MTC Viper Connect

[Parabuteo]

I picked one of these up in The Airgun Centre, Rayleigh on Monday. A chap was just having one fitted to his HW100 so I thought I'd better grab one before stock ran out. Tony Belas happened to be in the shop, so I spent more time chatting to him than ogling the scope. Once I'd got home and removed it from its compact box (thankfully, not a Hawke-style burial casket!), I set about finding a rifle to attach it to. I have plenty of 30mm mounts but the BKL were much too high. Most mount manufacturers seem to expect their 30mm mounts to accommodate scopes with monster objectives, so smaller scopes tend to be perched up too high. I have a similar problem with the Leupold MR/T. Experiments so far indicate that I'm going to need much lower mounts to avoid a rick in the neck or to fit the scope on a rifle with an adjustable cheek piece, preferably one that incorporates lateral adjustment, like the Rapid Tactical.

D.

They do sit very low, but this feature is only really realised with the likes of the HW100 etc where the mag sits in the action rather than on top of it, otherwise they are a bit higher, but not hugely.

I have a 40mm version (one of the prototypes) on my HW100, and I astill have a good eye position with a bridging piece under the objective (between front and rear parts of the action).

I will have to use slightly higher mounts on my production version as it is going on the 410k, where the mag sits quite high.

I like a low scope as it gives better cheek weld and balance, I have just changed the scope on my huntsman from a 25 to 30mm tube and have had to go single shot...the mounts just wont accept the mag without a half inch gap under the objective...not nice, still, I dont hunt with it a lot so not a biggie

Great little scopes though eh, great for picking tree rats out in the gloom...even if I do then miss the twig in the way...ah well

Superb low light as well, and the IR with the AMD ret is really precise.

One thing I have found is that it pays to focus the eyebell on a distant object rather than the sky and ret.

I thought one of mine would not focus down close enough, but I think this was the problem. I was reading a sign on a house some way off that I could just see with the naked eye as a blob, very sharp when the eye bell was corrected a bit.

[wayne509]

On the images posted by Peakecentral, the image taken looking through the connect seems to be quite a bit darker than through the conventional scope. Has anyone found this to be the case?

[sprocker]

On the images posted by Peakecentral, the image taken looking through the connect seems to be quite a bit darker than through the conventional scope. Has anyone found this to be the case?

If you look at the photo details one was taken in June, the other September so it might have been a brighter day.

[wayne509]

If you look at the photo details one was taken in June, the other September so it might have been a brighter day.

That could certainly explain it. I assumed they were taken back to back on the same day

[sprocker]

So did I until you mentioned the difference ( which i thought as you did) then went back to have another look

[delta1946]

Have got to get me one of thee little scopes!

So for the mounts a 30mm low or medium to go on my .22 R10?

I'm not clued up on mount heights and pros and cons of each.

I don't have a mag system that sits high, my rail is flat with mag built in to block, so could use a low mount?, would this have any advantages over a medium say?

thanks.

[Parabuteo]

Have got to get me one of thee little scopes!

So for the mounts a 30mm low or medium to go on my .22 R10?

I'm not clued up on mount heights and pros and cons of each.

I don't have a mag system that sits high, my rail is flat with mag built in to block, so could use a low mount?, would this have any advantages over a medium say?

thanks.

You could mount it as low as you like for a 32mm front end bud.

What I would say is try and borrow some medium and high and try it out.

This new connect works pretty well without the eye bellows.

This is good news for wearers of bicycle optics..., or if you shoot prone/off of a bipod a lot.

The old unit used to pretty well demand your head was at right angles to the eye piece to get a good sight picture, and it was not too clever without some sort of eyepiece.

The new Connect works well either way, and is pretty flexible, so try what you can.

If you have a mag that prodrudes where the objective sits, you are probably looking at high mounts though.

If you get something that is fairly slim (BKL etc) you will have room for a lamp etc on the front end.

[peakecentral]

If you look at the photo details one was taken in June, the other September so it might have been a brighter day.

They were both taken on the same day.

When you use the Connect, you will find it very bright. Taking photos through a scope like that is a huge compromise, and I was just illustrating the field of view at 10X. The camera lens had to be right up against the eyepiece and in exactly the correct position. Sadly, I am not perfect...

HTH

Martin

[Parabuteo]

On the images posted by Peakecentral, the image taken looking through the connect seems to be quite a bit darker than through the conventional scope. Has anyone found this to be the case?

As Martin says, the brightness can be a bit of a shock initially.

I still get a bit of a shock every time I look into a connect. Someone suggested that going back to a normal scope is a bit like peering through a bog roll...there may be something in that

Where they really come into their own is low light or fast target aquisition.

I may even give lamping another bash with this one.

[Nemesis]

I'll try fitting my Connect onto a Rapid tomorrow and see how it works out. I'm anticipating the objective bell fouling on the action without using a riser block. Hoping this scope is going to be worth all the effort.......

D.

[Nemesis]

Well, I've just fitted the Connect to a Fenman on the standard 30mm mount, so it should go on a Rapid OK. There's about 4-5mm clearance between the objective bell and the metalwork beneath.

D.

[wayne509]

Just been bad and put one on the credit card

Hope it is worth the trouble I'm about to get in

[delta1946]

Just been bad and put one on the credit card

Hope it is worth the trouble I'm about to get in

let us know what you think!

what mount height you going to try to?

I really want one due to the size and weight, perfect for hunting!

[lionel]

Well, I've just fitted the Connect to a Fenman on the standard 30mm mount, so it should go on a Rapid OK. There's about 4-5mm clearance between the objective bell and the metalwork beneath.

D.

Excellent news, thanks!

[Kyoto]

With low/medium mounts & the wide FOV of this scope I was wondering whether the barrel of the rifle showed in the sight picture?

Also what is the all up weight including the mounts?

ATB

Ken