (where your crosshairs meet), of your reticle, correct?!
If you now shoot at 20 meters, BUT on 20x, your POA, AND your POI will be AGAIN the center of your reticle! Nothing changes.
The same goes for ANY magnification, as long you shoot AT the distance you zeroed your scope at! In theory that is. In reality, there might be a little bit of ”play”.You can try this using your favorite ballistics app. I use Strelok Pro. If setup correctly, enter as distance to the target your Zero distance. When you now change the magnification you will notice that the POA and POI WILL NOT CHANGE!Now, all that is true, IF you shoot at the distance you zeroed your scope at, but what happens when you shoot at a different distance? In the next example, we will be shooting at 40 meters, assuming the pellet will drop and not rise:Your scope is zeroed at 20 meters and 10x. You now shoot at 40 meters and 10x. We all know that your pellet will drop. Your POA is ON target, but your POI will be (in this example) two mil-dots lower. So far, so good. If you now change your magnification from 10x to 20x, your POI will double. In other words, your POI will be 4 mil-dots lower, instead of two! The math is pretty simple. Try it on your app.ALL OF THIS ONLY APPLIES WHEN YOU DO NOT TURN YOUR TURRETS!If you start turning your turrets, all of this is irrelevant!Example:Your scope is zeroed at 20 meters and 10x.
You now want to shoot at 40 meters.
Your app tells you to EITHER hold over 2 mil-dots, OR turn the turret 5 clicks. (Just as an example).
You decide to turn your turret 5 clicks instead of holding over.As soon you do that, your POA and your POI will be the same again. Obviously, because we basically did the same as Re-zeroing the scope at a different distance. Right?! Since your scope is now ”zeroed” at a new distance, changing the magnification will not make a difference.THUS using a range tape is NO PROBLEM even if changing the magnification!I am not sure if you can print the tape in meters instead of yards?! I can find out though…Hope this help?!Kmdp.s. If you do not mind, I would like to post your question AND my answer in the MTC Viper Pro thread, so people can verify my reply and also learn from it. I am NOT going to mention who asked. If that is OK with you?!"
What say you???
Thanks,
Kmd
